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The 1st Book of God’s Word is Genesis. Within it’s pages God tells of our creation after God made all the rest of the Cosmos through Christ. Humans were the crown of creation, made in the Creator’s image. Then man embraced sin instead of obedience and the long line of ravaged, ruined and buried bodies testified to sin’s destroying power.

But all along the way are clues to coming back to God. The shed blood of animals to clothe Adam and Eve. The altar of sacrifice offered Cain and Abel. The grace at the Flood for Noah and his family. God’s Calling Abram from the idolatry of Ur. The many altars of meeting in the pages of Genesis all speak of God’s desire for restoring His own to fellowship. Then the offering of an only son on an altar of sacrifice culminates the story. Isaac is saved by the substitution of a Lamb provided by God! And the story is complete. God’s plan is substitutionary atonement, bloody sacrifice and heart prompted obedience.

The 2nd Book of God’s Word is our study tonight. The Book of Exodus continues the incredible story of God’s desires for us His creations. Please turn there with me as we uncover within these pages the wonders of Jesus Christ. He is perfectly all we need.

  • SALVATION: God Reveals His Way Of Salvation. Divine Redemption Has Jesus As Its Perfect Redeemer. God Shows The Way Out… Of Bondage Into Freedom. (Exodus 1-18). God Is Showing He Is Powerful.
  • SANCTIFICATION: God Reveals His Way Of Sanctification. Divine Morality Has Jesus As Its Perfect Example (Exodus 19-23) The Way Out… Of Ignorance Into God’s Law And Program. God Is Showing He Is Holy.
  • WORSHIP:God Reveals His Way Of Worship. Divine Worship Has Jesus As Its Perfect Focus. (Exodus 24-40) The Way Out…Of The World Into God’s Presence. God Is Showing He Is Knowable.

To really get a hold on this book, think with me what it lets us in on. It is no less than God’s discipleship of an entire nation. Have you ever thought of that? He first offers them salvation (the passover and exodus, chapters 1-12) and then asks them to follow Him in a daily walk (13-23) and of genuine (24-40) worship. Now, we may not stretch the analogy so far as to try to pin point a New Testament application for every action God takes in this process. But, in the overall picture, it is an amazing study.

In the first section (chapters 1-18) the people of Israel never get to know God personally. Instead they experience Him in action against the false gods of Egypt.

But at Sinai (chapters 19-23), God comes down to make Himself known. What is His method? Showing them their individual responsibility for personal sins. This led to an acute awareness (or should have) of their inability to please God on their own merit.

Then, the Sacred Tent (chapters 24-40) was erected and the priesthood given, to offer an incredibly clear and powerful image of Christ their only hope.

Back to those first chapters and SALVATION. As always, it was not the covenant that saved, nor the sacrifices, nor the ceremonies. Not even big events were able to save them like the Passover, Red Sea event or Sinai. It was only by personal faith mixed with obedience (as most clearly shown in the brazen serpent incident). As the atonement was sufficient for all (they all came out of Egypt) it was only efficient or effective for those whose personally took the truth by faith (seemingly a precious few)!

Look at Ex. 12:38 (the same group as Neh. 13:3) who wanted a Savior without a Lord. This brings up a whole concept that troubles some people. It is called – LORDSHIP. I was once called in before a council at DTS to “defend Lordship”. I asked them to base our discussions on just the Bible, no issues or personalities. I shared the following 12 verses and they said they had no further questions.

  • Luke 14:33 “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. NKJV
  • John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. NKJV
  • Acts 5:32 “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” NKJV
  • Acts 11:18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.” NKJV
  • Acts 20:32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. NKJV
  • Acts 26:20 “but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. NKJV
  • Colossians 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. NKJV
  • 2 Thessalonians 1:8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. NKJV
  • Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? NKJV
  • James 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. NKJV
  • 1 Peter 1:2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. NKJV
  • 1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. NKJV

Note what the writer of Hebrews says about those who saw but never experienced God’s salvation. Hebrews 3:7-19

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” 12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. NKJV

God reveals his way of salvation. divine REDEMPTION has Jesus as its PERFECT REDEEMER. God shows The WAY OUT… OF BONDAGE INTO FREEDOM. (EXODUS 1-18). God is showing he is powerful.

  • God KNOWS and UNDERSTANDS the Bitterness of Life (1)
  • God PROVIDES a Deliverer (Exodus 2) Moses’ 1 st 40 years in Pharaoh’s palace.
  • God SENDS His servants (Exodus 3-6)
  • God CHOOSES Moses (3:1-12) Moses’ 2 nd 40 years in the desert of Midian.
  • God REVEALS His Name of Names in the bush (3:13-22)

SEVEN I AM’S OF CHRIST in JOHN. John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” NKJV This is the ultimate statement of being the only foundation, cause and purpose for life. Now in John’s Gospel, seven times Jesus said I AM THE. These seven can be stated another way:

  • BREAD OF LIFE (6:35) – He sustains us, apart from Him is only unsatisfied hunger.
  • LIGHT OF WORLD (8:l2) – He illumines us, apart from Him is only impenetrable darkness.
  • DOOR OF SHEEP (l0:7,9) – He admits us to life, apart from Him is only hopeless exclusion.
  • GOOD SHEPHERD (l0:ll) – He cares for us, apart from Him is only aimless wandering.
  • RESURRECTION AND LIFE (ll:25) – He provides us life, apart from Him is only endless dying.
  • WAY, TRUTH & LIFE (l4:6) – He guides us, apart from Him is only being endlessly lost.
  • TRUE VINE (l5:l) – He makes us productive, apart from Him is only continual withering.

God challenges Moses (3:23-4:26) to start the last 40 years in God’s service.

  • Moses offers God’s First Challenge to Pharaoh (4:27-31; 5:1-23; 6:1). God’s plan is to deliver Israel On Eagles’ Wings (6:2-9; see 19:4)
  • Moses offers God’s Second Challenge to Pharaoh (6:10-30; 7:1-13)

God DEFEATS HIS ENEMIES (Exodus 7-11)

  • River of Blood (Exodus 7)
  • The Finger of God (Exodus 8)
  • Then the Gods Were Silent (Exodus 9-10)
  • An Ordinance Forever (Exodus 11)

God REDEEMS HIS PEOPLE (Exodus 12-14)

  • Jesus our Passover Lamb (I Cor. 5:7-8) “Night to be much Observed” (12:29-51; 13:1-2, 11-16)

THE PASSOVER (Exodus 12-19) (1)

Exodus 12 gives us the thrilling story of the Passover, the clearest Old Testament picture of our individual salvation through faith in the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this chapter is the basis for calling Christ the Lamb of God, Christ our Passover, and the many tender references to His crucifixion as the death of our own Passover Lamb. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us (I Corinthians 5:7).

As the Passover chapter is the heart of the book, so is the whole book a pattern of our salvation. The Passover is the prominent feature of Exodus. (Chapter 12) Perhaps the children of Israel did not know the significance of this feast the night before they left Egypt, but they believed God and obeyed.

God had sent ten plagues on Egypt in order to make Pharaoh willing to let His people go. Almost a year had passed and with each plague there was a hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. Finally God said that the first-born in all Egypt should die. It would have fallen on the Hebrews, too, had they not killed the paschal lamb and been protected by its blood of redemption (Exodus 12:12,13).

Every person should study the divine order of the Passover as it is given in Exodus 12.

  • Take a lamb (Hebrews 9:28; Isaiah 53:6; John 19:14; 1 Cor. 5:7.) It was not the spotlessness of the living lamb saved them (Hebrews 9:22; I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5). It was not Christ’s sinless life that saves us but His death on the cross.
  • Sprinkle the blood: It is not enough for the lamb to be slain. The blood was sufficient but not efficient unless applied. Every Israelite individually had to apply it to his own household. Notice over the doorway, not under. What have you done with the blood, the blood of our Passover Lamb who died on Calvary? (Exodus 12:22; John 1:12). The hyssop -a common weed but obtainable by everyone typical of faith. The blood on the lintel is that which saved. Not what they thought about it, but what they did with it counted. When I see the blood, I will pass over you (Exodus 12:13). Not blood in the basin but blood applied saves a soul. Not all the blood shed on Calvary’s cross-can save a soul from death unless it is applied, then-When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Not feelings-not personal worthiness, but one thing saved them-the blood (Hebrews 9:22).
  • Eat the lamb: After the blood was shed and sprinkled, then there was direction for nourishment, etc. So with us. Salvation first, then feeding, fellowship, worship, walk and service. Feeding did not save them, but blood first; then nourishment was possible (John 6:54-58). My flesh is meat indeed.
  • Remove the leaven: Search me . . . and see if there he any wicked way in me (Psalm 139:23,24). Leaven is always a type of sin. Leaven of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:6). Purge out therefore the old leaven (I Corinthians 5:7). Leaven of unrighteousness must be removed from our lives if we are to eat with God.
  • Bitter herbs Christ tasted the bitter cup for us and some bitterness, we, too, must suffer. No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous (Hebrews 12: 11). The lamb was to be feasted upon not raw, not unbaked, but a suffering lamb who passed through fire. Nothing was to be left -eaten in haste and nothing remaining. Not a bone broken. Christ’s body was broken but not His bones (Psalm 34:20; John 19:36).
  • Be ready to leave: They ate the food standing-not knowing whither they would go. All provision was made for the journey. What a contrast – peaceful feasting in the houses of Israel; screaming horrors at death in the homes of the Egyptians.

What was the message of the Passover? It is found in Exodus 12:7 & 13.

  • SPECIFIC: Only those who obeyed the Lord’s specific instructions would be spared.
  • SACRIFICIAL: Put the BLOOD of an innocent, spotless lamb that was poured out, caught in a bowl and applied.
  • SUBSTITUTIONARY: Paint it on the door posts as the reminder that a lamb was identifies with that family and it was slain. This was true of all the homes that wish to be spared the horrors of God’s wrath.
  • SUFFICIENT: All who hid behind the shadow of that bloody sacrifice were protected from God’s wrath. The bloody cross of Calvary casts a narrow shadow in today’s sinful world. All who step by faith into that place of refuge are eternally saved from God’s wrath upon sin. And, they can begin to enjoy His abundant life forever.
  • DOUBT: Way of Wilderness (13)
  • DELIVERANCE: Salvation of the Lord (14)

God PREPARES the WAY (Ex. 15 – 18)

  • Mighty god of Moses: Twofold Song (Rev. 15:1-4; Exod.15:1-21) The Christian life is not an easy road, but a hard and narrow one.
  • Marah: Wells of Bitterness (15:22-26) Only Jesus can make bitter days sweet through His Cross.
  • Mannah (16) Jesus Bread of Life (John 6:48-51) Manna is a type of Christ as well as a picture of our daily need of the Word! Note the elements of the Israelites gathering manna:
  • Personal effort – gather by work
  • Private obedience – not leave, won’t keep
  • Priority discipline – melts
  • Provision rest – not on the Sabbath; Three truths we can grow by:
  • God provides – perfect supply
  • God expects – must involve
  • God knows – can’t hide lack

Rephidim (17:1-7) Jesus Water of Life (John 4:13-14; I Cor. 10:4 who was smitten for us)

Amalek: (17:8-16) Amalekites (the grandson of Esau) are a picture of the flesh and is our mortal enemy. Only Christ gives us the victory Deuteronomy 25:17-18 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt,18 “how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. NKJV

Jethro: portrays the wisdom from above (spirit led shared ministry) that triumphs over earthly wisdom (weariness of self-empowered service for God). (18)

God reveals his way of sanctification. DIVINE MORALITY has JESUS as its PERFECT EXAMPLE (EXODUS 19-23) The WAY OUT… OF IGNORANCE INTO GOD’S LAW AND PROGRAM. God is SHOWing he is holy.

  • He gives a standard impossible to keep on our own. The Covenant at Sinai (Ex. 19:1-24:14)
  • God’s Ten Words (20:1-17) By Christ shortened to two commands, in Christ summed up in one word – LOVE.
  • A Mount that Might be Touched (Exodus 20:18-21; Heb. 12:18-22)
  • A Call to Worship (20:22-26)
  • A list of Individual Rights (21:1-32)
  • A list Rights of Property (21:33-36; 22:1-15);
  • A list Miscellaneous Laws (22:16-31; 23:1-19)
  • A Promised Place and Guide (23:20-33)

God reveals his way of worship. DIVINE WORSHIP has Jesus as its PERFECT FOCUS. (EXODUS 24-40) The WAY OUT…OF THE WORLD INTO GOD’S PRESENCE. God is SHOWing he IS knowable.

Of what possible importance could an old, dusty animal skin tent in the Old Testament be?

What does the worship of a Nomadic, wandering migration of people camping across the Sinai’s trackless desert have in this ultra modern 21st century life in which we live?
Can a tent constructed 35 dim centuries ago give any light to the dark, sin stained path we often must tread?
Join me as we look at the tent and its meaning and find strength in Christ for our lives today.

  • Old Testament Worship centered on the Tabernacle and then the Temple. Divinely designed liturgy was carried on for 1,500 nearly unbroken years in the way Moses was told by God to do it on Mt. Sinai.
  • The epicenter of that worship was the Holy Place. In the front half of it stood the Altar of Incense, Golden Lampstand and Table of Showbread. A curtain divided the room. This curtain was actually a finely woven rug 4 inches thick, 60 feet high and 40 feet wide. Massive and towering and declaring one clear message STAY OUT. No natural light ever penetrated its dark depths. Even the light of the ever-burning Lampstand never reached behind the veil.
  • In better times the Shekinah Glory of the Presence of God made the Holiest of Holies behind the veil brighter than noonday. In all of Israel’s history probably no more than 50 men had ever gone into the holy of Holies. David never went in, Daniel and Jeremiah never went in. Only the High Priest and then only once a year.
  • Inside that room was a box covered with gold, containing the stone tablets of the Law, a pot of manna and Aaron’s Rod that budded. Above that Ark of the Covenant stood two golden cherubim with wings shielding the mercy seat. Their faces gazing downward forever focusing upon the blood.
  • When that day came for the High Priest to pass behind that veil. He was wearing bells on the hem of his garment to let the other priests know he was still alive as he was inside; garbed carefully in the God directed robes and priestly garments. With trembling hands cradling a basin of blood, veiled by a cloud of smoking incense burning in a pot he carried – the High Priest would enter.
  • Sprinkling the blood on that mercy seat on behalf of all the people of God and hastening out. Why? The only purpose of the Veil was to keep people out of the Holy Presence of God. God was saying I AM HOLY. YOU ARE NOT. STAY OUT!
  • On the day Christ died can you imagine the scene those officiating priests must have beheld? They came in to trim the lamps, pour a handful of incense over the fire on the altar and change the bread on the Table. Then perhaps at that very moment Christ touched the Veil.
  • With an unearthly sound that massive curtain was violently torn from top to bottom. Aghast, as for the first time in nearly 1,500 years common people looked upon the ark and the mercy seat and God’s throne of grace and mercy. As God said ANYONE WHO WISHES MAY COME IN NOW. YOU ARE WELCOME ANYTIME. Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (KJV) Aren’t you glad we live on this side of Calvary?

# 189 Calvary covers it all!

  1. Mears, What the Bible is all about, p. 36-37.2. John Davis, Moses and the God’s of Egypt , p. 87

    3. Davis, p. 109.

    4. Davis, pp. 128-130.

    5. Mears, What the Bible is all about, p. 36-37.

    6. Davis, p. 109.

    7. Davis, pp. 128-130.

    8. Mears, What the Bible is all about, p. 36-37.

    9. A.M. Hodgkins, CHRIST IN ALL THE SCRIPTURES, p. 20-23.