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Chapter 38

 

ÒWho is the Lord

 

ÒAnd afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three daysÕ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.Ó Exodus 5:1-3

 

In chapter 3, when Moses asked the Lord to tell him who he is, the Lord Jesus gave his servant a short, but gracious and full answer, revealing himself as the God of life, grace, and redemption, the Covenant God of his covenant people. — ÒGod said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations (vv. 13-15). In verses 19 and 20 the Lord told Moses, — ÒAnd I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.Ó

 

            The fifth chapter opens with Moses and Aaron standing before Pharaoh. — ÒAnd afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.Ó

 

            The Egyptians were a pagan, idolatrous people, who worshipped over eighty gods. They had a god for everything. But he who is God alone was unknown to them. So when Moses stood before him as GodÕs ambassador, and said, ÒThus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness,Ó Pharaoh defiantly demanded, ÒWho is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?Ó And God gave that defiant little imp an answer that goes all the way through chapter 14.

 

            The Lord God was determined to harden PharaohÕs heart through a series of ten plagues (wonders) he would perform against him and all the land of Egypt, consummating in the complete overthrow of Pharaoh and his chariots with the armies of Egypt drowned in the Red Sea and his people singing his praise on the other side of the sea (Exodus 15).

 

Singular Message

 

The singular message and constant theme of Holy Scripture is that the Lord Jesus Christ is God our Savior, the God who delivers his people, who sets them free from bondage, who redeems them. He finds them lost and ruined, without strength and helpless, in bondage and thick darkness, dead in trespasses and in sins, and saves them by his omnipotent grace. And he does so in such a way that all men are made to see that he who is our God is God alone, and beside him there is no other.

 

            In Exodus 15:2-3 Moses sang, ÒThe LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my fatherÕs God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.Ó I want to tell you about his salvation, as it is set before us in his answer to PharaohÕs blasphemy. — ÒWho is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?Ó

 

PharaohÕs Problem

 

PharaohÕs problem was the problem of all men since the fall of our father Adam. — He thought he was god. That was the root of his blasphemy and unbelief. As stated above, the Egyptians worshipped over eighty gods. They looked upon lions, oxen, rams, wolves, dogs, cats, swans, vultures, falcons, hippopotami, crocodiles, cobras, dolphins, fish, trees, frogs, beetles, locusts, even flies and lice as divine things! Even men were worshipped as gods among the brilliant heathen. Among the men who were thought to be gods were their Pharaohs.

 

            The Pharaoh was always fabled to be the son of Amon-Ra, ruling as god upon the earth. He wore the falcon symbol of Horus (their solar god) on his head, with a snake rising from his forehead, as the symbol of wisdom and life, communicating magical powers to his crown. The Pharaoh was chief-priest of the Egyptians, prominently presiding over the festivals of their gods.

 

            We laugh at such absurdities as being so foolish that we can hardly imagine they are historic facts; but facts they are. The same absurdities are found among pagans in our day. India is overrun with rats and other filthy pests, constantly subjecting the whole land to horrible filth and disease, because they foolishly imagine the pests to be divine.

 

            Yet, the most foolish, most blasphemous form of pagan idolatry is practiced by almost all refined, well-educated Americans in 2007! Every Sunday, all over this country, men and women gather in churches and sit themselves up in the place of god, worshipping themselves and demanding that they be worshipped as God.

 

PharaohÕs Religion

 

Pharaoh is held before us throughout the Scriptures as a type of Satan and of antichrist, the man of sin. And the religion of man is the religion of Pharaoh. PharaohÕs religion is not dead. Turn to 2 Thessalonians, and you will see how God the Holy Spirit identifies it.

 

ÒNow we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at handÓ (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

 

While there are no visible signs or prophecies to be fulfilled before our LordÕs return, the Apostle does tell us that before ChristÕs second advent there will be a wholesale, universal apostasy and departure from the faith.

 

Paul is not talking here about liberals, open heretics, and vile ungodliness. He talks about those things in other places. Here he is talking about a departure of men and women from the faith, who claim to be in the faith, a subtle, deceiving, damning departure from the faith by professed believers throughout the world. Look at this third verse.

 

ÒLet no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perditionÓ (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

 

Here the Holy Spirit tells us that heresies must come. They had already begun in apostolic times; and they only get worse as time passes.

 

ÒFor there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among youÓ (1 Corinthians 11:19).

 

ÒNow the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truthÓ (1 Timothy 4:1-3).

 

ÒThis know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: (Denying the Gospel, which is the power of God) from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres (PharaohÕs Magicians) withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also wasÓ (2 Timothy 3:1-9).

 

ÒBeloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the worldÓ (1 John 4:1-3).

 

Next we are told that the man of sin, antichrist, will be revealed. — Forget about what you see coming out of Hollywood. This man of sin will not be revealed to the world. He is not some hideous looking, green-eyed monster, with horns, a red suit and a pitch-fork, with 666 stamped on his forehead. He is so smooth and slick that unless God himself enables you to recognize him, you cannot recognize him. However, he shall be revealed to GodÕs elect. Read on...

 

ÒWho opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is GodÓ (2 Thessalonians 2:4).

 

Here the Apostle identifies the antichrist, this man of sin. The antichrist is not one man. I have no problem at all in stating as our forefathers did, in great faithfulness, that the pope is antichrist and the church of Rome is antichrist. I do not mean that is the way it used to be. I mean that his unholiness, the pope, is antichrist. I mean that Roman Catholicism is antichrist. It cannot be stated too often, or too emphatically.

 

However, it is a serious mistake to limit antichrist to one man, or one religious sect, or even to a specified period of time. Antichrist was already at work in the Apostolic age. — John said many antichrists had gone out into the world. Paul had to contend with antichrists at Galatia, Colosse, Corinth, and Jerusalem. Abel contended with antichrist in his brother Cain. And Moses contended with antichrist in Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

 

Notice how Paul describes this thing called Òthe man of sin, the son of perdition.Ó He is one who...

á      Opposes God.

á      Exalts Himself above God.

á      Sits Himself up in the Temple of God and is worshipped as God, showing that He is God.

 

The religion of Pharaoh is the religion of antichrist. And antichrist is any system of religion, any man, any preacher, any church, any denomination that puts man in the place of power over God, any religion that makes salvation to be dependent upon or determined by the will, works, and worth of man rather than the will, works, and worth of Christ. It does not matter whether that system of religion is conservative or liberal, a mainline Protestant Church or a wild cult, Baptist or Methodists, Pentecostal or Presbyterian. Any church, doctrine, preacher, or religious system that makes man the center-piece is antichrist and the religion of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Let me be understood...

 

á      Those who teach that GodÕs will can be altered, hindered, or thwarted by manÕs will, are, according to Colossians 2, will worshippers, not God worshippers. They are antichrists. — Such people, like Pharaoh, place on their heads the crown of deity and make themselves gods, demanding that men worship them as God.

 

á      Those who teach that the merit and efficacy of ChristÕs atonement resides in manÕs will, manÕs decision, and manÕs faith are antichrists. — Such people, like Pharaoh, place on their heads the crown of deity and make themselves gods, demanding that men worship them as God.

 

á      Those who teach that the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit may be successfully resisted by man are antichrists. — Such people, like Pharaoh, place on their heads the crown of deity and make themselves gods, demanding that men worship them as God.

 

á      Those who teach that grace can be forfeited or taken away as the result of something a man does are antichrists. — Such people, like Pharaoh, place on their heads the crown of deity and make themselves gods, demanding that men worship them as God.

 

Now, look at 2 Thessalonians 5-7.

 

ÒRemember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.Ó

 

Paul told these saints at Thessalonica that the Holy Spirit now restrains, or withholds, the power and influence of antichrist. However, the time shall come, he wrote, when the Lord God will turn all hell loose to deceive the nations of the world again. At the end of the age, he said, Satan shall be loosed for a little season. I fear that we are living in that little season.

 

ÒAnd I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prisonÓ (Revelation 20:1-7).

 

ÒAnd then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be savedÓ (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10).

 

Read the ApostleÕs inspired words with care. Do not allow a single syllable to pass before your eyes without prayerful thought and consideration. Here are five things revealed in these three verses...

 

1.    Like Pharaoh, antichrist arises, is revealed, consumed, and destroyed exactly according to the purpose of God.

2.    As with Pharaoh, signs, wonders, and miracles are as certainly marks of antichrists in the last days as they were of Christ and his Apostles in the Apostolic era.

3.    The deception of antichrist, like the darkness of Egypt, is tremendous, so tremendous that were it possible the very elect of God would be deceived.

4.    Like the religion of Egypt, the idolatrous religion of antichrist, self-righteous, free-will, works religion, is Òunrighteousness!Ó

5.    The reason for the delusion of men is their own, willful rejection of truth. It is not that they do not receive the truth, theoretically, but that Òthey received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.Ó

 

It is not merely giving mental assent to truth that is evidence of saving faith. Saul of Tarsus had that. Judas had that. The demons who confessed Christ had that. Even Pharaoh gave assent to his sin and that which God revealed (Exodus 9:27; 10:16). — Saving faith not only embraces truth, it loves the truth. We love Christ, the embodiment of truth; and we love the truth of the gospel revealed in and by him. All believers do!

 

GodÕs Purpose

 

The Lord God tells us exactly what his purpose was in sending Israel down into Egypt, in raising up Pharaoh, in hardening PharaohÕs heart, and in bringing Israel out of Egypt.

 

á      1st, The Lord God sent Israel down into Egypt as his covenant people that he might bring them out with greater substance than they could otherwise have obtained. — So it is with us.

 

ÒAnd he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old ageÓ (Genesis 15:13-15).

 

á      2nd, The Lord God raised up Pharaoh to oppose his people, that he might show in that idolatrous tyrant his sovereign power and goodness, in the exercise of his saving mercy, and that his name might be declared in all the earth as God our Savior. — So it is today.

 

ÒFor he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardenethÓ (Romans 9:15-18).

 

The Psalms repeatedly emphasize the fact that Christ our God is God our Savior. — ÒSalvation belongeth unto the LORDÓ (Psalm 3:8). — ÒThe LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high towerÓ (Psalm 18:2) — He is Òthe God of my salvationÓ (Psalm 18:46). — ÒThe Lord is my light, and my salvationÓ (Psalm 27:1). — ÒFrom him cometh my salvationÓ (Psalm 62:1). — ÒGod is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earthÓ (Psalm 74:12). Christ our Savior is the theme of the Psalms, the theme of all the hymns in the inspired hymnbook of GodÕs Israel.

 

When we read the prophets, we find the same recurring theme. IÕm thinking particularly Isaiah 40, 45 and 53.

 

ÒComfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LordÕs hand double for all her sinsÓ (Isaiah 40:1-2).

 

ÒWhy sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faintÓ (Isaiah 40:27-31).

 

ÒI will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of IsraelÓ (Isaiah 45:2-3).

 

ÒI am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these thingsÓ (Isaiah 45:5-7).

 

ÒThus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the SaviourÓ (Isaiah 45:14-15).

 

ÒBut Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without endÓ (Isaiah 45:17).

 

ÒAssemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall gloryÓ (Isaiah 45:20-25).

 

ÒYet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquitiesÓ (Isaiah 53:10-11).

 

The universal message of the prophets is the testimony of Jonah. — ÒSalvation is of the Lord!Ó Pharaoh asked, ÒWho is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?Ó And the very first answer God gave to his sneering blasphemy, by the mouths of Moses, Aaron, and the elders of Israel, is the thing I am trying to convey to you.

 

ÒAnd they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three daysÕ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the swordÓ (Exodus 5:3).

 

The triune Jehovah, the only true and living God, is, always has been, and ever shall be Òthe God of the Hebrews,Ó Òour God,Ó the Savior of his people.

 

ÒO give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generationsÓ (Psalms 105:1-8).

 

ÒHe suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread. He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom. Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies. He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtly with his servants. He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen. They showed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word. He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish. Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings. He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts. He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts. He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number, and did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground. He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength. He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes. Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon themÓ (Psalms 105:14-38).

 

ÒFor he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness: And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people; that they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORDÓ (Psalms 105:42-45).

 

The Lord God sent Israel down to Egypt that he might bring them out a richer people than they could otherwise have been. He raised up Pharaoh and overthrew him as he did so that he might be known by Israel in all the world as Òthe God of the Hebrews,Ó our God and Savior.

 

ÒAnd I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the EgyptiansÓ (Exodus 6:7).

 

ÒAnd that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy sonÕs son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORDÓ (Exodus 10:2).

 

á      And, 3rd, he did all this to make Pharaoh and the Egyptians know that he is Òthe God of the Hebrews,Ó the Lord God our Savior. — So it is to this day.

 

ÒAnd the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among themÓ (Exodus 7:5).

 

ÒBut against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and IsraelÓ (Exodus 11:7).

 

ÒAnd I will harden PharaohÕs heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did soÓ (Exodus 14:4).

 

ÒAnd the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemenÓ (Exodus 14:18).

 

ÒAnd the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform itÓ (Isaiah 19:21).

 

ÒBut I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORDÓ (Ezekiel 30:25-26).

 

Throughout the Old Testament, the triune Jehovah is revealed as God our Savior, Òthe God of the Hebrews,Ó our Redeemer. And the picture constantly held before us in Old Testament Scripture of election, redemption, grace and salvation by Christ is the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of Egyptian slavery and darkness after the determined 400 years of captivity.

 

GodÕs Reminder

 

The Lord God gave Israel a constant reminder of his great deliverance, of his great redemption by requiring Israel to observe the day of atonement and the feast of the passover every year, as the day that marked the beginning of life for them as GodÕs ransomed people.

 

ÒThis month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to youÓ (Exodus 12:2).

 

ÒAnd the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for everÓ (Exodus 12:13-14).

 

ÒAnd it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORDÕS passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshippedÓ (Exodus 12:26-27).

 

So it is with us today. — ÒChrist our Passover is sacrificed for usÓ (1 Corinthians 5:7); and he has given us the bread and wine of the LordÕs Supper as the constant reminder of his wonders wrought for us in the earth.

 

ÒFor I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the LordÕs death till he comeÓ (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

 

Does anyone ask, ÒWho is the Lord?Ó Let him hear the answer that God himself gives.

á      He is Òthe God.Ó — Beside him there is none else!

á      He is Òthe God of the Hebrews.Ó — The God of that people he has chosen, distinguished, and made to be his people, his covenant people, for whom he does all things.

á      He is Òour God.Ó

 

Do any ask, ÒWhat is the God of the HebrewsÓ doing? — The Word of God answers with unmistakable clarity, ÒHe is bringing his people out of Egypt.Ó

 

 

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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