The Midnight Death
(Exodus 12:29-50)
1. A lot of people think they are self-acclaimed experts. Take this health food advice:
Q: I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it... don’t waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.
Q: Aren’t fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU’RE NOT LISTENING!!!... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they’re permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?
Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO . Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It’s the best feel-good food around!
Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.
2. The only problem with this advice is clear: it’s not how reality works.
3. A lot of us feel we are experts in running other peoples affairs….
• many foreigners think that they can run America better than we can
• many people think they can run God’s universe and His Kingdom better than God can…
Main Idea: God’s method for developing His Kingdom often runs contrary to society’s views; He loves to exalt the humble and humble the proud, as in the case of Israel’s formation.
I. Pharaoh Could Not Get Rid of the Hebrews FAST Enough (29-36)
A. The Land Experience UNPRECEDENTED Grief (29-30)
“ Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.” (12:30)
Was Pharaoh’s son King Tut of the famous tomb? No, too late.
If this Pharaoh was Amenhotep III, then he was succeeded by "Amenhotep IV-better known as Akhenaten, the new name he took early on in his reign-ushered in a revolutionary period in Egyptian history. The Amarna Interlude, as it is often called, saw … the elevation of the cult of the sun disc, the Aten, to pre-eminent status in Egyptian religion. This last heresy in particular was to bring down on Akhenaten and his immediate successors …
"The young prince was at least the second son of Amenhotep III by his chief wife, Tiy: an elder brother, prince Tuthmosis, had died prematurely (strangely, a whip bearing his name was found in Tutankhamun’s tomb)." (source: http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn10.htm bold lettering mine)
B. Pharaoh CONTACTS Moses & Aaron (31-33)
1. through subordinates
2. go—leave my people
3. “bless me” – the ultimate surrender
4. rest of the people fear for their lives
5. This fulfilled the PROPHECY [Exodus 11:1b]
Exodus 11:1b, "After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely."
C. The people leave with two TYPES of possessions (34-36)
1. Matzoh dough (representative of their spiritual calling)
2. the wealth of their Egyptian neighbors (physical blessings)
God’s method for developing His Kingdom often runs contrary to society’s views; He loves to exalt the humble and humble the proud, as in the case of Israel’s formation.
II. Israel, the PREFAB Nation is Launched (37-50)
A. Abraham’s seed blesses MANY nations (37-38)
1. About 2 million people
Genesis 22:18, “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
2. Many foreign people went with them (38)
• This is the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham: Genesis 22:18, “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
3. So the nation of Israel becomes a mixture of mainly Hebrew people plus groups of other people…
4. They took their livestock, for God did not destroy the Hebrews livestock
B. This nation was to be CONDITIONALLY inclusive (48-49)
"An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it. The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you."
C. God formulated this nation on SCHEDULE (40-41)
Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions left Egypt.
God’s method for developing His Kingdom often runs contrary to society’s views; He loves to exalt the humble and humble the proud, as in the case of Israel’s formation.
III. How God Still Holds to the Same PATTERN
A. God blesses the nations through Abraham’s SEED
Galatians 3:16, "The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ."
B. Many of God’s Dealings Are CONDITIONAL
C. God operates with a strict TIMETABLE
Romans 5:6, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."
God’s method for developing His Kingdom often runs contrary to society’s views; He loves to exalt the humble and humble the proud, as in the case of Israel’s formation.
CONCLUSION
God takes underdogs and misfits and showcases them by transforming them…
--Gideon’s 300 men
--Israel, least of the nations
--The church: I Cor. 1:26-27
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
