Moses 9 SAYING GOOD-BY TO EGYPT
Exodus 12:31-42; 13:17-22
D. Salvation from Egypt
4. The Coming Out
In one night the nation of Israel was born. In one night the church of the living God was formed. In Genesis we have individuals - Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - worshipping God. In Exodus 1-11 we have families in Egypt’s ghetto - Goshen, worhipping God. But in Exodus 12-13 we have God’s nation.
When Israel walked out of Egypt, in her divisions (12:41), with her leaders, with wealth to build their church, the Tabernacle, and with three religious festivals - Passover, Unleavened Bread and Dedication of the Firstborn (Ex. 11-13), for the first time on earth, we see God’s organized church. Stephen called it “The church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38, KJV).
I. THE PEOPLE
1. The Israelites
Two groups of people went out of Egypt, the Hebrews and some “other people” (12:38) called a ”mixed multitude” in the King James. Six hundred thousand Hebrew men walked out of Egypt that night, so with women and children, the total was about two million.
This was in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham over 500 years before. He told him his descendants would be like stars, too many to count (Gen. 15:5). They came into Egypt a seventy member family (Ex. 1:1 ff.) came out 430 years later a two million member nation.
This amazing growth was a miracle. This was the work of God. This was the fulfillment of prophecy. This was God keeping His word to one man. Egypt tried to stop this amazing growth. All her powers were hurled against God’s plan but to no avail. The Jews and Romans tried to destroy the First Century church, but learned, like Egypt, God is in charge. The church is an anvil that breaks all the world’s hammers.
2. The Mixed Multitude (12:38)
Some non-Hebrews went along. Whether they were disgruntled Egyptians, other slaves or foreigners, we do not know. What we do know is that they were trouble makers in God’s church. Numbers 11:4 calls them “rabble” (NIV, Amplified) as they were the first to despise God’s manna and long for Egypt and its stew pots.
Application: The church has always had its counterfeit members - the unsaved sitting on pews, singing in the choir and in places of leadership. Jesus had His Judas. The early church had Ananias and Sapphira who lied in church and dropped dead (Acts 5). The church in the First Century had preachers who preached a false gospel (Gal. 1:6-9). Jesus predicted the devil would sow look alike weeds (tares) among God’s wheat (Matt. 13).
Why? When people point out ungodly church members to me I ask them, “If you were the devil and wanted to hurt the church, where would you put your best servants; in the bars or in the pews and pulpits and classes and committees and business meetings of the church.
Mrs. O’Hare the world's most famous atheist tears pages out of the Bible and mocks Jesus, but I have more respect for her than a foul mouthed, dishonest, mean church member who keeps on praying in church and teaching his or her Sunday School class.
II. THE POSSESSIONS (12:32-38)
1. Their Personal Possessions (10:26; 12:32, 38)
They took the flocks and herds that were theirs. Why? Because this was another promise from God. When Pharaoh suggested earlier that they leave these behind, God led Moses to say, “. . .not a hoof is to be left behind” (10:26).
When you and I leave this old Egypt world at death or at the second coming (1 Th. 4), we will come back to the “new earth” (2 Pet. 3:13) and the promise of Jesus will come true, “. . .the meek. . .will inherit the earth” (Mt. 5:5). Not a hoof, not a grain of sand, not one cell in the body of those redeemed by the Lord will belong to the devil.
2. Egypt's Plentiful Possessions (Gen. 15:14; Ex. 3:21-22; 12:35-38; Ps. 105:37)
God promised Abraham the Hebrews would come out of Egypt “with great possessions” (Gen. 15:14). He told Moses they wouldn’t come out “empty handed” (Ex. 3:21). And they didn’t. The Bible says, “The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, so they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians” (Ex. 12:36).
This wasn’t robbery. It was wages for their slavery. God always settles His accounts. They used this wealth to build their multi-million dollar worship center - the Tabernacle.
Who owns gold and silver and cloth and hides and jewels? God does. The Bible says the cattle that cover our hillsides are His (Ps. 50:10). Too long has the church let the devil’s crowd control God’s resources.
When radios first came out Hitler gave them to his people by the tens of thousands so they could be brain washed by his evil voice. Television today feeds a steady stream of violence, pro-homosexual lifestyles and anti-Christian bias. The internet is used to promote pornography, seduce teenagers and sell guns and bombs for kids to kill their classmates with.
Illustration: Let us take this from the filthy hands of our “Egypt” world and use it, like Israel did, to build the kingdom of God. Years ago comedian Jerry Clower was speaking in a church. He noticed the television monitor was in black and white. He stopped his sermon and asked the pastor, “Does this program go out to the homes in black and white?” When the pastor said it did, Clower told him and the church they should be ashamed of themselves.
“The devil,” he said, “presents his lies in color and God’s people ought to do things better than the devil.” When he told this story at the Southern Baptist Convention, he asked preachers, “You boys who televise - how many of your services begin with coughing?” “Do it right!” he thundered. Television, radio, satellites, the internet all come from God - let’s use them for him.
III. THE PATRIARCH - JOSEPH (13:19)
When Joseph died in Egypt, he knew, from God’s promise to Abraham that his family would stay in Egypt 400 years, suffer a great deal, become a huge nation and come out and go back to Canaan, the land God gave Abraham. As Joseph was dying,
“He said to his brothers: ‘I am about to die. But God will surely come to you and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. . . God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.’ So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt” (Gen. 50:24-26).
The Bible says, “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. . .” (13:19). Later Joshua buried it at Shechem (Josh. 24:32). For the 400 years in Egypt, on the forty years in the wilderness and buried in Canaan’s land that coffin was a reminder of death and a herald of hope.
1. A Reminder of Death
Abraham was God’s friend, but he died. Joseph was like Jesus, but he died! Moses was God’s champion, but that coffin said to him - you, too, will die.
We need to be reminded of our mortality. We need to know God loves us, and will use us, but He who got along quite well before we came along will get along quite well after we are gone.
We need to know we don’t have forever to love and serve God in the earth, to be good husbands and fathers, to be good sons and daughters. That coffin to do what we need to do today because we are not promised tomorrow. Don’t be like this man:
“All he had left when his living was through
Was a mountain of things he intended to do - TOMORROW.”
2. A Herald of Hope
Joseph didn’t say “IF” God comes to you and, He said “God will surely come to you and. . .” (Ex. 13:19). I like that! Not IF, but WHEN!
I can see many a Hebrew, during those dark slavery years, beaten down and bereaved by Egypt’s cruelty, going to that coffin to pray, “Oh, God, keep your word!”
Our hope too, is in a coffin. But our coffin gives hope because of the bones it does not contain. Our hope is in the empty tomb of Jesus. Because it is empty we know Jesus is God. We know there is life beyond death. We know His sacrifice has been accepted and we are saved. We know we are traveling - like the Hebrew, pilgrims in the desert to the Promised Land.
We can sing, “Because He lives I can face tomorrow / Because He lives, all fear is gone.” Say good-bye to Egypt in this life and live for God, so when we die we can say “Hello” to Jesus and His people heaven.
IV. THE PRESENCE (12:17-18; 20-22)
1. The Difficult Pathway (12:17-18)
Going from Egypt to Canaan on foot, on the well traveled road by the sea, took about two weeks. It was a breeze. It was “I-85.” But God led His people home, the hard way, through the desert.
They headed Southeast to Succoth (12:37) and then to Etham which was “on the edge of the desert” (13:20). We read in 12:17-18,
“God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle”
God knew His people were not strong enough to take Canaan so He trained them in the desert. God, my friends, has given us the hard way home.
Temptations to draw us from the ways of God and troubles to drive us from the way of God make up the wilderness journey of life. When we are saved, our fiercest temptations and troubles are about to begin. Someone asked a new Christian if he found peace when he was converted, he said, “Yes, but I also found war”. The old gospel song says: “Tempted and tried, we’re oft made to wonder / Why it should be thus all the day long”.
The answer is - to make us strong. God wants to populate heaven with soldiers.
2. The Divine Presence (13:20-22)
Thank God we also have God going with us. We read, “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so they could travel by day or night” (13:20, 21).
God does not send us anywhere He is not willing to go Himself. The column of smoke and fire was a guard and a guide, but it was untouched by troubles or temptations. God lived above all this heartache and pain and temptation, like the Greek and Roman gods on Mt. Olympus.
But one day God came into this wilderness. He is our passover door (Jn. 10:7) to salvation and the pathway (Jn. 14:6) in the desert. His name was Jesus, “God with us”. He is the light of our world.
When we are tempted and want to throw in the towel when it comes to Christian living, we can go to Jesus and talk with the God of the universe named Jesus who was tempted to throw in the towel but didn’t.
When we are hurting, we can go to the God of the universe named Jesus, who hurt. When we are dying, we can go to the God of the universe who “tasted death for every man” (). He is is the pillar of fire that guides and guards and girds us for the battles of life. We can sing:
Jesus, I my cross have taken. . .
Others may trouble and distress me
But they will drive me to thy breast
Life with trials hard may press me
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Soon shall I close thy earthly mission
Swift shall I pass thy pilgrim days
Hope shall change to glad fruition
Faith turned to sight and prayer to praise.
- Henry F. Lyle
