TODAY’S READING: EXODUS 10-13
OVERVIEW:
The last three of the 10 plagues including the death of the firstborn; the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread instituted by God as a memorial feast.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
God’s desire in delivering His people up out of the bondage ofEgyptwas to totally separate us as a people unto Himself. In II Cor. 6:14-18, God lets us know that He wants us to make absolutely no compromises with the world and/or the devil. It is interesting to note the four compromises Pharaoh (a picture of Satan) offered to Moses and the people ofIsrael(the individual believer in Christ) in the midst of the 10 plagues. They are the same compromises Satan will be seeking to cause you and me to make as we continue our pilgrimage with Christ.
- Worship God, but stay inEgypt(Ex.8:25-27) – God demands complete separation from the world because friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4). Satan doesn’t mind if you are double-minded, but God most certainly does! (II Cor. 6:14-18; James 1:8; 4:8)
- Leave, but don’t go too far away (Ex.8:28) – Satan says, “Sure, do the ‘God thing,’ but you don’t have to be a fanatic. Give God a place in your heart, but don’t go overboard with it!” God says, “If I’m God, follow me alone. If anything else is god, then follow it. But don’t think that you can do both!” (I Kings18:21). The fact is you can’t be close to God and close to the world at the same time. Jesus said it is an impossibility (Matt.6:24)! He also said it makes Him sick (Rev. 3:5-16)!
- Leave, but allow your children to remain inEgypt. (Ex.10:7-11) Satan will let men think they’re doing well spiritually, if in so doing, he can take captive the next generation. Men have been called to lead their families to worship God and God alone (I Tim. 3:4-5; Titus 1:6). Our true spirituality will not be evaluated until we see the results of the generation that comes behind us!
- Leave, but keep your possessions inEgypt(Ex.10:24-26) Satan wants you to think that your relationship to God and your relationship to your money and possessions are two different things. They simply are not! Jesus said in the Book of Matthew, “You cannot serve God and mammon (money)”, (6:24) and “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (6:21). If you are thinking that you’re walking in the perfect will of God for your life, but your treasure is inEgypt(the world), you have been duped!
In order to avoid the death of the firstborn plague, the people ofIsraelhad to kill a spotless lamb and apply the blood to the doorposts of their house. When God saw the blood, He passed over that house and did not kill the firstborn. In the same way, God rejects our first birth and requires that we be “born again” (John 3:3) by the blood of the spotless Lamb of God (1 Peter1:18-19).
Note the progression concerning the lamb in Exodus 12:3-5. It is “A lamb,” then “the lamb,” then “your lamb.” The practical implications are powerful: in order for your sin to be removed, you need “A lamb” (Luke2:11). But, not just any lamb will do! It must be “THE Lamb” (John4:42). But in order for your sin to actually be taken away, “THE Lamb” must become “YOUR Lamb”! (John 20:28).
Part of the Passover feast is that the lamb was to be eaten. Too often we forget that we are supposed to feast on the Word of God (John 1:1, 14) and desire it more than our necessary food (Job23:12).
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
As the LIGHT TO HIS PEOPLE – Ex..10:22-23 (John8:12)
The sacrifice of an UNBLEMISHED LAMB with no BROKEN BONES – Ex. 12:5, 46 (I Pet. 1:19; Ps. 34:20; John 19:36)
As the PASSOVER LAMB – Ex.12:3-5 (I Cor. 5:7b; I Peter1:19, John1:29)