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Passover

Jerry Witham
Apr 30, 2008

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A few weeks ago at our men's retreat I was challenged by a message on Passover from our speaker Brad Cardwell. I wanted to share with you what I learned with some exhortation for us all. The main text this teaching comes from is Exodus 7-12. God hardens Pharaoh's heart so that He could multiply His signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. In fact, He is going to create tension to make Himself look big. He does this through 10 plagues:

Blood in the Nile River (the life of the river stopped)
Frogs
Gnats
Flies
Livestock of Egypt die (But the Lord will make a distinction. Ex. 9.4) - God chooses. He is a God of distinction to make Himself look big by saving some and destroying others.
Boils
Hail
Locusts
Darkness (even a darkness that may be felt Ex. 10.21)
Firstborn dies

The wrath of God fell upon the Egyptians due to the hard heart of Pharaoh, for he would not let the Israelites go. The Israelites were in bondage. They were being oppressed by Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The land of Egypt was a land of idolatry, filled with foreign gods. God wants to show Israel that He is their deliverer (Savior) by destroying Egypt. He definitely makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel (Exodus 11.7).

Midnight Deliverance. God gets the attention of the Israelites through these plagues. These men have seen the destruction. Then in Exodus 12 God tells Moses (lower case mediator) to go to the people and give instructions on what they are to do. The Israeli men must pay close attention and memorize what God says. He gives them very specific details in regard to taking a lamb to live with them for four days. Think about it. We would be preparing to get the lamb here in the next couple of days to come live with us. Can you imagine families getting to know the lamb kind of like a pet and then as God directed having to kill it? What kind of conversation would that be like with children? Here God is getting the attention of the men and the men are getting the attention of the family (wife and children) through the lamb, who will be slain for them so that they can be delivered from the last plague. This is a picture of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who will go to the cross as a perfect sacrifice, so that those who trust in Him would have their sin atoned for. Your family needs to know the lamb and what He did for them. You must clothe them with Jesus and share the gospel with them. We see here communication between the husband and wife and between the father and his children. This is the lower case mediator in action. His family is at stake. He will share with his family that a lamb has to die, but not just any lamb, the right lamb. The lamb's blood must be put on the doorpost so that when the Lord comes by at the strike of Midnight He does not slain the firstborn. Can you imagine the children saying, paint, daddy paint? They want their father to put the blood on the door post, so they are covered by the blood of the lamb. God also tells them if the size of the household is small, then share the lamb (Exodus 12.4). Remember the Christian faith is a corporate thing, not an individual thing. We are to share the story with others. We are to take care of others. The strike of midnight represents for us death or the return of Jesus. Will we be ready? Will our family be ready?

Ready. Set. Go! Then he (Pharaoh) called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said (Exodus 12.31). Another message of Passover is that we must have shallow roots (nothing should weigh us down or hold us back), so that when the Lord is ready to move us that we are ready to go. From the Old Testament to the New Testament we see that the life of faith is lived by going. Jesus says to the church, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28.19-20). The one thing I have personally learned is that if there is no go there will be no lo. That was the message to the Israelites and is the message for us today. Be a going people and let the Lord use you to spread His name to all people. What is that name? For the Israelites it is Deliverer. It is Savior. That is what it is for us too.

Celebrate. It is a night to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations (Exodus 12.42). All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this (Exodus 12.47). We are commanded to observe and celebrate Passover. You might be saying, No I am not, the Jews are. If you have been changed by grace through faith you are a true Jew. Romans 2.29 says, But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. If you fulfill the obedience of faith you are a true Jew. You are God's chosen people, for salvation belongs to the Jews (John 4.22) and all the promises of God are yours (Romans 11.17-18). So, the Passover story is our story. Jesus is our Messiah! He is our God and we are His people (Jeremiah 31.33). Lashanah haba-ah-bi-Yerushalayim (Next year in Jerusalem)!