Exodus: Redemption Required

I Am Redeemed, Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs-RqyJEv6U

Psalm 111 NIV

1 Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. 2 Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. 3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. 5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. 6 He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. 7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. 8 They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. 9 He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

Pray

Isaiah 44:6–8 NIV

6 “This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. 7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let them foretell what will come. 8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Isaiah 44:21–22 NIV

21 “Remember these things, Jacob, for you, Israel, are my servant. I have made you, you are my servant; Israel, I will not forget you. 22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

Worship Set

Ephesians 1:3–10 NIV

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Prayer Chorus

Prayer

Worship Through the Word:

Redemption Required! Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Winston Churchill

A wealthy English family once invited friends to spend some time at their beautiful estate. The happy gathering was almost plunged into a terrible tragedy on the first day. When the children went swimming, one of them got into deep water and was drowning. Fortunately, the gardener heard the others screaming and plunged into the pool to rescue the helpless victim. That youngster was Winston Churchill. His parents, deeply grateful to the gardener, asked what they could do to reward him. He hesitated, then said, “I wish my son could go to college someday and become a doctor.” “We’ll pay his way,” replied Churchill’s parents.

Years later when Sir Winston was prime minister of England, he was stricken with pneumonia. Greatly concerned, the king summoned the best physician who could be found to the bedside of the ailing leader. That doctor was Sir Alexander Fleming, the developer of penicillin. He was also the son of that gardener who had saved Winston from drowning as a boy! Later Churchill said, “Rarely has one man owed his life twice to the same person.

The Children of Israel could relate to Winston Churchill’s account. God had redeemed them twice in one night. They were redeemed from the hands of Pharaoh through the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt. They were also redeemed from the touch of death that night due to the blood of lambs sacrificed on their behalf.

But God wasn’t done redeeming Israel. They needed a final redemptive action that would save them from the final death. However, Israel had to understand her need to receive this final act of redemption, so God gave them a law to be followed to help reveal to them and to us, our need for this final redemption. It is found in Exodus 13.

Exodus 13:1–2, 11-16 NIV

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”…11 “After the Lordbrings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons. 14“In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lordbrought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lordkilled the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

Pray

Redemption Required!

Someday, I would like to preach these chapters again but in a different way. Instead of following the historical account, I would follow the theology of salvation which it demonstrates so well for us.

Allow me to do a quick recap of exactly what that looks like. These would be my sermon titles and subjects.

• Sin & judgement, Exodus 7-11 = The plagues were God’s judgement against Egypt for her sins.

• God’s election, Exodus 8:22-11:7 = God makes a distinction between His people and the other peoples of the world. (Not that God’s people are perfect, but God recognizes our desire to change and He has mercy on us).

• Substitutionary atonement, Exodus 12 = God’s people are saved through the blood of a lamb offered in their place.

• Communion of God’s people, Exodus 12 = Passover/Communion are received corporately to remember God and God’s sacrifices that we may be saved.

• Repentance/Sanctification, Exodus 12-13 = The leavened swept away was a demonstration of sanctification. It is cleaning out the old way of life that we may live a new holy life out of love and respect for God. (Twofold action: Begins with our desire and happens through God’s Spirit working in us)

That would bring us to where we are today:

I. The Doctrine ofRedemption, Exodus 13:1-16

We have an entire world that are under the delusion that we are free unto ourselves. In other words, we have full autonomy of ourselves. We serve only our own will and desires. We can do whatever we want, whenever we want, and no one can tell us otherwise. Isn’t that the battle we find our nation in? Politicians who deem themselves so important that they can impose rules and laws they do not have to obey (COVID masks). People destroying property because they do not feel it portrays what they want to portray, even if their portrayal is a falsehood. Drugs being legalized even though it leads to more crime. After all, they have the right to take drugs if they so desire, no matter who else it is hurting, or so they would tell us. Sexual crimes against children being minimized rather than to declare any behavior wicked or perverted. The list could carry on, but I will stop there.

Such complete freedom only creates victims of them and us. However, such behavior does not mean we are free. You see, we only recognize the slavery we can see. There is a much deeper slavery we are in bondage to that is unseen, though its symptoms of seen. It is the bondage of sin. If sin were allowed to continue unabated, humankind would eventually be completely wiped out. Anyone watching what all is happening in our world today, should be able to see the truth of this. They tell us we are at risk for nuclear war. Such warfare will eventually destroy everything, yet they continue blinded by their desire for wealth and power.

There is another reason we are not completely free. We are created beings. We are not gods. We belong to the one who created us and to separate ourselves from Him will eventually lead to death.

Satan is also a created being. He has separated himself from his creator and he is on a destruction course. He cannot win, but he is blinded by his sin, and he is determined to destroy as much of God’s creation as he can, including people. But how can imperfect, created beings, save themselves? We cannot! Our allegiance was cast when we first chose to act on our own desire instead of listening to the conscience God placed within us.

Israel knew they needed saved from Egypt, but they could not free themselves. They knew they needed protected from the angel of death, as they had no means of saving themselves from his deathly touch. However, they did not yet understand that they were enslaved to a silent killer, that being sin. Have you ever tried to help someone that refused to acknowledge they had a problem? You cannot help them until they see and acknowledge the problem. Once they do, they are open to suggestions of how to be helped. So, God established visual aids to help them (and us) to see and understand our problem, so he could provide the answer to solve it.

Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, and now the action of redeeming their first-born sons can all seem confusing to us, but I hope to unravel the mystery around these traditions established by God.

First, let us look at...

A. What is the Purpose of Redemption?

To redeem something is to buy something back. If something originally belonged to you and was lost or stolen, you may need to buy it back in some way. To redeem is also to purchase the freedom of someone.

Egypt had inappropriately taken possession of the Hebrews. The Egyptians pressed them into slavery and stole them from God. They were God’s people. God is the one who acted to bring them to Egypt and because God did, Egypt was saved. If it had not been for Joseph’s allegiance to God, Egypt would have been lost during those years of famine. Instead, they were exalted and saved many peoples even beyond their own borders due to Joseph’s listening to and obeying God’s directions.

Now, I previously said I did not believe Pharaoh was really afraid of Israel. I figured he just saw an easily acquired workforce, or he could have asked them to leave. I have changed my mind on that. I realized that the scriptures say he was afraid they would unite with enemies to overpower Egypt. As I have pondered these events, I realized two truths that speak to Pharaoh’s fear.

1. Without God, fear is a constant companion.

We have no true power to control our circumstances. If we do not believe and trust that God is in control, we always fear our circumstances will move beyond our control and we will suffer at the hands of another.

2. We often project on others what we would do.

Pharaoh probably feared the Hebrews would try to overthrow him and take power, because he was power hungry himself. He assumed all felt the same way.

So, Pharaoh fought to maintain his control and power. He was unwilling to relent, even to God. So, God took back what was His (i.e. the Hebrews). He redeemed them through the price of Pharaoh’s own son as well as the firstborn sons of all Egypt (humans and animals).

When the angel of death came to Egypt, God redeemed the firstborn sons of Israel through the blood of sacrificial lambs. When death saw the blood covering the sins of the Hebrews/Israelites, he passed over them. God was providing their redemption from this premature death through the blood of those lambs. However, the blood of lambs was temporary. It only provided a short-term remedy. Besides, there was a greater threat to Israel than Pharaoh. His name is Satan, and he still had a hold on Israel, and he has a hold on every person born on earth.

So, now that we have a basic understanding of what it means to be redeemed, we need to look further at...

B. Why Did Israel Still Need to be Redeemed?

It was obvious that Israel needed redeemed from Egypt and from the angel of death. Those were obvious threats. But there was a greater threat that they were yet unaware of, that would require an act of redemption. I have already touched on this some, but to understand this threat further, we need to look back at the book of Genesis.

God created all things, even humankind. Therefore, we (as well as all creation) belong to Him. But God is holy and cannot tolerate sin. We know that we are a sinful race. We were not created that way, but when Adam and Even disobeyed God they sinned. That sin poisoned their lives, and it infected the very nature of all humankind thereafter. Now we are each born with a sin nature. In other words, we each have a nature that wants our own way. We may try to mask that part of our nature, or we may try to push it down and keep it hidden, but no matter how hard we try, we cannot fully control it. It is part of us. There is nothing we can do to wash it away. It is a blot or stain upon each of us. I gave extreme examples earlier as we look around what is happening in our world today. This sin nature is growing. Essentially, little sins continue to grow into ever bigger sins unless God is given control. There is a battle going on in our world to justify sin instead of eradicating it. We may like to point to those who are extreme and say we are not like that, but if we are each honest with ourselves, it is still there. Sometimes we can hide it and sometimes we cannot.

Here is a good example to demonstrate how we know this to be true. If I told you I could bring someone in here who could read your every thought and who could see every moment of your life, you would be unwilling to allow them to come. Why? Because every one of us have things in our life that we are ashamed of. Thoughts that we have had, or things we have said or done. We do not want anyone to know about those moments. Why? Because they were sin, and we know it. Yet, no matter how much we try to be perfect, we just are unable to do so. For this reason, we cannot save ourselves from sin. Sin will always win out over our attempts to be prefect. We are slaves to sin and this nature of sin.

However, all is not lost. God also wants us to win over sin. We were His and His desire for us is to live life to the full! He wants to save us from the destruction of Satan and from the guilt and chains of sin. Since we are unable to free ourselves, it is through an act of redemption that we are freed from sin and brought back into the family we were meant to be in, that being God’s family.

This redemption requires two actions. One is the action of God to provide a sacrifice for the redemption price. The other action required is our choice to claim that redemption. This means, we need to acknowledge our need and want to be freed.

Did you know that in Bible days, sometimes slaves felt so happy in the family they served that they desired to stay slaves for their entire life. When this decision was made, the owner would hold a slaves ear up to the door frame and would pierce the ear as evidence that they would remain a slave to that owner for life.

As created physical beings, we are slaves to whomever we choose. We may choose God, or we may choose Satan. However, there is no other choice. No choice is an automatic choice for Satan. It really is a choice between good and evil. When we say no to God, we are choosing to follow our sin nature which enslaves us to Satan.

God does not force us to choose Him, but without choosing Him we default to the throne of Satan. What God desires are people who choose him not because they must, but because they want to, just like those slaves who had their ears pierced by their masters.

Psalm 40 talks about this.

Psalm 40:4–8NIV

4 Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. 5 Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. 6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened [this literally means pierced]— burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. 7Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll. 8I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”

However, we need to understand our need and to understand that we have a choice to make. Once we understand our bondage to sin and our need for redemption, we can recognize the redeeming act paid on our behalf.

Now all this doesn’t come naturally. We are blind to our sin and how it enslaves us unless someone or some circumstance opens our eyes to it. Scripture equates this to living in darkness, but through redemption we become children of light.

Ephesians 2:1–3NIV

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV

4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Ephesians 5:8–10 NIV

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord.

It has always been God’s design that we would know and understand truth, even though Satan works to deceive us. So, God used history to reveal the truth. He provided traditions for the Children of Israel to continue through the generations, so they would learn and be reminded of these truths and so when the final redemption act took place, they would see it and recognize it and preach it to the world.

That brings us to Exodus 13 and the command to redeem the first-born sons (which is still practiced today among the Jews). This was to be a reminder of what God had done to redeem them (i.e. the death of the first born of Egypt). However, God is also setting up a means to help them eventually understand what He will do by offering up His firstborn Son (His only Son) for their eternal redemption.

Now let us look a little deeper into...

C. Why the Firstborn Sons?

Once again, we find that God is so complete in everything He does. There is never a simple answer because God is thorough and always accomplishes many things in any one action. As I studied this passage and thought about it, I was able to tie the significance of the first-born son to four things.

First, we need to look at the...

1. Culture

Males were deemed more important in their culture and the first-born son most of all because he represented the entire family.

The Bible is often given a bad rap for this, and it is misunderstood. Men may have been respected more among that culture, but that does not mean that God thought more of men than women. In fact, the Bible was anti-cultural in its preference for women.

• Women’s stories were told; Hagar, Esther, Ruth & Naomi, etc…).

• Women were chosen as judges of Israel: Deborah

• Women were listed in genealogies

• Women had prominent roles: Deborah, Mary, Elizabeth, Mary & Martha, Mary Magdalene

In this case, the redemption of the firstborn males was a way to keep this tradition of learning in the families throughout the generations. The firstborn son became the lead of the family. It was his responsibility to make sure these traditions were being observed.

Exodus 13:14–15NIV

14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lordbrought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lordkilled the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’

They taught the sons, and the sons taught the family.

The second reason draws us back to the night of...

2. Passover

The first born of Egypt were sacrificed while the firstborn of Israel were redeemed by God. They now belong to God. Now, this was symbolic because the truth was, every man, woman, child and the flocks thereof were all redeemed by God and belonged to God. However, the firstborn sons were specifically chosen to serve God.

The firstborn lambs, goats, etc… were sacrificed as an offering to God. The donkeys were considered unclean and therefore were not eligible for sacrifice. This left them under a penalty of death, yet they were essential work animals, so they could be redeemed with the sacrifice of another clean animal. Once again demonstrating God’s care for His people.

3. Consecration for Priesthood

The firstborn sons became servants of God. They literally served as priests for their families until the establishment of the Levites as the priests later.

Therefore, we find this redemption of the firstborn sons connected with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. If you are reading Exodus along with me as we work our way through it, you may have been confused by the references to the Feast of Unleavened Bread in chapter 13 since they had already been shared in chapter 12. It feels like a disruption to the flow.

You have Exodus 13:1-2

Exodus 13:1–2NIV

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”

Then in Exodus 13:3-10 it gives instructions once again for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Exodus 13:3–5NIV

3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. 4 Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving. 5When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month:

It ends this directive for the Feast by continuing with the details of the redemption of firstborns.

Exodus 13:10–13NIV

10 You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year. 11 “After the Lordbrings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.

Remember that the act of ridding the yeast from among them was symbolic of purging sin from among them. They were to purge sin and then the redemption of firstborn sons was an act of consecrating them to God’s service. Consecrating was an act of setting something a part for the service of God. Notice the progression. They are first cleansed, then set apart to serve God.

So, the firstborn sons, as head of the family were consecrated and set apart to serve as God’s priest for their families.

But there was one deeper meaning in all of this. It all pointed to a...

4. Future Redeeming Action

The redemption by the blood of lambs was imperfect and temporary. There was only one person that qualified for the task. The perfect lamb of God was God’s Firstborn and Only Son, Jesus. Jesus offered Himself as our substitutionary atonement. He paid the price for our sin redeeming us from sin and death.

When we recognize our need. When we understand that we cannot fix ourselves and can only be saved through the sacrifice of another, and we truly desire that salvation, His sacrifice covers are sin. His Spirit becomes part of us, and His Spirit works to help us overcome our sin nature. And when He comes to bring us home with Him, all this will be completely perfected within us! Sin will never harm us again after that.

Conclusion:

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Marred Hands Settled the Issue

The price Jesus paid for our redemption was terrible indeed. When we think of the extreme suffering He endured to purchase our freedom from sin’s penalty, our hearts should overflow with love for Him. Leslie B. Flynn told a story that illustrates this truth. An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy’s cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drainpipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck. Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue. Many voices are calling for our attention. Among them is the One whose nail-pierced hands remind us that He has rescued us from sin and its deadly consequences. To Him belongs our love and devotion. –(D.C.E. Our Daily Bread, December 26).

Maybe you never understood this until today. Maybe as you listened to this message, light began to creep into your darkened world and you realized your need for a redeemer, someone to pay that redemptive price for you. Well, someone already has. His name is Jesus. Now that you know the truth, you need to make a choice. You can ask His forgiveness for your sins and accept His gift of redemption, or you can continue to follow the path of darkness.

If you accept His offering, you are making the choice to become His servant. However, let me tell you that being a slave to sin is different to being a slave of God. True freedom comes by serving God. You will be like the servant who gladly offers his ear to his master to be pierced and you will discover that God’s ultimate prize is adoption into His family. He desires you as His son or daughter with all the benefits thereof. Satan can only offer death, but Jesus offers life.

John 10:10NIV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

If you wish to become one of God’s redeemed, I want to give you a chance to do so this morning. As we sing, feel free to come forward to pray at the altar or if you are unable to kneel you can sit on a front pew. If you would like someone to come pray with you, please raise your hand and someone will join you. Otherwise, we will allow you to have privacy as you pray.

Come forward as the music plays.

Just As I Am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0XjqRZ9W_8

Benediction