Sanctified To God
Notes
Transcript
Reading:
19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
Introduction:
When we finished up chapter 12 the Israelites were leaving Egypt in the exact way God told them they would.
They were physically being kicked out by all the Egyptians.
They were finally free from being slaves.
They had to leave quickly.
With great plunder and possessions from the Egyptians.
Having great hope for the future.
Most importantly:
They saw the great power and authority of Yahweh.
He showed Himself to the whole world that He is the only God.
The world may create and craft their idols; but they are fake deities.
As they left God instructed Moses and Aaron to keep the Passover as a statute forever.
A day to commemorate and remember God brought them out from slavery and He became their God.
It was a day of freedom, and freedom is to be celebrated; which we as Americans can relate.
Freedom for us is much different than it was for those who fought the British to win it and we are still grateful for it.
With the freedom we have the duty to protect our freedom and to maintain it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower said:
“History does not long to entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower
We must be vigilant if we would like to keep our freedoms.
This is similar to the position where we find Israel in chapter 13.
This chapter and the following 2 are connected by the main focus: Freedom and they could be coupled together and called: The responsibility of freedom.
In chapter 13 Israel is given the responsibility to maintain their freedom by following the Lord.
Right away in verse 1-2 God states how He changed Israel’s position.
Because:
He sanctified them(1-2)
He sanctified them(1-2)
1 The Lord said to Moses,
2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”
Moses was given the update and expectation from God.
Moses had the duty to pass along the message; and as a leader to institute it!
The Lord demanded that all the firstborn were to be consecrated to Him.
That christian word (Consecration) is probably understood by most; but just in case it isn’t, let’s explain it a little bit.
Consecrate is defined as:
“To make or declare to be sacred, by certain ceremonies or rites; to appropriate to sacred uses; to set apart, dedicate, or devote, to the service and worship of God; as, to consecrate a church.” - Noah Webster 1828
The Hebrew in this passage is: To render holy by means of religious rites.
Think of what God is asking here:
Set aside by a religious rite every one of your firstborn children and your firstborn animals.
That means what exactly?
Let’s illustrate it like this:
Do you know what G.I. means?
Now it is an informal term that referred to a soldier in the United States armed forces, especially the Army.
It started out as the initials for Galvanized Iron around 1906-07, as it was stamped on military equipment.
The term began in World War 1 when U.S. Soldiers referred to the heavy German artillery shells as G.I. cans and a little later was interpreted as Government Issue.
Supposedly it was 1935 before it was used to refer to an enlisted man.
In 1942 Dave Bregar put in a comic strip as: “G.I. Joe”
The term Government Issue is fitting though.
You go and ask anyone who was in the military if they felt like an appreciated employee..
The term Government Issue makes the most sense.
I remember when I was trying to get into the Army and in the recruiting office the paperwork they handed you allowed you to “select your job destination” and I asked my father in law what the possibility of actually being stationed in Hawaii was.
He said: You’ll go wherever they tell you, it doesn’t matter what you put on that paper. What a party pooper, took the wind right out of my sails.
To be consecrated by God is to become His!
Every firstborn child is the Lords.
Every firstborn animal is His.
This means the term Lord isn’t just a word, it’s an reality, He is their Lord!
He has all power and authority over what is consecrated to Him.
This consecration echos into the New Testament.
Every one who comes to Him and receives the gift of salvation He offers is consecrated to Him as Lord of their lives.
As we are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
We are bought with a price, Jesus’ blood.
Through the Holy Spirit we are “set apart” to the Lord.
We are to submit to His authority and His will.
Ultimately that is what salvation is: giving up our will in exchange for His will!
This requires complete faith and trust in the Lord to obey.
Is the Lord worthy of your faith and trust?
A better question: who is more worthy?
Paul makes a statement about our position in 1 Corinthians 7:
22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.
The bondservant is one who volunteers to it willingly and to serve proudly under the authority of the master.
Transition:
The consecration of all Israel is to be set aside to the Lord away from everything else.
He calls them His own, which provides a reason to:
Celebrate the salvation (3-16)
Celebrate the salvation (3-16)
3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.
5 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.
6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.
The call is to remember the moment God freed them from slavery.
In their memory there were some key facts and details they didn’t need to forget.
They were the details that mattered.
Who brought them out!
How He brought them out:
With a mighty hand the text says.
Sometimes we can forget the details surrounding awesome moments in our life. We should write them down so we don’t forget.
How were they able to get out of slavery?
God embarrassed the idols of Egypt through the plagues.
With each plague He provided the option of grace to Pharaoh; but He chose selfishness instead.
The Egyptians pushed Israel out, physically and literally.
Who lead them in this great escape?
It was ultimately God; but God chose Moses to be the deliverer and Aaron to be his prophet.
To Pharaoh Moses was like a god and Aaron fulfilled his wishes.
If you recall the first interaction Moses had with Pharaoh and the signs he showed him to reveal how serious God was, reveals Moses’ authority over things that only a god could control.
The leprous hand was the key to this point.
Connection:
God asks us to remember our salvation as well.
We should be specific with the details as it keeps our hearts tender to what He saved us from and what it cost Him.
What we felt when we realized our sin before a perfect God
The moment we realized how much Jesus loved us, and that He gave His life to save ours.
When something is vague the impact of what actually took place is minimized.
Remembering things in detail keeps those moments vivid and real.
This was similar to the expectations for the Israelites.
They were about to take a journey through enemy territory and they would be walking by faith following God’s leading.
5 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.
Isreal needed that mental anchor to remind them of the God who brought them out and what He will do for them!
We need that anchor too, God saved you and gave it all for you.
Any moment when you think that your not needed or useful, go back to that anchor and remind yourself of the God you serve and why He gave all to free you!
Something that will help them remember was an annual celebration or festival for that moment.
6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.
The celebration would help remind them each year.
It would promote questions from younger generations about why their bread was flat and why all the leaven was removed from their homes.
Story time with Grandpa or Dad to hear the story about God’s mighty hand bringing them out from slavery and God adopting them as His.
How many times have we had the pleasure of asking our older family members about our family traditions?
What kind of stories do they tell about why they have it?
Does it bring more meaning to that moment you celebrate?
The Lord instructs them what exactly to explain when children ask:
8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.
10 You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
Did you notice that it was personal.
8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
Tell your children what God did for you!
It was a passing along of a persons testimony.
Something that couldn’t be refuted.
Think about the possibility: a little boy begins telling his friends what his grandpa told him about leaving Egypt.
All the water turned to blood and no one could drink it, and the friends said my dad told me there were hailstones that fell from the sky and killed anything outside…etc..
It was their personal experience that would be passed down to their children also passing along their faith in a God who is worthy of following.
There is no distinction between the Israelites and us for this duty as parents to follow this command.
We are to pass along our testimonies of things God has done in our lives and pass our faith to them.
Proverbs teaches this principal, along with many other parts of scripture.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
This passage is a challenge of wisdom for parents.
The rest of proverbs 22 provides us wisdom for navigating this world.
Each person should learn these things from their parents.
We are called in Matthew to make disciples and our first disciples should be our children.
They are our first ministry.
Israel was supposed to model this discipleship process and with it they were instructed to make this an annual celebration.
10 You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
Verses 11-13 re-iterate the point with a little more detail for what they are to do; then we hear verse 14-15
14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
God’s last point to Pharaoh was His power over life, the Israelites weren’t free from this plague and the opportunity to accept the Lords grace.
They were to obey the Lord and kill a sacrifice then show their faith by covering the doorposts and lintel with that blood.
Exodus 13:16 expresses the need to constantly be reminded of what God did for them for it to be seen by everyone.
16 It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
Transition:
The Lord created a great celebration for the Israelites, a celebration of their salvation from slavery in Egypt.
We are to celebrate our salvation every day and pass it along to everyone who God places before us.
You don’t have to be concerned about how to accomplish this calling.
Neither did the Israelites because:
He leads the way (17-22)
He leads the way (17-22)
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”
18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.
God knew the Israelites weren’t ready for any battles, they hadn’t gotten out of the mindset of being slaves.
This may be something that we can be a little calloused towards at times.
Israel was captive for 400 years.
I would believe that their upbringing as a slave wouldn’t lean their minds and attitudes towards fighting, they have only known slavery and slaves didn’t fight back.
Imagine how they would do in a battle against the Philistines.
We sometimes pass over how our upbringing can form who we are and how we react to things.
God protected this generation from the Philistines; but later on when slavery hasn’t been ingrained into their identity they fight them.
Even the smallest of things God cared about and shielded them from.
No different than what He does for us each and every day.
Most of which we never know; but we believe He does it!
Verse 19 provides us with an important detail regarding a promise that was made:
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.”
Joseph made the sons of Israel solemnly swear to have his final resting place in the promised land.
They upheld the promise.
Joseph reached the promised land, even after his death.
We are promised that no matter what we will reach the promised land, even after death just like Joseph.
As they journeyed they moved from one place to another; but the Lord didn’t leave them to navigate the desert alone.
He, Himself was personally leading them!
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
It would’ve been important for the Israelites to see the pillars.
It probably wouldn’t have been too difficult to get them to freak out in the desert and head back to Egypt.
With the Lord being present, they had “true North” to follow and trust in.
He is there, present and available for them to see and willingly follow.
You and I may not have the Lord present as a pillar of smoke and a pillar of fire; but we can recognize His presence in our lives, as He leads us.
Where is He leading you and do you trust His leading?
It isn’t always comfortable or convenient; but all we need to see for us to keep going as He leads.
Transition:
The Israelites were being lead by God Himself, and He was present in their midst at all times.
I don’t think they needed any kind of re-assurance that God cared for them and brought them to Himself.
Conclusion:
The Lord in Egypt claimed the Israelites as His Nation and by the institution of Passover and the Feast of unleavened bread claimed that they were sanctified to Him.
They were His children.
That same God reaches out to us, and sanctifies us to Himself through faith in Jesus.
We aren’t Jewish; but He adopted us anyway, because He loves us.
We are to celebrate each year and every day the grace we are given and the mercy we are shown.
The Israelites were to commemorate and celebrate at the same time each year their freedom God provided, praising Him and teaching the next generation.
Just as we are to celebrate our salvation and disciple others.
Thankfully our salvation is firm in Him as He leads the way for us.
We can be easily distracted, discouraged, or anxious not knowing what to do; but see how the Lord is leading, look for those pillars in the day or night.
If He can lead almost 2 million people through the desert He can lead you in the things your are dealing with in your life.
And be sensitive to the opportunities along the way to disciple people and give them your personal testimonies to pass on the grace you were given.
- Pray.
