Remember God’s Sovereignty and Righteousness

MPT: The author of Exodus wanted Israel to respect, rely on, and respond to God’s sovereignty and righteousness.

MPS: You should respect, rely on, and respond to God’s sovereignty and righteousness.

THREE WAYS TO REMEMBER GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

RESPECT GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

(1-10): We see the introduction of the final plague. Verses 2 & 3 are calling back Exodus 3:19-22 Now we see Moses relaying this message to Pharaoh, and Moses is clear that God will determine who is Egyptian and who is and Israelite. Plundering is war language. What we are seeing is God vs. Pharaoh. In this last plague, the Lord was therefore going to strike at the heart of Pharaoh and Egypt’s existence. God the Creator intended Israel for life, fertility, abundance and fruitfulness (Exodus 1) but Pharaoh had chosen to threaten these things and God’s purposes through Israel. So now God would strike Pharaoh in the same place: the firstborn of Egypt would die. God once again is showing Pharaoh who is in control. God can come down and execute a mass judgement like this one, and in the chaos of killing the first born of every home, God will not be sloppy. God will prove His precise and perfect sovereignty over this situation. Moses gets angry and leaves. This is interesting because throughout the other plagues, we don’t have a report of Moses’ emotions, but we do here. I think of this in a couple of ways. One, this could be Moses demonstrating God’s anger to Pharaoh. Moses is delivering God’s message, so it could be that Moses is feeling God’s anger through this message. Or, it could be Moses realized the severity of this last plague, and is angry that Pharaoh would allow this to happen. Either way, Moses tells Pharaoh to beware that this last plague is coming and it’a doozie, and not only that, but Pharaoh will finally understand who the God of Israel is.

What we know about Pharaoh, is that he believes that he is a god, and believes he can rule without the need for the God of Israel. And through the plagues, we get a glimpse of what a created world would look like without Yahweh. In the creation narrative, God gave dominion over the earth and the animals to man. But the plagues are showing the earth and animals having dominion over man. No one could do anything to control the plagues except Yahweh. He is the one who ultimately stops the plagues, not Pharaoh. Pharaoh obviously has no respect for the God of Israel, and so God shows Pharaoh what it truly looks like if he were to be in charge. It would be chaos, the created order would be all out of whack. It is only because God’s sovereignty that we have order in our world.

Now we move on from Pharaoh’s utter disrespect of Yahweh, to Moses’ reverent respect of Him.

(1-2): God established a new calendar with the passover. This is a pivotal moment for Israel. God has given them the date they are going to be freed.

(3-10): God gave specific instructions on the what the Israelites need to do to protect themselves. They are instructed to make a sacrifice, put blood on the door posts, and then cook and eat the meat.

(11-13): God wants the Israelites to be ready to go. Eat in a hurry and dressed to travel. God then says He will spare every house with the sacrificial blood on the door posts. God has started his warning of judgment, so show Him respect by obeying this instruction is vital. God means business and if the Israelites don’t comply, then that is on them. God shows His judgement toward Egypt, and His mercy toward Israel.

(14-20): We see God keeps giving instructions on what the Israelites are to do to remember the Passover. The refrain from using unleavened bread is mentioned frequently. Remember back in 1 Corinthians 5, Pastor Buck mentioned the idea of not bringing leavened bread was more that just out of haste, that plays a part yes, but there is significance is the idea that this moment is cataclysmic for the Israelites, and their lives are going to be forever changed, it won’t be the same, so the bigger picture of not bringing leavened bread was because the process of making bread rise was to when it comes to baking bread, it is essentially, a piece of dough from a previous batch of bread  that was dipped in water and allowed to sit and ferment, to allow for the development of certain bacteria that would cause the dough to rise. So you bring in a little bit of the old, into the new and as you knead the dough, this little bit of leaven would permeate the entire mixture And in the past I have heard that the idea of fleeing Egypt with unleavened bread, and celebrating the passover with unleavened bread all had to do with, the hastiness of their leaving or to make the bread last longer But I think this picture shows us it is bigger than that. It’s more the idea of not bringing the old into the new. Because the Israelites are starting over.

(21-28): Now we see Moses telling Israel what God told him, giving them instructions on putting blood on the door posts. And that they are to keep this statute permanently as a sign of celebration for what God has done. And when their children asks them why they do this, they get to share in the joy of the retelling the passover. Then they knelt and worshipped the Lord God, who is going to rescue them. You see, they are doing all of this and God hasn’t saved them yet. They are worshipping and respecting the sovereignty of God in anticipation of what He is going to do.

Two ways to respect God’s sovereignty and righteousness

Read His Word as truth

God communicates to us differently than He did during the time of the Old and New Testaments. We have His divinely inspired Word available to us. Sometimes we read passages that to us seem a bit weird. But we can’t let our 21 century American way of thinking have us doubt the truth that is Scripture. When I say read, I don’t mean just glance at it and check it off the list. I mean hear it, read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it. Think of each of those as a finger on your hand. If you just hear it, then the truth is easily taken from you. Then you have just casually reading. I now have 2 fingers on the Bible, but it can still be taken from me. See where I’m going? By adding a step, you are adding a firmer grip on God’s Word, and with each step, it’s harder for that truth to be taken from you. So if we respect God’s sovereignty and righteousness, we will give our full attention to His Word.

Obey His truthful Word

Look back at verse 28. The Israelites actually did what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. So as we are building on grip on God’s Word through hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating. We can’t forget to apply God’s Word to our lives. A helpful method that we teach here is called OIA, observation, interpretation, and application.

Observation is asking the questions, who, what, when, where, why, and how. This is the initial step helps you think through the who wrote the book and to whom, the context, the setting, all these things you learned in language arts in school.

Interpretation is taking what you saw in observation, and using that to understand what the text actually means. This is where understanding genre, and what the text meant to the ancient audience.

Application is now using what you have observed and interpreted, and figuring out how to apply it to your life. Believe it or not, when I’m preparing a sermon, finding how to communicate the application is the hardest part for me. But this step is necessary as a believer. So respect God’s sovereignty and righteousness by reading His Word as truth, and obeying His instructions.

RELY ON GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

(29-32): So now we see that God was not just blowing smoke, He did exactly what He said He would do. And Pharaoh, who viewed himself as a god, now is not only panicking to get the Israelites out of there, but wants Moses and Aaron to bless him, even though back in Exodus 10:28 Pharoah said next time he saw Moses he would kill him.

(33-39): See a call back to 11:2? The Egyptians are so terrified that they are just giving the Israelites their stuff. And see the Israelites are leaving in haste, just like God said. You also see a mixed crowd hen with them. This means that non-Israelites left with them. So not only is God sovereign and righteous, He is merciful. He spared those who weren’t Israelites as well, those who did not follow the instructions of the passover. We can’t forget God’s mercy in all this because Israel wasn’t exactly innocent in all this. Look at Joshua 24:14-15 with me, Joshua pointed out that Israel hadn’t always worshipped Yaweh. Remember, the Israelites are a people that are easily influenced by other cultures, we see it all throughout Scripture. We will dive more into that over the next several weeks in Exodus. But they weren’t always faithful to God, but God showed them mercy anyway by giving them the passover.

(40-42): The Israelites were in enslaved in Egypt for 430 years, and in one night, they were not only free, but gone. 2 million people in one night left Egypt. Isn’t that incredible? Have y’all ever been to a college football or NFL game? I feel like it takes a whole week to get out of that parking lot. But through God’s sovereignty and mercy, He helped Israel escape Egypt.

Two ways to rely on God’s sovereignty and righteousness

Track where God has shown you mercy

We are all recipients of God’s mercy. The fact that were are here right now is proof of that. In our chronological reading plan we recently finished Leviticus. So hopefully it’s still fresh in your mind, but I want to read Leviticus 10:1-3. That’s a case where God in His righteousness chose not to show mercy. But look back at your life and think about all the times God has shown you mercy. When you’ve had season of struggling with sin, or even what your life was like before you came to Christ. Think about those moments where God, in His divine righteousness showed you mercy, and then realize that we fully rely on His mercy through His sovereignty and righteousness. So track where God has shown you mercy, and also…

Trust that God will come through on His promises

As we continue to strengthen our grip on the truth that is Scripture, the more we fully embrace that our God is true to His Word, and keeps His promises. He doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we want or expect, but He always answers them according to His will for His glory and our good. For Israel, it took 430 years for them to be released from Egypt, and when they were told okay, you will be set free, they still had to wait through nine plagues , but God still came through. Now for us, we have a different promise of deliverance from God. The promise given to us, is that one day, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is currently at the right hand of God, will one day come back to earth for all of those who have put their faith in Him and will establish His earthly kingdom where He will reign forever, and we will spend eternity worshipping Him together. That my friends is a promise worth waiting for, and trust that God will come through on.

RESPOND TO GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

(43-51): Now we see instructions from God that the Passover meal that the Israelites had is now an annual celebration. They are to celebrate what God has done for their salvation and freedom. We also see that only certain people can partake in the meal. Basically, anyone who identifies themselves as God’s people. What’s great about this, is it’s more than nationality or ethnicity. Because if anyone who is not among the original Israelites wants to celebrate the Passover, then they have to be circumcised. This is more than just complying with a rule, to be circumcised, you would be committing your life to serving Yahweh, the God of Israel. Now as move on through Exodus, and the rest of the Bible for that matter, we see that doesn’t always happen, but, the idea is that to be an Israelite is to worship the one true God. And that means more than just one meal a year, it’s a way of life.

Worship the now

Pick up with me in chapter 13.

(1-16): We see God giving instructions that the firstborn males in each family are now the Lord’s, basically sending them into priesthood. This is significant because God is setting up the patriarchy system. The importance of the firstborn, is the firstborn was the one who would take over for the father when that time came. So in this case, God called out the firstborns, the ones literally born to lead and use them for His glory. And there is no better example of who the firstborn is meant to be then in Jesus Christ. The true firstborn, God’s only begotten son, Jesus Christ, who lived the full human experience, from conception to death, and lived it perfectly, the way God designed it to be lived. And because we are all sinners, and deserve a life eternally separated from God, Jesus took on our punishment and died the death we deserve. He then rose again three days later, defeating sin and death, and those who put their faith in Him will get to spend eternity with Him. If you’ve put your faith in Christ, then you are saved you should worship what God has done and what He is currently doing in your life. Just like the Israelites were saved by the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, you have been saved the the blood of the true lamb. So worship the now.

Worship the not yet

We also see more instructions regarding the meal of passover, and an emphasis on unleavened bread which I mentioned earlier. The Passover was an annual celebration in every Jewish home where the head of the family would ask questions, children would answer, and the father would walk them through what took place on that night in Egypt. It was a participatory meal where the father taught and the family remembered. Jesus shared a Passover meal with the disciples (last supper). Fathers - are you leading your family to know God? While you don’t share the passover in your home, and while the Lord’s Supper is a meal we share as a faith family, don’t underestimate the power of the table. What would it look like for you to turn your family dinner table into a place of learning? What if you committed to read just one chapter of the Bible a night at the dinner table, talked about it, and prayed as a family?

When we share the Lord’s Supper together, we are looking back at what Christ has done for us, but we are also looking toward in anticipation of what is to come, and that is Christ’s triumphant return. And when he returns there will be no more sin, or pain, or death. It will be an eternity spent with Christ.

So let’s remember God’s sovereignty and righteousness with respect, reliance, and response with worship. Let’s pray.