Exodus 13-14:14 - “Remember God, Because You Need Him”

Intro

Opening Statement - “My life was a mess. I was chasing after all the wrong things, all the “fumes.” The per-fumes (girls), the gasoline-fumes (cars), and smoke-fumes (dope/vaping/drugs). Then the a light went off and I found Jesus. That day everything changed. And ever since then, He made me rich and successful, all my relationships have been nothing but happy and beneficial, and all has been smooth sailing ever since” Said nobody, ever!

Is that how God works?

NOOOOOOO!!!

Opening Illustration - On the contrary, here are some real-life stories of people used amazingly for the Lord,

Corrie ten Boom endured the horrors of concentration camp because she and her family were hiding Jew’s from the Nazi’s. Her father and sister would die in the process and she would go on to share the love and forgiveness of Jesus for over 3 decades around the whole world.

J Hudson Taylor (famous missionary to China) in his autobiography described the extreme poverty he endured, nearly fatal illnesses, and severe depression…yet he’ll go down in history considered as the greatest Christian missionaries to China.

Joni Eareckson Tada - A woman who broke her neck from misjudging the depth of water during a dive, leaving her paralyzed as a quadriplegic since 1967, she has turned her story into bringing Glory to God…quite opposite from what you might expect.

Nabeel Qureshi - Ex-Muslim turned into vocal Christian, became ostracized by his family and community. He became an amazing and inspiring Christian apologist, especially regarding Islam, but on top of already being abandoned by his family and community, he came down with stomach cancer and passed away at the age of 34.

What about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther, MLK Jr, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, or most recently added to these ranks Charlie Kirk.

ALL people who have been used GREATLY by God, but God didn’t spare them any hardship.

A.W. Tozer said it well,

“It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.” — A.W. Tozer

God doesn’t spare any hardship for people used greatly by Him. If anything they get a double-dose.

Opening Background -

The O.T. in general gives us literal figures, religion and amazing supernatural events, that point us toward spiritual realities for the N.T. believer. They all point us to Jesus Christ.

Through the details of Ex 13-14 events, we’ll see tonight that God is the same then as He is today…

Relevance to CCB - He teaches them two powerful lessons, that are equally as useful for us:

To Remember God (Ex 13), who He is and What’s He’s done for you.

Because Times are gonna get hard (Ex 14); and you’re gonna need Him to get through it.

Message

Let’s Pray

Read along (Exodus 13:1-16) -

Never Forget what God did for you

(vv. 1-2) God first addresses Moses

(vv. 1-2) To Remember — God spared the firstborn in the 10th plague.

(v. 2) So God directs His people to consecrate (sanctify/set apart, or dedicate) their firstborn to Him.

I see God’s proposition here as,

Seeking devoted followers who will

Remember - what God did for them by honoring Him with their firstborn.

Showing Gratitude - by giving back…like saying “thanks” to God.

Have Faith - that God will continue to provide more, in spite of you giving up your first.

It can be scary to give up what has been first given to you.

It requires faith.

There is a principle here - which we will get into in (vv. 11-16).

(vv. 3-10) To Remember — by “The Feast of Unleavened Bread,” that they had no time for leaven in your Bread

Leaven (yeast) was used to make your bread soft and fluffy, and required time to rise.

Leaven (a broader term that includes yeast) throughout the Bible describes sin and to be “puffed up,” which is to be avoided in our life/our walk. Matt 16:5-12; Luke 12:1

The Israelites never had a chance to “leaven” their dough due to the hurry, so they left without leavened dough.

When God saves us, He wipes away all sin (leaven) from our lives too…and tells us to “get outa there” that was holding us in bondage (we were all slaves to sin (Rom 6:17-18)

We have no time for leaven (sin), because it will only serve to keep you in bondage as a slave.

So remember, to hold this “Feast of Unleavened Bread” a 7-day holiday in which

You eat only unleavened bread for seven days — and the kids will ask “why are we eating this crunchy stuff?”

Which then, you will tell them the story…how God spared you from the death of the firstborn, as He broke you out of bondage…but you had no time to waste, waiting for bread (yeast) to rise.

Think about how effective this story would have been to those kids? Their parents weren’t telling them a story that was merely passed down. But rather, 2+ million people telling the story to their kids, that they actually walked across that dry ground as God parted the Red Sea!!

This is a true testimony to the next generation.

A child needs to see actual faith in the life of the parent you expect them to take it for their own.

Kid’s can see through a parent who “fakes the funk”

How many people do you know, who have “rejected God,” because their parent was a “hypocrite, telling their kid to believe in God, yet their own life told a different story.”

As a kid, I saw my parents worshipping the Lord in church AND at home…and I thought to myself, “they really believe this stuff.”

That witness from a parent is massively effective.

We’re headed for the “promised land” and have no time for leaven either.

Get rid of the sin!!!

But, we are not told to remember by keeping the “Passover Feast” or the “Feast of Unleavened Bread”…because we have something greater:

The Lord’s Supper,

The fulfillment of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread was in Jesus “the Lamb (without sin) who came to takeaway the sin of the world.”

But the point is, to REMEMBER what God has done. Jesus, spared our life and forgave our sin!

Remembering (do THIS in remembrance of Me) Him causes APPRECIATION, GRATITUDE, and we VALUE what God has done for us.

(vv. 11-16) More details on the Dedication of the Firstborn

A New Law - And it shall be…

(v. 12) that you shall set apart (lit. passed over)…every firstborn male from an animal. God spared them, so He wants them dedicated in return to Him.

This could mean “passed over” the fire (as in sacrificed) or given/dedicated back to God in someway.

Presumably the males beasts were sacrificed, unless they were an unclean animal like a donkey, which was either to be killed (indicating it no longer belonged to the person who brought it) or redeemed by the payment of the price of the blood of a lamb. (Precept Austin)

The firstborn males of the clean animals, were to be themselves set apart (passed over) to the Lord.

This will act as a continual reminder of the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb.

(v. 13b) and all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem - Human sacrifice is not acceptable, so firstborn sons are to be “redeemed”

You are to literally “buy back” (purchase) your firstborn son from God (from the Tabernacle/Temple).

What was the cost? Num 18:16 - survey says, “5 shekels of silver”

This was worth possibly up to a few thousand dollars today.

When you had your first son, you paid the Tabernacle/Temple a few thousand bucks so you can keep him.

To make you appreciate what you have been given by God.

As the Jews are being Saved, it’s beginning to look “costly” to serve God?

But, did He not first pay for your salvation. He was the Passover Lamb.

Tetelestai. It is finished. Paid in full.

But sanctification (the walk) is costly for us. (Redpath quote)

Assuming we (the Christian) wants to be sanctified. But an unsanctified Christian is an oxy-moron (God calls us justified, sanctified, and glorified). The three-part spiritual process we must all pass through to considered saved.

So, naturally the true Christian undergoes sanctification…and it hurts at times. It’s costly for us.

We are to give a portion back, whatever we deem appropriate, that which God has first given us. As an act of our appreciation.

Some of our time, our talents, and even some of our financial resources.

Remember, it all belongs to Him anyways.

I remember after tithing for a while, I would stress a little when I saw how much it was (10%) and for a while I made sure we paid all our bills first. But, most often the 10% wasn’t there at the end of the month.

Then, as I learned the importance of given back to God our first…before we even use any of our income, to give that to God.

And it made me very uneasy the first time or two, as I wondered if we’d make it to the end of the month.

And I’m happy to say that, we ALWAYS did.

And we’ve grown in our peace with God ever since then. Money has less of a grip on us since then. We are able to give it more freely now.

And oddly enough, we’ve only recieved more and more since then…which has required us to give back more and more…and we’ve ALWAYS had what we needed.

If you’re not a tither, you don’t have to be. God doesn’t need your money for His plan to continue. But I challenge you to step out in faith in that area. You may be surprised what God will do!

(v. 16) This is to be remembered, It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord (by the Lord’s mighty hand) brought us out of Egypt.

Religious Jews took this literally (probably not starting until the 2nd Temple period) and began wearing “phylacteries” “though this was probably not God’s intention” (BKC).

The real intent, was they would simply abide by these new laws and be a witness to God’s goodness to the next generation.

Read along (Exodus 13:17-22) Being Guided by God

(v. 21) God led the Israelites personally. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light.

God’s people get their own G.P.S. system (God Positioning System).

This GPS would later be named the “Shekinah Glory”

This cloud and fire was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit and would provide guidance by going ahead of the Jews and they would follow. That’s the same way we should follow the Holy Spirit too.

We need to follow the Holy Spirit (What does God want for me to do in my life?).

Not, What do I want to do in my life and ask God to bless?

Learn to follow the Holy Spirit: in Word, Worship, Prayer, Fellowship.

But there was only one problem…God went “the wrong way,” or so they thought.

(v. 17) God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near - the “way of the Philistines” also called the “way of the sea” was the most direct route (1-2 weeks). But that’s not the way that God took them.

He will instead take them on a 40 year journey, the not so scenic “scenic route” of the desert.

#1 - Along the “Philistine route,” they would have encounter “big, bad, Philistines,” (v. 17b) to which they likely would have turned around when they saw them?

#2 - God had some “sanctification” work to do with His people. He wanted some alone time with them in the desert, to build their faith in Him.

Sometimes God will guide you into the wilderness because He wants some alone time with you.

Each one of my deployments were invaluable for this reason alone.

But God will lead His people to a “dead end.” An impossible situation. (MTF in Ex 14).

(v. 19) They took Joseph’s (400 yr old) bones with them. Gen 50:25. Joseph had known, and prophesied that when they left Egypt to take his remains with them, back to the promised land. I see this alone as a testimony to the Jews as they’re marching out.

(v. 20) So they…journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. Almost all the names have been changed since 3,000 years ago, so its hard to precisely know where all these places were.

Also the terrain now where the Red Sea necks down the Gulf of Suez, where it necks down to the Suez Canal would have been different 3,000 years ago, making the crossing point hard to pinpoint.

Read along (Exodus 14:1-14) Between a Rock and a Hard Place

(vv. 1-4) God lures Pharaoh into a trap. Making Pharaoh to think, They are bewildered (confused or lost) by the the land; the wilderness has closed them in. God made Pharaoh to think, “this is gonna be like shooting fish in a barrel.” Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Pharaoh says, (v. 5) Why have we don this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? - He is forgetting the severity of God’s recent wrath, and chalks up his decision to let them go as “a bad judgement call.”

(vv. 6-9) So Pharaoh attacks with everything he’s got.

This is the toughest army in the world at that time, and they’re going after a bunch of defenseless former slaves and farmers.

Pharaoh’s army according to Josephus was 200k foot soldiers and 50k calvary.

For comparison — The entire current U.S. Marine Corps currently includes 172k Marines.

(vv. 10-12) When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes….So they were very afraid and cried out to the Lord.

God’s been with us every step of the way thus far, but how quickly we can turn to distrusting God, the minute something goes awry.

Are we not like that? Marriage is going good, finances are going good, kids are good, church is good… “we’re just bee-bopping through love, like the Lego Movie character singing “Everything is Awesome”…when

A tragic accident occurs at work or on the road, infidelity occurs within a marriage, you get laid off or fired from your job, your kid who grew up in the faith goes off the rails, your church has a scandal and all the sudden everything goes haywire.

Where is God in all of that?

It’s hard for us to percieve God in those moments, but perception doesn’t always equal reality.

He’s actually much closer than you think (in the pilar cloud right in front of you!!) Just look up!!

(v. 11) The people take out their frustrations on God’s Servant — Then they said to Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?

Moses is just the messenger. They hadn’t invented this saying yet, “don’t kill the messenger.”

Yet, frustrated people will often take out their anger on God’s messenger/His minister than taking it to God directly.

If I say something “offensive” that is biblical, take it up with God, not me.

If I say something that in not-biblical, then take it up with me.

The minister doesn’t make up the rules as He goes. He’s simply coloring between the lines he’s been given by God.

(v. 12) Their fear then gives them “selective memory,” For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than die in the wilderness.

It’s funny how they forgot all about their slavery, their oppression, their kids being murdered, etc.

(vv. 13-14) Look at how Moses remedies the situation — Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today

Faith and Fear are mutually exclusive.

They feared because they lacked faith in what God said He was gonna do.

They focused on their earthly circumstances (they were between a rock and hard-place) rather than who God was? He created the rock and the hard place.

So Lighten Up Francis (from Stripes)

Have faith. If you are in fear, depression, or full of anxiety…how is your faith in Jesus?

How are your spiritual disciplines going? The Word, Prayer, Worship, and Fellowship.

Compared to your time on Social Media? On Television? On personal hobbies?

You will notice a decrease in your fear as you increase in your faith.

It will take great faith to trust that (v. 14) The Lord will fight for your, and you shall hold your peace.

In spiritual chaos (the fog of war), no need for you to get worked up. Simply abide in Him, hold your peace, and let Him do His work!

Closing

Closure - Next week, we’ll look at the baptism of Israel…as they supernaturally pass through the Red Sea.

<sarcasm alert> And it will be “smooth sailing” for them from that point onward….

No way Jose!!

God has big plans for these people, so He’s putting them through “His Seminary”

Focht often says, some courses are mandatory and some are electives.

Trials, Afflictions, and Persecution are mandatory classes - You cannot graduate or grow spiritually without passing them.

Closing Application - Maybe that feels like you. Why has God given this tough set of life circumstances? Circumstances that make you FEARFUL.

He wants your FAITH! And He will displace your fear!

We WALK by FAITH, not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7).

This is a step-by-step, day-by-day, proposition.

Are you walking by faith?

As you continue to follow the Holy Spirit (the Shekinah Glory), life may not get any easier on you (oh, great!!)

as a matter of fact the more you’re used by God it’ll probably get harder,

but it will get EXPONENTIALLY more rewarding.

Urge to Action - Just Follow the Holy Spirit and “Remember God, Because You Need Him”

Let’s Pray

Benediction