Shadows of the Redeemer

Text:

Date: 12/17/06 A.M.

Introduction:

 A. Redemption

  1. Foretold by God in many ways

   a. Coats of skin in the Garden of Eden

   b. The firstlings of Abel’s flock – offered as a sacrifice to God.

   c. The altar, which Noah built after the flood on Mt. Ararat.

   d. Abraham taking his only son, Isaac, to offer him as a sacrifice…yet being stopped by an angel

 B. Israel in Egypt

  1. For over 400 years…yet, Pharaoh would not let God’s people go.

  2. Yet, after 9 plagues, Pharaoh’s heart was still hardened. God instructed Moses what to do on a specific night.

  3. That night, the death angel passed through the land of Egypt bringing tragedy, heartache, and death…that night was a test of FAITH for Israel…an example of God’s delivering power!

·         BRIDGE - That first Passover was a type / shadow of One Who would someday come into the world and deliver man from a greater bondage than that of Egypt…deliver man from the bondage of sin and Satan.

I. The Passover Lamb

 A. Instructions

  1. For the 1st time, God called them the “congregation of Israel” – (1 lamb / home)

   a. If it were too much, families would merge together.

  2. The 1st ordinance of the Jewish religion was a domestic service.

   a. God places great value on the importance of home.

 B. Characteristics

  1. Four days prior to the death angel coming, they were to choose a lamb.

  2. Must be one-year-old male lamb without blemish.

 C. Application

  1. The lamb was to be killed.

   a. Its blood was to be sprinkled on the doorposts / lintel of each house that night.

  2. It was not enough to SHED the blood; it had to be applied.

   a. An Israelite might have selected a proper lamb and slain it; but unless its blood was applied to the door, the death angel would have entered.

   b. (Spiritual Application) To know that a Savior was provided is NOT sufficient. He must be received. There must be a reliance on that blood for our absolute grounds of acceptance w/God.

 D. Protection

  1. God’s eye was not on the HOUSE but on the BLOOD!

   a. Big, strong, beautiful…made no difference – if there was no blood, the angel entered.

   b. Miserable shack, falling in, disrepair – if there was blood, those inside were secure.

  2. God’s eye was NOT ON THOSE WITHIN THE HOUSE, but on the APPLICATION of the shed blood.

   a. From the stock of Abraham, circumcised on the 8th day, walking blamelessly before others.

   b. It wasn’t their heredity, their ceremonial uprightness, nor their good works that guaranteed their deliverance.

II. The Day of Atonement

 A. Characteristics

  1. Also known as, Yom Kippur, was a solemn day in Jewish history.

   a. Lev. 16 – a day of affliction, humiliation, self-denial.

  2. The only day of the year in which the High Priest would offer atonement for all Israel.

   a. A day of rest; the attention of all the people was to be concentrated upon the ceremony performed by the High Priest in their stead.

  3. He had to sancitfy the altar, tabernacle, and sanctuary…IMPERFECTION was plainly written on holy things.

   a. This served as a type / shadow of the PERFECTION that had been foretold.

·         The Perfect sacrifice given, “not once a year, but once for all.”

 B. Purpose

  1. Hebrew word for atonement = to cover over so as not to be seen.

   a. It had the effect of covering the guilt of the REAL criminal and made it invisible to the eye of a holy God.

·                   Ps. 51:1 “Blot out my transgressions…”

·                   Micah 7:19 “Thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

·                   When the “covering over” is done, the conscience of the transgressor can be at rest.

III. Christ’s Sacrifice Prophesied (Is. 53:1-12)

·         God’s report (prophet’s message) was revealed to mankind. God was about to intervene in behalf of a ruined race. Its message: one of love, joy, and glory.

·         Christ’s youthful days (a tender plant)

·         As a root out of a dry ground (not expected to flourish / grow) surrounding circumstances unfavorable: 1). Poverty, 2) social standing of his family, 3) obscurity of Nazareth, 4)the enslavement of His nation to Rome.

 A. Despised – (1-3)

  1. Israel deliberately rejected the Messiah.

   a. Rejection carries with it the idea of being “forsaken” (even of His disciples)

 B. Afflicted – (4-6)

  1. Because He was born of a woman, He experienced the common lot of man.

   a. Suffering, sin, and death. (He “bore” it all for us)

 C. Slain – (7-9) as a lamb was led to the slaughter, Christ offered Himself in silence.

 D. Satisfied – (10-12)

  1. He is presented as the Priest and Sacrifice for all humanity…