A Holy Dwelling (Ex. 29-Lev. 10)

"You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.  You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.  If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless."  (Exodus 22:21-24)


Yesterday Angie Trevino, Amanda Finke and I attended an anti-human trafficking conference that was incredibly eye-opening.  Did you realize the I-10 corridor in Houston is the #1 hot spot in the U.S. for human-trafficking?  Some of those are domestic, and some foreigners, some minors and some adults, both male and female, some for sex and some for labor--but all of it breaks the heart of God and goes directly against His commands to His people.  


Since we just read the above Scripture last week, I had to include it in light of all we learned at the Free the Captives conference.  I hope we soon have the opportunity to share with you more and especially the exciting ways you can be involved to stop this evil right here in our city as well as overseas.  Human trafficking heavily affects the street kids down in Montrose, and it likely preys on the unsuspecting refugees with whom we work in Los Arcos.  And God expects His followers to do something about it.


“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.”  Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”  (Deut. 27:19)


“This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.  Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’"  (Zech. 7:9-10)


This past week we read about the people making everything God commanded them to do for the building of the tabernacle.  God was incredibly detailed, leaving nothing for them to figure out on their own, so that this earthly tabernacle would perfectly shadow the heavenly one we will see someday.  Each part of the tabernacle had significance.  For example, the altar of incense with its pleasing aroma is referred to in Revelation.


"And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints."  (Rev. 5:8; emphasis mine)


"And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel."  (Rev. 8:3)

We also see the connection of the lampstand with its seven branches (the lampstand plus three branches on each side) with the seven lampstands surrounding Jesus in heaven in Revelation.

"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.  The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters...and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."  (Rev. 1:12-15, 20b)

 

The bread of the Presence was probably an obvious one for you, as well as the basin for washing.  One aspect that really jumped out at me while reading about all the different sacrifices for burnt offerings that were required was this:  those priests that served at the temple to offer the sacrifices on behalf of the people would be stained all over with blood.  What an image of the blood of Jesus covering our sin to give us His righteousness!  And we know that all the followers of Jesus Christ are priests in the kingdom of God.

"... you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."  (1 Peter 2:5)

The altar of burnt offerings foreshadowed the cross on which the Lamb of God would be sacrificed to take away the sins of the world.  That cross was stained with our Savior's blood just as the sides of the altar were stained with the blood of the animals offered upon it.  

Even the priests' garments foreshadowed a heavenly reality.  They point to the priesthood of Christ as well as the priesthood of believers.  Think of the significance of the names of the twelve tribes being over the chest of the priest, pointing to the spiritual reality of Jesus bearing our names on His heart.  We read of His flowing robe and sash in the visions given to Ezekiel, Daniel and John (John's vision is recorded in Revelation).  Do you see also the significance of the breastpiece of judgment containing the Urim and the Thummin on Aaron's heart?  Aaron bore the judgement of Israel, but God will bear the judgement of the entire world.  

Not only do these garments point ahead to Christ but to His bride as well--the priesthood of believers.  The beautiful stones placed on the ephod are also mentioned in Revelation 21:19-20 when one of the angels in heaven shows John the bride of the Lamb--the New Jerusalem.

(John is speaking.)  "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst."  (Rev. 21:1-2, 19-20; emphasis mine)

 

Now do those stones on the ephod of the priest seem more significant?  And just as the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraved on these stones, so will they be engraved on the twelve gates of the Holy City; and the names of the twelve apostles will be engraved on the foundations of the Holy City of heaven.

 

"It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed... and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."  (Rev. 21:14; emphasis mine)

But perhaps my favorite image is the turban of the priests, also referred to as a crown, with a gold plate fastened on it with the engraved words "Holy to the LORD," situated right on the forehead. 

"It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD."  (Ex. 28:38)  

 

Take a look at what Jesus says to John in Revelation.

 

"Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Rev. 2:10b)

 

"I am coming soon.  Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.  The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.  Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name."  (Rev. 3:11-12; emphasis mine)

"They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."  

(Rev. 22:4; emphasis mine)

Glory to God!  I can hardly wait!  We know that when we came to faith in Jesus Christ we were marked with the Holy Spirit, sealed for that Day to come, as a king would seal an important document with his signet ring (Eph. 1:13).  So in the spiritual realm, we already bear the name of Christ on our heads!

 
 

There is so much symbolism in the consecration of the priests and their ordination that points ahead to those in the pastoral ministry to the church as well as to all of us who have been given the ministry of reconciliation (which is every believer in Christ).  "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation."  (2 Cor. 5:18; emphasis mine)  There is also much symbolism and foreshadowing in the sacrifices and offerings that were commanded by God, but I'll sum it all up with Paul's words to us.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."  (Romans 12:1-2)

Two final things I want to point out both have to do with veils.

1. the veil in the temple

"And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.  You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place."  (Ex. 26:33-34)

As you may know, only the priest could go into the Most Holy Place, also called the Holy of Holies, and this only once a year--on the Day of Atonement (tons of foreshadowing there!).  This drove home the point to God's people of His perfect holiness and how our sin separates us from God so that we cannot go into His presence.  We need the blood of a perfect, spotless Lamb sacrificed for our sins, washed clean by our High Priest Jesus, with His priestly robe of righteousness upon us and His name written on our forehead, so that we may go before God into His presence as a child approaches a loving father.

Only Jesus could make a way through that veil that separated the people from the mercy seat of God.

(the moment of Jesus' death on the cross) "And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.  And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split."  (Matt. 27:50-51; emphasis mine)

 

Glory!  Never again would the followers of Jesus be separated from the presence of God.  We now have total access to God in prayer, going into "the Holy of Holies" all on our own!

The ark of the covenant, upon which was the mercy seat of God, remained behind that veil in the Most Holy Place.  It was above the mercy seat that the visible presence of God actually came down like fire.  Can you imagine being the priest who saw that?  It came right down between the two cherubim facing each other with their wings overshadowing the mercy seat.  What a beautiful image of the angels surrounding the throne of God in heaven!

It also points ahead to another time when God in the flesh lay between two angels facing one another.  Take a look at what Mary Magdalene saw when she looked inside Jesus' tomb on the day of His resurrection:

"And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet."  (John 20:12) 
Beautiful--just like the cover for the ark of the covenant behind the veil.  Jesus issued in a new covenant for God's people with His death and resurrection.

1. the veil in the temple
2. the veil worn by Moses

I want you to read the following passages and see if you see the beautiful connections with this other veil.  A number of years ago this touched me so much that I based the name for my ministry--Unveiled Ministries (when I speak for women's retreats and conferences or write Bible studies)--on 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 .

1. Exodus 34:29-35
2. 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

Don't you love that?  I do!

I also love how Exodus ends, and I pray this for our body of believers at LifeBridge every Sunday.  Not for a literal pillar of cloud or fire (although that would be extremely cool), and not so that it keeps us from entering--because we CAN enter by the blood of Jesus!  But I pray that God's presence is so powerfully with us in worship and study each Sunday that we all leave changed.  And I pray that we never move or do anything unless directed by the presence of our God.

Because they did everything for the building of the tabernacle exactly as the LORD had shown them:

"Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out.  But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up.  For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys."  (Ex. 40:34-38)

Dear one, you are now the tabernacle of God, and His presence goes with you by day and by night throughout your journey to your Homeland.

"Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?"  (1 Cor. 3:16)

The Ten Commandments and the Tabernacle (Exodus 19-32)

I missed you gals yesterday!  And I certainly missed being in worship--just not the same to be at home.  Joshua is all better today.  He's been sick with a fever off and on since last Tuesday night, and we thought he was over it by Friday.  But then it came back Sunday morning.

I hope your reading through the Bible is going well and you are enjoying every minute as I am.  This last week was a little harder with the sicknesses in our home (I had a virus, too, and Caleb had bad allergies hit a couple of weeks ago--but thanks to our awesome kinesiologist he is cleared up!)  But it was my time with the Lord in His Word that got me through it.  Thank you, God!

To catch us up from my last blog, I want to begin with God giving Moses the Ten Commandments.  Before He does this, the LORD speaks some beautiful words about His people:

You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.  Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for  all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.   (Ex. 19:4-6b; emphasis mine)

I love these descriptions!

Read Peter's version of this in his first letter to the followers of Jesus Christ:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  (1 Peter 2:9)


Yes, indeed, my sister--that description does not just describe the Jewish nation but everyone who belongs to God by faith in His Messiah.  YOU are His treasured possession, royal and holy to your God!


What did you think about the smoking, trembling mountain?  Did you notice God's instructions for the people?

1. What were they to do in Ex. 19:10?
2. What were they not to do in vv.12-13?

It seems to me God was ensuring the fear of the LORD and preparing them to receive His commandments, realizing that this was serious business.  They began to get a glimpse of the reality of God's holiness.  Their unholiness could not be in the presence of His holiness.  He would soon give them a solution for this through sacrifices and burnt offerings, which would all point ahead to the final sacrifice of Jesus.

I hope you took time to carefully read through the Ten Commandments in Ex. 20.  The future of God's people, and all people to come, is changed by this event.  They now have laws to obey, and God expects obedience.  Some people think that because these laws were given in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant they don't apply to New Testament believers who live under the New Covenant.  That is not the case!

Let's take a look at Jesus' words regarding this misunderstanding:  "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matt. 5:17)

You see, the Ten Commandments are laws for our protection.  They are rules for moral living, written on the conscience of every human being.  Jesus did not do away with the Law; He fulfilled it.  No human being has ever or will ever keep the Law perfectly.  Jesus was the only human who ever did this.  That is why He was the only one who could take our place to forgive our sins.  He fulfilled the Law when He lived a perfect, sinless life on earth.

So take your time to carefully read through those Ten Commandments.  Then continually rely on God's Spirit within you to help you keep these laws that you can never keep on your own.  Your flesh desires to disobey, but the Spirit of God will help you overcome.

In Exodus 21-23 God gives His people laws to govern their lives.  These are all good laws given as "boundaries" to protect their lives and keep them holy.  God especially focuses on the Sabbath and three feasts He tells them to keep.  Later He will add more feasts, and all of these have HUGE significance for us as New Testament believers.  If you would like to know more of their meaning to us as Christians, I recommend the book The Feasts of the LORD:  God's Prophetic Calendar from Calvary to the Kingdom by Kevin Howard and Marvin Renthal.  VERY interesting!

Another good book that we would all do well to read (including me, because I started it but never finished) is Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva J. Dawn.  As God's people, we have gotten way too far away from keeping Sunday as a day set apart and holy to the Lord.  God gave it to us as a day of rest because He knows we need it, and He wants us to put regular time into our worship and relationship with Him and each other.  We lose out on so much that God wants for us because we think we know better than Him.  We have lots to do, afterall, so how can we set aside a whole day for God?  I think the stress, depression, and lack of health in many people today, not to mention marriages falling apart and parents and children struggling in their relationships, are a sad result of our "knowing better than God."

Well, I need to wrap this up and put my precious children to bed.  But there's one more thing I want to share.  This will touch on the beautiful images of the Tabernacle that God gives Moses instructions to build.  There is SO MUCH rich imagery with the Tabernacle that points ahead to Jesus and to us as His people--it's incredible.  And I don't want you to miss any of it!

I think that on Sunday during Bible class we are going to get to watch an awesome video about the Tabernacle that I used with my gals in Colorado when I wrote a study on the Tabernacle.  I found this video at Focus on the Family, and we all really enjoyed it.  So be sure to be there in case we get to watch it!

But for now, I want to share this shorter video with you so that you can get a glimpse of all the amazing correlations between the Tabernacle and Jesus.  

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation.  He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.  The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!  (Hebrews 9:11-14)

Crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 14-18)

"And Moses said to the people, 'Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.  The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.'"
"The LORD said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.  Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.  And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen.  And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.'"  (Exodus 14:13-18; emphasis mine)

What a mighty God we serve!  I hope you enjoyed reading about the powerful arm of the LORD who delivered His people out of slavery.  

About a year ago a friend shared the following video with several moms so we could let our children see the power of our great  God...just as God told His people to do with future generations.  So, for your enjoyment and for the passing on of this incredible story to your children and grandchildren, I would like to share it with you.  The scientific research behind this presentation shows just how intentional and detailed is our God. He did not randomly choose the Red Sea for the children of Israel to cross.  He planned it in His foreknowledge and wisdom.  Take a look...  (open it full-screen so you can read it)

 Blown away?  I was.

I love Moses' song!  This was actually made into a praise song years ago, and I found a simple version of it to share with you.  The Horse and Rider Song

Some of my favorite words for praising God are found in this song:

"Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?  Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?"  (Ex. 15:11)

"The LORD is my strength and my song,  and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him."  (Ex. 15:2)

I personally think all us girls need to bring some tambourines and our dancin' shoes to church and help out the praise team this Sunday the way Miriam did.  :)

Then we come to the beginning of what will be the norm for the children of God for the next 40 years...and really for the rest of history up to this very day.  The Israelites forget what God has done for them and begin to grumble against Him, thinking they were better off in slavery.  Yea, right.  Sure you were.  But don't we do the same thing?

The first time this happens after the crossing of the Red Sea is when they have gone three days without finding water.  God shows Moses a log and tells him to throw it into the bitter water, and the water turns sweet.  What a lesson!  If we'll wait for God and do what He shows us, He will turn our bitterness into something sweet and refreshing!

At this time God also calls Himself by a new name:  I am the LORD, your Healer (Ex. 15:26).  The Hebrew name is Jehovah-Rapha, which means "the God who heals you."  That is a wonderful name to use for God when you are crying out to Him for healing for yourself or someone else.  He is our Jehovah-Rapha!

The next time they grumble, God gives them quail at night and manna (bread) in the morning.

1. How much manna were they to collect?
2. How often were they to collect it?
3. What was the exception to this each week?
4. What happened if they collected too much and kept it until the next day?
5. Why didn't that happen on the Sabbath?

There is much to learn about obedience and about keeping the Sabbath holy just from this section alone. The Sabbath is a gift from God:  "See!  The LORD had given you the Sabbath."  (Ex. 16:29)  Who are we to refuse God's gift and disobey?

1. What else did God tell Moses and Aaron to do with the manna in Ex. 16:33-34?  Are you fascinated that it lasted all those years, yet the extra they collected for themselves when they disobeyed His command went bad and had maggots?  This jar will later be placed inside the Ark of the Covenant when it is built.
2. How many years did the Israelites eat manna?

I hope you took special note of the battle that God told Moses to have Joshua fight in Ex. 17:8-16.

1. In verse 9b, what did Moses tell Joshua he would do?
2. Who went up the hill with Moses?
3. What happened when Moses' hand and staff were lifted, and what happened when they were lowered?
4. What did these men do to solve this problem so Joshua and the Israelites could prevail?

This is a beautiful example of the importance of a leader having other men around him to support and encourage him.  This image is used by Focus on the Family for their ministry to pastors

How thankful I am that my husband Michael has his "Aaron" and "Hur" to hold up his arms!

After this victory, Moses called God by the name "the LORD is My Banner"--Jehovah-Nissi.

Moses is blessed with a wonderful father-in-law who brings Moses' wife and two sons back to him (he must have sent them away during the plagues in Egypt).  Jethro celebrates with his son-in-law the victory of God and says, "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods."  (Ex. 18:11)  Yes indeed--that is exactly why God allowed all of that to happen for 430 years, why He hardened Pharaoh's heart, and why He performed miraculous signs and wonders.  God did it so that all men might know He is the one true God.

While visiting with Moses, Jethro notices that Moses has taken on a job way too big for one man.  In his fatherly wisdom, he advises Moses to do something very smart.

1. What does Jethro say in Ex. 18:17-18?
2. What does Jethro tell Moses to do in vv. 19-20?
3. What further advice does he give in v. 21?
4. What are these men to do, according to v. 22.

"If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace."  (Ex. 18:23)

Moses was blessed with a wise father-in-law, and he was smart enough to listen to him.  May we also be willing to listen to the wise counsel of our elders when it comes from God.

"Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.  Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine.  They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."  (Titus 2:2-5)

May those of us older in years share much wisdom in mentoring the young according to God's Word, and may those of us who are younger receive their wisdom and mentoring eagerly and put it into practice.  Also realize that you might be younger in years but spiritually more mature (as Elihu was).  Seek God's wisdom in this.  He longs to bless you with wisdom and use you for His glory.

The Passover Lamb (Exodus 10-13)

"It is the LORD’s Passover.  The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt."  (Ex. 12:11b, 13)


Can you see foreshadowings of Jesus Christ all over your readings this week?

1. What does the LORD continue to do to Pharaoh throughout all of these plagues?
2. Why? 
3. What additional reason does God give to Moses in Ex. 10:1-2?

Let's face it, when something happens once, we call it a coincidence.  Twice?  Maybe still an odd coincidence.  But over and over, up to ten times--now that gets our attention.  God was leaving His people no doubt about His might and power and His desire to deliver them and provide for them.  He was giving them a story worth passing down to generation after generation.  

Just imagine the wide eyes of future children as their fathers and grandfathers told them about the frogs coming up into all the Egyptians houses, the gnats that became like sand covering the earth, the flies that swarmed and ruined everything, the hail and fire that rained down and destroyed the land and animals, and the locusts that consumed what remained.  What fun that would be to tell a room full of kids!  I can see and hear the reactions, can you?  God is the best story-teller of all!  Don't you know all the Israelite children were thankful that this God was their God!

I hope you're glad He is your God, too!  Unfortunately for Pharaoh, God was not his god.  Pharaoh was considered to be "the sun and the moon" to his people.  He put himself up in the place of God and had no fear of the LORD whatsoever.

1. What question does God ask Pharaoh in Ex. 10:3?
2. What do Isaiah 26:5  and Daniel 4:37b have to say about this?
3. What was the ninth plague, and how long did it last?
4. NOW, turn to Matthew 27:45.  What happened as Jesus was hanging on the cross, and how long did it last?

Let me just say that when you are in a country with very few Christians, as we were in Nepal, and you are among those who worship various gods and perform all kinds of rituals for them, it is a darkness to be felt (Ex. 10:21).  It wasn't a literal darkness we could see, as this one was in Egypt or in Jerusalem at Jesus' death, but it was very much a spiritual darkness we could feel when we went to the temple in Kathmandu.  It made us nauseous in a way I have never experienced.  I'm guessing it was very similar in Egypt during this plague.

But notice what the end of Ex. 10:23 says.  "...but all the people of Israel had light where they lived."  

We experienced this phenomenon, too.  For in the places throughout Nepal where we gathered with fellow believers, whether in their homes or rustic church structures, we experienced a light and a joy unlike anything I can explain.  When you have felt the darkness, the light feels so much brighter!

1. What did God tell Moses in Ex. 11:1?
2. According to Ex. 11:2-3, what was Moses supposed to have the people do?
3. Did it work?  See Ex. 12:35-36.
4. How did this fulfill the promise God gave Abraham in Gen. 15:14?

Can you picture these slaves, wearing such humble clothes, probably skin-and-bones from their harsh treatment and constant labor, carrying all the riches of Egypt out with them?  Wow!  This plunder would be very important to them once they were free, because they will use a portion of it to build the tabernacle of God.

Now we get into one of the most important portions of Scripture in the Old Testament--the Passover.  It was so important, in fact, that God told Moses multiple times, "This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast."  (Ex. 12:14)  This Passover meal, or Seder, would be the last thing Jesus would do with His disciples before being crucified.  He would use this meal to explain the significance of what He was about to do on the cross.  Now that's a meal worth remembering for generations!

Let's look at Ex. 12.

1. What does God do in Ex. 12:2?  What is the Hebrew name for it? (Ex. 13:4)
2. What will the man of each household do on the 10th day?
3. What are the requirements for this lamb?
4. What happens on the 14th day?  (14th day should have significance to all women, because it is the day of conception in your monthly cycle)

I want to point out here that the Passover is to take place on the 14th day of the month of Abib, which happened to fall on a Thursday when Jesus celebrated it with His disciples for the last time.  It does not always fall on a Thursday for the Jewish people, kind of like Christmas always falling on a different day of the week each year.  But as Christians, we remember Passover as Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday just three days before Easter, because it was on a Thursday that our Lord celebrated it and instituted the Lord's Supper from the Passover meal.

1. What were the Israelites to do with the blood of the lamb?  Why?  This has HUGE significance with the coming Messiah!
2. What were God's people supposed to eat for seven days, and what was this celebration to be called?
3. What were they supposed to remove from their homes?

This instruction will come up over and over again throughout the Old Testament, so I want to be sure you understand the symbolism behind it.  Yeast, or leaven, represents sin.  Now this does not mean that yeast is a sinful thing.  It is being used as an object lesson for God's people.  We read about this again in the first three Gospels when Jesus says to His disciples:  “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  "Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  (Matt. 16:6; 12)

Now that you know the yeast represents sin, you can understand the significance of God telling them to remove all of it from their homes.  Can you also see the significance in the Hebrews using unleavened bread for the Passover meal?

Read when Jesus celebrates the Passover meal--what we call the Lord's Supper--with His disciples.

"Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."

That bread Jesus took and broke was unleavened bread.  If leaven = sin, then unleavened = sinless.  What does 1 Peter 2:22 say about Jesus?  "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth."

So the unleavened bread which Jesus broke and gave to His disciples pointed ahead to His sinless body which would be broken for the forgiveness of sin the next day on the cross.  

Do you get the beauty in that?  This Passover meal that the Jewish people would celebrate for generations and generations to come would point ahead all along to the perfect, sinless body of Jesus Christ that would be broken for their redemption from sin.  By the way, that Matzah bread they use for the Passover in not only unleavened, but it is made like a cracker--pierced all over.  Can you imagine the "aha" moment the disciples must have had after Jesus' resurrection when they realized the significance of that Passover meal with Jesus and what it had meant all those years!

Now, put this together with what we learned about the four "I Will" cups--specifically the Cup of Redemption--in our last lesson, and you have beautiful significance that can make you fall down in humble adoration of your glorious God.

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom."  (Matt. 26:26-29; emphasis mine)

Glory to God--our Savior, Redeemer and risen King!

Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb."  (Ex. 12:21)

1. How is Jesus described in Rev. 13:8?  (this reminds us that God knew what He would do about sin before He ever even created the world!)
2. What does the disciple John see in Rev. 5:6?
3. Find the references to the Lamb who was slain in the songs of praise in Rev. 5:9-14.

Now for John the Baptist's testimony:  "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"  (John 1:29)  

1. What were they to do with the blood of the lamb?  (Ex. 12:22)
2. Read about another time hyssop was used in John 19:28-30.
3. Why were they to paint the doorframes of their houses with the blood of the Passover lamb?

Dear sister, when the blood of the Lamb covers you, the Destroyer must pass over you as well.  You are marked with the precious blood of Christ, and death cannot harm you.  "Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?"  (1 Cor. 15:54b-55)

I love how the LORD emphasized to them several times that when their children ask why they celebrate this feast, they are to tell the story of what He did for them in Egypt.  This is actually part of the Passover meal (which is also called the Seder).  During the meal, at a designated point (it is all very scripted), one of the children is supposed to ask, "Why do we do this?"  The Jewish people still do this today!  What a beautiful way to remember.  Now we need to help them see the truth of this meal's significance and that their Messiah has come!

• What were the parameters given by God concerning who should eat the Passover in Ex. 12:43-51?

See if you see the foreshadow of heaven in these statutes of the Passover.  Read Revelation 21:22-27.

²²And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, ²⁵and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. ²⁷But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Only the circumcised of body could celebrate the feast of the Passover, and only the circumcised of heart will celebrate the feast in the kingdom of God (Luke 14:15).

1. What does God tell Moses to do in Ex. 13:2?
2. What does Colossians 1:15 call Jesus?
3. How many days were they to eat unleavened bread?  I wonder if this is because of the number of days they would mourn the death of a person.
4. What does God tell them to do with every firstborn man among their sons in Ex. 13:13?

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.  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.'  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."  (Ex. 13:14-16)

May we continue to tell this story to many generations to come, and especially to our own children and grandchildren.

Now I just have to point this out, because I told you it was coming and I don't want you to miss it:

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.  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."   (Ex. 13:18-19; emphasis mine)

And the LORD's presence led them out of Egypt.

The next time you take the Lord's Supper, may you remember what God did for you when He redeemed you from slavery to sin with His strong arm through the blood of the Lamb.  Our God is mighty to save!