Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Exodus

Exodus 11-13:16 Part 1 12/14/03

Introduction: “An Unforgettable Night” There have been many memorable moments in my life and a few that I would call unforgettable.

     -The day God opened my eyes and heart to the truth of who Jesus is. That day, by the matchless grace of God, that day, by the unconditional love of God, that day, by the complete forgiveness of God, I became a Child of God through faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. That was an unforgettable moment.
 
     -The day God brought Kathy in my life and we stood before a pastor. Family and friends and made promises to each other that will last our whole lives. When Kathy and I married, that was an unforgettable moment.

    -The day God brought Becky into the world. That little bundle of energy and joy still amazes me even today. That was an unforgettable moment.

    -The day God, through the work of this church, ordained me to the Gospel ministry. That day, surrounded by my seminary professors, friends, family, and many of you here today,  I made a commitment to God and he made one to me and we made one together. That was an unforgettable moment.

I am sure that if you thought for just a short while, you too will come up with unforgettable moments in your life. Moments that when you look back, you not only see the hand of God but his heart as well.

Explanation: That’s what we’ll look at over the next few weeks. An unforgettable night given by the hand and heart of God, not only for the ancient Israelites, but as we will see, for all of us today as well.

Background: Before we get into the text there is something I need to explain. Chapters 11-13 don’t really flow well. The text goes back and forth, not only in content but in time.  So, I will not go through the texts verse by verse as I usually do. Instead I will focus on three dominate themes that clearly run through and connect all three chapters. They are:
 
 I. Judgment and Death
 II. Sacrifice and Substitution
 III. Remembrance and Memorial

Transition: We will spend on Sunday on each topic because they are so important, not only to the rest of the book, but to all of salvation history. Please open your Bibles to Exodus chapter 11

I. Judgment and Death
    At the end of ch 10, Pharaoh tells Moses and Aaron not to return or he will kill them. Now in ch. 11 it looks like Moses and Aaron return but Pharaoh doesn’t kill them. Confused? This is really a continuation of that same last meeting. Here we are given more information. Moses tells Pharaoh of the last plague..death to all of Egypt’s firstborn, even Pharaohs first born son will be killed.

     Pharaoh’s heart is hard and tells Moses and Aaron to leave and never come back or he will have them killed. Moses leaves, angry that God has been treated so badly.

    So what happens? Death comes as an act of judgment from God to all the firstborn of Egypt. There are a few things we need to know about the plague of death. And I will talk about them from two perspectives: then and now.

1. The deaths showed no social/political/intellectual/financial preference.
Read: Ex. 12:29a

Then: There was no one spared. Everyone,  from Pharaoh’s family down to the slaves family, even to the animals…experienced a death. Then, God was speaking of physical death.

Now: But God was also talking of spiritual death, the eternal separation of our soul from the presence of God. (Hell) This is God’s judgment for sin.

    Ezek. 18:20 ‘the soul that sins shall die’.
    Rom 3:23 ‘for all have sinned’.

     God is no respecter of persons. No matter how good you are, no matter how rich you are, no matter how intellectual you are, no matter how often you go to church. If you sin, and we all do, when you die, there is no intermediate place where you pay off your sin debt, there is no intermediate place where you wait till others pray you to heaven.  Even one sin in your life, and when you die you go straight to Hell. Hard, serious? Yes. But truth.

2. The deaths caused the Egyptians devastating grief
Read: Ex. 11:6

Then: Can you imagine? Every house, every family in Egypt experienced a death that night. The sadness, the grief, the sorrow the cries of agony must have been horrifying.

Now: Death still hurts. Grief and sorrow fill the hearts of all those who loose a loved one to death because death, for many, is viewed as a final event. People grieve with such great sadness because they have no hope of the future beyond the grave. But this is not true for those who have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. While it is right for the Christian to grieve the death of another Christian, there is a difference.

    1 Thess. 4:13-14 ‘Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him’

    To fall asleep is to die. Christians, don’t grieve like others because they know that God has promised eternal life to all who by faith, accept Jesus as their Savior. How do I know that?

    1 Jn. 5:13 ‘These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.’

    The death of a loved one is sad and brings grief. But, for the Christian there is hope…not a wish but a certainty of life after death in the presence of God for all eternity.

3. The deaths were not directed at the Israelites.
Read: Ex. 11:7

Then: Israel was God’s chosen people. Not because of anything they had done, but because God chose, in his infinite grace, to love them and to make them His people and He their God. The judgment and wrath of God did not come upon the children of Israel that night because of their faith in Him.

     The text says ‘But among the Israelites not a dog will bark against man or animal’. That means while God’s  judgment and death are all around them, nothing will happen to those who are Gods. When it comes to death, God does make a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians.
 
Now: God still makes that same distinction today. Death, spiritual death comes to all those who are Egyptians. OK not really Egyptians, but all those who have rejected God by rejecting God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

    1 John 5:12 ‘He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.’

    Just as the Children of Israel were saved from physical death that night, so today, the Children of God, by faith in Jesus, will be saved from spiritual death.

    If you have never accepted Jesus as your savior, I want you to understand why we talk about it so much as Christians, why your Christian friends and loved ones talk to you  about Jesus.

    John 14:6 ‘Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’

    They, just want you to have spiritual life. Not just when you die but to experience the blessings of God now.

    God makes distinctions when it comes to judgment and spiritual death. There are only two positions. You are either one or the other. There is no third option.

    1 John 5:12
        1. He who has the Son has life
        2. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Which are you?

4. The deaths were caused by the very hand of God.
Read: Ex. 12:29a; 11:4-5

Then: This is perhaps the hardest to understand. Little children, the firstborn son in every Egyptian family…killed by God. How do we justify God’s actions?

    The Egyptians sin, rebellion, worship of false gods, and rejection of the One True and Living God. These are all justifiable reasons for death when you are a holy God. You see, when it comes to sin and judgment, God doesn’t mess around. Remember.

    Ezek. 18:20 ‘the soul that sins shall die’.
    Rom 3:23 ‘for all have sinned’.

    Make no mistake. God never condemns anyone to Hell against their will. We have all chosen death and Hell because we have all chosen sin.

Now: We still don’t fully understand why God did what He did, the way he did it. But it is not always necessary for us to understand.

    Isaiah 55:8-9 ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’

    Faith believes that God’s ways are always good and just.

    Firstborn represented the whole family. Their deaths were a symbolic picture of what happens to all who sin apart from a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ…all die.

    Then, like now, those who reject God are forever condemned by the holy and just hand of Almighty God. Hard, serious? Yes. But true.

    Let’s finish up. Pharaoh’s will is broken at the death of his firstborn son. He not only let’s the Israelites go, he forces them out before anything else bad happens. Then this happens.

Read: Ex. 12:36

    Favorably disposed? This means they had affection towards them..they like them. What? Didn’t their God just kill all of their firstborn?  It doesn’t make sense.

    And God in further judgment upon the Egyptians for the enslavement of His people, causes the Egyptians to shower the Israelites with gifts of animals, jewelry, and other gold and silver items as they leave.

Sidebar: Regardless of where  you stand on the Sovereignty of God vs the Freewill of Man debate, Know this. God is not powerless over people. He doesn’t sit in heaven and hope and wish things will go his way. When he wants a situation to go a certain way, he causes things to happen. God has the ability to affect circumstances and people’s decisions.

    In a hurried manner, the Israelites gather their stuff and leave Egypt. God has delivered his people from the bondage of slavery. Just like he promised.

Conclusion
It wasn’t some impersonal force, some abstract principal of retribution that went through the streets of Egypt that unforgettable night. It was God himself. He was establishing his identity with those who refused to acknowledge him as God. Sound familiar?

Read: Rom. 1:21-23

The 10th plague of death had no automatic exemption for the Israelites. While it wasn’t directed towards them, it was a day of judgment for all..because all sin.

But, as we will see next time, it was the blood of the lamb sacrificed that night and placed on the door of the home that stayed God’s hand of death and granted life.

You need to know that even the Israelites were guilty before God and deserved his judgment…death. But we will find that the sacrifice of a lamb was substituted for their life, just as it still is today.

God’s judgment resulting in your physical and spiritual deaths are certain. Let me ask you.

Who do you identity with this morning? The Egyptians or the Israelites?

And how does God see you? As his child or a stranger?

The answer you give will not only affect your present, but all of your future.

Hard, serious? But true.