LESSON # 9 God Defeats Pharaoh and Egypt BIBLE REFERENCE: (Exodus - Deuteronomy)

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1 THE PASSOVER This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND LESSON # 9 God Defeats Pharaoh and Egypt BIBLE REFERENCE: (Exodus - Deuteronomy) BOOK OF STUDY: Exodus Season of Study: Season of Bringing the Savior into the world HISTORY It is agreed by most biblical scholars that the book of Exodus, the second book in the Pentateuch, was written by Moses. Its main theme is the covenant relationship developed between the Almighty God, and the children of Israel. In God s story 1

2 Exodus lays out the first stage of God s raising up a nation of people through whom He would send the Savior. The book of Genesis reveals the Promise God made to man (Genesis 3:15), and in Exodus we see the budding of the nation, Providing the Promise to man. In Genesis God promises a Savior; God promises a Sinless world; and God promises the Children of Israel Statehood. It would be through the statehood of Israel, or their becoming a nation by which the Savior would be brought into the world. In the book of Exodus, the Almighty provides for the Children of Israel to become a great nation, fulfilling the promise God made to all three of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To Abraham God promised, I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing (Genesis 12:1). To Isaac God promised, Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 26: 3 4). And to Jacob God promised, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 28:13 14). The book of Exodus explores a stage of divine activity to make of Israel a great and powerful nation through whom the Messiah would come. CONNECTING THE SEASONS When studying the book of Exodus we are studying the Season of Bringing the Savior Into The World. Having made the promise to mankind in the Garden of Eden that He would send a Savior (Genesis 3:15), God initiates His plan in the call 2

3 of the man Abram, whose name was later changed to Abraham. From this man, God would grow a nation of people who would bring His Only Begotten Son into the world. From the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus coming into the world; being crucified, buried, and resurrected has come the promise of the Rapture and Return of Jesus. INTRODUCTION God s plan to bring the Savior into the world depended upon the Children of Israel being set free from their bondage in Egypt. God, in His infinite wisdom, moved Jacob and his family into Egypt that they might grow in numbers and become a nation. The land His people were to possess as a nation had been given to them long before, in God s promise to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The land of Canaan awaited the arrival of God s people to take possession of it. The Children of Israel needed only to be set free, journey to the promised land, and there develop into the nation through whom the Messiah would come. Pharaoh, in hardening of his heart and his refusal to let God s people go, moved God to bring upon the Egyptians (all the first born of man and beast) the trauma of death. Death defeats mankind in all his tricks, and ends all his resistance and disobedience to the Almighty. In the death of the first born in Egypt, Pharaoh acknowledges defeat before the Almighty God and, as God had said, Drove the people out of Egypt. THE PRINTED TEXT (Exodus 12: 3 7; 12 13; 29 31) Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 3

4 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it (Exodus 12: 3 7) For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt (Exodus 12: 12 13) And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said (Exodus 12: 29 31) EXPLORING THE PRINTED TEXT I. The Preparation (Exodus 12: 3 7) In preparation to avoid the death of the firstborn and to leave Egypt, it was not about the Children of Israel becoming pure in their moral behavior. Dismissing any evil practices they may have had, it was about 4

5 the preparation and the choosing of a lamb. Their deliverance from death, and their freedom from the Egyptians depended upon their belief and obedience to the word and instruction from the Almighty God. Their deliverance and freedom were the work of God. God s instructions required them to choose a lamb without spot or blemish; keep it in the house for four days; slay it and paint the doorpost of their houses with the blood. The death angel would then pass over their dwellings as He moved through the land of Egypt. Whoever was behind the door covered with the blood of the lamb, whether they were of the house of Jacob or an Egyptian, would be saved from the threat of the death angel. God s salvation is for all men and women. The chosen lamb was to be without physical defect. Being without defect represented its worthiness to act as a substitute for its subjects. It was to be housed near the family so they would become emotionally attached to it. The results, a love would develop between the family and the lamb, and the next step in the process, killing it for sacrifice, would make it difficult to be performed. This foreshadowed God s sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son to save mankind. The lamb would then be slain on the fourteenth day of the month. The blood painted on the doorpost of their houses, would deliver them from the death angel. Because of the blood, the angel of death would Passover them. Hence, we have the designation of this time celebrated as the Passover. II. The Punishment (Exodus 12: 12 13) The scriptures declare God, a God of Judgment. The divine plagues brought upon Egypt due to Pharaoh s disobedience were the judgments of God. God is a God of mercy, but God will, in time, judge all evil. The scriptures declare, For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child (Hebrews 12:6). God s judgments are tempered by His mercy and witnessed in the intervals between each pending plague against Pharaoh and the Egyptians. 5

6 God could have dealt Pharaoh and Egypt with just one blow at the beginning. One wave of the Almighty s hand; one word from His divine lips, and Pharaoh and Egypt could have become a bye word. But, His Mercy! God could have obliterated Pharaoh and the Egyptians and immediately set the Children of Israel free. But, His Mercy! There did not have to be successive plagues. But, His Mercy!! Therefore, between each plague, God provided opportunity for Pharaoh and the Egyptians to acknowledge Him as God. Between each plague, the opportunity for repentance and the acknowledgment as to the Almightiness of God was rejected by Pharaoh. Therefore, each subsequent plague became more threating for the Egyptians. And then, came death. The punishment for all those who waited behind the doors painted with the blood of the lamb (for they were not sin free), was transferred to the lamb that was slain. Those obedient to the instructions of God were therefore delivered from the divine punishment metered out by the angel of death. III. The Passover (12: 29 31) There was a great cry heard over all of Egypt on this night of the Passover. According to scripture, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Every house in Egypt, (save those painted with the blood) from the house of Pharaoh to the lowest citizen of the nation, death silenced and removed from among them their first born. On the night of the Passover, the angel of death was sent on a divine mission of judgement, with the instructions to remove from the face of the earth all the first born in Egypt of man and cattle, who was not covered by the blood of the lamb. The scripture declares, The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ Our lord (Romans 12:23). 6

7 Through this final judgment (death) against Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt, God would demonstrate Himself as God and Pharaoh would bow before the Almighty saying to Moses and Aaron, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said (Exodus 12:31). The die was now cast! The first step in Israel becoming a nation to bring the Messiah into the world was made. A VERSE TO REMEMBER And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle (Exodus 12:38). LIFE APPLICATION A baker in a little country town bought the butter he used from a nearby farmer. One day he suspected that the bricks of butter were not full pounds, and for several days he weighed them. He was right. They were short weight, and he had the farmer arrested. At the trial the judge said to the farmer, "I presume you have scales?" "No, your honor." "Then how do you manage to weigh the butter you sell?" inquired the judge. The farmer replied, "That's easily explained, your honor. I have balances and for a weight I use a one-pound loaf I buy from the baker." Moral of the story: In life, you get what you give. Don t try and cheat others. WHAT WE KNOW ALREADY: PREMISE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH: 1. God Is 2. God Speaks 3. God Speaks Through That Which Has Already Been Spoken - We believe the 7

8 Bible to be the inerrant Word of God. WORKING DEFINITION OF GOD: God is the Personal Spirit, who in Holy Love, Creates. Orders, and Sustains all. SEASONS TO SPIRITUAL PERFECTION God created the physical universe in six (6) days. God creates the perfect universe in six (6) seasons. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of the heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Revelation 21:1-2). 1. Season of Beginnings - Genesis Season of Boundaries and Borders - Genesis Season of Bringing Christ or the Messiah into the World - Genesis 12 thru the Gospel of John. 4. Season of Broadcasting Christ to the World - Acts - Revelation 5. Season of Burdens and Tribulations - Revelation 6. Season of Birthing a New Creation - Revelation 8