I'm going to ask you to turn
with me to Hebrews chapter 11 and also to Exodus chapter 12.
Now what I want you to consider as you listen to this is faith's
confidence. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 28 says
through faith Moses kept the Passover and the sprinkling of
blood lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them
now as we consider this verse remember to whom this letter
was written it was written to the Hebrews and it applies as
much to us today as it did to the Hebrews then As the apostle
encourages them that salvation is by faith in Christ, apart
from the works of the law, as he encourages the Hebrew brethren
to persevere in the faith, he gives them an example of faith
using Moses no less than five times. The reason the Spirit
uses Moses as an example of faith is because those who were attempting
to turn the Hebrew brethren from Christ back to the law were fond
of calling themselves the disciples of Moses, and therefore the Holy
Spirit declares that Moses was saved by faith in Christ, not
by works of the law, the same way God has saved all his children
in every age. Now, we know that repentance
is always accompanied by faith. And therefore, we've seen much
of Moses' repentance in the verses leading up to this verse. We
saw that Moses refused the throne of Egypt there in verse 24. There in verse 25, we saw that
he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. Verse
26 told us that he esteemed the reproach of Christ's greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt. Verse 27 said that he
would not compromise with King Pharaoh. And the Holy Spirit
now tells us why. Moses' faith rested in the person
and work of Christ. He turned from those things to
faith in Christ. The lamb in the Passover represented
Christ's person. The sprinkling of blood represented
Christ's work. It is Christ's holy person. that
gives value to his work. He's the son of God. He's the
God-man. Therefore, this is the order,
Christ's person and then his work. This is the order that's
so often declared in the scriptures. Christ's person, then his work. Let me give you a few examples.
John chapter 1 verse 29 John seeth Jesus coming unto him and
saith behold the Lamb of God There's the person which taketh
away the sin of the world. There's his work in 1st Corinthians
2 verse 2 Paul said I Determined not to know anything among you
save Jesus Christ. There's the person of Christ
and him crucified There's the work Revelation 5 6 John said
I beheld and lo in the midst of the throne and of the four
beasts and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb There's Christ
the person as it had been slain There's his work now If we're
to understand the strength Moses obtained through faith we must
take into consideration what the children of Israel thought
of Moses at this point in time and Nine plagues had come upon
Egypt, and yet Pharaoh still refused to let the children of
Israel go. And this was directly by God's
providence, for God, as Pharaoh hardened his heart, God hardened
his heart so that he would not obey God. And now, the Egyptians,
because these plagues had come upon Pharaoh, and nothing had
happened, Pharaoh had not let the children of Israel go, the
Egyptians only mocked Moses. And their hatred and cruel treatment
toward the children of Israel grew more intense. And therefore,
even his own kindred, the children of Israel, had grown weary of
Moses. To them, all Moses had accomplished
was increasing Pharaoh's anger toward them. Nevertheless, the
Lord now instructs Moses to go to the children of Israel, declaring
one last plague that must come upon Egypt. So we see it was
only by faith in Christ that Moses found the strength to face
the children of Israel with these details concerning the Passover.
What the children of Israel must have thought when Moses declared
that their deliverance on that very night would come through
a lamb. Now look at Exodus chapter 12
with me. In Exodus chapter 12 in verse
3 that's what the Lord declares through Moses that he's going
to deliver Israel by a lamb. They're to take a lamb. And yet
by faith, Moses saw who that lamb typified. He saw in that
Passover lamb what John saw when he said, Behold the Lamb of God.
Moses saw Christ in that lamb. Then there in Exodus 12 verse
5, it says this lamb was to be taken out from among the flock
of sheep, or out of the flock of sheep. Hebrews chapter 2 tells
us why. Hebrews chapter 2 verses 14 through
17 says, For as much then as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, Christ also himself likewise took part of
the same, that through death he might destroy him that had
the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren. He's a lamb taken out
of the flock That he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people Now, Exodus chapter 12 and verse 6 says they
were to separate this lamb. They were to take him out from
among the flock and then shut him up separate from the rest
of the flock. Hebrews 7 verse 26 declares what
this typified It says for such and high priest became us who
is holy harmless undefiled Separate from sinners and made higher
than the heavens. There was no sin in him. He was separate from sinners
and Exodus 12 verse 5 says then that this lamb had to be without
spot or blemish They were to inspect this lamb and make sure
he had no spot and no blemish 1 Peter 1 verse 19 gives the
significance. God's elect are redeemed not
by the works of the law, by the traditions of men, but with the
precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot. Then Exodus 12 verse six says
they were to slay this lamb. They were to kill him. Revelation
13 8 Christ is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world
now Exodus 12 verse 27 says this lamb was a sacrifice which would
take the place of the firstborn in Israel that the lamb might
die in their stead and they go free and 1st Corinthians 5 verse
7 says purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new
lump as year unleavened for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us Just as that lamb that night in Israel was a sacrifice
for the firstborn in Israel Christ our Passover is a sacrifice in
the place of those for whom he died us Exodus 12 verses 8 and
9 says, once slain they were to roast the lamb with fire.
And this signified the fire of God's wrath as Christ bore the
penalty of justice on behalf of his people. Luke 12 verse
50 the Lord said I have a baptism to be baptized with and How am
I straightened till it be accomplished? That's why the Savior cried out
in the ninth hour from the cross my God my God Why has thou forsaken
me? He was bearing the sins of his
people in his own body on the tree having been made sin for
us and The penalty of God's wrath is death. And he bore an eternity
of wrath. He bore the eternal punishment
for everyone that he represented on that cross. And as that fiery
wrath of God poured down upon him, he cried out, My God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? Then Exodus 12 verse 46 says
that they were not to break a bone of this sacrifice. When Adam,
whenever Eve was made from Adam's rib, Adam beheld her and he said,
this is bone of my bone. They should never be separated.
And this typified Christ and His church, Christ and His bride. She's bone of His bone. And therefore,
on the night when the Sabbath drew near, and the Pharisees
didn't want to break the Sabbath, There the Prince of Life hangs
on the cross, the true Sabbath, our true Sabbath rest hung there
on the cross, and yet they didn't want to break the law of observing
a day. And so therefore they asked could
they go and break his bones, the bones of his legs, so that
he would die sooner and they could get him down off the cross.
But when they came to him, the first two, They broke their bones,
but when they came to him he had already given up the ghost
and not one of his bones were broken and the point of being
is that before he would allow Any one of his elect to perish
any one of his precious bones to be broken that were just as
one with him as his own bones were he died that they might
not be broken or might not be lost and And then Exodus 12 verse
8 says, they were to eat the lamb completely with unleavened
bread. And this signified that the life
of the believer is not by the leaven of our own works, but
by faith, by spiritually eating Christ's flesh and drinking his
blood. The Lord said in John chapter
6 in verses 53 through 58, Jesus said unto them verily verily
I say unto you Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and
drink his blood you have no life in you Whoso eateth my flesh,
and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life. And I will raise him up
at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the Living
Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth
me even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came
down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna, not as
Moses and the Israelites ate manna and are dead. He that eateth
of this bread shall live forever. Now, Exodus chapter 12 and verse
11 says, they were to eat the Passover with their loins girded
about and their feet shod and their staff in their hand. In
other words, they were to eat this Passover prepared to leave
Egypt and this typified the believers readiness to leave this world
forever. And then in Exodus 12, the Lord
tells us why they were to observe this Passover. And he says, For
I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will
smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Be sure you catch
that phrase. I 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, 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." That very night the judgment
of God passed through Egypt upon every house. Egyptian houses
as well as the Israelites' houses. Because all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, God's justice must be satisfied. For
Him to be merciful and to be gracious to sinners, He must
first satisfy His own justice towards them. And that's what
this lamb typified. The difference for the Israelites,
the difference that God put between the Israelites and the Egyptians
is that God provided them a lamb which stood between the offended
God and the guilty sinner. And therefore, when God saw the
blood on the doorpost of the Israelites, He saw justice satisfied
and thus he passed over their houses and all Israel was delivered
that very night now Hebrews 11 Says by faith Moses observed
this Passover and the sprinkling of blood Lest he should be destroyed
by him that passed through Egypt that night. I So in this one
verse the Holy Spirit declared to the Hebrew brethren and to
us today that it was not by the works of his own strength that
Moses was delivered, but Moses believed Christ. And by faith
he was not swayed by the mocking of the Egyptians or the murmuring
of the children of Israel. He went to Israel with God's
command that they were to be saved that night in a lamb. Faith's confidence is in faith's
deliverer. Did you catch that? Faith's confidence
is in faith's deliverer. Faith's confidence is in the
object of our faith. We are saved by faith because
Christ Jesus the Lord is faithful to save us. That's what faith
believes. Do you believe him? Do you believe
Christ by faith? No matter how impossible the
way may seem, beyond all reason, beyond all carnal reasoning,
No matter how inconvenient it may be to our flesh, and it will
be, it goes against everything the flesh desires, to trust Christ. But no matter how inconvenient
it may be to our flesh, and no matter what persecution might
accompany us in this life, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Cease from man. Don't trust your
own works, but trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone. And as Moses
and the children of Israel discovered, so you will discover that Christ
shall set you free. And if He sets you free, you're
free indeed. Amen.