I'm reading this morning from
the book of Exodus, chapter 12, verses 12 and 13. Listen as I
read. Listen carefully. The Lord says,
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 or rulers 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 shall smite the land
of Egypt." End of quote. This was God's Word to His people
whom He chose, whom He revealed the truth to, revealed the Lamb,
and who believed Him. And they were gathered together
meeting, worshiping the Lord, and waiting for His promise to
bring them out. I preach from Exodus 12 often
to our people. I preached this on the radio
recently, but this will seem more relevant to most people
now. The story of the Lord sending plagues upon Egypt is the story
of the Lord bringing his people out of Egypt. Now, I hear the
scoffers, I hear the mockers, speaking of God's judgment. But
no matter, I preach it anyway. This is a true story. It's an
actual story. Real people, real plagues, real
sickness, and real death. But, as God promised all of His
people then, they were brought out of Egypt. They were brought
out of bondage. None of them died. Now, this
story is repeated all through the Bible. It was made into a
song, the song of Moses, which the Jews sang then and maybe
still now, which in the book of Revelation, the last book,
people in heaven, Scripture says, are still singing the song, the
song of salvation, the song of deliverance, how the Lord delivered
His people from bondage, from death, brought them into the
promised land, one way, the blood of a lamb. All of this is a picture
of the salvation of all of God's people, the salvation of their
souls. All of God's people die from
something, but their souls live forever. This is a picture of
the salvation of all of God's people from bondage to the law,
from sin, from Satan who, like Pharaoh, has this world in bondage,
Freedom from the world of sin and wickedness, which God calls
this present evil world, like Egypt. The Lord God delivers
all His people one way, by Jesus Christ and Him crucified. John
the Baptist preached, Behold the Lamb of God, by His death,
by His sacrifice, a substitute for guilty sinners, like that
lamb in every house of the children of Israel. God said, when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. Now there were nine plagues upon
Egypt over a period of time. Nine plagues, and they were all
sent by God. Every one of them, God sent them.
Devastation, pestilence, all of these these plagues were sent
by God upon an unbelieving, rebellious, godless, unthankful, idolatrous,
proud, wicked nation called Egypt, which represents the world today,
the world as it always has been. This is a picture of the world.
Listen to what God says about this world. Now right before
God destroyed the world by flood, He said in Genesis 6, and I read
verse 5, God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continuant. Verse 7, the Lord says, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. In
verse 13, God says, The end of all flesh has come before me.
The earth is filled with violence. All flesh corrupted His way. And God says, I will destroy
them with the earth. God says, I will destroy. That's Genesis 6, right before
the flood. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself
said, as in the days of Noah, So shall the coming of the Son
of Man be, the second coming of Christ, as in the days of
Noah, meaning God sees mankind now just as he saw them then. He hasn't changed. The whole
earth has corrupted his way, full of violence. The imagination
of his thoughts is only evil, continually. Listen to this. In Psalm 14, God says He looked
down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any
that did understand, any that did Seek God, they're all gone
aside, all together become filthy. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. That's Psalm 14. And that's repeated
by Paul in Romans 3. Oh, I can go on and on. What
God says in His Word. Let me give you one more. In
Isaiah 59. Isaiah 59. It says in verse 1, your iniquities
have separated between you and your God, and your sins have
hid His face from you that He will not hear. Verse 4, none
calleth for justice, nor pleadeth for truth. They trust in vanity
and speak lies. It goes on to say, in verse 12,
our transgressions are multiplied before God, our sins testify
against us, our transgressions are with us, our iniquities.
Verse 14, judgments turn backward, justice standeth afar off, truth
is fallen in the street, equity cannot enter, yea, truth faileth. Meaning, that they turn away
their ears, this is what Paul said to Timothy would happen
in the last day, they would turn away their ears from the truth
unto fables. That's what God's Word said then
about man. It's what God's Word says now
about man. Now, all of the prophets preached
these things to their generation. None of them went out telling
everyone, smile, God loves you. None of them. None of the apostles
said Jesus loves you. God said to Ezekiel, son of man,
cause Israel to know their abominations. On and on it goes, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea. What about the New Testament,
the Apostles? John the Baptist came preaching, repent for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Lord Jesus Christ came preaching,
repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Paul the Apostle
said, I cease not to warn you day and night, preaching repentance
toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Now here's
a story in Exodus, back in Exodus chapter 12, beginning much earlier
than that. In chapter 11, just before the
last plague of death that God sent to bring his people out. In Genesis 11, it says in verse
21, the Lord stretched out His hand toward heaven and there
was darkness over the land, even darkness which may be felt. Darkness which may be felt. A
thick darkness over all the land of Egypt for three days. Verse
23 says, they, that is the Egyptians, saw not one another. But all
the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. So in other
words, the Egyptians had this thick darkness over the land,
a darkness that could be felt. People, do you not feel it? Do you not feel the darkness
that's over our land? Do you not? Listen to Isaiah
8. It says in verse 21 of Isaiah 8 that they will pass through
this world fretting themselves, cursing their king and their
God, looking upward, they'll look to the earth and behold
trouble and darkness, anguish driven to darkness and despair. Darkness, it's felt. Do you not
feel it? This darkness in the land as
it was in that day in Egypt? The people, it says, they couldn't
see themselves. They couldn't see each other.
So it is today. Man can't see God, can't see
his hand in creation. They can't see his wrath, though
it's clearly revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who hold the truth or suppress the truth or reject
the truth in unrighteousness. Man cannot see himself as he
is. Man can't see the world for what
it is, an evil place. It's under the judgment and wrath
of God. Darkness. Romans 1 says man,
because he's not thankful, he changed the truth of God into
a lie. He's not thankful. He doesn't acknowledge God. He
doesn't worship God. He doesn't believe God's Son.
God says his understanding is darkened. Oh, he professes himself
to be wise. Never been a more educated society
than now, but it says professing themselves wise, they become
fools. Why? Because the fool has said,
no God. And their understanding is darkened.
And man continues in this darkness of sin, unbelief, rebellion against
God. But God. In Isaiah 9, right after
that I just read, it says, Some people who sat in darkness have
seen a great light. Upon them hath the light shined. That is Jesus Christ. The Scripture
said He is the light of the world. Scripture says the entrance of
God's Word giveth light. God's Word is a lamp, the light,
the truth. God's Word is the truth that
enlightens our darkness, gives us an understanding that we might
know God and know Christ, and see ourselves for what we are,
sinners. See the danger that we're in.
See Christ who is the way, the truth, and the light. And so
God revealed to His chosen people Israel back then and now. God's
people Israel then represent God's elect whom God reveals
Christ to, the truth to, and in. Now God said to them, God
says to us now, death is coming upon all Egypt. You are in Egypt. You're all sinners like the Egyptians. God says, the soul that sinneth
shall surely die. But there is a way, only one
way, a way out, a way that God can be just and yet justify sinners. It's death. Listen to Exodus
12 now. Listen to it again. God said,
I will pass through the land of Egypt and smite both man and
beast. I will execute judgment. I am
the Lord. He will by no means clear the
guilty, Scripture said. But, He said, when I see the
blood, I will pass over you. The plague shall not destroy
you when I smite the land of Egypt. The Lamb of God is Jesus
Christ. All who repent of their sins,
By saying, I deserve to die, but God be merciful to me, a
sinner. Let the blood of the Lamb be
propitiation, be covering, be the atonement for my soul. May the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, be payment for my sin. And God says, I will. The plague shall not destroy
you. No one who calls on the Lord, who believes on the Lord
Jesus Christ, dies. None of them. No. Though sickness
may strike them, tragedy may happen, cancer, car wreck, heart
disease, homicide, God sends it. It's not judgment. It's not
punishment. It's deliverance. Their bodies
cease to live, but their souls never die. Christ said then,
he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. So God
says to his people, don't fear their fear. Fear me. Trust me. And so shalt thou dwell in the
land, in the promised land, for evermore, free from fear, free
from sin, free from death. What about you? Amen.