Turn back with me now to Exodus
chapter 30. These verses which I read to
you earlier, verses 11 through 16, I hope to show you three
things tonight in general. That is, that God has a people. And then secondly, the price
that was paid for that people And thirdly, God's blessing upon
you because of that price that he paid. In a perverse and deceived world,
we preach the glorious doctrine of particular and effectual redemption. That's not a doctrine held to
by this world. This world despises the doctrine
of particular redemption. The Bible knows nothing of a
universal salvation, of universal love, or a universal atonement. The book of God declares from
front to back a salvation of love and atonement given to and
made effectual in God's covenant people chosen in Christ before
the world began. You can't find anywhere in the
types we went all the way through studying the priesthood and the
tabernacle and all those types and figures that were plainly
told were types and figures in the book of Hebrews. And we went
through those things, and I've tried to show you in detail that
there's absolutely no way that a high priest standing with the
names of the 12 tribes of Israel on his breastplate and on his
shoulders can represent a universal salvation. There's no way, no
way you could take that foundation laid back there under the Old
Testament and make it to fit today's religion. And those who
reject the Word of God and those precious doctrines of Christ
need to quit carrying Bibles and pretending to believe God.
It just, it can't be done. You can't ignore God's Word and
walk as a believer. That's an impossibility. Now,
there are six things that I want you to see in our text tonight
relating to those three things that I stated to you earlier. First of all, I want you to see
and bless God that He has a people. The Scriptures go to great detail
telling us both by the types and by plain declaration that
God has chosen a people to salvation for the glory of His great name. Over and over and over you find
it in the Scriptures. He chose them. He loved them. He made provision for them. God
heard their cries while He ignored others. Do you think the Hebrews
down in Egypt were the only people under oppression and bondage
in that day? Do you think that was the only
slaves upon the face of the earth? Do you think that was the only
people who suffered and cried? No. But God heard their cries. He heard theirs. He heard their
cries. God intervened in their lives
while leaving others to themselves. He didn't intervene over here
in one of these other nations. He intervened in Egypt. God spoke to them while saying
nothing to the fallen to pray for. He had nothing else to say
to anybody except Israel. He spoke to them. He heard them. He came to them. He made provision
for them. Turn with me to Romans chapter
9. Romans chapter 9, beginning with
verse 10. Paul said in not only this, but
when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac,
For the children, being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said
unto her, the elder shall serve the younger." Not anything he saw in either
one of them. They hadn't done anything. They weren't even born
yet. The elder shall serve the younger
as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And Paul said in verse 14, what
shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God chose Jacob, ignored Esau. God made Jacob ruler over
Esau. God blessed Jacob and cursed
Esau. What are we going to say to that?
Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid, verse 15, for
he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I'll have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then,
it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy. And the first act of mercy was
divine election. Divine election. But you say
the Jews were God's elect, and many of them perished under the
wrath of God. Just stay right there in Romans
9, and I'm going to show you something. The Jewish nation
and the physical children of Abraham were a typical people. And they were representative
of the chosen people of God. Now watch this here in Romans
9, verse 6. Now Paul, in these first verses
of this chapter, tells us that his kinsmen are lost. He prays
for them that they might be saved. And then here in chapter 9, verse
6, he said, Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect,
for they are not all Israel which are of Israel. Neither because
they are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but in
Isaac, shall thy seed be called." That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children
of the promise are counted for the seed. And then turn with
me to Galatians chapter 3, and let me show you something over
here. What I'm saying is that the natural Jew, the physical
sons of Abraham, were a typical people, and they were representative
of all God's elect. And when you read about them
in the Old Testament, and when you listen to men talk about
them today, you need to understand this, and you need to understand
how God communicated to them, and see that as in a typical
form, else you miss the blessing that they were put there for. Listen to this here in Galatians
3, verse 26. Paul said, For ye are all the
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as
have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There, that
is, in Christ, is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one
in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ, then are
you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. And
then if you will, just stay right there and look back at verse
16 of that chapter in Galatians. He said, Now to Abraham and his
seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds as
of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. So when he is talking about the
blessings of God upon the seed of Abraham, he is not talking
about every physical son, but he is talking about Christ, and
those blessings which are secured in Christ are for all those who
are in Christ. Do you see that? So let this be established, God
has a chosen people in Christ before the world began, and all
spiritual blessings have been reserved for them. Peace and
mercy, Paul said, be upon the Israel of God. And these are
the sum of the children of Israel after their number. That's what
he's talking about back here in Exodus chapter 30 verse 12. Now there was a lot of occasions
where they tried to number. David tried to number Israel
one time and 70,000 men were slain. There is only one way in which
God's Israel can be numbered, and that is through the atonement. So these are the sum of the children
of Israel. The second thing I want you to
see is that they are all sinners. They are all sinners. You can't
show me a single place in the Scripture where God comes to
His people, speaks to His people, or blesses His people apart from
a bloody sacrifice for sin. There's not a single example
anywhere in there. God came to Adam in the garden. Did He come without anything? No. He came with a lamb and slew
it and clothed him with its skins. Abel came to worship God. How
did he do it? He brought a lamb. And there
was a lamb slain for Israel in Egypt, whose blood was upon the
doorpost and the lintel of their houses, so that when God saw
the blood, He'd pass over them. And Paul said in Hebrews 9.22
that without shedding of blood is no remission. The election
of God's people is not out of the innocent unborn children
of Adam, but out of a world of depraved men and women who are
sinners. God's people were taken from
among the sinners. He chose them among sinners.
And that's why election is an open door and not a closed door.
If He had taken them from the innocent unborn children, then
election would be a closed door. But you can't ever find where
he talks about them being innocent. They're not innocent. They're
guilty. They're guilty. They're born in sin. David said,
I came forth from the womb speaking lies. And if it were not for the election
of God, God's Israel would be like Sodom and Gomorrah. And
you can find that in Romans 9.29 if you want to see that the Scripture
makes good on that statement. We all, Paul said, had our former
conversation in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. God has a chosen people, and
all these people are sinners. They're all sinners. There'd
be no need for a ransom. That's what we're talking about
tonight over here in Exodus, a ransom. This half-shekel was
a ransom. There'd be no need for a ransom
if you wasn't in captivity, would there? If you wasn't held in
bondage, what would be the reason for a ransom? And there'd certainly be no reason
for an atonement, and this ransom had to do with an atonement for
your souls. And then thirdly, a ransom is
declared. If they were not sinners, they
wouldn't have needed one. And if their souls were not in
bondage, what need would they have of a ransom? He said, when
thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number,
then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the
Lord when thou numbers them. And this ransom is a figure of
our Lord's redemption which He accomplished at Calvary. Do you
remember back in our study earlier in Exodus about the silver sockets
of the tabernacle? You know what they were made
from? This ransom money right here. It was given and collected
and totaled and melted down and made into sockets and it become
the foundation of that tabernacle. It become the foundation of that
holy place. It become the foundation of all
the worship of Israel. This ransom. And this silver
shekel demanded of the whole house of Israel was the same
as he talks about back there in Exodus 38, 25 through 26, which made that foundation. A
ransom declared. And nowhere in God's book is
it even hinted at that the means to ransom His banished is left
to their own fallen, depraved minds. This ransom is by God's
measure. And I want you to get this. This
is one of the major points I want to give to you tonight. Men didn't
sit around and say, well, what do you think the ransom ought
to be? Well, I don't know. What do you think everybody can
pay? Let's get an average. OK, all of us are going to pay
half a shekel. That ain't how that came about.
God didn't ask them if they had it or they didn't have it. He
said, the ransom price, by my measure, is half a shekel. But he goes past that. He goes
past that. Do you recall what I read to
you? The shekel, he said, is the shekel of the sanctuary. Not the shekel out here in commerce. Not that which the world sets
the value on. But the shekel of the sanctuary. Now let me tell you something.
when Peter said, we're not redeemed with corruptible things like
silver and gold. This is what he was talking about,
this right here, which you receive from your vain conversation from
your fathers. They read this and interpreted
that as the ransom was that half shekel of silver. That's not
so. The value of that half shekel
of silver was manifested in the sanctuary. He is saying to them,
here is what this silver means. Go over to that sanctuary and
what is done in there? What is poured out in there?
What is poured out before that altar in there? Blood. The blood of the substitute.
pointing to that blood of Christ. That's the value of this. It's
not the shekel of common commerce out here. It's not the shekel
you go down to the store and hand them to pay for a bag of
Fritos. The shekel, its value is manifested
in the sanctuary. In the sanctuary. And that's
the half shekel that he talks about. And that shekel, even
in the sanctuary, was to become the very foundation of everything
that God did. God set the price. That which
God demands from the sinner is not what he thinks he owes and
not what he is willing to give, but what God demands. It's by
divine measure. And it's by the standard of the
sanctuary, not by the standard of the world. Now let me give you one more
statement concerning that sanctuary. That sanctuary is also declared
in the book of Exodus to be that outer court where the common
priest came in and did service before the Lord. And so here's
what he's also saying about that shekel, is its value is set forth
among those people who serve the living God. You want to know
what the ransom price is, you're not going to get it down here
at the local Methodist church. You're not going to get it down
at the Catholic church. You're going to get it where
God sends a preacher to tell you the truth and set that value,
where there's a congregation gathered who know the Lord and
who know what this book sets forth. They're going to set the
value of that thing before you. The true value is set in the
sanctuary. in the sanctuary. And then thirdly, it was the
same for all. Half equal. It didn't matter
if you were rich or poor. It didn't matter if you were
educated or uneducated. It didn't make any difference. The ransom of chosen sinners
is the same. It requires the price God demands. And that price is the precious
blood of Christ. And that man or woman who has
led a sheltered life, a life hedged about by the restraining
hand of God, or that man who's possessed by a legion of demons,
don't make any difference. Price is the same. Price is the
same. That sweet little girl who loves
her parents and grows up to be a faithful wife, or that one
who leaves home to become a harlot, makes no difference. The redemption
price is the same. Moral or immoral, the price is
the same. Old or young, the price is the
same. If there were only one sinner that God purposed to save,
the price would still be the same. God's holy justice must
be satisfied toward the sinner, and his sin must be paid for.
So what have we learned? Well, I know that Israel is numbered
of God for this ransom. And I know they are all sinners.
Paul said, we have before proved that both Jews and Gentiles are
all under sin, and all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. And then thirdly, I know that
God has declared a ransom for His people, a ransom for His
soul unto the Lord. And this ransom is by divine
measure, and it's according to the value manifested in the sanctuary,
and it is the same for all. Now here is the fourth thing.
The ransom demanded must be brought by them to the Lord. Listen to the Scriptures. Then
shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord. Where are they going to get a
ransom? I know this is just a type. Where
are you going to get a ransom? Where are you going to get one?
Where are you going to come up with the price God demands? He
didn't ask them how much they had. He didn't ask them what
they were willing to work for. He said, this is the ransom.
But where are you going to get a ransom to give to the Lord
for your souls? These men were depraved sinners,
bankrupt sinners, sinners called out of bondage and oppression.
Where are they going to get this ransom? God already gave it to
them. Then gave it to them when they
left Egypt. God calls their enemies. Now
listen to me. God calls their enemies to furnish
them with the ransom. Think on that for a minute. Even
as Head and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and all the people
of Israel, all those rebels, did what God's hand and God's
counsel determined before to be done. It says in the Scriptures,
He was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God into their wicked hands to be crucified and slain. And I read to you last Sunday
in the lesson, in our Sunday school lesson, that He gave them
over to the will of the people. And the enemies of God provided
us with the ransom. God calls the enemies of the
church to provide them with a ransom for their soul. Where can I get a ransom that
God demands for my wicked soul? He's already given it to you.
Already given it to you. He came, Mark said, to give his
life a ransom for many. Every soul in Israel brought
what God had already given them and gave it gladly and willingly
to the Lord. Let me tell you something. Salvation
is of the Lord. It's of the Lord in its eternal
design. It's of the Lord in its promises
and pictures. It's of the Lord in its accomplishment. It's of the Lord in its application.
And it's of the Lord in its ultimate preservation and perfection. And when God establishes His
people by number, He does so by causing them to hear His demands
by His servant, and by bringing to God that which God had already
given to Him. That's how He establishes His
people. They're not established in any
other way. You're not a child of God because
you stand up and say, I'm a child, or because you profess to be
a child. You are a child of God when God awakens your soul and
has you bring the ransom that He determined before for you
to bring and gave it to you to bring. And then made you to know
it was yours to bring. And then last of all, a blessed
promise is given. Exodus chapter 30 verse 12, the
very last line, that there be no plagues among them when thou
numberest them. It is a sure source of God's
condemnation to number yourself in God's Israel without the ransom
He demands. All He said that the Father giveth
Me shall come to Me. This is the will of Him that
sent Me, He said, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth
on Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up. at the
last day. And again, he said, no man cometh
unto the Father but by me. And then in John 3, verse 36,
it says, he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life,
and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life. But the
wrath of God abideth on him. All who refuse to bring God's
ransom will die under the wrath of God. They'll die under the
plague of sin. Let me read you one more Scripture
and I'll close. Turn with me to 1 Timothy 2,
verse 5. For there is one God, And one mediator between God
and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for
all, that is, all that were given to Him. Now listen to this, to be testified
in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher
and an apostle, I speak the truth in Christ and lie not. the teacher
of the Gentiles in faith and verity.