If you would turn with me to
the book of Exodus chapter 10, and then we will be moving forward
to a few passages in chapter 12. So, turn with me to Exodus chapter
10, and we'll read in verse 27. For hundreds of years, Egypt
held captive the nation of Israel in bondage, hard bondage. The great buildings and Statues that the
Egyptians displayed were at the hands of the Israelites and their
bondage made brick, stone. And the Lord is slow to anger
and plenteous in mercy, but he will not always chide, Scripture
says, neither will he keep his anger forever, according to Psalm
103 verse 9. And one day in the purpose of
God Almighty, determined before the foundation of the world,
but brought in the time of love, God said, enough is enough. Enough is enough. And successions of terrible judgments
begin to ascend upon Pharaoh and upon his land, upon his kingdom,
judgments which are known to most as the plagues of Egypt. There were ten in number. First,
the waters of the Nile were turned into blood. Second, frogs covered
the land and entered the homes of the Egyptians. Third, lice
was made to attack their persons. It's a little old, almost microscopic
thing attacked them. God's in control of everything
from the smallest to the greatest in size, number, doesn't matter. Fourthly, swarms of flies. There's not many things in life
that I can't learn to live with. I tell you, a fly is not one
of The most aggravating little things. And I don't know how
they can be as quick as they are because I have lightning
speed myself. But they will aggravate you.
Flies everywhere covered the ground in the houses of the Egyptians. Fifthly, a grievous disease smote
the cattle. Think about the food supply.
Six bulls and sores were sent on man and beast. Seventh, thunder and hail were
added to the terrors of these divine visitations. I mean, damaging
hail. So much so that it would kill
an animal in the field. All from God Almighty. Eighth,
the eighth plague, God sent locusts and consumed all their vegetation. Ninthly, there was thick darkness,
which Scripture said might be felt, it was so dark. Overspread
the land for three days. And then tenthly, the last of
the plagues of Israel, and the one of which I want to discuss
with you today, the firstborn of man and beast were slain. These plagues performed by God
Almighty, now listen, were both judgment to the Egyptians and
yet salvation to Israel. The so-called contest between
Pharaoh and Jehovah was almost over. It had never been a contest
for God. Never. The word God and want don't even
go in the same sentence. God's never wanted to do anything. God has never strived to make
a man do anything. Better read your Bible. Better
read your Bible, if that's what you think. An abundant, abundant
opportunity had been given to Pharaoh. Plague after plague,
warning after warning, God commanded the king to repent of his wicked
defiance and rebellion. Warning after warning, plague
after plague had been sent. But Egypt's rulers still hardened
his heart. But one more judgment was appointed,
the heaviest of them all. And then not only would Pharaoh
let God's people go, but he'd thrust them out. Get out of here. Leave. And take what you want
with you. That should make it clear to
us the folly of fighting against God. May we see the uselessness of
resisting Jehovah. This historic event in scripture
once again shows us the impotence of man, the creature, and the
omnipotence of the Most High God. Scripture says there are many
devices in a man's heart, and there are. Nevertheless, the
counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed,
and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out,
and who shall turn it back?" I'll tell you this, it doesn't
matter if it's the most powerful king and empire upon earth. And at this time, Pharaoh was
that king and Egypt was that power. I'm reminded of the verse in
Daniel 4 verse 21, those that walk in pride God is able to
obey. Pharaoh had asked Moses in haughty
defiance at one time when he came before him and said, God
said, let my people go that they may serve me. And Pharaoh said,
who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel
go? and another time Moses came before
Pharaoh and he said the Lord God said let my people go and
Pharaoh said I know not the Lord neither will I let Israel go
yes you will yes you will And now the time had arrived
when he'd be glad to get rid of the people who God had so
sorely troubled him and his empire. Arthur Pink wrote, God can grind
to powder the hardest heart. I know that from experience.
And bring down to the dust the haughtiest spirit. I had a pretty
haughty spirit at one time. So let's pick up this story in
Exodus chapter 10. Look at verse 27 through 39. But the Lord... Notice who did
this. But the Lord. I appreciated that
psalm Gary read. The Lord did it. May we never
forget that, the Lord. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's
heart. Now many might say there, well
is there unrighteousness with God? He didn't harden, no. You could just as rightly put
there, God let him go his own way. God just pulled away from
Pharaoh. He didn't need any help hardening
his heart. It was already made of stone. It's pretty hard. The Lord hardened
Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go, God's people. And Pharaoh said unto him, now
this is speaking unto Moses, he says, Get thee from me, and
take heed to thyself. Now this is the last time I'm
telling you, Moses, if I might paraphrase. Get on out of here,
and you better listen to what I'm telling you. You will see
my face no more. And if you do, for in that day
thou seest my face, you're going to die. I don't want you coming
up here no more with your staff. I don't want you coming up here
anymore telling me what this so-called God's going to do."
He said, you'll see me no more.
And had already experienced nine displays of God's judgment. Just how wretched and depraved
is the heart of man. If you see me again, you're going
to die. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken
well. Thou hast spoken well. I will
see thy face again no more. Now I don't think that Pharaoh
knew how prophetic his words would be. He did not know that the very
next night God would bring such a plague, such an awful judgment,
and that judgment would bring about such a deliverance of God's
people that he truly spoke, I'll see your face no more. How many times he'd been warned.
Let my people go that they may serve me." And he would not let
them go. But now, now the time of salvation,
now the time of deliverance was at hand. And this was the night
of the Passover. And on this night, the firstborn
of Egypt were slain, and God brought deliverance and salvation
to his people. Don't miss the beauty or the
message of this amazing deliverance, dear friends. The salvation of
Israel, just like the salvation of your own soul, was found in
the sacrifice of a substitute. It was the sacrifice of a lamb
whose sprinkled blood was sprinkled on the door side post and on
the lintel. The sacrifice of this lamb would
appease the wrath of an angry God against a tremendous sin
debt. This night there was a sacrifice
that pointed all across the ages, across time, to the great sacrifice
for sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the blood of Christ our
Lord who was the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of
the world. Christ our Passover. And that's my subject to you
this morning. I've already said this once,
but it's worth mentioning again. Judgment and salvation. The gospel of Christ is always
unto some judgment and to others salvation. The same message. Judges and condemns one and saves
and redeems another. Now look over at chapter 12,
verse 29. And this whole section of Exodus
is well worth the time to read. My, it's full of pictures and
types and shows us clearly the sovereignty of an Almighty God. But in verse 29, And it came to pass. Whatever
God says, it's going to come to pass. It's going to come to
pass. Then 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.
Now what do you think that this might signify? Well, in the scriptures,
Egypt is often symbolic of this present world of sin and the
flesh. It's a picture of the world of
sin which the believer is delivered from. It's a picture of the firstborn,
the flesh or the firstborn which is crucified with Christ. One
day God will judge the world in righteousness and only those
who have been born again by the Spirit of God and possess the
second birth will be saved. The firstborn, the flesh, will
be destroyed. Those who are born again of the
Spirit of God with the second birth will have life eternal
and dwell forever. Why do you think Christ said
to Nicodemus, he must, must be born again? He must be born again. The firstborn, the flesh, is
going to die. It's going to die. Those in Christ, washed in the
blood, having their flesh crucified with Him, will see the salvation
and deliverance of the Lord, just as the Israelites saw their
salvation and deliverance at the Passover of God. Unlike the Egyptians, the children
of Israel had found grace in the eyes of the Lord. They found
mercy because mercy found them. They were a chosen people. When
God destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, Israel passed through
the judgment. Oh, the splashes of blood on
the door of their houses mark them as a people under God's
protection. And so it is, my friends, with
the elect of God, the blood-bought vessels of mercy whom God has
chosen in Christ. when the messenger of spiritual
death calls in judgment. Oh, the elect of God, the believer,
are covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and remain
under His continuous protection. How long am I protected? Forever. Life is now eternal. But those who are outside of
Christ, those who see nothing in Him to desire, those who love
the world and the things of the world, have the death of the
firstborn. They have no second birth. Now, when did this judgment begin? We just read it. Did you notice
the time the judgment of Egypt began? It was at midnight. It
started in the pitch black of night when the sun was at its
lowest point. But consider when Christ was
crucified. For three hours, from nine in
the morning to midday noon, Christ hung upon the cross in the light
of the sun. And as He suffered, men passed
by and they mocked Him. Some cursed Him. Some tempted
Him. Others reviled Him. They all thought this was His
lowest point. The one who claimed to be the
Son of God, look at Him now, fallen, failed at His lowest
point. You've saved others, why not
save yourself, they said. They said he's reached his lowest
point. This was the end. Yet, all the while, when the
sun was steadily rising higher in the sky, what men imagined
his destruction was actually his greatest work. The lifting up of the Son of
Man on the cross in the place of sinners is the glory of redemption. At noon Christ hung upon the
cross, the sun now was at its highest. Its light was suddenly
taken away and the land became shrouded with a thick darkness. It became as midnight. Why? It was to signify that Christ
had been made sin for his people. Dark as midnight, right? As he bore their sins in his
own body on the tree, the light of the sun of righteousness was
veiled. For the next three hours, Christ
drank the cup of wrath of God against the sins of his people. He drank it dry too, my dear
friends. God came in judgment against
sin, but He judged sin in the substitute. That's our message. This substitute was the Lamb
of God. God's sacrifice for sin was Christ,
our Passover. Now I want to talk just a little
about the entrance to the house on which the blood was put. On the night of the Passover,
the Lord commanded Israel to take a bunch of hyssop, which
is a plant that they often used in purification rites, and he
said, dip it into the blood of the slain lamb. And then they
were to strike it on the two side posts of the door and on
the lintel of the door of the house in which they stayed. And this blood application, oh,
you can see it, I can tell by your face already, this blood
application is a picture of the death of Christ. Christ is the
Lamb slain. His blood is the blood applied.
Notice where the blood was applied. It was applied to the doorway,
to the entrance of the house. And does this not give us a vivid
picture of the entrance to God's house? Which is only by the way
of the cross. It is only through Christ and
Him crucified for His people. Christ is the door through which
His sheep enter. John 10, 9, I am the door. By
me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and he shall go in
and out and find pasture. Christ is that door. What did Jesus say in John 14,
6? He said, I am the way. I am the way, I am the truth,
I am the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me." There's
only one door to go through, Gary, and that's Christ. He is the door. We've talked
about the entrance of the house. Let's talk about the safety of
the house. The children of Israel, by God's
orders through Moses, were to remain in their houses until
morning. Outside the Lord came in judgment
upon the Egyptians Scripture says there was shrieking and
hollering and crying and screaming like never before and never will
be again What a horrible night of judgment
as the firstborn of the Egyptians from Pharaoh to the lowest man
and in the dungeons of prison lost the firstborn Oh, and all
the while the children of Israel were safe as they remained in
their houses. They were covered with the sacrificial
blood of the Passover lamb on the doorway of their home. Their
families were secure under the protection of God. And when the
destroyer came, you know what he did? He passed over. passed over. When the executioner
of God's judgment saw the blood upon the houses of the Israelites,
he didn't enter. And do you know why? Oh, don't
miss the beauty in this. Because death had already done
its work there. The innocent had died in the
place of the guilty. That lamb. That lamb. Oh, that's Christ. That's Christ. And thus justice was satisfied. You see, to punish twice for
the same crime would be unjust. To exact payment twice for the
same dead is unlawful. Even so, those within the blood-sprinkled
house were secure." Blessed be the truth is this,
it's not merely God's mercy, but it's His righteousness which
is now on the side of His people. You think about that. God made
him to be sin for us, he that knew no sin, that we may be made
the righteousness of God in him. Now, righteousness, God's righteousness
is on my side. When the messenger of death comes
for me, he sees the perfect righteousness of my substitute and sacrifice. God's justice itself demands
the acquittal of every believer found in Christ. God said, when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. God's eye was not upon the house,
was it? Was God's eye upon the house?
No, His eye was upon the blood. It may have been a lofty house.
It may have been a strong house. It may have been a beautiful
house. It made no difference. If there was no blood there,
judgment entered and did its deadly work. Its height, its
strength, its magnificence, it didn't avail anything if the blood was lacking. And
on the other hand, The house might be horrific shack, falling
down, falling to pieces with age and decay. But no matter,
if the blood was upon its door, those within were perfectly safe. Please understand, it was not
God's eye upon those within the house. Some might say, well they
were descendants of Abraham. They might have been circumcised
on the A-Day. They may have in an outward life
walked blamelessly before the law of God and as far as it was
concerned. But it wasn't their genealogy.
It wasn't their ceremonial obedience. It wasn't their works, I'll tell
you that, which secured deliverance from God's judgment. It was the
blood. It was the blood. And by being in Christ, dear
sinner, by abiding in Him, all God's people, all God's people
are brought safely through judgment into everlasting life. For Israelites remained under
the blood. Are you under the blood of Christ,
our Passover? Well, let me conclude with a
finished work. Look down in Exodus 12, look
down at verse 51. And I encourage you to read these
chapters on your own, but look at 51, and it came to pass. Everything God ordains does. And it came to pass, the selfsame
day, that the Lord did bring the children
of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies. Now at the break of morning,
after this horrific night of judgment, In the light of the rising sun,
the Israelites emerged from their houses. Judgment had been passed. Where they emerged from their
house where they had sat in darkness that dreadful night. Now with
the morning's first light, they're met with the news that they longed
for. You're free to go. Delivered. Salvation's of the Lord. It always
has been. You know, you say that to somebody
and they say, is this some new doctrine? Do you know that 150
years ago, most every Baptist church preached the same message
we do? And people hear it now and they
think it's some new doctrine. Oh no, this message is six, seven
thousand years old or longer. You're free to go. You're delivered. And friends, when my Lord and
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, had drunk the last drop of God's
wrath against the sins of His people, it was a finished work. He said, it is finished. It's finished. Christ called
out in the midst of darkness. He said, it is finished. He gave up the ghost and a perfect
deliverance was accomplished and secured. For who? For all those under the blood.
Under the blood of Jesus, we sing that, safe in the shepherd's
foe, safe while the ages roll. Every one of God's people, every
one of Christ's sheep, the elect of God, are now redeemed before
God. Their sins have been atoned for.
They've been put away forever. You sin against me, I may tuck
it back away for a few years, but the first chance I get, I'm
going to bring it back out. And I'll probably tell you the
date and the time you did it. But not our God. not our God. The sun had been lifted up, the
sins of the people were washed in His blood, and they were ransomed,
redeemed, released, and renewed. And so it is, and so it is with
all who trust in the Christ of Scriptures. Amen.