I've been reading and studying
and praying over the last half of Exodus chapter 12 for weeks,
going over it again and again and again, asking God the Holy
Spirit to open this portion to my heart in a practical way. And it is blessed, so very blessed
when God opens a passage to your soul. Late, late last night,
about 2 o'clock this morning, I was reading through this chapter
again and suddenly God shined upon the page and blessed my
heart. I hope He will yours as I try
to convey to you the things I believe the Spirit of God has shown me
here. We'll begin in Exodus 12, verse 29. With these opening five words,
they're used hundreds and hundreds of times throughout the Word
of God. They're used so commonly that
we tend to read over them without much thought. This is the title
of my message. And it came to pass. And it came to pass. Now you can mark this down. Everything that comes to pass
is brought to pass by our God. And everything that our God has
purposed from eternity, He shall bring to pass in time exactly
according to His purpose. Everything predestined from eternity
shall come to pass at the appointed time because our God is he who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. And everything that comes to
pass in time was predestined in eternity according to his
purpose. What purpose? His purpose that
we whom he foreordained should be made at last to be conformed
to the image of his son in everlasting glory. He said, Brother Don,
surely you don't mean for us to understand that that includes
all things. Listen to this. The prophet Amos
asked a question. Shall there be evil in a city
and the Lord hath not done it? He asked the question, leaving
no answer to be given because the answer is obvious. No. Our God says in Isaiah 45, if
you want to turn there, hold your hands in Exodus 12. It'll
do you good to see this. In Isaiah 45, God is describing
himself, describing himself in his excellence, in his supremacy,
and in his glory as God. describing himself in a way that
puts him beyond comparison with all that men call God and all
that men make for themselves as gods. He says in verse six
of Isaiah 45, that they may know from the rising of the sun and
from the West, that is that everybody on God's green earth should know
that there is none beside me. There's nobody sitting up here
beside me. There's nobody who is a rival
to me. There is no God but me. I am
the Lord and there is none else. Now, what does he do that men
should know this? I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, Do all these things. If God Almighty sends a calm,
relaxing, pleasant day, that's God's work. And if God Almighty
sends a tornado and destroying everything in the path of the
whirlwind, He has His way in the whirlwind. If God sends tranquility
and peace to a land, that's God's doing. And if God sends war and
turmoil and strife in a land, that's God's doing. If God sends
peace and ease in your life, that's God's doing. And if God
sends turmoil and evil in your life, that's God's doing. People blame things on everything
under the sun. And we live in this day. You
see folks, he's always on television, called me, let's sue. Because
we want somebody to blame. Blame somebody for something.
Blame somebody for everything. You and I who know the living
God ought to quit trying to place blame anywhere and bow to our
God. Shall there be evil in my life
and the Lord hath not done it? No. Who is he that saith and
it cometh to pass when God commandeth not. Shemai came out cussing
David. He was, I mean, he was cussing
David. And one of David's men said,
let me go over there and lift his head off his shoulders. And
David said, leave him alone. He couldn't do that if the Lord
hadn't said, curse David. Everything that comes to pass
in time, is brought to pass by our God according to his own
purpose of grace toward us. And everything that God has promised
shall come to pass in time because all the promises of God are yea
and amen in Christ Jesus unto the glory of God. Now that's
what we have before us in Exodus 12. These words, and it came
to pass, here refer specifically to two things, the destruction
of Pharaoh and the land of Egypt, and the deliverance of the children
of Israel. Actually, that's just one thing.
God said to his people, I gave Egypt for you. I raised up Pharaoh,
and I raised up Egypt, and I sacrificed them for you." So this word,
and it came to pass, speaks of God bringing Israel into the
land of Egypt, where they were to sojourn for 400 years, and
at last bringing them out of that land with a mighty, high,
stretched out hand for the glory of his name, and bringing them
out in a far better condition than they were when they went
down there to begin with. What a picture this is of redemption
and grace. I remind you again, all that
came to pass that night in Egypt was allegorical. It was a picture
of redemption, deliverance, the salvation of our souls in and
by Jesus Christ. We read Israel's history. here
and throughout the Old Testament with no understanding at all. We read Israel's history with
no spiritual profit and no benefit to our souls if we fail to see
that everything that transpired in their history was designed
of God to be a picture and a type, an allegory of that which is
spiritual and that which comes to pass in our lives according
to God's purpose and by his grace. Listen to the scriptures. Whatsoever
things were written aforetime were written for our learning. This back here was written aforetime,
and Bob Duthitt was written for your learning, upon whom the
ends of the world are come. All these things happened unto
them, God said, for our examples, to be examples to us. And all
these things are written and they happen that we, through
patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope. When I read
about Israel going down in Egypt, how they got there, what brought
them there, all that they experienced there, the good and the evil,
and all the affliction they had in their latter years there.
and how God brought them out when it appeared utterly hopeless
that anybody would ever leave that land. God can do that again. God is doing that again. These things are written to inspire
our souls with continual hope. In Exodus 12, 29 through 51,
the Holy Spirit gives us a tremendously instructive picture
of our salvation in Christ, showing us six things involved in the
deliverance of our souls from sin and death and Satan and the
curse of the law by God's free grace. Here's the first one.
In verses 29 through 30, 29 and 30, we see that the salvation
of our souls is deliverance by a great slaughter. 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 the cattle. And Pharaoh rose
up in the night, and he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in
Egypt, for there was not a house. Underscore that. There was not
a house where there was not one dead. Now, that which came to
pass that night in Egypt came to pass exactly according to
the purpose of God as it was stated in Exodus chapter 4, verses
22 and 23. The Lord God said, I will slay
thy firstborn, even thy firstborn. It came to pass as a matter of
just retribution. It came to pass because of Pharaoh's
sin, because of Pharaoh's rebellion. Pharaoh lost his son justly,
and Pharaoh was cast into the Red Sea with the armies of Egypt
because he had earned fully the wrath of God. Now, I stress that. I stress that. Hear me and hear
me well. If you go to hell, it will be
your fault altogether, and it will be a matter of absolute
justice, righteousness, and truth. But preacher, we believe that
God predestined this. Not anymore than I do. Not anymore than I do. But don't
even think that men will be permitted or even inclined in the day of
judgment to stick their fingers in the face of God Almighty and
say, we wanted to be saved, but we're damned because you wouldn't
let us. That is not the case. Everywhere in this book, the
judgment of God is a matter of righteous retribution. Everywhere
in this book. Well, We couldn't help it. We
fell in our father Adam. Nobody goes to hell because of
Adam's sin. You go to hell because of your
own sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall die, and no other. Pharaoh reaped exactly the fruit
of his own doings. Back in Exodus chapter 1, Pharaoh
gave a command. Go gather up every firstborn
son, every male born in the land of Israel, every male among the
Israelites and kill them. And God says, all right, that's
just what I'll do with you. And this is what the book says.
When men go to hell, they shall eat the fruit of their own way. What a solemn warning. But I
see something more here. Something here other than judgment
upon the wicked. These things didn't happen just
to destroy Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They happened that by the destruction
of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, God's people might be profited,
blessed, and saved. These things are recorded here
to teach us something about God's method of grace, to show us how
it is that the Lord God saves his people from their sins. There
could be no deliverance from the wrath of God, but by a great
slaughter. And the slaughter, as is described
in these two verses, was twofold. First, there was a slaughter
of the Paschal Lamb. We could never have been saved
except Christ our Passover be sacrificed for us. Never. That's what we had in the first
part of this chapter. The lamb shut up, selected, shut
up, inspected, and slaughtered according to God's purpose. The
blood sprinkled upon the doorpost and the lintel. For without shedding
of blood is no remission. Grace can't come except by justice
being satisfied. Mercy cannot come except by justice
being satisfied. God cannot, God cannot, I repeat,
God cannot save sinners except in a way that honors himself
who is truth, righteous, and just in all his ways. He won't
do it. God will not sacrifice his character. He will not sacrifice his holiness.
He will not sacrifice his righteousness to save anybody. He won't do
it. God Almighty demands the soul
that sinneth, it shall die. And justice must be satisfied.
So Christ Jesus, our Passover was sacrificed for us. But there's
something else here. We read in verse 30, there was
not and has. where there was not one dead. In Pharaoh's house and the houses
of every Egyptian, from the servant in Pharaoh's palace, from the
king on his throne in Pharaoh's palace, to the servant out in
the field, to the man who even dwelt in a dungeon Even the prisoners
in every house in Egypt, there was found that night one dead. The first board was dead. Slaughtered by God's hand. Slaughtered according to God's
purpose. Slaughtered by divine justice. The first board representing
all the hope of the family. The first board The one who is
the heir of all, the firstborn, the one who is the preeminent
object of the household, the firstborn, the one through whom
the family is to be carried on, is slaughtered by the hand of
God. Now, we don't have any difficulty understanding that. Most everybody
recognizes that, who claims to believe that this book is the
word of God. But I ask you to consider something. Does that
include the children of Israel? Where were their houses? Where
did they live? Were they not captives in Egypt? Did they not live in Egypt? But
Brother Don, none of the firstborn in the house of Israel died.
There was not a house where there was not one slave. I beg to differ. I beg to differ. In the houses of all the Israelites,
that dark night in Egypt, Judgment came, and yet the plague didn't
touch one of them. Death harmed no one. Not one
of the sons of Israel perished, but judgment came upon them all,
and there was not a house where there was not found one dead. No, not among the Israelites
or among the Egyptians. How can that be? See the blood
on the door? There's one slain. There's one
slain. And God says, I'll slay not another.
Wherever I see the blood, there's one slain, and I'll not enter
that house. I'll not send destruction there.
I'll not bring judgment there, because judgment has already
come there. The field can't be burned again. It's already been consumed in
my wrath. What are you saying, Brother
Don? The Paschal Lamb slain each man, taking one for his house. The Paschal Lamb slain for that
household represents the house. And that house ceremonially was
slain with that Paschal Lamb. The same is true of us, but not
ceremonially, really and truly. Paul said, I am crucified with
Christ. Now, I know religious folks who
can't stand free grace and can't stand salvation by Christ alone. I'll tell you what that means
is, since I believe on Jesus, I beat my flesh and I mortify
my flesh and I bring my flesh in subjection and I crucify myself
because I believe in Jesus. That ain't close. Quite literally,
Paul said, I have been or I was at one time crucified with Christ. When he died, I died. When he was slaughtered, I was
slaughtered. When justice plunged itself into
my substitute, justice plunged itself into me. Let's see if
that's what the scripture teaches. Romans chapter 6, verse 6. Our
old man is crucified with Christ. That's the language of the book.
Our old man is crucified with him. Verse 7, he that is, what
did I say, Lindsay? Dead. Well, I ain't dead. Bless God, I am. Nevertheless,
I live. Yet not I, but the life that
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith, by the faith of
the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. He that
is dead, look at it, is freed from sin. I went to court with
a sentence over my head. The sentence demands death because
I have been proved guilty. Proved guilty beyond a doubt
of transgression worthy of death. And now the sentence has been
executed. And now that the sentence has
been executed, I have no more sentence hanging on my neck.
I am freed from sin. Look at chapter 7, verse 4. We
are dead to the law by the body of Christ. No longer married
to the law. What's that mean? I don't owe
anything to the law. Don't owe anything to the law.
Well, Todd Nyberg called me today. He was working on a message out
of Exodus 20. He said, he said, is it right
to say that believers by faith obey the law? It's somehow not
comfortable with that. I said, no. I said, it is right
to say that believers do not obey the law. They just don't
violate it. We don't owe anything to the
law. We don't owe obedience to the law. Christ fulfilled everything
the law demanded. And now we rejoice and magnify
the law, believing Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Brother
Don, I think you're stretching that too far. There's one more
text, 1 Peter 4, verse 1. I keep referring to this in my
preaching because one of these days I want to preach from it.
I just haven't quite got it yet. 1 Peter 4, verse 1. For as much then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind. For he that hath suffered in
the flesh hath ceased from sin. The Son of God was made sin for
us. And when he had sacrificed himself
He ceased from sin. He's freed from sin. Same thing
we read back in Romans 6. But read on. That he should no
longer live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men. But Bob, that can't be talking
about our Redeemer. He never did live in the flesh
to the lust of men. That's not talking about him.
Oh, no. Well, verse one's talking about
him, sorta. It's talking about Bobby Estes
and Don Fortner. We died in the flesh, ceasing
from sin, in the person of our substitute, that we no longer
should live the rest of our time in this flesh to the lust of
men, but rather to the will of God. All right, back in Exodus
12, verses 31 through 36. Here's the second thing. The
salvation of God's elect is deliverance with a great spoil. 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. I love this. As ye have said. You remember he kept trying to
hold leverage over Moses and kept trying to get Moses to compromise
you. You go serve the Lord, but you can do this, you can't do
that. You go serve the Lord, you can have this, you can't
have that. Moses said, we're going out of here. Not a husk
will be left behind. Every man, woman, and child is
going out with our cattle that we may sacrifice to the Lord.
Pharaoh said, no, you can't. Now he says, go. Go serve the
Lord just exactly like you said. Verse 32. Also take your flocks
and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone. And bless me also."
You can forget that, bud. And the Egyptians were urgent
upon the people that they might send them out of the land in
haste, for they said, we'll be all dead men. Judgment's on us. And the people, the children
of Israel, took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading
troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.
And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses.
And they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver and jewels of
gold and raiment. And the Lord gave the people
favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such
things as they required, and they spoiled the Egyptians."
Now, before you join the club, wouldn't you think you're hearing
somebody say, oh, that was evil. These folks stole the silver
and gold out of Egypt. Go back to chapter 3 and let's
see. This was done by God's command. And I reckon if God commanded
it, it was right. Exodus 3 verse 21, God said,
I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians.
And it shall come to pass that when you show that you shall
not go out empty, but every woman shall borrow of her neighbor
and of her that sojourneth in her house. jewels of silver and
jewels of gold and raiment clothes, and you shall put them upon your
sons and upon your daughters, and you shall spoil the Egyptians."
Chapter 11, verse 2. No mistake, this is God's command.
He gives it a second time. He told Moses, speak now in the
ears of the people and let every man borrow of his neighbor. Spoke to the women first, now
men. And every woman of her neighbor, he repeats it, jewels of silver
and jewels of gold. Well, you don't really think
the Egyptians are going to give them those things, do you? Brother
Larry Brown sent me a blog, Chris Cunningham, and put it up on
the internet this morning. It applies just exactly what
I want to say here. Brother Chris said I was scheduled to preach
Sunday in Alamog, Michigan for my friend Jim Burr. Scheduled
to go up for the wedding. Jim's daughter and brother Bryant
Martin. But I couldn't go. And the Lord persuaded me that
it was best for me not to go by giving me the pain of a kidney
stone. God has a way of bringing us
around to his way of thinking. That's true of God's people.
And it's true of everybody else. Pharaoh, let my people go. Ain't
gonna do it. Who is God that I shall obey
Him? I'll bring you around. The children of Egypt, the Egyptians,
they mocked, they derided, they abused, they stole from the children
of Israel. They wouldn't even give them
straw for making bricks. But when it comes time for them
to go out of Egypt, they sit here. Brand new Rolex. Take it. Honey, what you got
around your neck? Give it to them. Take it and get out of
here! and they were glad to see him
go because the Lord gave them favor in the eyes of their enemies. He still does and he shall tomorrow
and he shall forever. When Egypt lent their silver
and gold to the Jews, I've got a hunch they didn't expect to
get it back. I just got a hunch they didn't expect to. Any more
than Hannah when she lent her son Samuel to the Lord, expected
to go retrieve him at any time. For when she lent him to the
Lord, she gave him to the Lord for life. And when the children
of Israel borrowed silver and gold from the Egyptians, the
Lord God giving them favor, the Egyptians gave them everything
they required and caused the children of Israel to spoil them. who had spoiled them all those
years. And when this thing is over,
the nations of them that are saved, does that mean God's going
to save the United States and not save Russia? He's going to
save the Iranians and not save Israel? No. What does it mean
then, the nations of the saved? That's one from one nation. Here's one from another nation.
Some of you came from different nations, ethnically, originally. God has his elect in every nation
in this world, out of every kindred, nation, tribe, and tongue. And
the nations of them that are saved shall bring all the riches
of the nations into glory at last. What it mean? Everything that has been, is,
and shall be of any value in this world of time shall be carried
with God's saints into everlasting glory in that day called the
restitution of all things when everything is restored to God's
glory and our everlasting happiness. And it shall come to pass that
our Savior will divide the spoil with the strong forever. Verses
37, 38, 39. Here's the third thing. The salvation of God's elect
is deliverance on a great scale. And the children of Israel journeyed
from Rameses to Succoth. About 600,000 on foot that were men, that means 600,000
who were of the age to go to war. That leaves out every man
under 20 and every man who had reached his old age. Six hundred
thousand men in the prime of their life and a mixed multitude
went up also with them. That is why they were there.
During this time when God sent his plagues among the Egyptians,
there were some, both of the Egyptians and of those who were
strangers in the land of Egypt, as the Israelites were, who were
persuaded of God's grace and God's deliverance. And they went
out with Israel and flocks and herds, even very much cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes
of the dough, which were brought forth out of Egypt, for it was
not leavened because they were thrust out of Egypt and could
not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves anything to eat."
Hadn't prepared any vegetables. Now, when you see the things
in Hollywood, I've never seen the whole movie. I've watched
a little bit of a couple of movies. That old one with Charlton Heston,
Ten Commandments and things and all. They're coming out of Egypt,
and you see folks being drug along in litters, and you see
old folks who can't walk, and they're being helped along the
way, and ragged folks. That ain't the picture. This
is what scripture says. There was not one feeble person
among their tribes. Now look at the picture. Here
comes Moses at the head of an army. of 600,000 young men, excluding
their wives, excluding their children, excluding the old,
and excluding the mixed multitude. There were 600,000. At the lowest possible reasonable
estimate, there are two and a half million walking out of Egypt. They didn't sneak across the
border like a bunch of Mexicans going into America. No, no, no. They went out standing upright,
marching like an army, not one feeble one among them. And when
they left Egypt, they carried with them everything they needed
for their journey. And there was no weakness among
them. They were thrust out of the land. So it is with God's
elect. justice being satisfied has thrown
us out of prison. And we go out a great multitude,
redeemed by the blood of Christ. Here was this multitude of Jews,
a great multitude, a rich multitude, a mixed multitude, a triumphant,
victorious multitude. Need I tell you what that reminds
me of? Bowing before the throne of God
and of the Lamb, John said, I beheld and I heard the voice of many
angels round about the throne, and beasts and the elders, and
the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000, and thousands of
thousands saying, worthy is the Lamb. In chapter 7 of Revelation,
he describes the 144,000 who must be saved. a specific number given for an
indefinite number. He's speaking of all the host
of God's elect, all the Israel of God scattered through all
the earth. They shall be saved. And he said, I beheld and lo,
a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations
and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before
the Lamb, clothed with white linen and palms in their hands,
and cried with a loud voice, saying, salvation to our God. Here's the fourth thing, Exodus
chapter 12, verse 40. The salvation of God's elect
is deliverance accomplished by a great scheme. The sojourning
of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years,
and it came to pass at the end of 430 years, even the same day
it came to pass, that the host of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
I'll let you read the next few verses. Israel went out of Egypt
by a great scheme of grace. By a scheme of grace, a covenant
of grace revealed and made known to one man, bestowed upon one
man for the whole nation 400 years earlier. Turn back to Genesis
chapter 14. Let me show you, or chapter 15.
Let me show you something about that covenant. This covenant, with all its blessings
and promises, was a covenant that was based upon, hinged upon,
and performed according to one great sacrifice. It was a covenant
made with one man, but a covenant made for the whole nation. Genesis
chapter 15, verse 1. After these things, The word of the Lord came to
Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and
thy exceeding great reward. Verse 5, And he brought him forth
abroad and said, Look now toward heaven and tell the stars, if
you can, if thou be able to number them. And he said unto him, So
shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord and
he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the
Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees to give thee
this land to inherit it. And he said unto him, take me
an heifer of three years old. And he said, a ram and a turtle
dove and two young pigeons. And he took them, verse 10. and
divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against the
other, but the birds he divided not. And when the fowls came,
when the buzzards came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them
away. And when the sun was going down,
a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and lo and horror of great darkness
fell upon him. And the Lord said to Abram, know
of a surety. that thy seed shall be stranger
in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they
shall afflict them four hundred years." Now, wait a minute. Wait
a minute. Exodus 12 said he brought them
out at exactly the precise time God had spoken, says 430 years.
But if you start right here and count backwards to the day that
God called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees, it's 30 years. Exactly 430 years after God called
Abram, they came out, 400 years after he spoke this word to them.
Verse 14, and also that nation whom they shall serve will I
judge and afterward they shall come out with great substance. Verse 18, in the same day, the
Lord made a covenant with Abram saying unto thy seed, Have I
given this lamp? Our deliverance and all the blessedness
of it, our redemption, salvation, and all the blessedness of God's
free grace comes to us by a great scheme of grace, a covenant order
in all things ensure made with our great representative man,
Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and all of it. All of it is based
upon and hinges upon his sacrifice. It was not until the blood of
the lamb was shed that redemption was effective. And as soon as
it was shed, the very next morning, Israel marched out of Egypt free. Everyone for whom the lamb was
shed walked out of Egypt carrying great wealth. greater wealth
than they had when they went down to Egypt. I won't even try
to speak of all that signifies. They went down there, 70 poor,
hungry, desperate people. And while they were there, they
multiplied from 70 souls to at least upwards of two and a half
million. And when they came out, they
came out with everything worth having that was in Egypt, indescribably
more in number, indescribably better off, indescribably wealthier
than they could ever have been had they not gone down to Egypt. Oh, my good and wise God, in
all my ignorance, not knowing the mystery of your purpose and
your will, those secret things that belong only to you. I thank
you for the fall of my father Adam and the ruin of our race
in him. For had we not been brought down
here, had we not gone through all this, we could never have
known the blessings of that salvation that's drawing near that yet
awaits us in everlasting glory. Now that's just exactly what
I believe. That's just exactly what this
book teaches. Here's the fifth thing. Verses 47 through 50. Our salvation is a deliverance
with a great seal. This blessedness, we're told
in these verses, was given to nobody except those who were
circumcised. Now circumcision doesn't have
anything to do with baptism. I don't care what the papists
or the Protestants say. Circumcision has no connection with baptism.
Circumcision was a mark of a covenant identifying a person, a man,
as one of Abraham's children. Sealing to that man all the promises
and blessings of the covenant and it was performed in each
individual Paul describes it in the New Testament. It's parallel
like this we're circumcised with a circumcision made without hands
and that circumcision made without hands is the regenerating work
of God the Holy Spirit and It is the Spirit of God coming to
each individual redeemed covenant child and sealing to that child
all the blessings of God's covenant and securing to that child all
the care and protection of God, declaring that he belongs to
God, identifying him as God's. And so by the covenant seal,
we are sealed into the redemption of the purchased possession.
And then in verse 51, our salvation is a deliverance performed by
the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. 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. Salvation is of the Lord. So let him and him alone have
the praise, the honor, and the glory. Amen.