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The Passover: The Lord's Feast Day For Us

8/19/2023

Think back to Sunday, August 22, 1993. What do you know about that day? Perhaps nothing at all. Most of us were alive, but we have little to no recollection of that day unless it's a birthday, anniversary, or a significant day in our life stories. Now think about July 4th, 1776. What do you know about this day? How do you know it? Why does it stick in your brain? Though you weren't alive then, you probably know important people, places, and names from that epoch in America’s history. We memorialize significant days so we won't lose sight of the weightiness of those days.

We need spiritual memorial days, too. God magnifies Himself in life-altering ways, but everyday life often pushes those memories to the back of our minds. When our hands are in a soapy sink full of dishes or we’re moving car parts down the assembly line, we can lose sight of the mighty days of God's power. We may not feel prone to wander, but we know we're prone to forget what God has done for us. This is one of sin's impacts on all of our lives.

The Passover is the LORD’s Day

There's much to be said about the Passover, but as we journey through Exodus 12, one phrase practically leaps off the page: "It is the LORD’s Passover" (12:11). The Passover belongs to the LORD, and for good reason! He was poised to strike Egypt with their version of the shot heard around the world. This day marked the downfall of Egypt's gods because God executed His judgments on them, reiterating "I am the LORD" (12:12). Can you imagine if Taiwan raised up enough military power to overthrow China’s regime?

Beneath the surface of the Passover lies something deeper than mere military triumph. Similar to many preceding signs and wonders, God drew a distinction between Israel and Egypt. However, there's a marked difference in God's instructions. The LORD vowed to claim the firstborn of people and animals throughout Egypt. Israel would only be spared if they displayed blood as a sign on their doorposts and lintel. In essence, failure to obey God's Word would lead to the loss of their firstborn sons, subjecting them to God's just wrath. Notice that His wrath is just even in punishing Israel. They, too, required a substitute.

Some speculate that the Israelites might have faced judgment for aligning with Egypt's idolatries, and we need not look beyond ourselves to recognize the alluring temptation of assimilating with the prevailing culture. However, even if none of the Israelites had engaged in idolatry, they were still descendants of Adam, and since "in Adam all die", they were subject to God’s just judgment apart from a substituting sacrifice (1 Cor. 15:22). Once again, God's mercy toward His "firstborn son" shines through, much like the initial rays of sunlight after a tempestuous storm (Ex. 4:22). Truly, this is a reason to celebrate with a feast!

The Passover is Israel’s Feast

The Passover held such significance that the LORD commanded a perpetual feast "throughout [their] generations, as a statute forever" (12:14). Every year, an entire week was dedicated to rest, purging of leaven, and congregating to worship God as Israel commemorated His wondrous work among the Egyptians. This Feast of Unleavened Bread involved consuming bread without yeast, which prevented it from rising.

The focus on unleavened bread seems to extend beyond the texture of soft, airy bread and delve into the broader concept of God's people. Leaven, or yeast, often carries negative symbolism in Scripture. During the Exodus, waiting for the dough to rise would have impeded the Israelites' progress. Subsequently, leaven was prohibited in Israel's sacrifices to God and was not permitted for consumption in sacred spaces (Lev. 2:11; 6:17). In Amos 4:5, sacrificing with leaven exemplified Israel's disobedience and disregard for God's Law.

Much like sin, leaven permeates all the flour it touches. It takes time to rise, and once it infiltrates the flour, its presence becomes evident. This is why Jesus cautioned His disciples to beware of the "leaven of the Pharisees" (Matt. 16:6). In 1 Corinthians 5, the Corinthian church was instructed to discard the old leaven of sin and embody the purity of God's unleavened people (vv. 6-8). This mandate applied to both personal actions and the excommunication of unrepentant sinners from the church. Paul similarly cautioned the Galatians against the influence of "a little leaven" of legalism, as it can ruin the whole lump (Gal. 5:9).

The Passover Foreshadowed Jesus’ Day

LORD willing, it will soon become more evident that the Passover foreshadows the day of Jesus’ great shedding of blood. It was then that the universe witnessed the Lamb who bore the sins of the world (John 1:29). For now, though, let us recall that the Passover carries a significance beyond being a festival for only Israel to remember God's actions on their behalf. We, too, can contemplate God's work within the context of the Passover. Even in the days of Exodus, people need the blood of Christ to be liberated. The author of Hebrews states it well when he says, "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Heb. 10:4).

In essence, the Passover exemplified their present forgiveness while simultaneously pointing to the ultimate Substitute who would bring them forgiveness once and for all. Beyond the blood on their doorposts, those Israelites required faith in the Savior whose blood "proclaims a better message than the blood of Abel" (Heb 12:24). They needed blood that proclaimed their innocence and freedom before a holy God, and only Jesus’ blood can make us innocent.

They were in need of the blood of Jesus, just as we are. The Passover indeed stood as a remarkable act of mercy in its time. Nevertheless, it is the once-for-all merciful action of Jesus that granted forgiveness to the faithful Israelites back then. And that very act of mercy is what the world urgently requires today. Israel’s anticipation was fixed on the most significant Passover of all, while we now look back upon it. In the words of Shai Linne, they were saved on credit, and we’re saved on debit. Yet we all behold the same Lamb of God who is worthy of our heartfelt worship and allegiance.

Reflection Questions

How does understanding the Passover as a symbol of forgiveness and redemption in the Old Testament deepen your appreciation for Jesus' role as the Lamb of God in the New Testament?
In what ways does the concept of leaven in the Passover connect to the idea of sin and its influence in our lives? How can we apply the principle of removing leaven to address sin in our own hearts and our local church? What are some specific ways the gospel confronts the leavening in our hearts?
As you reflect on the Passover, how did it celebrate the present mercy of God toward Israel? How does it point us to a future Savior. How do we hear the Passover’s echo in the new testament?

Prayer Points

Thank God for His justice and mercy. Thank God for His justice in not sweeping sin under the rug—both the sin of oppressors and those who are oppressed. Thank God also that He extends mercy to those who will repent and trust in Christ.
Celebrate in the presence of God. Take a few moments to smile and rejoice in your salvation in the presence of God. Enjoy Him in adoration for His power among Israel and Egypt as well as in your own life.
Ask God to bring the gospel to the forefront of your mind. Seek the Lord’s help in keeping the gospel always before us, especially when we are under the weight of affliction and oppression.

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/traditional-jewish-matzo-4034017/

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God’s War on Our Idols (Exodus 7:14-10:29)

8/15/2023

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Far too often we miss our idolatry. We are often blind to the ways that cultural idols have crept into our lives. Sometimes we unwittingly welcome cultural idols 0into our lives without any resistance at all. John Calvin once wrote that the human heart is a perpetual idol factory. Timothy Keller in his book Gospel for Life gave this list of contemporary idols:

Power
Approval
Comfort
Control
Helping (“people need me”)
Dependence (“I can’t survive without you”)
Independence
Work
Achievement
Material
Religion
Individuality
Irreligion
Racial/Cultural
Inner ring (a desire for belonging)
Family
Relationship
Suffering (embracing unnecessary drama)
Ideology
Image

Keller then organizes them into four overarching categories: power, approval, comfort, and control. We may not worship a pantheon of idols who oversee the sky, the grass, and fertility, but idols are everywhere in our culture.

God Hates Idols

Idolatry can be simply defined as placing other gods before our God (Exodus 20:1–3). This definition may evoke visions of people bowing before statues or totem poles. As we delve deeper into the book of Exodus and Egypt’s culture, we learn that people indeed believed in sky gods or pestilence idols for protection. We even see people bowing in total submission to Pharaoh who was considered to be a keeper of order between heaven and earth. All of these instances illustrate idolatry, but the scope goes beyond them.

Tim Keller's list reveals that we tend to prioritize many things over the LORD, and such a course of action carries devastating consequences. A recurring theme in Exodus 7–10 is the declaration, "You shall know that I am the LORD" (Exo. 7:17; 8:10,22; 9:14,29; 10:2). Knowing the Lord inevitably drives us to set aside our idols and worship Him. Whenever we place something above God, it's evident that we lack a true understanding of Him. This displeases God because He despises idolatry.

As we read about the signs and wonders God worked in Exodus, we have to avoid the modern Western tendency to overlook our own idols as we mock at the idolatry of Egypt. Were God to show up and judge America today, He could bring plagues and pestilence that would shatter our idols as well. As we understand God’s war on Egypt’s idols, we need to realize that God wars against our idols as well.

Idols and Desolation

At times, we find ourselves toying with idols. We pay lip service as we recognize these idols and our struggle against them. Yet, we allow them to persist. Although we recognize our battle with them, we hesitate to eliminate them completely. Sometimes God steps in, letting us experience the utter devastation that idols bring. To borrow from the Egyptian servants, there are moments when we are left ruined and obliterated due to these idols (Exo. 10:7).

How does this manifest in our everyday lives? We pursue power or control, only to realize that we can't even master ourselves. We bow down to the idol of relationships, only to face betrayal and abandonment. We invest our hopes and efforts into our work, only for someone else to outperform us and get the promotion. We fervently embrace a political or theological ideology only to bulldoze some of our most cherished relationships. The examples are too numerous to count, and we’ve all felt them.

If we're not careful, these idols can deceive us to the point of hardened hearts. Instead of being moved to repentance, we stubbornly cling to our sinful ways. We offer worldly sorry, uttering phrases like "just this once, forgive me" (Exo. 10:17). Deep inside, however, we harbor a reluctance to part ways with our idols. This is undoubtedly a sorrowful and unsettling predicament. It’s a reminder that being church people doesn’t mean we can’t be “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb 3:12-13).

Jesus is greater than idols

The gospel's great news is that Jesus arrived and shattered our idols. We fail to realize that idols are cruel masters. They dangle promises of life, joy, hope, and peace, only to forsake us when we need them most. When we're in the heart of trouble our idols offer no assistance. They always fail to deliver on their promises. Just as Egypt's magicians and idols couldn't shield Pharaoh and his nation, our idols likewise cannot shield us from God’s just judgment on our sin.

But Jesus can. He did. He will.

Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross to annihilate our idols. He became a plague on our behalf, sparing us from the plague of his wrath. He bore the curse so we wouldn't have to. After slaying our idols, he paraded them in a triumphant celebration (Col. 2:15). This is the power of our Savior. This is the work of our God!

Although Pharaoh never repented, we still have the chance to. If you're already in Christ, repentance has been granted to you through faith. God has equipped you with all you need to live a life of faith that continuously obliterates idols. In His strength, we can labor every day to worship Him instead of idols. This isn't reserved solely for the super-spiritual Christians either—it's for all of us. If you're in Christ, you are an idol slayer. You're demolishing the cultural idols hidden within your heart. By His grace!

Start demolishing the idols in your own heart before you focus on everyone else’s. Examine Tim Keller’s list and identify the idols you might be concealing. Add to that list any idols that may be lurking below the surface of your heart. Confess your sin and put it to death (Rom. 8:13). Don't play with idols—crush them! God is waging war against idolatry in our lives!

Photo by Wendelin Jacober: https://www.pexels.com/photo/wrecked-home-furnitures-interior-1411392/

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God's Power in Signs and Wonders (Exodus 7:1-13)

8/4/2023

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As children, we sometimes hear the story of Moses and the plagues without the context of Exodus 3-6. We read of a baby boy lifted from a basket and adopted into Pharaoh’s family, meeting God at the burning bush, and immediately bursting into Pharaoh’s palace making demands. Yet there's a lot missing when we read Exodus that way. We miss God’s preparation of his prophet, Moses. We also lose sight of the plan and purposes of God in the plagues.

God’s Purpose

Throughout the previous chapters, we've learned of God’s plan to free the Israelites and work mightily in the presence of Pharaoh. In chapter 7, God reiterates his purpose in this way: “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, lay my hand on Egypt and bring my people out of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” (paraphrase of v. 3-5).

The Exodus became one of the most monumental acts in the history of Israel. When the Israelites spied out Jericho, Rahab said that all the inhabitants of the land melted away before them because they heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt. (Jos. 2:9-10. In Israel’s songbook, they sang that “In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt… He struck down every firstborn in Egypt. (Psa. 78:12, 51) The early church recounted the Exodus in their global gospel mission speaking of Moses as the man who “led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. (Acts. 7:36). Even Jude powerfully states that it was Jesus who “saved a people out of the land of Egypt” (Jude 5).

The immediate purpose was that Pharaoh and Egypt could know that God is LORD. Yet, the greater purpose is that the world, including you and I, could know the power of the LORD, the God of Israel. We must ask ourselves this question: Do I know Him? This is one of the greatest questions we can ask ourselves. Apart from a true knowledge of God and His knowledge of us, we have no hope of eternal life (John 17:3).

God’s Prophet

As we’ve already seen, God prepared Moses to be the prophet who would speak “as God” to Pharaoh (v. 1). Aaron was like a prophet of Moses, but God gave ultimate prophetic authority to Moses. He and Aaron had spent time in God’s presence and, at the right time, “did just as the LORD commanded them” (v. 6)

Though some will try to argue against a historical Moses and Exodus, we’ve already seen a genealogy as well as the specific ages of Aaron and Moses at the time of the Exodus. Moses is two-thirds of the way through his life, and now it’s go-time! We have no good reason to doubt the historical reality of an event that echoes throughout all of Scripture. Not only should we believe that the Bible is faithful and has no errors, but we should also trust that God penned these details as historical truth for His people through the ages.

Is God preparing you for something in this season? Some of us are still in the firs third of our lives. We may be in Egypt learning the ways of the world around us while consciously feeling the urge to separate and be with the people of God. Others of us are in the middle third of our lives, arguing with God that we are not strong enough or suited for the job He has called us to. Yet still, others of us are in the final third of our lives doing precisely what God has prepared us for. We may not spend literal 40-year periods or thirds of our lives in these seasons, we should seek the LORD for His guidance in the season we’re in.

God’s Power

The obedient prophet and his brother went before the face of Pharaoh. He met them with a challenge, “Prove yourselves,” just as God told them he would (v. 9). The proof is in the pudding—or the staff in this case!

At first, it seems as though Moses and Aaron lose the fight against Pharaoh’s wise men and sorcerers. Aaron threw down his staff and it turned into a serpent. This was incredible! Then the wicked magicians of Pharaoh did the same by their secret, occult, arts. Just like the cross of Christ, all hope seemed lost in that moment. If they can do the same as God’s prophet, how does God win? Yet, “Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs” (v. 12)! God allowed them an inch of satisfaction to harden Pharaoh’s heart, but He would win this battle. Just as the LORD told them, Pharaoh didn't listen because his heart was fortified in disobedience.

The signs and wonders Moses and Aaron displayed point us to the power of God in the gospel (Rom. 1:16). This mighty power was on full display when Jesus rose from the dead on the third day (Rom 1:4). God powerfully redeemed Israel from Egypt and this redemption foreshadowed his glorious work to redeem us from sin and death. The book of Revelation shows even greater signs and wonders than these being poured out on all who reject God’s Son and Kingdom in the last days.

We, too, deserve to face such judgment from (Rom. 3:23). Our great hope against facing the wrath of God is the One who took the wrath for us (Isa. 53:4-6). As we will soon see, all who are not for God are against Him, yet God will shield His people from wrath, even as they live in the midst of great acts of judgment. In Christ, we may face tribulation, but we will never be on the receiving end of God’s fierce wrath. Ah, what a relief it is to be in Jesus!

Reflection Questions

How did the LORD’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart help make the LORD known in Egypt and throughout the world? How is this challenging to our view of God? How does it bring you comfort?
How does the power of God in Israel give you hope today amid your trials and difficult circumstances? In what ways does God’s power in Exodus point you to the gospel?
How is God at work in your life right now? If you’re not saved, do you feel God drawing you to Himself? If you’re a believer, how do you sense God preparing you to fulfill your calling? If you’re confident that you’re fulfilling your calling presently, how do you see God’s power at work in your life and relationships?

Prayer Points

Seek God’s mind. It can be tough to discern God’s purposes in the face of persecution or trials. Ask God to reveal His mind to you through His word. Ask Him to help you obey even when you don’t understand.
Pray for patience. Sometimes God doesn’t work in ways that seem efficient in our eyes. Pray for patience and trust as you continue to walk by faith. Ask the Spirit to help you discern specific ways He’s helping you grow in this season.
Rely on His power. As you share the gospel, do the work of the ministry, or live out your calling in everyday life, thank God for His power in you. Confess your weaknesses, and express your inability to change hearts. Seek His strength and power for every moment.

Photo by David McEachan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/gray-pyramid-on-dessert-under-blue-sky-71241/

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The Passover: The Lord's Feast Day For Us

God’s War on Our Idols (Exodus 7:14-10:29)

God's Power in Signs and Wonders (Exodus 7:1-13)