Three Great Exoduses in The Bible
Calvary Church Midweek Bible Study
Exodus 12:14-51
The Significance of the Passover Feast
In Exodus chapter 12, we learn the significance of the Passover feast. It’s incredible how the preparation for Israel’s deliverance from slavery foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The symbolism of unleavened bread in removing sin from our lives and the powerful role of the Passover lamb as a symbol of protection and safety offer deep spiritual lessons. How God orchestrated it all helps bring a new perspective to our faith walk today.
Trusting in God’s Perfect Timing
During our Bible study on “The Great Exodus,” we learn how important it is to wait on the Lord and endure difficult times. Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that our strength will be renewed as we draw near to God. The truth of God’s faithfulness reassures us that His works arrive quickly, even when we’re feeling hopeless. Trusting God’s perfect timing is crucial, and this episode offered valuable insights into how we can depend on Him through all circumstances.
Three Significant Exoduses in the Bible
Did you know that the Bible mentions three significant exodus events? We learned about these in our study—starting with Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, moving to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, and looking forward to the church’s future rapture. Each exodus connects to the promise of eternal life and the fulfillment of God’s plan. This is so cool!
The Dangers of Complacency and Negative Influence
The issue of complacency is a serious one. Listening to negative voices only makes things worse. It’s easy to become lukewarm and forget the fervent faith we once had. We learned about the importance of remembering our identity and authority in Christ. Let’s continue to shine the light of Jesus amidst the darkness and rise as the army of the Lord, strong and vital in our spiritual journey.
Symbolism of Leaven and Personal Sin
As we looked at unleavened bread in the Passover feast, we learned about the symbolism of leaven as sin. Just as the Israelites removed leaven from their homes, we are called to purge sin from our lives. Addressing personal sin promptly and maintaining a pure heart before God is essential. This episode emphasized sincerity and truth, urging us to examine our hearts and live a compromise-free life.
FULL UNEDITED TRANSCRIPTION
Intro (00:00:03) – Welcome to the Study of God’s Word with pastor and author Ed Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado. To learn more about the many resources available through abounding Grace media or to tune in to our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Coat Church or download our free Calvary Church app. Now here’s Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
Ed Taylor (00:00:28) – Amen. Take your Bibles. Open them with you to Exodus chapter 12 as we pick up where we left off last time, Exodus chapter 12. And I’ve entitled our Bible study The Great Exodus, The Great Exodus, because it happens in this chapter as we finish up today. We left off last time with God preparing his kids, preparing his children that we know as the nation of Israel. And he’s preparing them to be delivered from the slavery that they’ve endured for many years. He’s literally saving them. This is God intervening in human history to bring about salvation. It’s a time of great Exodus or great exit. Finally, listen, after generations of pain, after generations of difficulty, after generations of hopelessness.
Ed Taylor (00:01:23) – I mean, just over and over and over again, God breaks through at just the right time and it ends. It doesn’t just end, it ends very quickly with this last or 10th plague. It happens very quickly. Why? Because again, we’re reminded that God can do a quick work. And I wonder, as I’m sharing today, like the generations and the difficulties and the layers of things and the years of waiting, and you just get to the place where, you know, I don’t think this is ever going to change. And the enemy gets in with his lies and he begins to take away your hope. I want you to be reminded that even in your hopelessness, God remains faithful. He loves you. He cares for you. And when the work happens, it’s going to happen quickly. It’s going to feel that way. You might even be so discouraged that you’re like, well, what do you mean, quickly? I’ve been waiting years for this. I’ve been waiting my lifetime. I, I remember my grandfather talking to me about this and just this thing that this family we’ve struggled with.
Ed Taylor (00:02:25) – And, and you have to give God the credit and the glory for the quick work that he does. He is faithful, waiting. You know, when you wait for something, it can be so discouraging and so hard. Like like you’re waiting right now, I think of I mean, I could think of a few things in my own life. I can think of one thing in particular 11 years. And I have to say, 11 years is a long time to wait. When you’re used to getting things 11 seconds or 30s or 11 days, but 11 years. And I mean the way it all looks in the human realm, it doesn’t look like 11 years is going to be any shorter than 22 years or whatever that might be. But in the discouragement you have to be careful, because there’s a lie that takes root from the enemy of our souls, that God’s timing isn’t perfect, or that God has forgotten, or that God doesn’t care, or that he’s not interested. And the Bible actually teaches the exact opposite.
Ed Taylor (00:03:25) – Hold your places in Exodus. Turn over with me to Isaiah so you can mark this and know the address. We talk about it, we reference it, we quote it. But I want you to mark it and memorize it. I want you to take this word and memorize it. Whether you’re in the midst of something that you’re waiting on the Lord for or there’s something coming up, I want you to remember the promise that God gives for those of us that are waiting. It says in Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 31, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. Think about that. Weakness is replaced with strength, weariness replaced with running and fainting. Replaced with walking. God is renewing your strength. Why? What’s the strength in waiting? Well, because you’re drawing near to the Lord. And depending upon him, you’re desperate. Perhaps. Or your prayer life has come alive.
Ed Taylor (00:04:29) – And these places, when you leave the presence of God, when you’re in and or into the presence of God, you’re strengthened. You’re reminded of his faithfulness. Now here we are in Exodus. This deliverance is finally come. Exodus is actually a Greek word, the. We get it from the Septuagint. The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament. And it’s an interesting thing to look at when you see the different words that were used to describe the Hebrew words. Exodus being a Greek word. What’s interesting is in the New Testament we find this very same word. It’s in Luke’s Gospel, chapter nine, in verse 30. In Luke chapter nine, verse 30, you have that glorious time of the Mount of Transfiguration. And in verse 30 it says, behold, two men talked with him who were Moses, and Elijah, who appeared in glory, and spoke of his decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. They were talking about the crucifixion upon the Mount of Transfiguration. They had a discussion, a dialogue about the coming of the cross and the resurrection of Christ.
Ed Taylor (00:05:41) – That word decease there, translated in the new King James, is the Greek word zahedan, which we get our word Exodus from Jesus refers to the cross as a great Exodus. Which reminds me, it’s a very interesting. You want to jot it down. There are three great Exodus in the Bible. There’s three of them. We think of one automatically because the whole book of the Bible is named that. But number one is the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt, where they were able to exit out of 400 years of slavery and oppression. The next exodus is here. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus talks about this great Exodus, the cross, the deliverance of Jesus. Listen, the first Exodus, the deliverance of the children of Israel out of slavery, the second Exodus. More important was the deliverance of anyone who turned to Jesus by faith, the deliverance of sin and death by the cross and resurrection. And there’s still yet a third Exodus that’s still coming at the end of the age, the rapture of the church, the culmination of all human history in the second coming of Messiah and the final and great Exodus.
Ed Taylor (00:06:51) – We will be delivered from this present world and ushered into the Kingdom age. So when you think of Exodus, I want you to think more of the deliverance that was just a picture and a type of the coming cross and resurrection, just a reminder of the promise of God that Jesus said, you know what? You believe in God. You believe also in you believe in me. You believe in God. Believe also in me. Because in my father’s house there are many mansions. And if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, you know what Jesus promises? The great Exodus. I’ll come and come for you myself, and take you in and be in the presence of eternity for all of eternity. It’s so good. So the children of Israel, like us today, had to prepare for their exodus. You’ve got to be prepared. God. He wants us to be a prepared people for his prepared place.
Ed Taylor (00:07:47) – And there’s preparation in our lives. As we were talking today in our staff meeting, going through our discipleship time, we were talking about counting the cost. We were learning about and being reminded about our character and our integrity and the importance of the inner man. Not the outer man. Not not what people, not not what people see. Not not something you put up for someone to see, but the cultivation of who you are on the inside, the depth of your relationship with Jesus, the importance of the weight of who you are. Open. And naked before the Lord. It’s not just what people think. The preparation for the children of Israel will. We learned it’s a significant feast known as the Passover. The Passover would point to the coming of Christ. It’s the number one picture in all the Bible. The best type of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world and for the Jewish nation. Listen, God is doing a new thing. You always want to be looking for the new thing that God is doing in your life, taking you from glory to glory and strength to strength.
Ed Taylor (00:09:00) – God is doing a new thing. If you’re not open to the new thing that God’s doing, you’ll miss it. I think of the testimony that we shared today where Dan is in a place a pastor Dan is in a place where he’s very fruitful, used in tremendous ways from all the outward measurements, all that you could see, all that you could even measure. As he’s sitting across the table with his wife and kids. Look at what God is doing. Look at the faithfulness of God. Look at how we’re being used, fulfilling the call of God that took us from California to here. And if he wasn’t ready and to respond to the stirring that the Lord was doing if he wasn’t ready to go. Okay, God says, all right, Dan, I brought you here. Now I want to do a new thing, and I want to do a new thing. And you’re like, well, I don’t want to do a new thing. I like this thing. I like the thing you’re doing right now.
Ed Taylor (00:09:49) – Lord, I like it a lot. But God says, no, I have something more for you. It’s going to be like nothing you’ve ever experienced. Because even when we were stepping into new things, we want to hold on to familiarity. We want to hold on to something that looks familiar. And the Lord goes, no, I don’t want you to. Looking for something that’s familiar. I want you looking to me. I’m taking you into places you’d never go on your own. I’m taking you into situations you would never choose for yourself. I’m taking you into places where you will utterly depend upon me. And I think today the greatest picture of God doing a new thing sounds a lot like salvation, doesn’t it? Where God wants to bring about a new thing. Behold, all things are new. You’re a new creation in Christ, the Bible says. All things. Those things in the past pass away. Behold. You’re doing a new thing. All things have become new. I think of Ephesians chapter two and verse ten, where the Bible says that we are his workmanship.
Ed Taylor (00:10:52) – You know, we have that picture in Jeremiah of God being the potter and we’re being the clay. And as he’s fashioning every single little thing, I want you to think about this. I’m not really an expert in pottery or anything, but I can I can get the picture. I think we all can. God uses simple enough illustrations that even if you don’t do it, you can get it. So I want you to think of that lump of clay. Oh, by the way, in the illustration, you’re the lump. Okay, so you’re the lump of clay with every spin and every touch of that clay. It’s something new. It may not be exactly what the end is going to be, but on the way to the end, everything is new. Every little thumbprint, every little bend, every little, you know, splashing with water as the the wheel speeds up, then that’s something new. Everything on the wheel in the potter’s hand. It doesn’t have to just be some dramatic, life changing thing.
Ed Taylor (00:11:46) – Everything is new, but you can see how the enemy will lie to us there as well, who go, oh, you know what? It’s nothing new. Same old, same old. Oh, it’s not God’s always doing something in the eternal now, in our lives, growing us into the image of Christ. So here they are. They’re prepared. Pick up with me in verse 14 is where we left off last time. It says, so this day shall be to you a memorial, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by everlasting ordinance. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses forever eats leaven bread. From this first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there should be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them, but that which everyone wants to eat, that only may be prepared by you.
Ed Taylor (00:12:46) – So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For on this same day I will have brought your armies marked out phrase. We’ll get it to it later I will. I would have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the 14th day of the month, at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the 21st day of the month. At evening for seven days no leaven shall be in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he’s a stranger or a native in the land. Verse 20, you shall eat nothing unleavened in all your habitations. You shall eat unleavened bread. Now if you go through the text here and mark, you’ll notice eight times God repeats the same word leaven. It’s very important to understand the significance of leaven in this feast. The bread, the matzah, was to be baked and made without leaven.
Ed Taylor (00:13:52) – And there’s a few reasons. One is practical. Remember that we saw earlier that when they ate this feast for the first time, they needed to be ready because God was going to act very quickly and they needed to be ready. So without leaven, that would not require they don’t have the time to let the dough rise and let it ferment. And so there’s an urgency. The leaven speaks of get rid of it. You’ve got to be ready. Gird up the loins of your mind. Peter would said, be ready. But secondly, and more importantly, is not the practical reason. It’s the spiritual reason. In the Bible, leaven is often used as a type and a picture of sin. Loving so important. When you put leaven in a bread, it puffs it up, it permeates it. It it destroys it, if you will, from the inside. Leaven, you could say, is a lot like pride, the root of every sin. Is pride and it destroys everything about us.
Ed Taylor (00:14:55) – I was talking again. This seems to be a topic today. I was talking to a few people. But you know, oftentimes, you know, we’re learning. We learn not too long ago that when you have an offense with someone, you’re to go with them, share your offense. If they hear you, you won your brother. Right? We learned that that’s important. Jesus taught us in Matthew 18. But when that doesn’t happen, when that doesn’t take place, we give room for the enemy. We give room to the enemy to make something small, so much bigger, so much bigger. And the difficulty in the hard part about that is not only are we disobedient and not settling our things very, very quickly, letting the sun go down on our wrath, letting our imaginations run wild. But by the time you pick it up again, you know by the time it comes back again, you’ve allowed the enemy to puff up your life with pride because you’ve rehearsed it, you’ve rehearsed it.
Ed Taylor (00:15:49) – And I don’t know if you notice this, but when you have something at odds with a brother and you keep rehearsing and rehearsing or rehearsing it, they’re always the enemy and you’re always the hero. They’re always the ones that have done it wrong. But you’re always the hero in the story. And because of that, a layer of pride comes up so that now if you try to reconcile, you’re not just dealing with the little offense. It was little before. It was actually something that could have been solved really quickly. It could have been something like, oh, I’m sorry, brother, I didn’t know you said that. Please forgive me. I didn’t mean that. That wasn’t my. It wasn’t my intention. I didn’t mean to make that joke or whatever it might be. It’s just like, hey, just take care of it. We can move on. We’re brothers. Sisters in the Lord. But the longer you let something go, and the more you build it up in your mind and the more you deal with it, now you’ve got a bigger problem.
Ed Taylor (00:16:39) – And that’s the problem of pride. Pride becomes this wall that’s built brick by brick, so that now when a brother maybe comes to you and wants to solve it and wants to get in there, they’re unable to get to the real issue because pride is there and it’s like a brick wall you can’t get through. And now it’s even worse. This happens all the time in marriage. I mean, for the closer the relationships this happens all the time. This is something that we have to remember to resolve things quickly, to pray, to get things done, to take care of these things so that the enemy doesn’t let us like by the time you get to it, you’re like, you know, it’s it’s just pride is like leaven. It just takes something. And completely. Destroys it from the inside. Leaven, or what we’d commonly known as yeast today is also hidden, and sometimes sins are hidden from others. They’re not hidden from God, of course, but it works. They work silently. The the the the.
Ed Taylor (00:17:44) – Wrecking work of sin is hidden and silent because you think you’re getting away with it. It also, leaven spreads quickly and purifies, just like sin does. So for the bread, the bread needed to be without leaven. Because your life is best without leaven. My life is better without sin. I’m sure you know that by now your life is better without sin, without choosing to rebel against God. You see a little sin in your life, just like the Bible says, a little leaven leavens the whole lump, which is true, and a little sin will affect your whole life. You can’t compartmentalize it and say, well, that’s just a little part of my life here, a little part what’s tolerated in the mind corrupts the mouth, and what’s tolerated in the mind corrupts relationships and reputations and ultimately destroys entire lives. That little deception, that little you know, we make categories, right? That little white lie. And we emphasize the white but not the lie. And that, you know, I’m not going to handle that.
Ed Taylor (00:18:55) – I’m not going to listen. There are three things that you need to know about unleavened bread besides the picture of sin. It’s what we refer to as matzah bread today. And prior to the Covid days, we used to have them passed out. You know, we would break the bread and pass them out all throughout, throughout the sanctuary. But if you look at the bread itself, you’ll see a couple characteristics of mozza bread. Even today, that flattened cracker like bread. First of all, number one, it’s striped. You’ll see they bake stripes in it. Secondly, you’ll notice the little holes in it. It’s pierced tiny holes throughout. And then thirdly, of course, it’s flat. And the flatness of the bread tells you that there’s no leaven in it. It’s cooked flat. And why is that such a big deal? Why would the bread. Not only because it’s a type of sin, not only because they needed to be ready. Why is it in the Passover, in this feast of unleavened so vital, so important? Well, Jesus said that he alone is the bread of life.
Ed Taylor (00:20:02) – This matzah is pointing again, as every component and ingredient in the Passover meal is pointing to Jesus Christ. Which reminds us, when you’re reading through the Bible, you’re reading your Bible every day, no matter where you are. You want to pray and ask God to show you Jesus. He’s on every page. He’s there in type and in picture. Sometimes he shows up as the angel of the Lord. Sometimes in the New Testament he shows up God in human flesh. You want to be looking for Jesus? The bread that striped and pierced without sin represents Jesus who bore our stripes. Jesus who was pierced. Jesus who was without sin. God wants and builds in memories for us. Which is why Jesus would tell us to continually remember him. When you do this, do this in remembrance of me. Don’t forget me. Don’t forget what I’ve done for you. Why? Because you have a tendency to forget. To move on. To break good habits. Jot it down in first Corinthians, in chapter five and verse seven it says, therefore purge out the old leaven.
Ed Taylor (00:21:29) – He tells the church, get rid of the leaven. Can’t you hear them? Tell us today. Hey, Aurora. Purge out the leaven. Get rid of it. It’s not helping you so that you might be a new lump. It makes sense with the illustration of the potter, right? Because when you’re a fresh new lump, you feel every little move of the potter. And I wonder today, someone listening right now, maybe online, maybe on the radio. You’re listening right now. Maybe this is the word. You’re like editor. I don’t pastor, I don’t hear from God. I don’t hear from God. I feel so distant from God. And here’s the answer. Deal with your sin. God is calling you to a place where you know exactly. You know exactly what to do. Humble yourself and repent with godly sorrow, not worldly sorrow. Don’t confuse the two. Worldly sorrow leads to death. But godly sorrow leads to repentance. Purge out that leaven. Get rid of it, Paul saying, get it out.
Ed Taylor (00:22:34) – Not even a crumb of sin. Not even a crumb of anger. Unforgiveness. No compromise. Be ready for every good work, he says at the end. He wants you to live. This is first Corinthians five seven and eight. He wants us to live with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. That’s what we might be known so as the body of Christ. This is the hour. The moment where God is saying, I want my bride to get ready for the great marriage supper of the lamb, and we’ve got to deal with our own house. Not my. You don’t look at my house. I’m responsible for my house. I’m not going to look to your house. Your responsible judgment begins in the house of the Lord. Your house. Your mirror, your life. Search through your house, they were told. But what does God say? Search through your soul. Ask God in Psalm 138, Lord, show me. Reveal my heart to me. Reveal any unclean thing and then show me the way of righteousness.
Ed Taylor (00:23:35) – Leaven is a big deal. Just like sin is a big deal. Every little bit of it. He says here like eight times. Like he he mentions 11, eight times here. But it’s like, hey, look, anybody that eats 11 is going to pay the price for it. Anyone that does that. You have to prepare it yourself, he says. Keep this generationally, he says in verse 19, listen, whoever eats what is leavened, this same person will be cut off from the congregation. This is not what send us. It cuts us off from fellowship. It cuts us off from enjoying the presence of the Lord. It cuts us off from hearing from the Lord. It cuts us off in friendships. And all you need to do is just deal with it, admit it, get through the pride and the arrogance and just hand it over to the Lord. Come back to the text now. Verse 21 says, Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, pick out and take lamps for yourselves, according to your families.
Ed Taylor (00:24:33) – Kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that’s in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts on the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians. And when he sees the blood on the lintel on the doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. Verse 24. It should come to pass, that when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as he promised, that you shall keep this service, and it shall be when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service, that you shall say, it’s the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.
Ed Taylor (00:25:25) – So the people bowed their heads and worship, and the children of Israel went away, and did so just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. So they did. After the instruction to Moses. Moses then delivers the instruction, and the only thing that was left for the people was to obey by faith. Not to get an explanation. What do you mean? Just how much blood should we put up and where should it belong? And I don’t know, and I’m not sure. Hey, you know, what do you think? And it’s. Just obey the Lord. Just do. What you’re told to do. By the Lord. Just do it. We don’t walk, we learn in the New Testament. We don’t walk by explanations, but by faith. And sometimes God’s going to be allowing things into your life, leading you in things that even if you got the explanation. It still wouldn’t satisfy. Because the Lord wants to be your satisfaction. And sometimes you’re sitting in a Bible study or listen on the radio.
Ed Taylor (00:26:33) – You got your app going, you’re on a walk on the treadmill and the Lord speaks to you. And you’re not quick to obey. Or you’re not thorough in your obedience, or you have like a dull hearing because you have leaven in your life, you have some compromise in your life. And what the Lord is looking for is simple faith. You can see behind the scenes of simple faith, there’s some complications. You can see that there’s all these plagues and and that God is, is, is going to do great damage to the firstborn of this rebellious nation that’s marked and typified by a rebellious leader. That judgment is going to come, and it’s the judgment of God that follows. Nine listen nine times God is gracious to Egypt. Nine times God is merciful to Pharaoh nine times. And still. The resistance. The Lord is going to pass over you. I want you to do this. Do it on your doors. Close the door. Don’t come out until morning. And wherever the blood is applied.
Ed Taylor (00:27:40) – There’ll be safety. Not just for the parents, but also for the kids. It’s a family affair. And unless the blood was applied, it wasn’t effective. It was not effective in the basin. It wasn’t effective in the backyard. It wasn’t effective in the lamb. It needed to be on the doorposts exactly as God instructed. It’s to be a memorial, to be a reminder after they arrive in the Promised Land, which is yet so far ahead. I mean, it’s so far ahead. God’s going, do this, do this. And when you get to my promise, when you experience the fullness of what I’m promising you, I don’t want you to settle down and forget me. Don’t forget my grace and sparing your life. The annual observance of Passover would serve as a constant reminder of the faithfulness of God, and the annual celebration of the Passover would also point to the coming of Messiah, to look for him, to expect him, and to receive him, which is exactly what the Jews did not do when Jesus came.
Ed Taylor (00:28:55) – All of this is pointing to the cross. This is a memorial not just for what God has done in the past with a loud Amen, as God done anything in your past. Not too many people. Just this side. This side. You guys all right over here? All right. Has God done anything in your past? But that’s not all God wants you to bank on. It’s not only in the past, but what’s to come. It’s not just what. And here’s the thing. If God has been faithful in the past than he has, how much more faithful will we be in the future? He’s going to keep his word every single time. It’s not going to be one word of God that has ever been spoken that will fail. I see some of these. I don’t even know what to call them, except for people that are claiming to speak in the name of God that are completely false, completely wrong in their predictions, and they just keep people, keep following them. Like the Bible says, that if there’s a person that claims to be a prophet and is wrong in just one thing, that in the Old Testament they were to stone them.
Ed Taylor (00:30:02) – But here in the New Covenant, everybody thinks they should keep following them. I mean, it’s just some wild, wild things. And I don’t want you to follow false teaching. I want you to tune your ears to hear the voice of the Lord. And don’t follow someone that says, oh, you know I’m from God. I’m from God. Yeah, but you’re not right. That’s not God. You’re not only are you not right, but you’re dishonest. Because what you said did not come to pass. You were really trying to be precise. And you’re going to come. And here I am, and this is thus saith the Lord. And then after the date passes, you’re like. Thus the Lord didn’t say you said, and because you’re wrong, I reject you as a messenger of God. I don’t receive that. That isn’t God. When he gives a word, it always come to pass. Not one word will fail. And all of this pointing what God’s really saying to the children of Israel looking forward is I will always provide a place of safety.
Ed Taylor (00:31:06) – As long as you apply the blood, that’s the place of safety. There is no safety today, physically or spiritually, outside of the blood of Jesus Christ, outside of the blood of Jesus Christ. Men and women will die in their sins. And live a priceless eternity. Which is why the church is actively seeking to share the gospel. And step into your life as uncomfortable as it might be. To share with you the significance of the condition of your life apart from Jesus. We’re not following myths or fancy made up stories. Jesus Christ, God in human flesh. He came in the form of a human being and lived a righteous life. I mean, the only righteous life, the only perfection that ever existed. And the reward for his life of love and care. The reward for his life of teaching and healing and helping and bringing encouragement and joy and love to a loveless world, was that they lied about him, and they set him up, and they manipulated the government and manipulated everyone and hung him on a cross.
Ed Taylor (00:32:29) – But not before they savagely beat him like a common criminal. Beating him almost to death. By his stripes we are healed. It is the strength of the blood of Jesus Christ. So that today, if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. The cross gives perspective. Of all the petty little things that we carry in life. The larger the cross and the view of the cross in your life, the more petty these little leavens and lumps of leaven in your life. They’re not as important as you think they are. They’re not as significant. And as valuable as you think they are, as they hinder you from walking in the newness of life. This is a serious time for the nation of Israel, and they were to obey. Notice verse 29. It came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon for all the firstborn of livestock.
Ed Taylor (00:33:47) – So, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, and there was not a house that was there, that was not one dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, rise and go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel, and go serve the Lord as you have said. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also. And this is not interesting. Just a side note, because we run out of time. But isn’t it interesting that even the most hard hearted pagan man or woman. Appreciates prayer when they’re in a bind. It’s one of the greatest things you can do for the hardest people around you. It’s just to ask if you can pray for them. So is there anything I can pray for you? Or as you’re walking away? Say, I’m going to pray for you.
Ed Taylor (00:34:47) – Not like in a nasty way. Well, you know, I’m going to pray for you, but in a real, caring, sincere way. I love you enough that I’m going to carry you on my heart when I leave. I love you enough that when I get home, I’m going to tell my kids at the dinner table about you and we’re going to pray for you. Not because I think you’re less than me, and not because I think you know you deserve the fires of hell, but because I love you. And I don’t want you to experience a crisis. Eternity. Because somebody was praying for me. You know that you may not be able to use those words, but your face and your mannerisms and your attitude will convey all of that or not. And I’ll pray for you, Pharaoh, you know, you know how close he’s been. But then he hardens. You know, he’s just looking at the economy. You’ll see that later. That’s all he cares about. Cares about his name.
Ed Taylor (00:35:37) – He thinks he’s a God little guy. He thinks he’s the number one god. He doesn’t care. But man, when chips are down, he asks for prayer because pain hit his house. Payne hid his house. That’s the great equalizer, isn’t it, Payne? Believers, we suffer. Unbeliever suffer. You know, we had another hailstorm right here while I was away. Do you know the cars out there? Believers. Cars got hit on believers. Cars got hit. We’re all going to be lying at all. Be in line at the hail repair place. You know, where the dent removal, whatever. Like, like we’re all going to go. We’re all going to be there together. Except the difference is unseen, isn’t it? It’s unseen most of the time. The difference between the unbeliever and the believer at the hail damage place is the believer has hope. There’s a purpose unveiled in their lives. We’re there and we know you know. It’s just a car. It’s just the car.
Ed Taylor (00:36:47) – Just a dented hood. We get it fixed? Great. We don’t get it fixed. Great. It’s all going to burn. I’m getting ready for the marriage feast of the lamb. I mean, it’s all going to go away. It’s not. That’s the difference. And. For those believers that are abiding in Christ, those believers are walking with the spirit. There’s another difference that’s unseen, and it’s this. You just think you’re both in line together or one in the front. One cares about the other. While the other may not. The Lord put that in your heart because you know that might be their hope. That car. It might be an insurance thing that might bring them to the brink of of disaster financially. It might bring about this. I don’t know, we can’t take one more thing in their lives. And when you walk in, you’re thinking that if you’re open to the Holy Spirit, you’re watching. You’re caring because you are the eyes of Christ, in that you are the representation of Jesus.
Ed Taylor (00:37:53) – The world is just always going to be the world. They’re always going to act like the world, sound like the world that they’re going to be Antichrist. As John said in First John. But only the church can be the church. You’re the church. And so you think, man, I was just in line at the hail damaged place. And man, I didn’t get any of that. Try again. Go back for another estimate somewhere else. And just like I’m going to go in for a second estimate, not just for the money, but to be open to the Holy Spirit. To be open to the person that’s taking all that information that’s been overworked, underpaid. You care. And that’s a bridge for the gospel. So here. Pharaoh. Hey. Bless me. Pray for me, you know. Yeah, I know, because pain will draw people’s attention to God for a brief moment. It’s the great equalizer. You know, a lot of people wouldn’t have time to go into this.
Ed Taylor (00:38:48) – I can’t believe this. Why would God strike the first born? What kind of God would do such, such a thing? And there’s a lot to be thought on that I’ve done this in other studies, but I just want you to consider Egypt for right now. Number one, the rebellious against God. Number two, they’re idolatrous. Number three, they’ve rejected God. Number four, they live in gross immorality. Number five, they are caught up with greed and covetousness, as they’ve used slave labor for their wealth for 400 years. And they’ve been enslaving and brutalizing human beings all these years and enjoying the benefits of it. But the real question isn’t about the Egyptians. The real question lies with a question like that is, after all that we have done with God, why has he spared our lives? Because we are all equally lost apart from Christ is not what the Bible says. We have all sinned and fallen short because you look at this and well, I’m not like any Egyptian. And well, I bet you if we got to look a little closer, we might see some similarities.
Ed Taylor (00:39:50) – Of a life that’s lived apart from Christ. And it’s to me, it’s just amazing that God would be so gracious to save any of us, any one of us, of what he delivered us from. This final plague is hard, but it comes after nine chances. Nine chances. And certainly there’s interaction between the Egyptians and the Israelis, the children of Israel seeing what they’re doing, maybe talking about it. And wherever the wherever the Lord saw the blood. Wherever the Lord saw the blood. He’d pass over. Well, verse 37, the children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Sukkah. About 600,000 men on foot, besides children. A mixed multitude went up with them also flocks and herds, a great deal of livestock. I don’t think they see it right now, but like the mixed multitude is like bringing leaven, the mixed multitudes. You know, the complainers, the grumbling, the those outside of the covenant, the ones that don’t care about God. They brought the mixed multitude idolatrous, rejecting God, they left with them.
Ed Taylor (00:41:02) – But they’re going to cause great, they’re going to be a big problem to the children of Israel. Isn’t that the Bible says the Bible says be careful. Evil company corrupts good habits. Be careful. Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Be careful. And this mixed multitude we’ll see in future studies, stand as a warning to us. Just like people in the church today. You know, you people in the church today that that they like the blessings of God. They want all the benefits of being a Christian that they desire, but they’re not really true believers. Mixed multitude. Any gathering has a mixed multitude with it, whether it’s in the building or out online or, you know, there’s always mixed multitude. Those that are serious about the Lord, those that are not. And so we don’t know the difference. We don’t know. We just know that we’re going to preach the gospel and encourage and hope the best. And we find out the mixed multitude, you know, we find out the wolves in sheep’s clothing when we see their teeth and their fangs, and we see the bloody mess that they leave behind in destroying people and drawing people after themselves.
Ed Taylor (00:42:10) – There are those among us even now worldly, carnal, destructive. And the Lord is just using this whole section to call you to himself. It’s impossible to be carnal as you abide in Christ. It’s impossible to walk in the flesh when you’re walking in the spirit. It’s impossible to be selfish when you’ve died to yourself in that moment. So good. So in Inherit the Mixed Multitude, verse 39. They baked unleavened cakes with of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt. It was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves. Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was 430 years. We’ll get into that in future studies, too. And it came to pass at the end of the 430 years, on the very same day it came to pass that all the armies there’s that word again. All the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
Ed Taylor (00:43:05) – This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. And verse 43, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, this is the ordinance of Passover. No outsiders shall eat it. Every man’s servant who’s bought for money, when you have circumcised him, he made it the sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it in one house it shall be eaten. You shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones again a foretaste, a picture of of Jesus, who had no broken bones, broken all the congregation. Verse 47 Of Israel shall keep it. Then a stranger sojourns with you, and wants to keep the Passover. Let all the males be circumcised, and let them come near and keep it. He shall be as a native of the land, no uncircumcised person shall eat it. One lot of beef for the native born and for the stranger who sojourns among you. Verse 50 thus all the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.
Ed Taylor (00:44:02) – So they did came to pass on the very same day that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, according to their. There’s the word again armies. Very, very interesting word. As you see some more details given on the Passover and what how it’s to be observed. I want you to see and note these words. Armies. There’s a couple of ways of looking at this. One of the definitions of this word in the Hebrew speaks of hosts like heavenly hosts, that perhaps there’s some angelic visitation abiding with the children of Israel and coming out with them. That’s one possibility. But I see a greater possibility. Okay. And this is something we’ve developed before. But I want you to understand this. Armies of the Lord. He refers the references directly to the children of Israel. He calls them armies. Now just say it. Yes or no. Are they armies right now? No. They’re what? Slaves. They’ve been slaves for generations. Before they plundered the Egyptians.
Ed Taylor (00:45:07) – They had nothing less and less and less. The whole reason that this movement happens now is God heard their cries as they were, making it worse and harder for them to work. They’re not armies, but three times. Three times the word of the Lord to this nation was you armies, you armies, you armies. Jot this down. I want you to meditate on this. I want you to consider the whole picture of the book of Exodus, the whole picture of what God is doing, pointing to Christ, deliverance, salvation. But I want to give you two more words to consider. Are you ready for Exodus? Are you ready? Exodus is all about identity and authority. Identity and authority. You go, pastor, what do you mean? He is speaking to slaves that have yet to be delivered except for for verse 51 as armies. He’s speaking of them, of what they become, not who they are. And isn’t that what the Lord does in our lives? He doesn’t remember us.
Ed Taylor (00:46:05) – You know how we like. You know Rahab. Oh, I know Rahab. Rahab the harlot. No, no, no. She’s not the harlot anymore. She’s saved and redeemed. You get to heaven. Don’t go around. Where’s where’s Rahab the harlot? And some angel comes back with their wing. Wow. What’s that for, bro? Like there’s no harlots in heaven. There are no harlots in heaven. And listen, listen. When God saves you from that lifestyle, that sex trade, wherever you. You’re not a harlot anymore. You’re a sister in the Lord. You’re a brother in the Lord. You have a new identity. Listen. The devil attacks this so much. The devil attacks this so much because he knows. Once you know who you are, there’s no stopping you. Once you understand who Christ is in your life, there’s no stopping you. You will go anywhere. You will do anything. You will take these leaps of faith, trusting God, putting your whole life on the line because you believe who you are in Christ.
Ed Taylor (00:47:06) – That’s why Jesus always calls us back. Would you guys just go back to your new believer days, please? Because that’s when you are on fire. I don’t want you to be harder. I don’t want you to be lukewarm. I want you to be hot believer. But even if you were cold, at least I could speak to you. But when you’re lukewarm, you don’t listen to anything. I spit you out of my mouth because you don’t care about me. You have enough of me to make yourself feel good, but you have more of you to drown me out. Listen, the children of Israel, I mean, at this point, if you looked at them and you said, hey, come on, armies, they’re like, you know, we’re nothing, bro. Like we’re nothing. We’re slaves. What do you mean, armies? We’re nothing. Or nobodies. Sometimes they, you know, even people will refer to themselves as losers. We’re losers. Man. 400 years of nothing.
Ed Taylor (00:47:56) – They forgot. We remember Joseph, but I never met him. That was my great, great, great great grandfather. Might have met him, but I don’t know who he is. I don’t know what the favor of God is. You call this the favor of God? Working and looking at my life. You call this the favor of God? And of course, you could say that right now. What you’re going through. You call this the favor of God? Let me give you the answer. Oh, yeah? Yeah. You live under the favor of God. No matter what this world throws at you, no matter what your bank account looks like, no matter what your boss is saying, no matter what’s happening in the government, no matter what’s happening. No you won’t. You doubt the favor of God. Remember, from where you have fallen and repent and go back and repeat the first works. That’s where you’ll find the favor of God. When none of the other things mattered except his rescuing power in your life, where you were standing at the altar, or sitting in the chair, or standing up or crying in your car.
Ed Taylor (00:48:50) – Yes, I’m a sinner. I need you, Lord. I give you my life. Take it all. And you meant it. And the question to some listening to me is what happened? That you don’t mean it anymore. What happened where you let pride get in the way? What happened where you don’t care about the leaven anymore? What happened when you start listening to people that agree with you, instead of people that challenge your unbiblical thoughts and you start looking for people testing the waters. It happens in churches and little gossip groups. They all just kind of agree. What do they say today? You live in a, the the not the sound tunnel, but the echo chamber. Thank you very much. Sounds like the cone of silence, like Maxwell Smart, but, the echo chamber. So you just like. And, you know, the the tech companies, they all understand that, and they just keep feeding you the same thing. So you keep seeing the same things. You give me angry and upset and angry and upset and angry.
Ed Taylor (00:49:49) – Upset. And before you know it, anger. The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. And so the church just sits around telling everybody how dark it is. Telling everybody how bad it is, telling everybody how ugly it is, and they won’t just turn on the light. And show the hope of Jesus and the goodness of God. And no matter how dark it gets, on the darkest day when there was darkness at the cross, three days later, Jesus rose again from the dead. He is faithful. He is good. And when you look at this, you’re just like God says. You are somebody. I’m going to deliver you. I have a purpose for you. You are going to be somebody, this little group of obedient children of Israel, the nation of Israel. Right here is the prelude. This little group is the prelude. Now they they end up wandering around because you might have seen the, the reality of they end up wandering around because of unbelief and all of that.
Ed Taylor (00:51:00) – That’s unfortunate. But you know what? They still obeyed and left Egypt. They still put the blood on the doors, and because they put the blood on the doors that they stayed alive. So that the perpetuation of generations can come until Jesus Christ arrives. Hey, look! God declares, you’re not those things you say about yourself. You’re my children. I’m your father. I’m the Lord. I’ll deliver you now with a mighty powerful. Hannah will bless you. I will pay your wages. I will restore to you what the enemy is stolen away. And just like when anyone’s born again. Generational change starts in that moment with that life. It’s changes. You are not slaves anymore. To to sin and compromise and pride. You are slaves now as an army of the living God and man, there’s no looking back. Lord, thank you for the simple truths in the Scripture tonight. Lord, we know the times are tough. We know that days are evil. We understand. We see the Scripture fulfilled.
Ed Taylor (00:52:10) – Perilous times will come, perilous times have come. But Lord, we need your strength and help and vitality and desire to turn on the light. Even the smallest light lights up a dark room. Even the smallest of lights shows the way in the pathway. Your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. So let the church arise. Armies of the Lord surrounded perhaps by heavenly hosts, that we might fight the good fight and find ourselves in a place of redemptive history. In Jesus name, Amen.
Intro (00:52:53) – We pray that you’ve been encouraged by this Bible study, delivered live from the Sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer. Call us at 87730. Grace. That’s (877) 304-7223 to listen to this message in its entirety, or to join us for our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Coat Church or download our free Calvary Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.
KEY WORDS:
God’s word, Pastor Ed Taylor, Calvary Church, Aurora, Colorado, Bible study, Exodus chapter 12, Great Exodus, Passover feast, nation of Israel, slavery, Jesus Christ, crucifixion, resurrection, rapture, eternal life, sin, repentance, sincerity, truth, unleavened bread, 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, blood of the Passover lamb, salvation, faith, trust, obedience, Pharaoh, prayer, mixed multitude, unequally yoked, identity in Christ, authority, favor of God, complacency, negativity, light of Jesus, army of the Lord.
