Genesis to Esther Series – LESSON 17

Subject - Exodus

1. The Family Of Israel Moves Into Egypt

We now change the whole course of our study, and get into something else, although, it is certainly connected with what has gone before. We come now from the book of Genesis to the book of Exodus. We see the family of Israel moving into Egypt. I want you to notice the word “family” because I am going to play on words here. It was a family that came into Egypt. And then, later on we will see that the Lord brought Jacob (Israel) out of Egypt, not as a family, but as a nation.

It seems strange that the subject is Exodus, but to show you the background, I want to turn back to Genesis. Joseph had gone down to Egypt, but not the family yet.

Genesis 46:1-8

(1) And Israel (Jacob) took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba,

If you don’t know the location of these places, I suggest that you get a map and look it up. Beersheba is the southern part of the land of Israel. He has gone from Shechem to Beersheba.

and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.

(2) And God spake unto Israel

You notice he is called “Israel” both times.

In the visions of the night, and said Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

I want you to notice this verse of prophecy. It verifies what I have said.

(3) And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

Get the connection? They are going to go into Egypt as a family, but while they are in Egypt, God is going to make them multiply and become a nation.

(4) I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again:

This is a prophecy. You are going to go down, and I am going to bring you up again.

and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

(5) And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

(6) And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:

(7) His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

(8) And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons:

And it goes over them all again.

Genesis 46:26-27

(26) All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

I have been trying to show you, that the children of Israel are so named out of the loins of Jacob.

(27) And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.

Seventy people. That tells you about their move.

The Lord brought Israel into Egypt, and that was, first a prophecy.

Genesis 15:13-14

Abram is put into a deep sleep and God says to him:

(13) And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

(14) And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

Now we look at the history. This prophecy in the book of Genesis, is now history in the book of Exodus.

Exodus 1:1-5

(1) Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

I’m glad it starts that way. They are not numbers, they are names.

(2) Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,

(3) Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,

(4) Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

Before I go on – the same names that you are introduced to in Genesis, have the same meaning in Exodus don’t they? It is still talking about the same people.

(5) And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

That goes hand and glove with what I read in Genesis.

Exodus 12:40-41

Here is one of the many mistakes that they point out in the Bible.

(40) Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

(41) And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.

Notice, for the moment, the expression “the selfsame day.” It is the exact day seventy souls came in to the land of Egypt. Now, somebody reads Genesis 15 superficially, and then they read Exodus 12 without paying attention, and they say “Here is one of the contradictions in the Bible.” If you haven’t had it pointed out to you before, it is quite important to see this. In Genesis 15 it says:

Genesis 15:13

(13) And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

But, now go to Exodus 12:40. Now the affliction of the children of Israel was four hundred and thirty years. It doesn’t say that! Do you see the difference?

Exodus 12:40

(40) Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

They were in Egypt for 430 years. They were not afflicted for 430 years. They were afflicted for 400 years, because, when they went into Egypt Joseph was on the throne. They were not afflicted for the first 30 years. They were in bondage for 400 years, but they sojourned for 430 years.

We are regarding the children of Israel and the land of Egypt, as found in the book of Exodus. We have looked at the following:

1. The family of Israel moves into Egypt.

2. The Lord brought Israel into Egypt. That was first in prophecy, and then

it moves into history. There were 70 souls that went in, and they were in

bondage for 400 years, and they sojourned for 430 years.

The Lord bought them in, to later bring them out. There is some wonderful typology in all of this. In Egypt, these people were in helpless bondage. They couldn’t do anything for themselves. This fact is here, whether we want to accept it or not – God allowed Israel to go into Egypt, because it was part of His plan. God had a Plan in all of this. He allowed them to go down because of His plan. And I always say this, when I stop at this point, Do I dare suggest this? Some people “flip” when you start talking this way. But look at it. I want to suggest something. God allowed the human race to fall in Adam. You have to accept it, whether you want to or not, isn’t that right? Adam could not have fallen if God had not allowed him to do it. God allowed the human race to fall in Adam because it was part of His Eternal Plan!

1 Peter 1:18-20

(18) Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

(19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot

(20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you:

We are not redeemed, says Peter, with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot – from the foundation of the world. So, you can see an Eternal Plan in that.

Let’s look at that, and apply it to ourselves. Do not look at man in Egypt, as being God’s final plan. Do not look at yourself in a “fallen” state, as being God’s final plan. Look ahead, think ahead. It is far better to be a New Creature in Christ, than a mere, natural creature, even unfallen in Adam! And don’t forget, when the Lord is through with us, as believers, it is going to be better than being brought out of Egypt. One of these days, we are going to be brought out of this world, and that is going to be wonderful. But when we are, what a wonderful future. We are destined to be like Jesus Christ. And so, that is far better than being like Adam.

1 John 3:2

(2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

2. The Lord Brought Jacob-Israel Out Of Egypt

Notice that I say “Jacob-Israel.” I do that, to impress upon you, Israel and Jacob are basically one and the same. I have been reading all kinds of books where the Church is called Israel, but I yet have to find anybody who has enough gall to call us Jacob. You watch and see! But, if you are going to be consistent, it would be just as right to call us Jacob, as to call us Israel if they are one and the same.

The Lord brought Jacob-Israel out of Egypt – not as a family, but now as a Nation.

1. First A Prophecy

Genesis 46:3

(3) And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

Genesis 15:13-16

God said two primary things to Abram. When God was talking to Abram He said:

(13) And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs,

He doesn’t name it, but we know He is talking about Egypt.

And shall serve them; and they (the Egyptians) shall afflict them (thy seed) four hundred years;

(14) And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

(15) And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

(16) But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

You can see that it is prophecy. God said, I’ll take you into Egypt, and I will bring you out of Egypt. And so when we read Exodus, God is fulfilling His Word.

2. Then History

God said, I will take you down into the land of Egypt, and I will leave you there until you become a nation. That is one of the purposes of the time element. Now we come to Exodus 12, and we learn something else that stays in good stead throughout the rest of the Bible.

Exodus 12:1-2

(1) And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

(2) This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

What is the significance of that verse? Israel’s history as a family begins in Genesis. But Israel’s history as a nation begins the night of the Passover. They began to count their history as being brand new. Everything else is sort of eradicated. Everything else is forgotten. It became the beginning of National History the night the blood was put on the door post.

There are many things that are typical. One thing that I think wonderful: when the Lord saves you, isn’t that when He starts a new book with you? This becomes the beginning of a new life for you. As it was for Israel, so it is for us.

I often think of my married life. My wife and I often talk about it; we have almost forgotten those years before we were married. When you have been married as long as we have, you almost forget that there was a time of that other part of your history. It seems to be a bit foggy – because something started brand new when we got married.

You have the illustrations here. There is a beginning of something for Israel. They began as a nation the night of the Exodus.

Deuteronomy 26:5

This verifies what we have been saying, and it adds to all of these verses. God said, Go down into Egypt, and while you are down in Egypt, I will make you a nation. Exodus, chapter twelve, is the beginning of their national history.

(5) And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

Where did they become a nation? In the land of Egypt. God took them down into Egypt, and He kept them there for 400 years, so that when they left, they had become the nation that is still making news today.

3. All Of Israel’s History (The Suffering Nation) is:

A Type Of Their Suffering Savior

All of Israel’s history (the suffering of the nation, and all that follows) is a type of the suffering Savior. Here is something that I find wonderful, and I never talk about it, but that I get the same kind of wonderful feeling. Only God could put things together like this.

Exodus 4:22-23

(22) And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

(23) And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me:

When you go to the New Testament, it says God so loved the world, that he gave his firstborn son. In a previous lesson, I talked about “firstborn.” Firstborn and begotten are one and the same. Isaac was called Abraham’s firstborn son – his begotten son. God gave his firstborn son. Now, here we have the whole nation called “God’s son.” And the whole nation is called God’s firstborn. Do you know that Israel is going to inherit a lot down the line? There is a promise back in here.

Now let’s go from that statement in Exodus, to the prophecy of Hosea.

Hosea 11:1

These are the kind of things that welds the Bible together.

(1) When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

My first question is: When I read Hosea 11:1, or when anybody reads it, what is your first reaction? Do you not think that that is historical? Isn’t that talking about the book of Exodus?

When Israel was a child, she became a nation. When he was a child, I loved Israel. I can show you all kinds of Scriptures that will tell you that God loved Israel when they were in Egypt. When Israel was a child I loved him, and I called my son Israel out of Egypt. I couldn’t have the foggiest notion that that had anything to do, but with the history.

Matthew 2:13-15

You can start seeing the wonders of the Wonders of God in all of this. I confess, it overwhelms me, when I start to see how God puts things together.

(13) And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child…

Did you notice Hosea 11:1? – When Israel was a child……Take the young child….

Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

(14) When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

(15) And was there until the death of Herod:

Here is what bowls you over:

that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet (Hosea), saying. Out of Egypt have I called my son.

And so, I come to the New Testament, and I see, that in the Plan of God, what happened a way back in Genesis, and what happened in the book of Exodus, is a picture, a shadow of what is ahead regarding the Lord Jesus Christ.

So you can see, we are going to study the sufferings of Israel. Why did Israel suffer? Because they are a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why did they go down into Egypt? Because they are a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why did they come up out of Egypt? Because they are a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is Egypt always a type of? Egypt is a type of this world.

Jesus came from another world, into our world, to suffer that He might take us out of Egypt. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. It is all joined together.

I could never tell you that Hosea was talking about Jesus, if I didn’t have the New Testament. But I haven’t any doubt he is talking about it. That baby nation that was brought out of Egypt is a picture of that little baby that was taken down into Egypt and brought back.

In the book of Isaiah, the Bible says; when Israel is blessed, Egypt is going to be blessed. That is tremendous. God does not forget! Back in the book of Genesis, when Hagar was put out with her boy Ishmael, God said to Hagar the Egyptian: “I’m going to remember you.” And then when Jesus went down to Egypt, God said, “I’m going to remember you.” And so, Egypt is going to be blessed because of these things that are history regarding the son of God, not the son of Israel.

4. All The Events Of Israel’s Exodus are:

A Type Of Our Salvation.

Therefore, on the basis of this, all the events of Israel’s Exodus, are a type of our Salvation. If the story is typical of the Savior, all the events are typical of our Salvation. I’m only touching on one thing.

For one minute, just think, before I go ahead and apply it; who was it that opened up the Red Sea? – Israel or God? Who was it that broke the bonds in Egypt? – the Israelites or God? When you read the book of Exodus, the whole thing was God’s doing wasn’t it? Who brought water out of a rock? Who sent manna from Heaven? The whole picture is of God.

1 Corinthians 5:7

This links all off this history with the New Testament.

(7) Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:

You have the Passover back in the twelfth chapter of Exodus, which was the beginning of the history of the nation of Israel. And here it says the sacrifice of the Passover is typical of the sacrifice of Christ. Why is the sacrifice offered? – to bring Israel out of Egypt. Why was Christ sacrificed? – to bring us out of sin.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18

When you look at the whole picture, how wonderful!

(17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Is that your doing, or is it God’s doing? Look at verse 18 and settle it forever.

(18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

All things are of God. Now link that with verse 17. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. How come? All things are of God. Listen, when you read the story of the Exodus, from the beginning to the end, the whole thing was the work of God. God brought Israel out of Egypt by His Power. It was not what the Israelites did, it was what God did. You haven’t saved yourself – God has done it. Your Salvation is of God.

5. The Exodus Is A Great Old Testament Theme

If I were to have taken time to have gone through all the passages of the Old Testament, we would have about two sheets of notes on that subject. That is a subject that is mentioned over and over again. Notice how often the Exodus is mentioned in the Old Testament by the prophets.

6. The Exodus Was The First Revelation Of God’s Power To Israel

There are three things that talk about the Power of God.

Ephesians 1:18-20

I want to put three things together so that, the Lord helping us, we will see the importance of the lessons that are ahead for us. There are three great measuring sticks of the Power of God in the Bible. Three great manifestations of the Power of God.

(18) Paul prays the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

(19) And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

(20) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,

It took Power to bring Jesus out of the tomb. The resurrection is one of the great measuring sticks of the Power of God. If you want to see God’s Power in operation, talk about the resurrection. God was able to raise the dead.

Jeremiah 16:14

If this doesn’t thrill you, I guess you are past being thrilled. This is connected with the story of the Exodus, and I want to link it with all of these wonderful facts:

(14) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Where did God manifest His Great Power? – when He raised Christ from the dead. Where did He manifest His Great Power? – when He brought Israel out of Egypt. Are you getting what I am saying? What is the Exodus? It is the first great manifestation of the Power of God in the Bible. Why? Because it not only pictures our resurrection, but it pictures the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Bringing Israel out of Egypt was like bringing people out of the grave. It was the Power of God. You stop and think of that wonderful thing. It says that God pushed back the Red Sea. It took Power to do that! And He made the waters of the Red Sea stand up like walls. And He didn’t freeze them either. The fish were still floating around in the water when God pushed it back. It was a manifestation of God’s Power.

Look back – Exodus – God’s Power.

Look ahead – The Resurrection – God’s Power.

But that’s not the end of it.

Jeremiah 16:14-15

(14) Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

(15) But, The Lord liveth,

The Lord liveth! Listen, God was alive when Israel came out of Egypt. God was alive when Jesus came out of the tomb.

the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north (Russia).

Do you know what I read in the paper just a few days ago? There is a move on right now for four hundred thousand Jews to be brought out of Russia. I want to tell you, if 400,000 Jews get moved out of Russia to Israel, you will see the Power of God in manifestation. It is going to take Power to bring them out. The day is going to come, and I think that is significant, when it shall no more be said, the Power of God brought Israel out of Egypt, but the Power of God brought Israel out of Russia. Bring it up to date. That is future.

Exodus – the resurrection – the Power of God. Go back 2000 years there, then go ahead 2000 years, and link it all together. The same Power that brought Israel out of Egypt, that brought Jesus from the dead, is going to bring all the Jews back to the land of Israel.

(15) But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

God brought Israel out of Egypt to bring them again to the land of Canaan. And God is going to bring Israel out of their graves says Ezekiel 37. They had been in the graves of the nations, It is going to be like the resurrection. What you are seeing is only a foreshadowing of what is ahead. The day is going to come when every living Jew will have left every other part of the world, and be back in Israel.

I want to tell you this, all the Jews that are making so much money in America -- to get them all back into Israel is going to take the Mighty Power of God! The Power of God brought them out of Egypt, and the Power of God is going to bring them back again. I get thrilled when I think about it. And to think that I’m living to see the Power of God beginning to be manifest in what He is doing in the land of Israel. Don’t miss that. You study the Exodus – what for? To study the prophecy of the book.

7. At Least 3 Million Left Egypt

There were three million, at least that left Egypt. That is the most conservative figure I can give. That is the minimum. I don’t think it is nearly enough, but I didn’t want to be an exaggerator. I have had people say to me, or suggest to me, 400 years is not long enough for 70 people to turn into 3 million. We will answer that a little later.

Numbers 1:20-21

(20) And the children of Reuben, Israel’s eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

This counting, is talking about the Israelites who are over twenty years of age. And they are able to go forth to war, and later on it tells us, that anybody over 50 years of age, wasn’t counted. So it is only talking about the Israelites; men between twenty and fifty.

(21) Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.

46,500 men in the tribe of Reuben. How many men do you have to have in a nation to raise an army of men between 20 and 50 of that figure? I will show you one or two more.

Numbers 1:23, 25, 46

(23) Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.

59,300.

(25) Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty.

45,650.

You can see why this book is called “Numbers.” I am not going to go all through that, because verse 46 gives me the sum.

(46) Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

603,550 men between the ages of 20 and 50. Now let’s do a bit of arithmetic. Do you think that out of 600 thousand men between 20 and 50, that 400 thousand would have women – wives? I think that is right, don’t you? Out of 600 thousand, surely, 400 thousand would be married. So that is your first million.

You have a million between the ages of 20 and 50, who are men. We haven’t said one word about all those under 20 years of age.

If you had 600 thousand men, and around 400 thousand wives, can’t you think that perhaps there might be another million of boys and girls under the age of 20? And then you start thinking of those over 50 years of age. They lived quite a while back in those days.

So I put one million under twenty of both men and women. I put one million over fifty of both men and women. And I think it is a conservative estimate. Do you see where I get the estimate?

So, in here, it wasn’t just a hand full of people. At least three million Israelites left Egypt. Somebody comes along and says, That’s not possible. Yes it is possible. How is that possible?

Exodus 1:5-7

(5) And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.

(6) And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

(7) And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Now, put that together. Do you know what “multiplied” means? If you had one child at a time, that is not multiplying. You have to have twins or triplets, or quads etc. You read in the next chapter, the children of Egypt were really getting quite disgusted about all these people. They were having so many babies they didn’t know what to do with it. They were multiplying exceedingly in the land of Egypt. God said, “I’ll take you down there, and I will make a nation of you.” I don’t know a better way to do it than give six kids to every woman every time she has children. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but you see what I am getting at. They multiplied. God is making a nation down in the land of Egypt.

8. Psalms 106:7-15 -- Some Of The Events Of The Exodus

I said the Exodus is a very important subject. And this is only one of the many references that could be brought to bear on this tremendous subject.

Psalms 106:7-15

(7) Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt;

They didn’t understand all of God’s dealings.

They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.

(8) Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake.

Can you see all of these wonderful statements? God didn’t save Israel because of their greatness. God saved them for His name’s sake. And that is a tremendous fact to apply to ourselves. I am not saved because I deserve to be saved. I have been saved for the Name’s sake of the Lord.

That he might make his mighty power to be known.

I don’t want to be side-tracked on all of the side issues that come out of this; but that blesses my heart too!

God saved Israel corporately, that through their Salvation He might manifest His Power.

Can you believe that is true of you? – that God has saved you as an individual, so that in your life He may manifest His Power. Praise the Lord. That makes you think doesn’t it! God wants to manifest the Greatness of His Power in your life.

(9) He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

You stop and think of that wonderful verse! God is describing what happened. When I was a boy, I imagined that when God pushed back the Red Sea He had to push it back far enough to let three million people (example: all the residents of Alberta and British Columbia) cross over in a few hours. Don’t forget that. It wasn’t just a little opening. It was a big thing; because they had room to get across. That’s the first thing about it.

Secondly, when I was a boy, I could visualize them sinking in the mud. The bottom of the sea would be mud. No. God dried it up and made it like the desert. Here is this muddy sea bottom. It is nothing but mud; and here God, miraculously, pushes back the sea and dries up the floor of the sea. They didn’t have any difficulty walking in the mud, they are walking on dry land. And, again, can you imagine that great sight? How the water had to stand up. Another Psalm says it stood up like a wall. It was congealed. It wasn’t frozen, and it stood up like a wall.

That is one place I haven’t been yet – to the Red Sea. I wish I had been, but Brother Wilson was there, and he took pictures. They take you in the Red Sea in a glass-bottom boat. And the reason they take you in a glass-bottom boat is to see the fish that are in the sea; there is so much marine life in the Red Sea, and I guess all of that was there when God brought Israel out of Egypt.

God pushed back the sea. When is the last time you went to an aquarium, and stood at the glass, and watched the fish come up? The last time I was in Victoria I saw that octopus come up, and I was glad that there was glass between it and me, as I looked at the thing.

All of the sea life. I imagine that was the way it was when they crossed the Red Sea. The waters are standing up, and the fish are coming up to see what God is doing; the fish are looking out. They are looking through the glass that God put up there, and the children of Israel are walking across as if it is the desert!

One dear brother said, “It is not the Red Sea, it is the Reed Sea.” There is a little appendix out there on the Red Sea that is called the “Reed Sea.” They tell us that there are times in the year when the Reed Sea almost dries up. And so this fellow said,

“The Lord didn’t take them through the main part of the Red Sea, He took them through the Reed Sea, where there was only two inches of water.”

One brother, sitting in the meeting, said, “Praise the Lord, Oh Hallelujah.”

Why are you praising the Lord?

“All of the Egyptian army was drowned in two inches of water.”

When you take away one miracle out of the Bible, you create two more. Don’t ever forget that.

(9) He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

It takes faith to believe this. Listen, what am I reading this for? This is the manifestation of the very Power of God. When the Power of God moves in, it is not man’s doing.

(10) And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

(11) And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.

(12) Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.

(13) They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:

That is a tremendous story. That lists some of the events.

9. Micah 7:15

I’ve already read from Jeremiah 16, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah -– half way through the so called “Minor Prophets.”

Micah 7:15

There is a tremendous prophecy that fits in with the book of Jeremiah.

(15) According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvelous things.

Do you see the connection in your Bible? You can’t believe Micah, if you don’t believe Exodus. And you can’t believe the New Testament if you don’t believe Exodus; because the whole thing is woven together. Did God do marvelous things before? He is going to do it again. And what is going to happen?

(16) The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might:

Who’s might? Israel’s might. Egypt was confounded when Israel came out the first time. But the next time, it is not going to be just Egypt; the whole world is going to be confounded at little David. It is the story of David and Goliath over again; for he is going to meet his Goliath, and David is going to win. They will be rejoicing in what God does. You see, the history is typical of the prophecy. What God has done, He is going to do again, only in a greater way. It shall no more be said:

“the Lord liveth that brought Israel out of Egypt, but the Lord liveth that brought the children of Israel from the land of the north and the south.”

3. The Nation In The Wilderness Under Their Leader, Moses

The approximate date of the Exodus is 1500 BC.

1. Exodus, Chapters 1-13 – Their History In Egypt

Exodus, chapters 1 to 13 has to do with the history of the family in Egypt. Chapters 14 to 40 has to do with the nation in the wilderness. The family is in Egypt for the first half of the book. The nation moves out of Egypt in chapter 13, and it goes into the wilderness for the rest of the book. So, we have a lot to study and consider here.

Chapter one of Exodus is the story of Israel’s bondage in the land of Egypt.

Chapter two is that wonderful story of the birth of Moses. That is a story that takes a little bit of attention.

Chapters three to six – the call of Moses.

Chapters seven to twelve – the conflict between Pharaoh and Moses.

The book of Exodus begins with the family of Israel in the land of Egypt. Then follows the story of their bondage in that land, for a period of 400 years, at the end of which time, God brought them out of Egypt – not now as a family, but when they left Egypt they had become a nation. Remember, the beginning of Israel’s national history goes back to Exodus, chapter twelve.

The next section of their history has to do with their forty years in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses. The first part of Exodus, they are still in Egypt; chapter one tells us about the bondage in Egypt, chapter two, the birth of Moses, chapters three to six, the call of Moses, And then, chapters seven to twelve – the conflict between Moses and Pharaoh.

We will now spend a little time looking at some of these historical facts. The book of Exodus begins with the Grace of God; God coming down to the nation of Israel in Grace. The book of Exodus concludes with God visiting Israel in Glory. It starts with Grace, and ends with Glory.

In the book of Ephesians, you read about the riches of God’s Grace, and the riches of God’s Glory. I expect to enjoy the riches of God’s Glory because of the riches of God’s Grace. If God was not rich in Grace, I would never enjoy His Glory. And so, Exodus has a wonderful lesson.

Bondage in Egypt

Let’s look at verse one.

Exodus 1:1, 7-8

(1) Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

(7) And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

(8) Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

There are things involved in these verses that I am not dogmatic about. There is a strange verse in Isaiah 52. That is, it is strange to me, and it has a bearing on the interpretation of Exodus, chapter one.

Isaiah 52:4

(4) For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there;

That is talking about the beginning of Exodus. They went down, not to live there, but to sojourn there. You know, that when Jacob moved down, he knew that he belonged to the land of Canaan. But he moved in as a sojourner, expecting to leave. But now, notice:

and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

Notice the word “the Assyrian” oppressed them. I thought they went to Egypt. They didn’t go to Assyria, they went to Egypt. Now, if you go back with that knowledge of Isaiah to Exodus; when the children of Israel moved into Egypt Joseph was as good as king, they had a friend. And so, for thirty years the children of Israel were not mistreated; they were looked after. But now, this verse says:

Exodus 1:8

(8) Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.

Can you see what is involved? He wasn’t an Egyptian; everybody in Egypt knew Joseph. It is not a new Egyptian king; Isaiah tells us, the Assyrians took over. A king of Assyria takes over in the land of Egypt, and while he is king, he said unto his people:

Exodus 1:9

(9) And he said unto his people (both the Assyrian people and the Egyptian people) Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:

So this nation of slaves down in Egypt, under the rule of this new king, are becoming a nuisance to the nation. And the king said, “We’ve got to do something about it.”

(10) Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

(11) Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

(12) But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.

So it backfired on the king. The children of Israel continued to multiply.

(14) And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.

(16) And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

(17) But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

That is the background of the story of Moses.

(20) Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

(21) And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.

(22) And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Birth Of Moses

Exodus 2:1

(1) And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

Now you have the background during this period. When the children of Israel are mightily oppressed, there are still people in the Jewish nation who obey God. You notice a wonderful principle: he was of the tribe of Levi, and he didn’t marry outside the tribe. He took to wife a daughter of Levi. There is a principle that goes all through the Bible. And the more I teach and study the Bible, the more I am concerned about these principles all the way through.

Back in the book of Genesis, we are told about these people – the children of Israel. In God’s plan, they were to stay within their tribe. And they were to marry within their tribe, because later on, they are going to get inheritance in the land; and if they mix up their marriages, they are going to mix up their inheritance. So the tribe of Levi, stays within Levi. Judah stays within Judah, and so on.

That is a wonderful principle. It is the same thing in the New Testament. God wants us to marry within the tribe. And so, a saved person is to marry a saved person. And there is no exception as far as God is concerned. It proves we believe the truth of God. And so this Levite marries a daughter of Levi.

Exodus 2:2-4

(2) And the woman conceived, and bare a son:

Don’t forget, all children that are born to Hebrew women, if they are sons, they are under the threat of death.

And when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

I don’t know how to put that in words. It is mentioned again twice in the New Testament, but somehow, according to the book of Acts, by faith this Hebrew woman saw that God had a special purpose in her boy; and so she hid him for three months. And then the story is so human.

(3) and when she could not longer hide him,

All you mothers know something about that. If you have had a baby in the house, you can keep them sleeping for the first three months most of the time. And you can keep them quiet, but there comes a time when you can’t hide them any more. They are going to be heard. She couldn’t hide him any longer.

she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

She took that precious little bundle, and took it down by the river. I visualize what I am reading. I have been in Egypt, I have stood by the spot where, traditionally, they say, “That’s where baby Moses was.” Well, we know it was on the Nile River.

(4) And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

What is so wonderful about that verse? The sister is twelve years old. You get that from some other parts of the Bible. There were three children born to this household. Miriam was first, and Aaron was next, and Moses was next. We are not told about the birth of Miriam, nor of Aaron. Apparently, they were born in the family before the decree to kill the babies was given. Aaron is three years old, so he is not under the threat of death. Miriam is twelve years old, but now baby Moses comes, and Moses is condemned to die.

It is Miriam, a twelve year old girl, that stands back by the bulrushes where this little ark is, and she is going to see what has happened. It is not the mother. What is so wonderful about that? The mother had faith. The book of Hebrews tells me about the faith of Moses’ mother. By faith she hid him. Why didn’t she wait there? She didn’t put that baby in that ark for the king of Egypt to kill him. She didn’t put that baby there for the river to carry him away. That woman placed that baby in the hands of God. And because she placed that baby in the hands of God, she was able to walk away, and say, “Lord, I can’t look after him any longer, You have to look after him.” And the Lord sure did!

I think that is one of the Old Testament illustrations of dedication of babies. And I use it often. What a wonderful way to dedicate a baby. You bring the baby, and you say to the Lord, “Lord, I can’t handle this fellow any more. As far as I am concerned, I can’t save his life, but Lord you can. I can’t keep him from harm, but Lord, you can.” that is what the mother was saying; but the sister didn’t have quite the same faith. The sister stood back in the bushes to see what would happen. And yet, there is a wonderful part to that too.

Exodus 2:5

Notice verse 5. The whole story is absolutely contrary to my thinking. If I were to tell you a story that I had arranged, I wouldn’t do it this way. Who’s the worst person in the world to come down and find the baby? Well, I think it would be Pharaoh’s daughter, wouldn’t you? But that is how God arranged it.

(5) And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river;

I have seen women washing clothes on the edge of the Nile, but maybe I put a little too much spice into the story. I like to put it this way: God made Pharaoh’s daughter suddenly get itchy, and she knew she had to go and take a bath. And so, where does she go? Not a mile down the river, but she goes exactly where this little ark is. God lead Pharaoh’s daughter right there. She went down, and the next thing that strikes me as being anti-human – the first thing she saw was this ark.

You wouldn’t do it that way – not with the enemy who has said “Kill this baby.” But Pharaoh’s daughter sees the little ark, and she says, “Fetch it.” And so, into the hand of Pharaoh’s daughter falls baby Moses. And, apparently, she had to lift off the lid. She opened it. And when she opened it – immediately when she saw the baby, the baby started to cry. Why had it not cried before this? – Because God had been rocking it to sleep. But now God pinched the baby, sure as I am here. God pinched the baby at the right time, and made the baby cry in the right way. Everything here is the Hand of God.

Exodus 2:6

(6) And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.

Mothers listen to me – there are times when your babies cry, and you want to spank them. There are times when your babies cry, and you would like to hand them over to somebody else. But there are times when babies cry, and it gets hold of your heart. And you can’t explain it, but a mother’s heart gets squeezed by the right kind of a cry.

So baby Moses cried exactly right. There was just something about those big tears that got into that woman’s heart. She knew it was one of the Hebrew’s babies. It tells you that. Her father said, “Kill him,” but her heart said, “I can’t.” Her father said, “Murder that baby,” but Pharaoh’s daughter is so full of compassion that she takes the baby out of that little ark, and she cuddles him. Have you got any imagination? Can’t you see her? She is cuddling this little black-haired fellow, because he is a Hebrew.

And then Miriam comes to life. This is a miraculous story. A twelve year old girl knows all about it. That girl knew that her brother was under the condemnation of death. What she should have done was start to jump up and down. She should have put on some sort of demonstration. She should have said, “Don’t touch that baby; that’s my brother. Don’t kill that baby. He belongs to my family.” But she is calm. Twelve year old girls aren’t. She is calm and cool, and she is perfectly collected, and she doesn’t let on any demonstration. Pharaoh’s daughter doesn’t have any idea who she is.

And Miriam says:

Exodus 2:7-11

(7) Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

I know you can’t nurse, but I can find one who can.

(8) And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.

I don’t think she jumped too much, until she got out of sight. And when she got out of sight, you can just see her jumping all the way, and she went right to her mother. She brought her mother – (the baby’s mother) back to Pharaoh’s daughter. I want to tell you, if you can’t see God in this story, well then you can’t see God in anything!

(9) And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.

That is one of the sweetest verses in all the Old Testament --“Take this boy.” You know ahead, who this boy is going to be. This is the fellow who is going to slay the Egyptians. This is the fellow who is going to spoil the Egyptians. But who is going to pay for his keep? Who is going to pay for the milk? Who is going to pay for the food? Who is going to pay for the education? Who is going to raise him? Pharaoh!

That reminds me of a story that illustrates a little. One day, a woman who was in poverty, got down on her knees and started to pray. She just said, I need bread, and I need meat, and she went over the whole list of groceries. As she was praying for all of this, an unbelieving atheist was walking by the window, and he heard the prayer. He heard all the list, and he said, “I’ll teach that woman something.”

So he took the list of groceries that she prayed for, he went down to the store and brought it all back to the door and said, “I want you to know, God didn’t bring this, I did.” “Oh,” she said, “No, God did it, but He used the Devil to bring it.”

Well, I think I can apply that here. God is doing all of this, but Pharaoh, who is a type of the Devil, is going to pay for the whole thing. Well, isn’t that great! That’s a wonderful story. Can you see the Grace of God in all of that?

(10) And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

Don’t forget, all the time that Moses’ mother was nursing him, she was whispering into his ear, “Moses, you are not an Egyptian, Moses, you are a Hebrew. Don’t ever forget who you are.”

(11) And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren,

In Acts, chapter seven, it tells us a couple of things about this history.

Acts 7:42 fits in with Exodus 2:10 – the child grew.

And then verse 23 fits in with Exodus 2:11

Acts 7:17-23

(17) But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt.

That is Exodus 1. What promise? God had promised Abraham that at the end of 400 years, he would visit the children of Israel, and bring them out of Egypt; and the time of the promise is drawing nigh.

(18) Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.

(20) In which time Moses was born,

As it drew nigh to the fulfillment of the promise. Actually, there were eighty years to go. But it is still near at hand, even though it is eighty years ahead.

(22) And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

He grew in Egypt. He went to school in Egypt, and his teaching was in the best universities that Egypt had. Moses was well-educated in Egypt. Secular history tells us that Moses was right in line for the throne of Egypt, and he was the greatest general in the land of Egypt. He had been raised to be an Egyptian, but now look at verse 23.

(23) And when he was full forty years old,

Exodus 2:11 says, and this is kind of humorous I think, in the light of the book of Genesis, and now we have it again in Exodus – When he was full forty years old. What did it say back in Exodus 2:11? It came to pass, when he was grown. I guess he wasn’t a man until he was forty. I think some people ought to hear that. They are still in the process of growing until they are forty. And when you are forty, you shouldn’t be growing any more; you should be fully grown when you reach forty.

He was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

How did he know they were his people? Because his mother had taught him, and now he goes down to visit them.

Exodus 2:11-14

(11) And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

Moses, at this time, knows that they are his brethren.

(12) And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

Here is another simple principle about life. If you look that way, and this way, before you do what you are going to do, something down inside is telling you what you are going to do isn’t right. Moses looked both directions, and when he thought no one was looking, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

(13) And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together:

The day before, it was a Hebrew and an Egyptian, but today, it is two of the Hebrews. I guess God wants us to know that all the fighting isn’t outside of the circle of his people. If you haven’t been shocked by that yet, God’s people can get into scraps too. And so, here are two Hebrews.

and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

(14) And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian?

You see, Moses thought he hid it, but he didn’t hide it. Everybody knew about it. But now what I want you to see:

There is something here that helps us understand the actions of Moses. And if you notice, I read it, but I didn’t emphasize verse 14 of Exodus, before I read from Acts.

Exodus 2:14

(14) Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?

The Hebrews said that.

Acts 7:24-25

It tells the same story.

(24) And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

(25) For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them, but they understood not.

Did Moses at this time, know who he was? Yes. I’m not told how he knew, but I’m told that he knew. He knew that he was to be the deliverer of the children of Israel. And he thought that they would know. That is why he did what he did.

You see, if you follow the story, he is forty years old. When he was born, there were still eighty years to go before God said he would deliver Israel. Forty years are tacked off. How many years to go yet? Forty years.

I think Moses had put it together. He knew there were still forty years. And I think he thought, “I’ll kill these Egyptians one at a time. I’ve got forty years to do it; because it is going to be forty years before God takes us out of here, and so I’ll do it my way.”

But God had a better way. And so, what does God do? God uses the event to send Moses to the back side of the desert for forty years. And why does he go back there for forty years? Because God cannot fulfill His promise until the forty years are past. Moses thought they should understand, but they didn’t. It took forty years for them to find out the Plan and Purpose of God.

Exodus 2:15-16

(15) Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

(16) Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters:

Moses gets down into Midian and the fellow has seven daughters. What a place for a fellow who hasn’t got a wife, to arrive!

Exodus 2:17-19

(17) And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

(18) And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon today?

The reason I didn’t leave this out was because of verse 19.

(19) And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds,

We know that he wasn’t an Egyptian, he was a Hebrew. But Moses had been so trained in Egypt that these Midianite girls thought he was an Egyptian. He looked like an Egyptian. He acted like an Egyptian. He talked like an Egyptian, and so, they said, he is an Egyptian.

What happened? Moses married one of those girls.

Exodus 3:1

(1) Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law,

Why is that significant? We find the answer in Genesis 46.

Genesis 46:34b

(34b) for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

Isn’t that interesting? That is the last statement in Genesis 46. To be a shepherd, is the worst thing that an Egyptian can do. I think that is humorous too. God is going to teach Moses some lessons. You see, for forty years he learned to be a big shot in Egypt. And now God sends him to the back side of the desert to do what he said he never would do. He is an Egyptian, and there is one thing I won’t do, is look after sheep.

By the way, my wife said she would never marry a preacher. And the very thing that she said she would never do, she had to do. Don’t ever say to the Lord, you won’t do it; for the very thing that you say you won’t do, He will likely make you bow until you are willing to do it.

Moses has to look after sheep for forty years. Imagine, he went to God’s school of humbling. And he is really humbled, so much so, that when God calls him to leave his flock, he makes all the excuses in the world. He wants to stay looking after the sheep. I think it is a wonderful story.

Let’s go back and look at one or two more things. There is typology that I am leaving out. Moses is a wonderful type of Christ. That is another wonderful angle of the story. When Moses came to Israel the first time, they wouldn’t receive him. They cast him out. When Jesus came the first time, the Jews cast Him out.

And when they cast Moses out, who did he turn to? – the Gentiles. He went down and looked after a Gentile’s sheep, and while he was there, he took a Gentile bride. And while our Jesus is rejected by the Jews, he is taking out a bride, and he is going to return with his bride to deliver Israel. And Moses, with his bride, goes back the second time to the nation of Israel. Isn’t that a thrilling story.

We are considering the history of the children of Israel, in the land of Egypt, as found in the book of Exodus.

The Call Of Moses

Exodus 2:23-25

(23) And it came to pass in process of time,

You have approximately forty years in that statement.

that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

(24) And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

(25) And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Four things there:

God heard, God remembered, God looked, and God had respect unto these people.

Exodus 3:1-3

(1) Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

That is interesting. There is more later on about Horeb, in the Bible. But here, we are introduced to it as the Mount of God.

(2) And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Most times, in the Old Testament, that was a Christophany. What do I mean by that? A pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Himself. It was the angel of the Lord that appeared to Abraham back earlier in Genesis. It was the angel of the Lord that appears to Moses, and you go on through the Old Testament, and then you read on, and you find out, it was the Lord Himself, appearing in angelic form.

(3) And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

One or two things in passing, regarding this: Have you ever heard anybody making fun of Hell, and say something like this: “If I am going to shovel coal, you can shovel with me”– or something like that? You won’t have to shovel any coal in hell. God can keep a fire burning without fuel. This fire is different fire than I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t kindled by men, it was kindled by God. And it was the real thing, but it didn’t burn the bush.

There is another thing I can say about that. Why did God set that bush aflame? To get Moses’ attention. Moses was so busy looking after his sheep, that God had to do something unusual to get his attention. Remember the story in the book of Kings, about David and Absalom? Absalom kept sending for his father to come see him, and he wouldn’t: so he went out and set his father’s field on fire. That is one sure way to get attention. What am I getting at? God sometimes, sets something on fire for us too. He does an unusual thing. He upsets something in our life, and why does He do it? To get our attention.

I haven’t got all the answers to all of the problems of life, but God is still doing it. God is still setting bushes on fire to get the attention of people who haven’t got time to pay attention. So, He got Moses’ attention.

Exodus 3:4-6

(4) And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.

So often in the Bible, when He calls Samuel – it is Samuel, Samuel. When He calls Saul – Saul, Saul. God repeats Himself with a name. It is no mistakening here, God is calling him by name.

Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

(5) And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Why is the place Holy? Was it Holy because of it’s geographical location? No. – A thousand times No. It was Holy because of the immediate presence of God. It was the presence of God that made it Holy.

I wish that every time I preach, I wish that every time I teach, I would have like experiences to those that I have experienced throughout the years. I know what it is to teach without anointing. I know what it is to teach with a little bit of anointing. But I know what it is to teach with tremendous anointing -- that presence of the Lord. I have had the privilege of leading services and being in the pulpit when the presence of God was so real that I was afraid to move, lest I spoil it, afraid to move, lest I mare it. And people knew it, and I knew it, and all were aware of it -- God is here!

Listen, when God is present like that, you don’t think you are very big. Do something to make yourself look smaller than you are. Get your shoes off, or something else. Moses, take your shoes off; acknowledge that I am bigger than you are. I think it is time we had reverence for the presence of God.

(6) Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

That is something that is everywhere in the Old Testament. I am going to show you a verse before we are finished these studies, that says that God says, this is His Name for ever. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, forever. And He is going to keep that Name for generations to generations to generations. It is wonderful to think that God has associated His Name with people like that. He has associated Himself with people like you and me too!

And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

Listen, this is only a reflection of God in an angelic form. And yet, Moses can’t look on Him. The day is going to come, when we are going to look upon Him face to face. And the reason we will be able to do that, is because in-between the story of Moses, and our story, is the story of the coming of the Savior. The Savior came to do something for us to make it possible for us to behold the face of God and not die!

Exodus 3:7

(7) And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt,

Let’s take comfort from this. Are you going through trials? Are you going through troubles? Is your soul afflicted? The Lord sees. There is no trial, and there is no trouble that He doesn’t see. He is an all-seeing God.

and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

That gives me hope as an individual. That makes my heart rejoice, as a believer. The Devil constantly tells me “Your prayers aren’t worth anything. Your prayers don’t go beyond the ceiling.” You know how I feel; because at times you feel just the same. “What’s the use of me praying, it doesn’t do any good anyway!” Listen, God said, I have heard their cry. And God is still saying that to His people today. I’m hearing every cry. There is not one petition that He has not heard. Somebody says “Why doesn’t God do something?” Give Him time. He hears. It took a little while, but He answered. I have seen and I have heard, and I know. God sees. God hears. God knows. Nothing this truth can dim! Aren’t you glad God knows.

We have a student, who, today, flew to Edmonton because his father who is 74 years of age, stepped out into the street and was hit by a car. And at this very moment that couple who sit daily in school in front of me, are there with him. God sees, and God knows, and God understands; I don’t. I don’t know why that should happen. Those people are sorrowing. They are feeling. And I suppose that could be multiplied a thousand times, but God says, I know your sorrows. He said it to Israel, and Praise God He is saying it to us. There is not a sorrow that He doesn’t hear!

Exodus 3:8-14

(8) And I am come down to deliver them

They have cried long enough. And I see, and I know and I’ve heard, and I am going to come and deliver them.

(9) Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me:

Moses, it is time that you hear it. I’ve heard it, now you hear it. Listen, if God is going to use us, in a way as He used Moses, we have to hear what God hears. We’ve got to hear the moans and the groans and the heartaches of people. You will never minister to people if you don’t feel with people. Moses, you hear it!

(10) Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh,

I am come to deliver them, but Moses, I have chosen to use you. Moses, you are going to be the instrument, you come now, and I will send you unto Pharaoh.

that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

God wants to use a man to do it, and God is still in the business of using men to do His work. And so, He chooses Moses. He wants to send him, but, as I said, Moses had been trained to think highly of himself when he was in Egypt. He thought he could do it the day he took out that sword and killed the Egyptian. That is a picture of self-confidence. Moses really had all the confidence in the world forty years earlier, but now, after forty years with sheep, it has all been knocked out of him. Now he hasn’t got any confidence. He has lost it all. And the Lord says “I want to use you Moses.”

(11) And Moses said unto God, Who am I,

Can you see it? “Lord, who am I?” I don’t know how many times I have been encouraged myself, as I have taught this year after year to different students as I looked at them – “Who am I?” There isn’t a man worth his salt who has been used of God who hasn’t said that. Every man that God has used, the first thing he realizes is that he isn’t any good. Who am I? But now look at verse twelve.

The first thing that the Lord says to Moses:

(12) Certainly I will be with thee;

That is the first thing about this call. Moses, I am going to send you to do a job that you can’t do.

Do you know what blesses me now? – Thirty years ago, a woman came up and really offended me. It blesses my heart, and every once-in-a-while I just pray a prayer of thanksgiving. She said, face to face, “You can’t preach.” Just after I had struggled and felt that I couldn’t do it, she said “You can’t preach.” Praise the Lord! I feel more like that all the time. She was right.

Only for a time, I thought I could preach. But now I know I can’t. It is not me. My wife can bear witness to this; we so often talk about it. The times when I have stood up in the pulpit and had the worse time, and I mean the worst time, and I have felt that every word has hit the wall and bounced back and hit me in the face – the times when I decided to say something, it wouldn’t come out right; afterwards, as sure as I am a foot high, somebody comes up and says “You don’t know what a blessing that was.”

I preached here at Peoples Church not long ago when we were making these tapes, and I thought I had a horrible time. A couple of weeks later, one of the dear sisters came up and shook my hand and said, “You will never know what that message meant to our family.”

I don’t get things like that very often, but I’ll tell you what we talk about when we are together: it is all in our soul. When we think we have done the least, that is when God does the most. And why is it that way? God wants to teach us that it is not us, it is God.

Moses, I am going to use you. You are going to be the instrument, but the reason it is going to happen is because I am going to do it with you. Praise the Lord.

Well, Moses isn’t through yet.

(13) And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you;

He wasn’t even going to say The God of OUR fathers. Do you notice that? He is not sure they will accept him yet – because when he went the first time, they wouldn’t. And so he is not going to say The God of our fathers, even though he should have. He is going to go to the Hebrews and say The God of your fathers has sent me unto you.

And they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

Moses is using all the excuses he can. What’s His name? What am I going to say?

(14) And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

The Conflict With Pharaoh

Exodus 6:1-3

(1) Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.

(2) And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:

(3) And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

Now, what is the meaning of JEHOVAH? What is the connection? – In chapter three it is I AM. In chapter six, I AM is explained to be JEHOVAH. And what does JEHOVAH mean? – SAVIOR! How will the children of Israel get out of Egypt? – God said, Moses you tell them their Savior has come. That is how they are going to make it. It’s because the Savior is here – not Moses. But Moses I will be with you.

Exodus 3:15

(15) And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you:

You do what you will with this statement, but I am going to rejoice in it and I am going to believe it:

this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

I want to tell you this: There are people who think that God is finally going to get rid of the Jew. He is not! And the reason He is not, is because God has pledged Himself, that His Name be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (that old crook!)– Not Israel, but Jacob! I’m going to be the God of Jacob forever. And this is my memorial to all generations. So you can’t get rid of it, because God says He is going to keep it alive.

Exodus 3:17

(17) And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt

You tell them that I am the One, and you tell them that I am going to bring them out.

Exodus 3:20

(20) And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.

It is not going to be what Moses is going to do. Don’t miss that. It’s going to be what God is going to do. God is going to do this.

(21) And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty:

That is a miracle of miracles! God says He is going to take the Israelites out of Egypt; and you know to this day they don’t love one-another. They were slaves in their land for 400 years, and they didn’t treat them right, but God said, I am going to turn things around so the Egyptians are going to start liking you. Isn’t that a miracle? They are going to like you so much that when you leave, you won’t go empty. Everybody is going to give you a great big gift – a going away gift. You are not going to go empty, because the Egyptians are going to like you so much, they are going to unload their gold and silver into your hands. Isn’t that God? He can turn your enemies around to bless you.

You watch it and see it work in your own life. Somebody who has been ready to cut your head off, (maybe not literally) —see how God will turn him around, and he will give you a diamond ring!

Exodus 3:22

(22) But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

Isn’t that something! When Israel went out of Egypt, they carried out so much wealth that they left Egypt poor! They didn’t steal it, God made the Egyptians give it. But, I think there is another principle in here. God is just.

In Hebrews 6 – God is not unfaithful to forget your work and labor of love. I’m going to apply that verse. Did you know that the children of Israel had worked for 400 years and had not been paid a penny. They had worked as slaves, and slaves don’t make any money. God is just paying the debt. And God is just getting even with these Egyptians. And so the Israelites are getting all of their wages at once. And they are going to carry it all out with them. Oh the ways of God! Well, I am glad that God will see that the debts are owed to us are going to be paid too, some day. Do you have faith enough to believe that?

Exodus 4:1

(1) And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.

Exodus 4:31

(31) And the people believed

Moses said in Exodus 4:1 they won’t believe me. But down in the chapter, it tells us when they came they did believe. Have you ever been told by the devil, that if you go and witness to somebody nobody is going to believe you? Maybe it will be the greatest shock in your life, if you just do what God tells you to do and see what God will do. They did believe. Moses said, They won’t believe, but God said they did believe.

When Moses offers his objection “Nobody is going to believe me,” you can see that this thing called “self-esteem” was all kicked out of him. He didn’t have any of it. Moses didn’t have any “self-worth.” He was right at the bottom of the heap. And that is the only time God can use you.

Exodus 4:2

(2) And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

Don’t miss this now. I used to think it was a piece of metal. No it wasn’t. It was a stick of wood. I’m an ignorant Canadian, and my ignorance shows every time I turn around.

I worked with an English carpenter, and we were putting cupboards together – actually book shelves for me. To keep the front open, we put a back in, but you know that books are heavy. He put a square hole at each end, and he had a piece of wood that was one inch by one inch, by eight feet long – and he said “Bring me that rod.” I looked at the fellow, because ,in my experience, if you asked for a rod, it was a piece of metal. But I learned that even the English know better than me. A piece of wood was a rod. Moses didn’t have a piece of metal, he had a piece of wood.

The Lord said What have you got? And Moses said I only have a piece of dead stick here. Do you know what the rest of the story is? – All the way through, God uses that stick! When Moses opened the Red Sea, he smote it with that stick. When he brought up frogs and lice and flies, God used that dead stick. Isn’t that an amazing thing! Moses had a stick. David had a sling. The widow who fed Elijah had an empty barrel. And a little boy had a little lunch – two buns, and five dead fish. Do you know what the story of the Bible is? God doesn’t use what you don’t have, God uses what you have. And you don’t have to have anything more than you have to be used of God.

Now, because I am a preacher, these are the illustrations that I use. Why didn’t God make me a Billy Graham? Or why didn’t God make me a D.L. Moody? Or why God didn’t you make me a Spurgeon? He didn’t. He made me as me. And maybe you look at somebody in your field, and we all compare ourselves with somebody else, Lord, why didn’t you give me a voice like that sister? Why didn’t you give me fingers like that brother so he could play the piano?

I have to confess that there are times when I do covet, when the Bible tells me I am not to covet, and then I have to ask the Lord to forgive me. Every time I see my dear brother Dave Black rattle the keys on the piano and make the music become alive, down inside I wish I could do it. I must confess I covet it. Well it is wrong! The Lord didn’t make me Dave Black and God didn’t make Dave Black me. And God isn’t going to use me the way He is going to use him. And God isn’t going to use him the way He uses me. God wants to use all of us with what we have. Take what you have, and let the Lord use it. All of us have something that God can use.

Moses isn’t finished yet. You would think by now he would have gone far enough, but lets go down to verse 10.

You know what happened. God gave Moses an object lesson. He threw the rod on the ground and it became a serpent, and Moses picked it up by the tail and it became a stick again. All those miracles are in there. Wouldn’t you think that would be enough for Moses to shut his mouth. Wouldn’t you think that would make him stop. How much does God have to do for us, before we will quit?

Exodus 4:10-16

(10) And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

Don’t you know Lord – I stutter? I am slow at speech. Whenever I try to put my tongue on anything, it doesn’t come out right.

Now here is one of those tremendous verses in the Bible, and you better keep it in your theology:

(11) And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth?

I never read that, that I am mindful of the fact that I know; because I have looked at myself in the mirror. When the Lord made me, He made a big mouth on me, but I can’t help it. And I’m not going to complain about it, because the Lord said He made it. If you have a nicer mouth than me, well thank the Lord. It’s not your fault either. The Lord made man’s mouth.

or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?

Don’t leave anything out. We have preachers today telling us that the Lord made the mouth and the Lord made the eye, and the Lord made the ear, but the Lord doesn’t make anybody deaf, or blind. If you are going to accept your Bible, you can’t believe the theologians. You better leave the theologians alone and believe the Bible. God says that He is the One Who has done all of this – not the devil, the Lord.

Our tendency is, and maybe I said it before, but I’ll say it again – if the church burns down, we blame the devil. If the dance hall or theatre burns down, we blame the Lord. We say, “The Lord did that.” if it is the dance hall. But if it is the church, “it is the devil.” Oh go on with you! It is the Lord Who lets both happen, or they wouldn’t happen. I think you can agree with that.

So we go on to verse 12. What’s the Lord’s answer? Moses, you talk about your speech. Don’t you know I’ve made your tongue and your mouth?

Exodus 4: 12-14

(12) Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

Go, and I will be with your mouth, and Moses, I’ll even tell you what to say. Now, you would think that that would be enough wouldn’t you? What a revelation of human nature we have here.

(13) And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.

What Moses is saying is: “Don’t send me.”

(14) And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well.

There are problems in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation that are just like problems we face today. Back in the book of Genesis, there were two sisters, the one was Leah, and the other was Rachel. Rachel was beautiful. Did you hear me? They were sisters; Rachel was beautiful and Leah was homely. Can’t you imagine the feuds in that family? Can you think of those young days of the competition between the beautiful doll and the one who wasn’t so beautiful? I said it before, but I say it again; it wasn’t Rachel’s fault that she was beautiful. The Lord did that. And it wasn’t Leah’s fault that she wasn’t beautiful. The Lord did that.

Now, here again, we have two brothers. They have the same mother and the same father. Aaron is three years older than Moses. They grow up, and Aaron is eloquent. His has a silvery tongue, and he can speak well. But Moses, poor Moses, when he gets up to talk, he can’t get it out. He stutters. Somebody says, “It isn’t fair.”

There are inequalities in life that you can’t answer. But listen, it is the Lord that makes the beautiful people, and it is the Lord that makes the other kind. Just take a look at all of the people in a mall some time. Most of them are very ordinary. There aren’t too many extra, extra beautiful dolls around. When David saw a beautiful woman, he got into trouble. And so the Lord has saved some of us fellows from trouble. He hasn’t put too many beautiful dolls around. Most of them are quite common. There are things you have to accept. And maybe I told you before, if you look close enough at a woman with a pretty face, she likely has big feet, or there is something wrong with her. There will be something wrong some place, and the Lord made them all.

Exodus 4: 14-16

(14) Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

(15) And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.

(16) And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

God is going to use Moses. Even though Moses is using all of these excuses, God is going to use him anyway.

God says, Moses, I am going to talk to you, and you are going to have to talk to Aaron, and then Aaron is going to have to go and talk to the people.

God talks to Moses

Moses talks to Aaron

Aaron talks to the people

Let me show you one thing:

Moses complained later on, that his load was too heavy, and his father-in-law agreed with him. What I am trying to show you, God gave Moses a job to do, and here is a principle in the Bible:

God will never call you to do what He will not enable you to do!

Numbers 11:14

(14) I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

(15) And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand,

Moses got so discouraged. We think these men were so different than us, but here Moses said, Lord kill me! The greatest man in the Old Testament said, Kill me.

(16) And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

(17) And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them;

Do you know what that is all about? Moses had seventy men to help him, but he didn’t have one ounce more of power. Not one wit more. God had equipped Moses to do the job, and all the flesh in the world didn’t bring more power. What is this written for? – for our learning. God wants to use us. And how is God going to use us? – by being with us. How is God going to use us? – by empowering us with what we have.

Recap

We have followed the story of the beginning of the family of Israel, as recorded in the book of Genesis. We have noted that the family moved down into the land of Egypt and it is at the point of seventy souls being in Egypt, that the story of Exodus begins.

The children of Israel remained in the land of Egypt for 430 years, and while they were there, they multiplied into a nation that was mightier than the nation of Egypt. And then, under the leadership of Moses, these people are lead out of Egypt into the wilderness for a period of forty years.

We were looking at chapters one to six of Exodus that have to do with the birth and call of Moses. Now we turn to chapter seven and very quickly skip through chapters 7 to 11. It has to do with the conflict between Pharaoh, and Moses and Aaron.

Exodus 7:7

(7) And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.

Moses was 80 years old. When I read about things like that in the Bible, that encourages me; I have a while to go yet. Moses is just beginning his ministry, and he is 80 years old, and Aaron is 83 years old. And you can add 12 years on to 80 to find out how young Miriam was when they came out of Egypt. She was 93, and she was still leading the choir. Don’t ever forget that.

Exodus 7:9

(9) When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.

(10) And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

(11) Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

There is a connection here, and it is another one of those small indications that the whole Bible is knit and linked together.

2 Timothy 3:8

(8) Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses

Those are the names given of the magicians of Egypt. That is what it is referring to. Jannes and Jambres are the two magicians who did what Moses had done. And Paul, through inspiration, gives us their names. Their names are not given in the Old Testament, but there they are in the New.

Paul says, under inspiration, these magicians withstood Moses. How did they withstand him? They withstood him by doing exactly what Moses did, but not with the strength of Moses. Moses did what he did by the Power of God. These men did what they did by the power of the enemy.

You know, sometimes, in our living as Christians, it is most difficult to tell a Christian from a non-Christian. There are some people who are not believers at all, but they live lives that are just as good as Christians. Now, how do they do that? According to the Bible, that is the enemy’s way of withstanding the truth – by just doing what they did, they withstood him.

Exodus 7:12-22

(12) For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

(13) And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

(14) And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.

(15) Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.

(16) And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

(17) Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

(18) And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river.

(19) And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

(20) And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

Now, these things are really severe when you stop and think of the judgments of God upon these people.

(21) And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

(22) And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments:

They were able to turn water to blood. There is a lot of typology in this, into which I am not going to go. When you get over to the book of Revelation, God is going to work miraculously for Israel again. What He did, He is going to do again. You can read these kind of things in the book of Revelation. The sun is going to be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before the Terrible Day of the Lord come. And waters are going to be turned into blood. And the very things that happened in Exodus, in one little land, are going to happen all over the world.

Going over to the 8^th chapter – and I find this almost humorous. I think it is, and yet it is so much like human beings today that I guess it isn’t humorous.

Exodus 8:6

(6) And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

If we haven’t mentioned this, all of these things were gods in Egypt. This is God’s judgment upon the gods in Egypt. Frogs were gods, and flies were gods. They had one-hundred thousand gods in Egypt, and now God is beginning to judge them.

Frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. Whenever I read that, I think of 1937 when the army worms came into Saskatchewan. For three days we were invaded with army worms. These worms came in, in such mass, that they stripped everything before them. They didn’t go around anything, they came in through the windows and the doors and we had worms on our tables and worms in our beds. And if we were kneading bread, there were worms in the bread. You just couldn’t get rid of them. For three days there were worms everywhere. I went through that, and so I can equate a little bit with this.

It goes on to tell you, when the land was filled with frogs, there were frogs in their kneading troughs where they made their bread, and frogs in their water – frogs in everything! What is so humorous about it?

Exodus 8:9-10

(9) And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?

(10) And he said, (Pharaoh said) TOMORROW.

Isn’t that humorous! Can you see that? Get rid of these frogs tomorrow. I want to live one more day with the frogs. It doesn’t make any sense at all. But isn’t that like us? I am going to go on a diet, but I am going to do it tomorrow. I’m going to give up a bad habit, but I am going to do it tomorrow. I am going to start everything tomorrow. Pharaoh wanted the frogs gone TOMORROW. I think that is kind of humorous, but that is a revelation of human nature!

Exodus 8:16-19

(16) And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

Now if the one was bad, this is worse.

(17) And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.

(18) And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man and upon beast.

(19) Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God:

There is another wonderful thing – The enemy may be powerful, and there are certain things that he can do, but don’t forget that God is All Powerful. There came a limitation to what these magicians could do in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 8:21-28

(21) Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

(23) And I will put a division between my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be.

(24) And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.

I want to tell you, this nation is really suffering at the hand of the Judgment of God. There are four things I want you to see:

(25) And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

(28) And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

Entreat, to get rid of the judgment, and then you can go.

Exodus 10:10

(10) And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones look to it,: for evil is before you.

(11) Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord;

(24) And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, God ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.

Now I want to go back. There are four things. Pharaoh is compromising. Moses has come in and said, Let the children of Israel leave Egypt to go three days journey out into the wilderness to worship God. And Pharaoh has objections.

The FIRST one is Exodus 8:25 is: “Go and sacrifice in the land.” Moses said, We have to leave the land and go out into the wilderness, but Pharaoh, who is being motivated and manipulated by the devil, said, “Go and do it right where you are.” What is the basis of that spiritually? The devil doesn’t mind God’s children being God’s children as long as you are not separated from the world.

The moment you start talking about separation, somebody is going to get angry. Are you aware of that? – you just stay in the land. Stay here, and don’t go there. Now, if you were doing this before you got saved, keep on doing it. You don’t have to give up anything after you become a Christian – so the devil tells people – and the world tells people – but the Bible says, come out from among them and be ye separate.

Then we go to the SECOND one. How many times have you heard this one? He said, you can go, but don’t go too far. You can see how that’s computed a thousand times since. To bring it up to a New Testament situation, somebody gets saved, and so Mom comes along and says to a boy, “It is alright to have religion, but just don’t carry it too far. Don’t go too far.” Have you ever heard of that kind of thing? “Those people will go so far, eventually they become insane.” Now listen, when it comes to the things of God, if being a Christian is worthwhile, it is worthwhile going all the way isn’t it!

So, the devil didn’t want them to go too far.

The THIRD objection: Exodus 10:10. After the test, Pharaoh said, Well, you can go, but don’t take the children. That’s the next thing. It is alright for Grampa to become religious; he is going to die soon anyway. And it is alright for Gramma to have a dose of religion, but don’t get the children mixed up in this. Can you see that happening? The devil knows if we don’t get the children mixed up in this, we are not going to get mixed up in it very much either. That is why there is so much in the Bible about whole families going on with the Lord. That’s the way the Lord intended it.

The FOURTH one is just as subtle. Verse 24, Pharaoh said unto Moses – You can go for three days, and you can go with your little ones, and you can cross the border, but there is one other thing – don’t let your flocks and herds go. It is alright to be religious as long as you don’t bring it into your business. That is their business life. It’s alright to be a Christian on Sunday, but don’t try this thing on Monday. Don’t try this thing on any other day of the week. You have to leave your business out of this. But I like what Moses said in verse 26. Moses said,

Exodus 10:26

(26) Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind;

Moses is going to lead these people out, lock, stock, and barrel. The whole thing is going to go, or nothing. We are going to take our kids. We are going to take our families. We are going to take our flocks. We are going to take our herds. The whole thing belongs to the Lord. Isn’t that a wonderful way to look at it? And I think that is what God wants for us.

Now, going back, in-between, there is something that I must mention. If you go back to the 8^th chapter, and then to the 9^th chapter, I want to make a point in regard to this; that I think if I omit, somebody will ask about it anyway.

Exodus 8:30-32

(30) And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord.

That’s regarding the flies.

(31) And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people;

I am always amazed when I read this. And I am glad that there are little details like this in the Bible.

there remained not one.

When God does it, He does it, doesn’t He! He said, I’m going to take them all away, and there wasn’t one fly. Isn’t that something! You live in British Columbia, and you still have flies around, no matter what month it is. But there wasn’t one fly left in Egypt.

And then it says:

(32) And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

In the next chapter

Exodus 9:6-7

(6) And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

(7) And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

It is repeated. That is mentioned over and over again. In one place it says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. And in another place, it says, Pharaoh hardened his heart. His heart was hardened. The only way I can explain that, is like this: the same sun that melts the snow, hardens the clay. You don’t change the sun, but there is a different effect upon the material that is there. While God is shining down on Pharaoh; with one hand, He is softening the hearts of the Israelites, and at the same time, He is hardening the heart of the Egyptian.

You see, it is an awful thing to turn your back on God. When you turn your back on God, then God has to harden your heart, as the same sun does to the clay. And so, it is not a contradiction. The one thing is true of the other.

Then it goes on to tell you that God sent boils upon all of the Egyptians. And the magicians couldn’t stand before Moses because everybody had the boils.

Exodus 9:16-18, 22-26

God speaking to Pharaoh:

(16) And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

(17) As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?

(18) Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.

Now you have a prophecy in verse 18, the fulfillment in verse 22.

(22) And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.

(23) And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

(24) So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

(25) And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

(26) Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.

And so you can see how the Hand of God was in that story.

Exodus 10:28-29

After the contest is over.

(28) And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.

(29) And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.

Exodus 11:2

(2) Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.

In the margin, that word “borrow” is “ask.”

(3) And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians.

Do you know what they started acting like? When they went and asked their neighbour for a little bit to go with them, God gave them such favor, that all of those Egyptian women started to act like my Grandmother used to do. Have you ever heard of somebody sending you on a journey, “and take this, and take this, and take this”? That is what happened in the land of Egypt. When these Israelites were about to leave, God gave them such favor among the Egyptians. You talk about miracles! This thing is so full of miracles, that if you can believe the book of Exodus, you can believe anything in the Bible. In fact you can believe anything any place. You can believe all of this.

When they went and asked their neighbor, “Will you give me this?” – they spoiled the Egyptians. They didn’t rob them. We are going to read from Psalms that the Egyptians were glad to see them go, so glad to see them go, that they unloaded their silver and their gold and their goods. And Israel went out rich, out of the land of Egypt. You know, if all the Jews left Canada, and took all the riches that they have, they would leave us poor too. Don’t ever forget that.

Exodus, Chapters 14 to 40 – In The Wilderness

Chapters 1 to 13, we are still in Egypt.

Chapters 14 to 40, we get out of Egypt into the wilderness.

In Wilderness For 40 Years

Numbers 14:33-34

(33) And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years,

They were 430 years in Egypt. They were 30 years not bondmen, but they were 400 years in bondage. And now they are 40 years in the wilderness. Verse 34 gives the reason. You have to be acquainted with some other history to see this.

(34) After the number of the days in which ye searched the land,

When God told them to go up, they sent spies to search out the land, and they searched it forty days. That was unbelief. And because of their unbelief, now they have to spend forty years in the wilderness.

They Lacked Nothing

Deuteronomy 2:7

This is a brief comment regarding these forty years in the wilderness.

(7) For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

Out in the wilderness, where they couldn’t manufacture anything, where they couldn’t grow any crops, where they couldn’t work for themselves; for forty years, God so looked after them, that they lacked nothing. When I read that, I always say to myself: I thank the Lord I’m past the worrying now. And when I look back, I wonder why I worried so much. Why did I worry so much when God could look after these people for forty years in the wilderness, when they couldn’t do anything for themselves. They didn’t lack anything. And Praise the Lord, that is my testimony.

Nehemiah 9:21

(21) Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

The Reason For Their Wilderness Journey

Let’s look at the reasons for their journey. There is always a reason. God is putting them through school, like He is putting us through school. Here you have the reasons for the wilderness journey, in a nutshell:

Deuteronomy 8:2

(2)And thou shalt remember

Deuteronomy covers about two months of the last of the forty years, just before Moses died. Although there are 34 chapters, it doesn’t cover a long period. Here is Moses talking to the children of Israel, just before they come out of the wilderness into the land of Canaan. The key word in Deuteronomy is “remember.” There are some things we are not to remember. There are other things we are not to forget. Don’t ever forget the day the Lord saved you – Remember! Later on, when we will be reading about God bringing them out of the land of Egypt, that is what Moses tells them over and over again –“don’t forget what God did for you.” Remember that when you forget a lot of other things.

Deuteronomy 8:2-4

(2) And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee,

What was the first reason for forty years in the wilderness? – to humble them. We sing a hymn that I like to sing – God leads His dear children along, God leads His children. Now mark this well – all of this Bible history is written for our admonition. It is written for our learning. It is written for our instruction.

God is leading these people into circumstances - #1 to humble them. That starts to explain some of our life. That’s why the Lord gives you some of the children. You know how they can humble you. Some of you have grandchildren. You know how they can humble you. The Lord leads us to humble us.

(2) God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

God knows what is in my heart. I don’t know what is in my heart. And you don’t know what is in your heart. God leads us in circumstances of life so that the circumstance reveals what is going on in the inside.

So that explains the wilderness journey. It reveals what a complaining group of individuals they turned out to be. God leads us just the same way.

(3) And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

That was another thing. Why did God feed them the way He fed them in the wilderness? – so they would learn man cannot live by bread alone.

(4) Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.

They were learning to trust God in their wilderness journey.

Major Events In The Wilderness Journey

We go back now to the major events in the wilderness journey. We better start with something that is actually preliminary to the wilderness journey. And that is the Passover.

The Passover

Exodus 12:1-2

(1) And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying

They are still in Egypt, and they haven’t had one fetter taken off. There isn’t one chain broken yet.

(2) This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

I may have told you before, but I want to tell you again, that is the beginning of Israel’s national history. Their family history is back in Genesis. Their national history is right here; the beginning of months, and they start to count their history as a nation.

I usually ask my Canadian audience, “When did our nation begin as a nation? Does anybody know what year it was? When did they sign confederation?” If you remember, we had our centennial back in 1967, so it had to be in 1867.

I might go and ask some Americans, “When does your date come in? When did you become a nation?” Well, Canadian history is only a little bit over one-hundred years. One day it hit me - why didn’t I start writing a history book when I was young enough to start doing it, because I am almost half as old as Canada. In fact, I’m more than half as old as Canada. I have lived more than one-half of Canadian history, so I am an ancient individual.

The Egyptians saw the beginning of the national history of Israel – The night of the Passover. The wonderful thing about that, is the Spiritual lesson from the New Testament. The night you became a Christian, or the night the blood of Christ was applied to your heart, that was the beginning of new history for you. You started the beginning of months. It is wonderful to start to believe that God started to reckon your history – not before you were saved, but God started to keep brand new books when He made you a new creation.

It is the history from the moment you were saved, until the moment you meet the Lord, that you are going to have to give an account, not for the history before. Aren’t you glad for that. The blood of Jesus Christ has wiped that off. It is all gone. It is all gone, and your history began with your Salvation.

Exodus 12:3

(3) Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

And then it goes on to tell you about them taking the blood and applying the blood.

Exodus 12:7, 12-13

(7) And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

(12) For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

Any that have not been judged yet, are going to be Judged here. Do you see that? He Judged the flies and the frogs – all the gods of Egypt.

(13) And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

And then He goes on to talk about the memorial.

God seeing the blood was what mattered. It wasn’t what Israel thought about the blood that mattered. It wasn’t about what Israel said about the blood that mattered. It is what God said about the blood. It wasn’t their seeing the blood that made them secure. It was God seeing the blood. “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” And from here on, in the history of the nation; they were where they were, they were who they were, and they were what they were – all because of their Redemption by Blood. Because of the Passover Lamb, all of that followed.

Now apply that to us. You are where you are, you are who you are, and you are what you are, because of Christ’s death on Calvary. If there hadn’t been the story of the cross, there wouldn’t be a people of God. If it hadn’t been for the blood of the Lamb, Israel never would have left Egypt. It is because of Christ, Who has been sacrificed for us, that we too have redemption.

1 Corinthians 5:7

(7) Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:

Crossing The Sea

The next thing in the story is the crossing the sea. I find this intriguing reading when I start reading history elsewhere in the Bible, and I see that there are things that are not specifically mentioned in the history books. The Psalmist David is an example of this:

Psalm 78:12-25

(12) Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.(Egypt)

The Psalmist says He did marvelous things. We read enough to know how true that is. How marvelous were the things done!

(13) He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.

I say again, as I said before, He didn’t freeze the sea. God can freeze water any time He likes, but He didn’t do that. He just congealed it. And by congealing it, He made it stand up like a wall.

(14) In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.

If you read that story, that is intriguing. It is amazing. For forty years, the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and they were never in the dark. Not for one hour were they in the dark; because God put the best electrical system that has ever been made, over their heads. There was a cloud over the camp of Israel in the day time. When the sun was hot, they never got too hot; the cloud was like an umbrella over their head.

And in the night time, it was a light unto them; and so they always had light. They were never in the dark, and they were never in the heat for forty years in the wilderness. What a wonderful cloud that must have been!

Psalm 78:15-25

(15) He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.

What we are doing here, is going through the chapters of the book of Exodus. When you get to that point, you are in Exodus 17.

(16) He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

(17) And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.

(18) And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.

(19) Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?

That’s a sad thing to be in the Bible.

(20) Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? Can he provide flesh for his people?

(21) Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;

(22) Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:

(23) Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,

(24) And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.

(25) Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.

That is a commentary on the book of Exodus. Read also Exodus 14:13-31, The Manna from Heaven is another wonderful story. Then the water out of the rock. Twice that happened. And then the beginning of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. And then finally, the giving of the Law at Sinai.

We are going back to read some of this Exodus history in the 105^th Psalm,

Psalms 105:6-24

(6) O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.

That takes you back to the book of Genesis.

(7) He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.

(8) He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.

(9) Which covenant he made with Abraham,

Now you are back in Genesis 15.

and his oath unto Isaac;

That brings you into Genesis 17.

(10) And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

That takes you into Genesis 32

(11) Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

(12) When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.

(13) When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;

You know how many people. That takes you to the end of Genesis, and the first few verses of Exodus. There were 70 souls that went out of the land of Canaan down into Egypt.

(14) He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

(15) Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

(16) Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.

The last few chapters of Genesis.

(17) He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

(18) Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

That is when he had some iron in his soul.

(19) Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him.

(20) The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.

(21) He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:

(22) To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.

(23) Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

(24) And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.

Now I want you to notice one word, as I read from here. And in all of this, the Psalmist points out the Sovereignty of God in all of these events. Notice the capital letter – “He.”

Psalm 105:25-30

(25) He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtly with his servants.

Now you are in Exodus. From verse 6, right down to 24, you are in the book of Genesis. But now, in the book of Exodus. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

(26) He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.

Exodus, chapter 3.

(27) They showed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

Exodus, chapters 7 and 8.

(28) He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.

That darkness, which I didn’t read about in Exodus, lasted for three days, and not one man dared to move out of his house, and it says not even a dog wagged his tongue. The darkness was so thick that not even a dog would bark. It was the Lord who sent that darkness.

(29) He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.

The Egyptians didn’t do that, and the Israelites didn’t do that. – God did it!

(30) Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.

My wife has always had problems with spiders. And more than once I have had to get up on a chair to get a spider, because she doesn’t like it. I always tell her, “well spiders get into kings houses, don’t you know that?” Back here, the frogs got into the palace. They weren’t only in the houses, it says they were in the chambers of the king. And so the king had to sleep with frogs. I kind of like that.

Psalm 105:31-38

(31) He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts.

(32) He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land.

(33) He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.

(34) He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number,

(35) And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.

(36) He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.

I left that story out. It is really quite a story when you stop and think of it. In the land of Israel, the firstborn was not touched, but every firstborn boy in every Egyptian house, including Pharaoh’s house died that night, because God smote it.

(37) He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

Now if you can believe that, what a miraculous thing! Over three million people, and there wasn’t one carrying a cane. Not one! There wasn’t one feeble person among them. And nobody had to be carried. Nobody had to be helped out. Everybody was able to make it.

(38) Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them.

Do you see how that is a commentary in the book of Exodus? They said, “You ask your neighbor,” and they just unloaded their goods. God tells us why they did it. They were glad to see them go. The fear of God fell upon the people of Egypt, because of the presence of the Israelites.

I think it wonderful when the fear of God falls upon people because of the presence of Christians. It has happened, and Praise God it will happen again. I’m persuaded that there is nothing that has taken place that couldn’t happen again.

That’s a wonderful commentary on all of this history

The Manna From Heaven

Psalm 78:12-25

(12) Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

(13) He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.

(14) In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.

(15) He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths.

(16) He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

(17) And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.

(18) And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.

(19) Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?

(20) Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?

(21) Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;

(22) Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:

(23) Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,

(24) And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.

(25) Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.

God sent Manna, and then the Spirit of God picked up the story in the New Testament. I don’t have to tell you what it is talking about. When you put it together, you can see that God was illustrating a wonderful fact that is going to happen.

John 6:33-58

I want you to notice verse 33

(33) For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

(35) And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

(38) For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

(41) The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.

(48) I am that bread of life.

Do you see the connection with the book of Exodus? It is impossible to believe the New Testament if you don’t believe the Old Testament.

(49) Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

There are people who will make light of this. I have an article written in a Surrey newspaper this past week about the “myth of Christ.” In that paper this woman wrote in about the myth of Christ and the myth of all these Bible stories. There are people living right about us who will call the Manna in the wilderness, the water out of the rock, and the opening of the Red Sea, myth. If you are going to believe the New Testament, and if you are going to believe Jesus, you have to believe it is not myth. It is the true thing.

Your fathers did eat manna

How long did they do that? – Forty years!

(50) This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

(51) I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

(52) The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

(53) Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

(54) Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

(55) For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

(56) He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

(57) As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

(58) This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Now what about this eating? When you take the Manna in the Old Testament, they made it a part of themselves. The New Testament says As many as received Christ. As they received the Manna into their bodies, so I have received Christ into my life. And when I receive Christ, I have received the bread that gives me everlasting life. Praise the Lord.

Water From The Rock

Going back, I’m going to go over the water from the rock. The first time God told Moses to strike the rock. The second time, God told Moses to speak to the rock. But in his anger, he smote the rock, and Moses was not able to go into the land of Canaan because of what he did – because he spoiled the type.

Exodus 17:3-6

(3) And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

(4) And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me.

(5) And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

(6) Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

Numbers 20:7-12

(7) And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

(8) Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

(9) And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.

(10) And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

(11) And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

(12) And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

Their first drink was from the Smitten Rock. Their next drink from the Spoken-to Rock.

1 Corinthians 10:4

(4) And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

John 4:10-14

(10) Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

(11) The woman saith unto him, Sir thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?

(12) Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

(13) Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

(14) But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 7:37-39

(37) In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

(38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

(39) (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

The Tabernacle

There are two things I want to say about the Tabernacle. We are not studying the Tabernacle. It is my purpose in these lessons to link together the history. I think you are seeing that. It is from the historical standpoint. And I’m persuaded that we will go back and get the Spiritual lessons after you get the history straight. But get the history straight. This is the real thing.

What was this Tabernacle, that there is so much in the Old Testament about? And, by the way, it follows through; there is a principle that is begun in Exodus that goes right through to the book of Revelation.

Exodus 25:8

(8) And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

What was the Tabernacle? – It was God’s visible dwelling place among the children of Israel.

Later on there is the Temple of Solomon. What was it? – It was the same thing.

After the Temple of Solomon, there was the Temple of Jesus’ Body. And what was Jesus? – He was God’s dwelling place on earth.

What is there today on earth that is visible? There is no Temple at Jerusalem, but what does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 3:16?

1 Corinthians 3:16

(16) Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

God always has – a visible manifestation of His presence on earth. Are you hearing that? Who is God’s Temple on earth today? – We are. And God says, I want you to construct this so I can dwell visibly on earth. And God will continue to do that.

John 1:14

(14) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

In Exodus you have the record first of the instruction, and then of the construction. It was the place where God met with man. And it becomes a wonderful type of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 2:5

(5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Still talking about the Temple or sanctuary where the children of Israel met with God. I challenge you to read Exodus 25, and the other chapters. The INSTRUCTION was God coming out to meet man. It starts with the ark.

Do you know how it was CONSTRUCTED? There was the Most Holy Place where the ark was, and then there was the Holy Place in the outer court. When the instruction is given, it starts way on the inside at the Holy Place, then it comes out to the Brazen altar – outside the court.

But when they started to construct the Temple, they didn’t start in there, they started with the Brazen altar. And from the Brazen altar, then they built the Laver, and then the Golden Table, and so on. And then finally the ark. Why?

When the instruction was given, God was coming out to meet man. When the construction was being done, man was going in to meet God. And God comes out from the Holy Place. We go in from that which speaks of the Cross. The means of our approach is the Brazen altar which is the Cross. And if it were not for the Cross, none of us could ever get into the Glory of God’s Presence. It is wonderful in all of its details, but we have to leave it.

The Law At Sinai

Here we insert an outline about the Law (most by M.R. DeHaan.)

The Law

I went down to the firs in Bellingham twenty years ago, and I heard M.R. DeHann. You have all heard Richard DeHann on radio and television. I’m talking about his father, the fellow with the gravelly voice. I found him more powerful to listen to in person, than to listen to him on radio or television. I want to give credit. Most of this outline I got from him. But then, this is how things sort of evolve in the right sense of the Word. You get some key thoughts, and then more are added. And I have added some thoughts to what I received from brother DeHann.

The Law Can Mean Different Things In Scripture

1. It Can Apply To All The Bible

Psalm 19:7

(7) The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

How do I know that is referring to the Scriptures?

2 Timothy 3:15

(15) And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

In this passage, when it talks about the Law of the Lord being perfect, it is talking about the whole Bible. From beginning to end, there is perfection in it.

2. It Can Apply To The Books Of Moses Only

Luke 24:44

(44) And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

In that reference, the Law of Moses is the first five books. And so, in the Bible, according to the context, you see how to use the Word.

3. It Can Apply To The Law At Sinai

Now it can also apply to the Law at Sinai. And so you go back to Exodus, and I am going to begin to read the first part of Exodus chapter 20. The children of Israel are out of Egypt. Their bondage and chains have been broken. They have come under the blood of the Lamb. They have seen God open the Red Sea. They have seen God send Manna from Heaven. They have seen God give them drink out of a rock. And now He gives them the Law. Did you get the order? They didn’t get the Law when they were in Egypt. They got the Law after they were saved from Egypt!

Exodus 20:1-17

(1) And God spake all these words, saying,

(2) I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

(3) Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

(4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

(5) Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

Notice, that comes right in the middle of His giving the Law.

(6) And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

(7) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Remember, the Law of God is still the Law of God.

(8) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

(9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

(10) But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

(11) For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

(12) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

(13) Thou shalt not kill.

(14) Thou shalt not commit adultery.

(15) Thou shalt not steal.

(16) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

(17) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

So many times when we are talking about the Law, we talk about the ten commandments. The Law of Moses was more than ten commandments. I have forgotten exactly, but I think that it has been tabulated to be six-hundred and thirteen Laws.

Just to show you that there were Laws in the Old Testament, and not all of them were in the twentieth chapter of Exodus. This verse refers to the book of Leviticus, chapter twelve:

Luke 2:22-24

(22) And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

(23) (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)

(24) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

The ceremony of the cleansing of the mother was part of the 613 Laws given to the children of Israel. We are not going to talk about these Laws in this lesson. In this study we consider only Moses’ Law given at Sinai.

That Law Is Spiritual

Romans 7:14

(14) For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

In the context, all through Romans, Paul is talking about these Laws of Moses. The Law is Spiritual. Not “was.” It “is” Spiritual. Why is the Law Spiritual? It is Spiritual because it came from God.

1 Corinthians 10:3-4

(3) And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

(4) And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

The Manna was Spiritual. But mark this: it was literal.

The Law is Spiritual, because its source is God.

Romans 7:12

(12) Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

I want to get this point straight before we go any further. According to the Bible, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Law. It is Holy, it is Just, and it is Good. And it is Spiritual because it came from God. Why is your New Birth Spiritual? You have the Spiritual Birth because it is from God. The Law came directly from God through Moses to Israel.

1 Timothy 1:8

(8) But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

What does that mean? May I put it this way: The Law is Good if it is used for the purpose for which it was intended. That’s what it means. If you use it for the purpose it was made. If you want to see how crooked a line is, what do you do? You put a straight ruler beside it. A straight ruler doesn’t make the line more or less crooked, nor will it straighten it out. All a straight ruler does is reveal how crooked the line is.

What is the Law? It is Good, it is Holy, and it is Spiritual. But it never was intended to straighten men out. Before we are finished with this, we are going to see that. About the worst thing you can do to rebellious man is put the Law on him. You will make him rebel won’t you? It was not intended to straighten people out. The Law was given to show people how crooked they are.

Paul says: If the Law had not said “Thou shalt not covet” I wouldn’t know I was such a sinner as I am. But he said, the moment the Law said “thou shalt not covet” then I coveted. I found out it was in my heart to covet. What is the greatest way to stir somebody up? Put up a sign “Keep off the grass” and you know what happens right away.

The Law is Spiritual. I think the majority of Christians do not see or accept this next statement:

The Law Is Dispensational

Today, the moment you say something about “dispensational,” there are people who see red. It makes them angry. But may I say this to everybody: everybody who studies his Bible is a Dispensationalist. Some more, and some less. The moment you put up the Cross and say: “It was different before the Cross than since the Cross,” that moment you are a Dispensationalist. Can you see that? And everybody does that. Everybody knows it was different before Christ came than since He came. “Dispensation” – that’s a period of time. And the Law was dispensational. It had to do with a specific period of time.

The Beginning of the Law

Galatians 3:19

(19) Wherefore then serveth the law?

He is not talking about the Bible, but he is talking about the Law of Moses.

It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Now we go back to verse 17

Galatians 3:17

(17) And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

What is it talking about? It is talking about Abraham. It says that God made a covenant with Abraham. God made that covenant with Abraham 430 years before the Law was given. The Law was added to Abraham’s seed 430 years after Abraham.

Is Abraham saved? Was he really saved? Do you think he was fully saved? He didn’t have the Law. So somebody says, you have to keep the Law to get saved. Well, Abraham didn’t have it. Abraham got saved without it. And so, if Abraham got saved without the Law, then I guess we can get saved without the Law.

Did Abraham behave? I know he failed, like we do, but by in large was Abraham’s life a life of obedience? Read the book of Hebrews. Hebrews, chapter eleven tells you. Image that – Abraham was able to behave and he didn’t have the Law.

The Law wasn’t given yet, and yet here is a man who got saved without it. And here is a man who behaved without it; so I think it is alright if I teach people today that they can get along without the Law. You don’t need the law to get saved. And you don’t need the law to behave. We have something better than that. Praise the Lord.

The Purpose Of The Law

Going back to:

Galatians 3:19

(19) Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

The Law was added. Why was it added? – because of transgressions. And what is the purpose of the Law? To manifest sin is transgression. That is really what that means. It was the Law that made sin transgression.

The End Of The Law

And then notice: It was added till. I have that word marked in my Bible in a dozen places. Either “till” or “until.” That’s a limitation. The Law was given 430 years after the covenant to Abraham, and it was given till the seed should come. Can you see in that, that there is a definite beginning of the Law, and a definite ending of the Law? – FROM MOSES TO CHRIST.

John 1:17

(17) For the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

The Law was given by Moses. That fits in with the Old Testament. The Law was from Moses to Christ.

Romans 6:14

My favorite verse of Scripture. Years ago, brother Ellis asked me to write an article on my favorite verse of Scripture. It was a hard assignment; because how can one pick out of the Bible a favorite Scripture? I finally came on this one, and I still think, if I were to ask today, if there is any Scripture of the Bible that thrills one more, I don’t know what it would be.

(14) For sin shall not have domination over you:

There is one test that every believer can make of himself. If you want to put up a test of your own Salvation, of your own faith, ask yourself --- Do you have a desire down inside to overcome sin? And every time that sin knocks you down, don’t you feel terrible about it? I want to tell you this: If you don’t, you ought to get saved!

I’m persuaded of that, because when we are born again, there is something within us that just longs to overcome sin. And for one like me to read this: “sin shall not have dominion over you,” Praise God, isn’t that good news! Is that not a wonderful thing for a believer to hear? “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” – Why? for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

We are not under the Law. Did you hear that? You are not under Law. Where are you? You are under Grace. What will Law do? When a fellow falls down under Law, you hit him on the head, and you make him fall all the more. But what do you do under Grace? Grace lifts up and says “come on fellow, try again.” Praise God for the Grace of God. How many times He has ministered His Grace!

I don’t know why I think of this at this moment, and I maybe use it when I am taking the Doctrine of Salvation, but it comes back to me fresh tonight – “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.” My brother Les went into the Air Force, and my mother had given him a brand new Bible in which she wrote in the fly leaf of the Bible, “God bless you Les, as you serve the King of kings.” Back in the days of King George VI, one of the boys in the barracks one day picked up his Bible and said, “My, your mother must be patriotic to call the king of England the King of kings.” Well, she didn’t mean that.

Les had been raised in a Christian home as I had. We thank God, and we stand up and call our parents blessed. They taught us to fear the Lord. They prayed over us and for us. They read the Bible to us and talked about the things of God. I can never talk about it without giving added thanksgiving to the Lord.

Les tried to live the Christian life in the Air Force. I heard him tell that one day he got so discouraged he went back into his barracks, and the first thing he did was take his new Bible, put it in the bottom of the trunk, put everything on top of it, and he had said to himself, “I’m going to go out and get drunk.”

I remember when I had back trouble some years back. I was in a place called Rosetown, Saskatchewan. It didn’t matter what they did for me, they couldn’t help my back, and the Physiotherapist came in and she gave me a lecture. She said, “All that is wrong with you, is you are too religious. What you need to do is go somewhere where nobody knows you are a preacher, and go out and have a real good drunk, and loosen up.” That was the advise I got from the medical profession. – “Go and have a good drunk and loosen up.” Well I didn’t take her advise!

Les had decided to go get drunk. On his way out, one of the fellows in the barracks was playing the radio and Charles E. Fuller’s quartette was singing some old hymn that Les had learned at his mother’s knee. And when he heard the hymn on the radio, he couldn’t go out the door. He went back to his bed and he got his Bible out of his trunk. He opened it up on the bed, and in front of all the fellows in the barracks, he got down on his knees and started to call on God to forgive him. That’s the Grace of God. How many times we have been just about ready to do something, and then God steps in by Grace in the nick of time.

I was reading over a list of names in one of my classes the other day, going back to my days of Brother McNichol and Brother Hollands. Brother Hollands was red-headed; – not that that was the thing that made him that way, because my wife was red-headed and she is not that way at all. But he would tell you that his red head went along with his fiery, fiery fist. He could go off just like that! Yes, he was a Christian.

He said he was working on the railroad, and one day some big fellow (Brother Hollands was just a little fellow about my height.) said something that upset him. I remember how I loved to hear him give this testimony: he said, “I got my fist up, and I was going to hit him.” And then Brother Hollands would cry and the tears would go down his cheeks, and he would say either to me personally, or to the congregation, “I was going to hit him, but I couldn’t. Something seemed to get hold of my fist. I got it within an inch of his nose, and it wouldn’t go any closer. The Grace of God held my fist.” Well, Praise God.

Sin shall not have dominion over you because you are not under Law, you are under Grace. I think that is good news!

Acts 15:10

I wonder if Peter really knew what he was talking about. It tells us the Old Testament writers, would write, and then afterwards they would read what they had written, and they couldn’t quite see through what they had written. But here is Peter at the conference, and the context of this is that they were trying to put the Law on these Christians.

Acts 15:10

(10) Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples,

He is talking about the Law being a yoke.

upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

The big word there is “were.” Peter did not say “are.” But Peter says “were.” The Law was given from Moses to Christ.

Galatians 3:24

(24) Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster

The Law was our schoolmaster up to Christ.

to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Romans 10:4

(4) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

And so the Law is dispensational. The Law was given to Moses until Christ came. And Praise God, we are not under the Law of Moses, we are under the Law of Love today. And that is a far better Law!

We have been following the history of the nation of Israel, from their leaving the land of Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, and moving into the wilderness. Marvelous things took place in the wilderness, but they had nothing to do. So often we think if we had nothing to do wouldn’t it be wonderful. The children of Israel had nothing to do in the wilderness, and they became a nation of complainers, and rebellious people. And so, they asked God to give them something to do. And that is where the Law comes in.

Remember, they are in the wilderness, they haven’t anything to do, and so God gives them the Law.

Exodus 19:8

(8) And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.

That’s quite a statement! They recognize their limitations. They didn’t know that they couldn’t have confidence in their flesh as they did at that point. They said they would do everything. Later on, when we get to the history in the book of Kings, we are going to find out they left all the commandments of the Lord. They said they would keep them all, but when the time came, they didn’t keep any. They left all the commandments, and so the Judgment followed.

That brings us back to where we were discussing the Law as given to the children of Israel in the wilderness at Mount Sinai.

In review, we said the Law was Spiritual. It is Spiritual because of its source. And the Law is a ruler to show man how crooked he is. And then, secondly, the Law is dispensational. The Law began with Moses until Christ.

Galatians 3:24

(24) Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster

It “was” not “is.” The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The Law was the schoolmaster up to the time of Christ.

And then you turn to Romans. I don’t know how anybody who knows what is in the Bible can read this and still believe that you can be saved by keeping the Law.

Romans 10:4

(4) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

And so the Law ended with the coming of Christ, as far as the standard for righteousness is concerned.

The Law Is National

Romans 2:14

(14) For when the Gentiles, which have not the law

The Law was not given to the nations. The law was given to A nation. The Law was given to the nation of Israel. It is definitely national.

It is spelled out very clearly. Paul is talking about his desire and sorrow of heart that the Israelites might get saved, and he says:

Romans 9:4

(4) Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law

The Law was given to the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai.

I have drawn some conclusions here as you put together the story as we know it this far. Exodus, chapter 20, the Law was given to Israel.

It was given after the Passover, back in chapter 12 of Exodus.

It was given after the Manna had come from Heaven (Exodus 16.)

It was given after they drank of the water from the Rock (Exodus 17).

See the Holy Spirit’s commentary on this history! And if you believe the New Testament, then you have to follow through with the statements that I make after this.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4

(1) Moreover brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

(2) And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

(3) And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

(4) And did all drink the same spiritual drink:

And now look at this commentary. When you read Exodus about them drinking from the Rock, you would never know what was there if you weren’t told. But now, look at verse four.

For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

If they drank of Christ, were they not saved? And where does that come in the story? The 17^th chapter of Exodus. Where does the Rock come? – the 20^th chapter. So they have had Manna from Heaven. They had been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. They had been drinking of the Rock who is Christ. And after that, the Law is given.

AFTER they drank of the water -- The Law was not given to save. I think you can see that. The Law was given to SAVED people. They were already saved when God gave them the Law.

And the Law was given to teach these people their need of Grace; because there is nothing like the Law to put pressure on you. You don’t know yourself until you are under pressure. It’s when you get under pressure, you start manifesting yourself. The Law puts people under pressure, and the Law really reveals how bad people are.

You stop and think, God gave the Law to the nation of Israel, and they couldn’t keep it. And if they couldn’t keep it, how in the world do we think we can. The best nation that ever was (they were a bad bunch too, of course) couldn’t keep it. And it wouldn’t save them, and so it doesn’t save people today. You can see the Law is national.

The Law Is Obligational

What is the obligation of the Law? We will understand a little bit more of what Peter said in Acts when he said “It was a yoke that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear.” The Law was an unbearable yoke.

Galatians 5:3

(3) For I testify again to every man that is circumcised

He is talking to the Jewish people – those who were given the Law, those who had the Law.

that he is a debtor (obligated) to do the whole law.

You see, you had to do it all, or none counted. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and saw what Israel was doing, he dropped those tablets of stone. And when he dropped them, he didn’t break one commandment, he broke them all. And God has so arranged, (not my rule – it is God’s rule); when it comes to the Law, you are obligated to keep every Law. And if you break one Law – turn to Romans and see what it does to you:

Romans 3:19

(19) Now we know that what things soever the law saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Do you know what the Law does? It shuts a man’s mouth. And why does the Law shut a man’s mouth? It shuts the mouth because it is so obligational. You’ve got to keep the whole thing. And if you don’t keep it all, then there is no value at all. It is obligational.

James 2:10

This is stating exactly what I am showing you from these other Scriptures.

(10) For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Some people think this is unfair. I didn’t make the rules. I am not reading my rules regarding this. This is God’s rule regarding God’s Law. Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, God says he has failed in the whole. He is guilty of all. You have to keep the whole, or none at all. It is really obligational. Therefore, because of that, it produces a curse.

Galatians 3:11,13

(11) But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith.

(13) Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

So, all the Law does to a sinner, is put a curse on his head, because he can’t keep the whole thing.

Galatians 5:1

(1) Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

In reality, Galatians 5:1 is talking about the Law. God has freed you from the Law, and now don’t get back under it, because Acts says it is an unbearable yoke that we and our fathers were not able to bear.

Acts 15:10

(10) Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

And just by way of illustration:

Matthew 5:8

(8) Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Do you know what Jesus said regarding that? If there is a man who looks upon a woman, he doesn’t have to commit adultery. All he has to do is think it in his heart, and he has done it, as far as God is concerned. And so when it comes to “blessed are the pure in heart,” there is no hope for any of us here if we are under the Law. And Praise God, we are not saved by Law; there is no way we can be saved by Law because we can’t keep it all.

The Law Is Demonstrational

The Law is not only obligational, the Law is demonstrational.

Romans 3:20

(20) Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

1 Timothy 1:8-9

(8) But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

Basically there is nothing wrong with the Law in itself. The Law in itself is good. Everything in it is good, but this:

(9) Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

You wouldn’t need any signs “Speed Limit” if nobody went over the speed. You wouldn’t need any signs “Stay Out” if nobody would want to go in. You make laws because people are lawbreakers. You make laws because people are disobedient. You make laws for ungodly people. You make laws for sinners. You have laws for all of that.

The Law is necessary, not because people are good; the Law is necessary because people are bad. Can you see that? What does the Law do? It demonstrates man’s inability. He would not keep it if he could. He couldn’t keep it if he would. That’s exactly where man is. If Israel couldn’t keep the Law, how do we expect to do so?

The Law makes sin exceedingly sinful. The Apostle Paul gives us his experience. Paul was a pretty good fellow. In fact, he was so good, that he called himself the chief of sinners.

Romans 7:7-14

(7) What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid.

I repeat, there is nothing wrong with the Law in itself. The Law is good.

Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law:

It was the Law that demonstrated sin to him.

for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

(8) But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

(9) For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

Will you notice that it doesn’t say the commandments – but it says the commandment. What is he talking about? He is talking about the latter part of verse 7. The Law said, Thou shalt not covet.

And Paul said, When that hit me – sin revived, and I died; because I realized that that’s the very thing that I do. The Law says not to covet, and that is what I do. And so what did it do? The Law demonstrated to me how sinful I am.

(10) And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.

(11) For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

(12) Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

(13) Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

(14) For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

The Law Is Revelational

And then the next step. It not only demonstrates your sin, but the Law is revelational.

Romans 4::15

(15) Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Illustration:

When you put up a sign on your lawn “Keep Off The Grass” that makes a trespass a transgression. If somebody walks on your lawn, and there is no sign, it is still a trespass, but it only becomes a transgression when the law says “Stay Off.” And so, you can see, the Law reveals something.

Romans 5:13

(13) (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

It wasn’t the Law of Moses that brought sin into the world. Sin was here before the Law. But sin is not charged to one if there is no Law.

Illustration:

Go back 120 years ago. In the United States in the year 1863 there was the Declaration of Emancipation signed by Abraham Lincoln. When he signed that Declaration, all the slaves in the States were set free. Now, I think you can see that slavery has never been right. Slavery has always been morally wrong. But up until that time, until the Law was made, although it was morally wrong, it took the Law to make it legally wrong. And so, by the Law, that which was morally wrong, became legally wrong.

You see, the law asks: “Are you what you ought to be?” And then, it proceeds to reveal your condition, and prove to you that you are short of what the law demands.

It doesn’t make you short. It just reveals how short you are.

And the more you measure yourself by the law, the more you are going to reveal yourself; because the law does something else-- The Law is operational.

The Law Is Operational

Romans 7:4-7

(1) Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,)

He is speaking here about the Law.

(4) Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

(5) For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins (the manifestation of sins) which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

(6) But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

(7) What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Paul said, The very thing the Law said, stirred something inside of me. The Law puts sin in motion. Here are some illustrations:

For your children, you put up a sign or a rule “Don’t touch the cookie jar.” And you know what happens; little Johnny will do everything he can to get into the cookie jar.

You paint, and you put up a sign, “Wet Paint.” I’m not going to ask for any demonstration here, but I wonder how many of you would confess to me that you have had paint on your finger because you saw the sign “Wet Paint?” What is in human nature anyway? When you see a sign “Wet Paint” that really means “Don’t Touch,” and we all know about it. Or wet cement, how many footprints are in cement because they put up the sign “Wet Cement?” If they hadn’t put up the sign, it wouldn’t have happened.

I don’t know what year this was, but some students went from Eston to a place called Leader, Saskatchewan. I think they intended to turn Leader upside-down, but it turned them upside-down if I remember correctly.

They went to have some children’s meeting. They had studied a little bit about pedagogy and a little bit about the law of children. What they did in that little town was go to every garbage can in town. They made great big signs and put one on each lid of each garbage can “Don’t Lift The Lid.” Inside the garbage can, under the lid, they put a sign “Children’s meetings will be held this week at a given spot at a given hour.” Do you know that every kid in the town knew about the meeting. There wasn’t one that didn’t get the message. Had they gone and posted up a sign about the meeting, nobody would have seen it. But when they put on the garbage tin “Don’t lift the lid,” everybody did it. There is something in human nature that you cannot explain. And the Law certainly puts this sin in operation.

Some years ago, I brought a bottle of water back from the Dead Sea. I put it up on the shelf for many days. and there was quite a bit of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. If you bring a glass of water with a lot of sediment (dirt) in it and let it settle, it will all go to the bottom. You take a spoon and put it in and start to stir. The spoon can be perfectly clean. It’s not the spoon that puts the dirt into the water; it is already there. When you start to stir it, all you do is stir up what is at the bottom.

The Law is like that spoon. The glass of water is like the human heart. You put the Law into the human heart, and say, Thou must not do this, and thou must not do that, and all you do is stir up the dirt at the bottom, and it sure comes to the top. The Law reveals the problem. And the problem is in the heart of man. The problem is not with the Law, it’s with the man.

The Law Is Incapable

Romans 8:1-4

We are told positively in Romans 3:20-28 – The Law cannot justify.

(1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(2) For (the new law as a believer) the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

The Law of Moses is administration of death. But here is a new Law.

(3) For what the law (the law of Moses) could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

What did it say in that verse? The Law is weak. And why is the Law weak? The Law is not weak because of the Law, but the Law is weak because of the flesh. Did you see that in verse three?

Look at it again.

“what the law could not do in that it was weak through, or because of, the flesh.

Even after we are saved, we are not to have confidence in our flesh (Phil. 3:3) Why? Your flesh is still weak. And even after we are saved we cannot keep the Law. And what are we going to do?

(4) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled (not by us) IN us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The children of Israel tried to fulfill the Law in themselves, but they couldn’t do it. God says He has a new plan. What the Law couldn’t do, Jesus came to do. The Law of Moses couldn’t do it, because it was weak through the flesh.

Illustration

You all know what it is to have gone to church, and the preacher gets long-winded. You had invited someone for dinner, and they are going to come after church. You put that beautiful roast of beef into the oven and put the timer on, but the preacher went overtime. When you got home, the roast was over-done. You went with a fork and put it into the roast and tried to pull it up, but the roast wouldn’t come; so you poked at it again, but it still wouldn’t come.

May I use that roast of beef as an example of human nature, human flesh. It’s all over-cooked stuff. It’s weak. And may I take that fork that you tried to use as an illustration of the Law. You poke at it with the Law and it won’t come. So what do you do? You go and get some sort of lifter. You put the fork aside, and you get something that gets right down to the bottom of the thing; and from underneath you lift it up.

That is what the Gospel is all about. Can you see the Law poking at men? Can you see the Law trying to lift men? What the Law couldn’t do because of the weakness of flesh, God did by sending His Son in the likeness of flesh and condemned sin in the flesh that He might lift us up. In loving kindness Grace has come in and lifted us up when nothing else could do it. And now Grace has lifted us, that we might fulfill the Law and that He might do it in us.

Somebody says, “What are we going to do if we have not the Law to make us behave?” What is your answer in these days when you are going to meet people who are ‘bound and determined’ to get you under the Law of Moses?

Galatians 5:18

(18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Anybody who is trying to keep himself under the Law, and by the Law, is not being led by the Spirit; because the Spirit of God is not going to lead us under the Law. He is going to lead us from the Law to Grace in Christ.

What are Christians to do today? I’ve shown you the Law is dispensational, and the Law won’t make men better; and so, what are we to do?

Titus 2: 11-12

(11) For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

(12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

We are taught not by the Law of Moses, how to live. We are taught by the Grace of God how to live. Christians don’t need more Law. They need to hear more Grace. Whenever I say that, I know there are some people who don’t believe it, and they reject it. But that is not the truth. You need to hear more of the Grace of God.

This puts it all together. What is the Law under which a Christian lives? What is the motivating power for a Christian?

Galatians 2:20

(20) I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:

That’s a thousand times better than the Law stuck up on the wall. Christ liveth in me.

and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

We have been delivered from the Law, that we might freely live. And we have Someone, not some thing living in us. We have Someone living in us, and that is better than an external Law. To say that we need the Law to make us behave, is an insult to Jesus Christ. You don’t need the Law, all you need is more of Him.

The only Law that a Christian needs is:

1 Corinthians 10:31

(31) Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

That’s a tremendous statement. That is the Christians’ Law - Christ living in you, and Christ regulating within you, and Christ pressuring from within. It is not pressure from without, but it is pressure from within.

When you start experiencing that pressure within. you don’t need the Pope to tell you how to live, and you don’t need the preacher to be present to show you how to live, and you don’t need somebody else around to keep you straight.

It is pressure from the inside that makes a Christian want to live to glorify God. And so, you do as you like. What do you like to do? You like to please Him. And so if you want to please Him, that’s the greatest Law. It is the Law of liberty. It is the Law of Grace.