Exodus 12:37-51
The Exodus
Today we finally come to Israel’s wonderful moment of release. For generations they had been afflicted and burdened by Egypt. And for the final year or so, they had seen Egypt suffer great punishment from the Lord in order to weaken their resolve, and also to magnify the Lord in the eyes of the people.
The Passover has come and gone, the firstborn of the Egyptians have died, and now the time to depart has come. A week before typing this sermon, my wife found a ceramic plate that my grandmother made depicting the time of the Passover and the exodus out of the land.
We already have many of her works of biblical art here at the Superior Word, but now we have one more, lost for many years, and yet found just in time to be put on display in His church and among His people during these exodus sermons. In the depiction is Moses carrying his staff in one hand and a lamb in another.
There he stood with a precious lamb that would be the means of their redemption, picturing the true Lamb who redeemed Israel and who continues to redeem His people 3500 years later. Hallelujah to this precious Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus! Through Him, we have been united to the commonwealth of Israel.
Text Verse: “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22
Our sermon today will be a tad bit longer than most, but just a tad. Everyone will be home in time for dinner tonight. But I hope you will truly enjoy some of the wonderful insights which are given to us in these precious words. And, you can’t search out the word unless you open it and read it. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.
I. From Rameses to Succoth (verses 37-39)
37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses
Verses 37-42 in our look into the exodus today are so filled with connections to other portions of the Bible, that to fully plumb the depths of what is involved in them would take many long hours and yet we’d still miss much.
This first portion of verse 37 is given to us to show the literal locations of the Exodus until the first stopping point, but the names have been selected by God to show us something more, something future. The entire scope of the plagues on Egypt was given to show us what really occurred in history, but it was also given to show us parallels and pictures of Israel’s salvation in the end times.
Now, instead of the name “Goshen” being used, it says the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses. Why would the Lord interchange these names as he has in both Genesis and Exodus unless He is trying to show us a picture of something else?
Goshen means “drawing near” or “approaching.” That name is no longer used because it no longer applies. The time is not approaching, it has arrived. Israel is delivered and so Rameses is used. The name Rameses means “son of the sun” or “child of the sun.” In Psalm 84, the Lord is represented by the sun –
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11
In Malachi 4, Jesus is called the Sun of Righteousness and that passage is one which appears to telescope between His first and Second Advent. Listen to how these verses mirror what occurred during the plagues on Egypt and now their freedom from it –
“For behold, the day is coming,
Burning like an oven,
And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“That will leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings;
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
On the day that I do this,”
Says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 4:1-3
Rameses, rather than the name Goshen, is used here because it is speaking of the state of those who have come near to salvation, to those who are now saved. In the end times, God cares for Israel during the tribulation right through until their final reunion with Christ. Israel is the son of the Sun, Jesus.
This is evidenced by the Lord’s declaration of Exodus 4:22 where he called Israel His “firstborn son.” They were called this when Moses, picturing Christ the Redeemer, was told to speak to Pharaoh, the afflicter of Israel. What is being seen here is perfectly detailed, not just of actual events of the past, but of actual events in Israel’s future.
The name Rameses is used here to show us that Israel is the son of the Sun, exactly as the Bible has described them both. Israel the s-o-n of Jesus the S-u-n. The changing of the name from Goshen to Rameses is exacting and purposeful. It is given to help us weave together these amazing patterns of redemptive history.
37 (con’t) to Succoth,
The name Succoth means “tabernacles.” In the life of Jacob, after meeting his brother Esau, he traveled to a place with the same name, Succoth, and he stayed there. That was a picture of the sixth dispensation in redemptive history, the age of the gentile church; the age of grace. It pictured God dwelling, or tabernacling, in man.
The mentioning of Israel traveling from Rameses to Succoth is given for the exact same reason. The Israelites have just observed the Passover, having applied the blood of the lamb and been saved from the plague. These people now, and the places they travel to, picture those who have been brought out of the tribulation period.
They are those who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb and are brought out of spiritual Egypt. The Holy Spirit now dwells in them, just as He did for those in the church age. The pictures are exact when compared to the book of Revelation and the names here are given to show us this. This is alluded to in Psalm 105 –
“He also brought them out with silver and gold,
And there was none feeble among His tribes.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
For the fear of them had fallen upon them.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
And fire to give light in the night.” Psalm 105:37-39
The cloud and the fire picture the presence of the Holy Spirit among God’s people. It is where the Lord has “spread His cloud of fire over them for a covering.” (Poole)
37 (con’t) about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.
The numbers here are a general counting, rounded down to the nearest 100,000. This same general number is given by Moses again in Numbers 11:21 when speaking to the Lord. But in Numbers 1, an exact counting of the people is made, there it says –
“So all who were numbered of the children of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and above, all who were able to go to war in Israel— 46 all who were numbered were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.” Numbers 1:45, 46
This number includes those 20 and above who could go to war. However, this didn’t include the Levites of this age. They were counted later in Numbers 4 and were 8580 between 30 and 50 years of age. And so the total number of men of fighting age was about 613,000.
These numbers didn’t include the children, the older people, or the women. In all, many scholars generally reckon them at about 2,000,000 people. Interestingly, there are about 6 million Jews in the land of Israel right now and the Bible shows us what will happen to them in the book of Zechariah –
And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the Lord,
“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one–third shall be left in it:
9 I will bring the one–third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” Zechariah 13:8-9
The approximate number of Jews who departed at the exodus is essentially the same number who will make it through the tribulation period if it is in the near future as I suspect it will be. God is repeating the numbers of history, just as He is repeating the symbolism of names and places.
The numbers here are in no way unimaginable when compared to the arrival of Jacob which is recorded in Genesis 46 and Exodus 1. In those genealogies, 70 people are named. However, during those sermons, it was noted there were hosts of servants who would have arrived in Egypt with them.
Over the years in Egypt, they would have been assimilated into the group known as Israel, just as was seen in the life of Jacob upon his return to Canaan from Padan Aram with two companies. The faith of Israel constituted the nationality, just as the nationality constituted the faith.
There is abundant precedent for this, both in the Bible and in extra-biblical recorded history. The numbers in growth are not only acceptable, they are exacting. God has recorded them not as hyperbole, but as a fact of history.
Having said this, many liberal scholars do their best to dismiss the biblical record, stating that this exodus account is a dishonest fabrication. Here are what the dolts… I mean the scholars, at Cambridge say –
“The figures do not come to us from eye-witnesses; and tradition, in the course of years, greatly exaggerated the numbers of the Israelites at the Exodus.” Dolts at Cambridge
If your commentary reflects this general sentiment, put a big fat red X through it. The numbers are both possible and reliable.
38 A mixed multitude went up with them also,
This is a continued fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12:3 –
“I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:3
This “mixed multitude” comprises anyone who is not of the stock of Israel. They may have been Egyptians or people of other ethnicities who lived in Egypt, serving Egypt just as the Hebrews did. They saw the opportunity to join with Israel and to follow the God of Israel and they took it.
There are a few possibilities as to their numbers. The first is that they are included in the number of the Israelites in the census I mentioned earlier. This would make sense because Moses will later say that the number of capable males under him is the same as we see in this chapter.
The second option is that they are simply an innumerable number that came along and are not included in the census of Israel. At least in picture of future events, this is a more appropriate fit.
The third option is that they are mentioned separately to picture a separate number, but they are actually counted in the total during the census. Thus, the reality of the numbers is correct for all, but the picture of who they represent is maintained. Whichever is correct, they are mentioned as they are for a reason. But before I give that reason, I want to read you Numbers 11:4 –
“Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat?” Numbers 11:4
Scholars almost unanimously agree that this group mentioned in Numbers 11:4 is the same group as mentioned here in Exodus. They call them names, say the set a bad example for Israel, and give other generally negative views on them. And these scholars are completely wrong.
The word used to describe the people here in Exodus is erev. It means, literally, a mixture. It is the same term used in Nehemiah 13:3 to indicate foreigners. The word in Numbers 11 to describe those miscreants is asaphsuph. It means “rabble” and comes from the word asoph which means “storehouse.”
From that we get the idea of a collection of like-minded things. There is no reason to assume this “rabble” was the mixed multitude we see here. Instead, it is identified as containing a group of like-minded people who were whiners, regardless of who they were – whether of Israel or of foreigners.
In picture, this mixed multitude is mentioned now for a specific reason. They are those people who will join Israel during the tribulation period, from all people groups around the world who will enter into the millennial reign of Christ. They are mentioned in Revelation 7 and then again in Revelation 19 –
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'” Revelation 7:9, 10
The same mixture of people is spoken of in the book of Zechariah –
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’” Zechariah 8:23
Their mention here in Exodus in this vague way, and their mentioned as simply a “great multitude” in Revelation, is given to show us that in the tribulation period many will come to a saving knowledge of the Lord by joining with the people of the Lord, Israel. The picture is exact.
38 (con’t) and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.
Along with the people, all of the flocks and the herds of the people departed with Israel. It was these animals which Pharaoh refused to let go of and which resulted in the ninth plague, darkness. But after the final plague, Pharaoh simply exhorted the people to go and so they did, with all of their possessions, including the millions of animals they possessed and which he failed to confiscate.
Flocks and herds in the Bible are mentioned a multitude of times to reflect people groups. These animals are probably given here as a picture of the nations who will be gathered together after the tribulation for judgment – the sheep and goat nations who are mentioned in Matthew 25.
39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt;
Two different words are used to describe the bread here. The first is matsot, which is unleavened bread. The second is ugot, which is the cake itself. The International Standard Version does an excellent job of translating these words –
“They baked the dough that they brought out of Egypt into thin cakes of unleavened bread.” (ISV)
In the Middle East, it is common for the people to make bread by simply mixing flour with water and then cooking it. If no oven is available, they will put the cakes into ashes of a wood fire and cover it over with embers for a little while.
39 (con’t) for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.
The bread had been prepared in advance as it often was, but when the call went out to depart, they simply picked up and left, joining the ranks of the people in the great exodus. The bread was left unleavened and it was carried in the kneading troughs covered by a garment to keep it pure.
The Bible’s specificity in this verse concerns the picture it is making – that of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In the church age, Paul calls us just that, unleavened –
“Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7
This same picture now extends to those who went through the tribulation period and came out of it through their faith in Christ. Thus, they have become a part of the true Passover and are also a new lump, truly unleavened. Again, the symbolism is exact. That which has been will be again.
History continues to repeat itself, in the exodus, in the church, and in the tribulation saints. It is showing us that God is consistent and His means of salvation, by grace through faith, is a unified concept which transcends all ages and dispensations.
Israel departed from Rameses to Succoth
Finally free from the bondage of Egypt
This first leg of the journey is worthy of note
Because the power of Pharaoh from them is stripped
Out from Egypt in the darkness of the night
And yet a full moon to help guide their way
Out from Egypt by the moon’s soft light
Continuing their walk throughout the next day
At Succoth, unleavened bread they did eat
The people having been purified, acceptable to the Lord
There at Succoth they enjoyed freedom so sweet
Just as was promised, so He kept His word
II. Precisely Timed (verses 40-42)
40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.
This is surely one of the most mistranslated and most misunderstood verses in the entire Bible. Listen to the following two translations and see how they differ –
“Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.” (NIV)
“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.” (KJV)
If the translation says unambiguously that they dwelt in Egypt for 430 years as the NIV does, the translation is wrong. The KJV uniquely offsets the words “who dwelt in Egypt” and so it can mean something entirely different. The reason why this is important is that they did not dwell in Egypt 430 years.
The facts revealed in the Bible show that they actually dwelt in Egypt 215 years. At least the NIV and some other translations footnote that other manuscripts say they dwelt in “Canaan and Egypt” instead of just “Egypt.” And this is the correct rendering. It should say “Canaan and Egypt.”
The reason why these words were changed for the Masoretic text may be sinister – to hide a 215 year period in order to obfuscate the truth that Jesus is the Christ. By hiding these years, the Jews have hid from the eyes of their people who He truly is. The 430 years goes from the time of Abraham until the Exodus.
An argument against this is that the “sons of Israel” didn’t exist at Abraham’s time and therefore the words cannot mean from him until the exodus. But this is the Bible’s way of using an all-inclusive term for the people of Israel who lived in him even before they were born. These are our difficulties, not the Bible’s.
Following the timeline as we did through Genesis; following the promise made to Abraham; following the patterns laid down in the Bible; and following the words of the New Testament from the hand of Paul all lead to the understanding that it was 430 years from the Lord’s promise to Abraham until the Exodus.
Referring to the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, Paul in Galatians 3 says –
“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”
That promise was made to him when he was 75, in the year 2084AM. That was 430 years after the Flood of Noah. Paul tells us that another 430 years after that, the law was received at Mount Sinai, which is just 50 days from the exodus.
In the life of Jacob, he traveled with his family to be with Joseph in Egypt exactly 215 years after the promise to Abraham in the year 2299AM. The people of Israel then spent another 215 years in Egypt and are now departing in the year 2514AM.
God has laid history out in the pages of the Bible with absolute perfection, allowing us to feel perfectly secure that we have placed our eggs in the right basket.
41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—
There is no reason to assume that the term “on that very same day” isn’t speaking of an exact day, meaning that the promise made to Abraham came about on the same day as the Exodus, 430 years earlier. If so, as it seems to imply, then that promise was made to him exactly 154,800 days earlier.
Such precision is found elsewhere in the Bible and so there is no reason to assume that it means anything other than this. The same day that Abraham was given his great promise 430 years earlier, is the same day that Israel was freed, as we see in the continuation of verse 41…
41 (con’t) it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
The word here for “armies” is tsaba. It is often translated as “hosts,” as in armies united for warfare. This is the third time it is used to describe the people of Israel as a united force under the Lord. The people are, in this sense, being portrayed as those who will fight the Lord’s battles.
If one thinks of the Lord as their Head, then it takes on the picture of a great warrior leading His armies as they go. It is not in defeat or fear, but in honor and bravery that they are now leaving the land of Egypt. The picture for the church should be no less wonderful.
The Passover had just taken place, picturing Christ’s death on the cross. In that act, Christ has led His people out of the bondage of slavery, not in defeat or fear, but in a spirit of freedom and honor. Paul alludes to this in Romans 8 –
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.'” Romans 8:14, 15
Every time that a person receives the gospel message and trusts Christ, they participate in the same freedom that all others have who have been redeemed by the Lord. We have been brought from bondage into son-ship. We go from being enemies of God to being united with Him as one of His innumerable hosts.
42 It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
The words “night of solemn observance” in Hebrew are lel shimmurim. This word shimmur is used only twice in the Bible, both in this verse, and it is in the plural, as in a “night of watchings” or in “much observance.”
These observances are said to be “to the Lord.” And the reason is explicitly given as “for bringing them out of the land of Egypt.” If we can equate these words to a New Testament passage, I would say that Colossians 1 fits this perfectly –
“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13, 14
Paul’s Jewish heritage allowed him to see with exacting detail the parallels between the Passover feast he had celebrated year after year, and the fulfillment of that observance in Christ. Unfortunately, for the Jewish people in general, this rite has been less about the Lord and more of a cultural observance.
But every time a Jew comes to know their Lord, and when the corporate body of Israel comes to know Him some wondrous day, great things occur as they come to realize the true significance of these mandated observances.
42 (con’t) This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
There is an emphasis in these words which calls out for remembrance. Everything about them is intended to draw attention to the reader to pay heed. “This is that night of the Lord.” It is to be “a solemn observance.” It is “for all the children of Israel” and it is to be “throughout their generations.”
And yet, they are words which only find their true meaning in what they picture – the cross of Christ and the freeing of His people from the yoke which has bound them. Ellicott makes the connection simple for us to see –
It is “…when a yoke heavier than that of Egypt was broken from off our necks, and a land better than that of Canaan set before us. That was a temporal deliverance, to be celebrated in their generations; this an eternal redemption, to be celebrated world without end!” Charles Ellicott
It was a long time, four hundred and thirty years
From Abraham until the exodus out of Egypt the land
But when it came, there were certainly many cheers
As the people beheld the marvel of the Lord’s powerful hand
And for all generations thereafter it came to be
That people would each year on that night recall
The marvel of the exodus; and of the Lord’s majesty
A Passover Seder each year at the nightfall
A solemn observance for the children of Israel
A time to remember the great acts of the Lord
A time to relate the story to the next generation as well
To repeat this marvelous account recorded in His word
III. One Law for All (verses 43-51)
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
From the text, it would appear that these instructions were given at Succoth, after the Passover. However, it could be that they were given at Sinai when the law was received. Or, they could have been given to them prior to the Passover and that foreigners participated in the Passover. Thus everything from verse 11 until now has been an insert.
I believe that the last option is correct. It would mean that the mixed multitude that left with Israel was circumcised before they partook of the Passover and departed at the Exodus. This would fit with what will be said in the coming verses concerning their status within the corporate body. It would also be another reason why they selected the lamb five days earlier – to allow healing time for those circumcised.
No matter what, the instructions are given to ensure the meal would not be defiled through inappropriate observance.
43 (con’t) “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.
The first instruction is that no foreigner is to eat of it. The term is ben nekar or “son of a stranger.” It’s a general term which includes all who were aliens to the people and to the covenant of Israel. However, if they were brought into the people and the covenant by circumcision, then they were no longer considered strangers.
This is often violated today when Jews invite Gentiles over to share in their Passover. The Passover was intended only for those who are a part of the redeemed of the Lord. This then equates directly to the Lord’s Supper.
There is no point in a non-believer coming forward because it has no true significance for them. The intent of the Lord’s Supper is to proclaim His death until He comes. If someone hasn’t received what His death signifies, and if they don’t believe He is coming again, then it makes no sense for them to participate.
44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.
The second instruction concerns servants. If a person obtained a servant with money and became their property, according to Genesis 17:12, 13, they were to be circumcised. There were no exceptions to this. It is implied that if they refused circumcision, they were to be cut off from the congregation.
Once they were brought into the house and circumcised in that manner, they had all of the rights of a citizen of Israel, although they were still the property of their owner. If nothing else, this shows that it is a dedication to the Lord and to the covenant which brings one into Israel, not natural descent from Abraham.
This is especially true in the world today when there are different sects of Jews from different traditions – Sephardic and Ashkenazi in particular. They can both claim title to the nation of Israel. However, they cannot claim to be the true Israel if they aren’t circumcised in their hearts to the Lord Jesus.
Therefore, until they call out to Him, they are not truly completed Jews of good standing in Israel in the biblical sense.
45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.
In contradistinction to an owned slave, a person might have a day-laborer who was a foreigner. Or he may have someone staying at his house as a sojourner for a given amount of time. Such a person was not allowed to participate
46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.
The general consensus of the reason for these words is that it points to unity. It is through the lamb that the people were united in the Passover, and it is through Jesus that believers are united in our freedom from the bondage of sin. Therefore, none of the flesh was to be taken outside of the house.
Further, none of the bones were to be broken, again, implying unity. The flesh was eaten, but the bones were to remain whole. This unity of the bones points directly to the unity of the church- universal which is found in Christ and in Him alone.
The Passover lamb of the Hebrew nation was made to correspond to the antitype which He fulfills. The completion of this picture is found anticipating Christ in Psalm 34:20 and realized in John 19 which speak of Him on the cross –
“For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken.'” John 19:36
He died prior to the need for the soldiers to break His bones in order to expedite His death. This was anticipated 1500 years earlier in the giving of these instructions.
47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
As there is unity in the house pointing to unity in Christ, there was to be unity throughout the congregation, again pointing to unity in Christ. There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.
48 And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it.
This is plain on its surface and it follows through in many examples in the Bible. When a stranger sojourned among the Israelites and wanted to participate by keeping the Passover, they were to circumcise any males and they were then allowed to keep it. From that point on, they were to be incorporated into the people of Israel with no further distinctions among them.
In addition to accounts which follow this in the Bible, there is extra-biblical evidence for this as well. Speaking of the descendants of Edom, known as the Idumeans in the New Testament times, we find in the writings of the Jewish Historian Josephus that about 129 BC John Hyrcanus –
“…subdued all the Idumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would circumcise their genitals, and make use of the laws of the Jews; and they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision, and of the rest of the Jewish ways of living; at which time therefore this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews.”
If we are to take this in a New Testament context, it shows that we cannot withhold the gospel from any person or group of people and exclude them from Christian fellowship. This follows through in position, status, color, ethnic origin, amount of wealth, or for any other reason. Jesus is the Christ of the nations and He is to be open to all who will receive Him. No non-believer carries the benefits of Christ; no believer is excluded from those benefits which are His alone to endow upon His faithful.
49 One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
One law is given for all people within the covenant community regardless of their birth status. Again, it points to the unity of the people which is derived from being joined to the Lord, not from being joined through a birthright. The birthright is from God to His adopted children, without regard to their genetic make up.
There would seem to be exceptions to this which are found in Deuteronomy 7, where it says that certain people groups were to be utterly destroyed and with whom no intermarriages or covenants were to be allowed.
But… people from some of those very groups are found later in the Bible as participants in the provisions of this verse. One, for example, is Uriah the Hittite whose wife, Bathsheba, became a wife of David.
50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
The law was given from the Lord and the people complied. The inclusion of these words seems to imply that the instructions were, in fact, given prior to the Exodus, but they have been recorded now to show that those who came out as a mixed multitude were considered as a part of the whole; all were now reckoned as Israel.
Thus the counting of the people in the census is inclusive of them as being brought into the tribes. They are one united people.
*51 And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.
This verse repeats the substance of verse 41. It shows us that it is the Lord who brought Israel out. He did it on a precise schedule, that it included His redeemed people, that they were redeemed from the bondage of Egypt, and that they were brought out according to their armies – in other words in ranks and in dignity.
Everything about this closing verse shows that there was a plan and that plan was worked out exactly as it should have been, including the assimilation of non-Israelites into the body of Israel. It is then a picture of the greater assimilation of the church which now exists, and of the assimilation of the tribulation saints of the future. All are one in the body of Christ who is the Lord.
We are, through the blood of Christ, brought into the commonwealth of Israel. We are saved unto the ages of the ages. God’s love for His children is an eternal love because we are “in Christ” His Son. He could love us no less than He loves His beloved Jesus.
If you have never received that great love which can only come through God’s adoption of you as His child, please give me a moment to tell you how you can participate in it today…
Closing Verse: “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:11-13
Next Week: Exodus 13:1-10 (The Feast of Unleavened Bread) (37th Exodus Sermon)
The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean lies ahead of You, He can part the waters and lead you through it on dry ground. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.
The Exodus
The children of Israel then
Journeyed from Rameses to Succoth
About six hundred thousand men on foot besides children
Certainly a host of considerable note
A mixed multitude went up with them also
And flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock with them did go
And they baked unleavened cakes
Of the dough which they had brought
Out of Egypt; for it was not leavened
For in a hurried exodus they were caught
Because they were driven out of Egypt
And could not wait
Nor had they prepared provisions for themselves
Such they did not accumulate
Now the sojourn of the children of Israel
Who lived in Egypt
Four hundred and thirty years was the spell
Before Pharaoh finally flipped
And it came to pass at the end, finally at last
Of the four hundred and thirty years—
On that very same day—it came to pass
That all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt Surely with great cheers
It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord
For bringing them out of the land of Egypt according to His word
This is that night of the Lord
A solemn observance in participations
For all the children of Israel as they have heard
Throughout their generations
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron
“This is the Passover’s ordinance
No foreigner shall eat it thereon
You must adhere to this observance
But every man’s servant who is for money bought
When you have circumcised him
Then he may eat it as you have been taught
A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it
In one house it shall be eaten, there you will partake
You shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house
Nor any of its bones shall you break
All the congregation of Israel shall keep it, according to my word
And when a stranger dwells with you
And wants to keep the Passover to the Lord
Let he and all his males be circumcised too
And then let him come near and keep it
And he shall be as a native of the land
For no uncircumcised person shall eat it
From this law you shall learn and understand
One law shall be for the native-born and also too
For the stranger who dwells among you
Thus did all the children of Israel
As the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron
So they did as the word does tell
And it came to pass, on that very same day
That the Lord brought the children of Israel
Out of the land of Egypt according to their armies
As the Lord in His word did foretell
Great things the Lord has done for His people
Those who are brought into His own fold
They come from every nation to worship under the steeple
We are the redeemed of the Lord as His word foretold
It is because of Jesus! Hallelujah to His name!
God loved us enough to send His Son to rescue us
And now let our lips His holy name proclaim!
Yes, for all the ages of ages, we will proclaim Jesus
Thank You, O God for precious Jesus our Lord
And thank You for revealing Him to us in Your holy word
Hallelujah and Amen…