Exiting Egypt, Part 1

If you have your Bible, turn with me, please, if you would, to Exodus chapter 12. Exodus chapter 12. We have finally finished the plagues.

And today, we're going to begin our exit of Egypt. Now, they would leave on the same day. It's going to take us about three or four weeks to leave Egypt. As we study Exodus 12 and Exodus chapter 13 this week and the next couple of weeks together. And it's a great story. And many of you know the story. Because you've read about it before, you've heard about it in Sunday school, you've seen the movies about Israel's exit of Egypt, but you have not seen them as you will see them in the weeks ahead. Because the Bible has many rich truths that we need to learn as we grow in our walk with the Lord.

Exodus chapter 12. We'll pick up the narrative in verse number 37. This is where we left off last week and read down through verse number 42. Now, the sons of Israel journeyed from Rames to Succ, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. And a mixed multitude also went up with them along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. and they baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread, for it not become leavened since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came about at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out from the land of Egypt. This night is for the Lord to be observed by all the sons of Israel. Throughout their generation. We'll stop right there. Two things I want you to see, and hopefully I'll get through both of them this morning.

Number one is the moment of their delivery. And number two, the multitude who were delivered. Okay? Those are the two points. We're trying to make this as simple as we possibly can. We want you to notice, first of all, the moment of their deliverance.

And two things I want you to see about this moment. It was a promised moment, and it was a prominent moment. You with me so far? We know back in Genesis chapter 15, if you have your Bible, turn there. Genesis 15, verse number. 13 says this, and God said to Abram, Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed. four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.

Their deliverance was a promised deliverance. Listen to Acts chapter 7. It says in verse number 6, as Stephen was given his defense. But God spoke to this effect, and his offspring would be aliens in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for 400 years. God made a promise, and God is always true to His word, and God is going to keep His promise. And it was time for them to leave. Now, you've got to ask yourself the question: did Israel know they were going to be enslaved for 400 years?

I would tend to think that they probably knew. Why? You will note in Genesis, Exodus, chapter 13. That there's something they don't forget, and that is the bones of Joseph. Now, why would they not forget the bones of Joseph? Well in Genesis 50 Joseph said don't forget my bones Now he didn't say don't forget my body did he because he knew that they would be there for 400 years and the body would decay there'd be no more body but dust only thing left would be Bones. So Joseph somehow knew. So it would lead me to think that they knew that for 400 years they would be.

In slavery. Now, some of you might say, Well, I don't think they knew. Well, maybe they didn't know. I would tend to think that they did. But notice this: isn't it like us to think that God forget?

That somehow God is allowing this enslavement, this mistreatment in my life to go on too long. That He's not rescuing me, He's not taking care of me, He's not coming to my need when I ask Him. But we're like that, aren't we? You see, God always delivers on time. He might not deliver you in your time, but he will always deliver at the right time. Because that's the way God is. He's faithful to His word. He's faithful to His promise. Would it be that we as His children Would be as committed and faithful to our word as he is to his word.

But I want you to notice something else because I know some of you out there thinking, wait a minute, Exodus chapter 12 says, 4.

I'm going to tell you what I believe. I believe that Israel was enslaved for 400 years. And for 430 years. I believe both are true. Say, well, how can both be true? Let me ask you a question.

Was Israel enslaved for 400 years? Yes. Were they enslaved for 430 years? Answer? Yes. How do we know? Because the Bible says both, right?

Sure, it does. So you'd be right in saying, well, they don't contradict one another, they support one another. Because in Genesis 15, in Acts chapter 7, it was not an exact number, it was a rounded-off number. Now, how do you know that? Because God said to Abraham in Genesis 15 that his gener, his descendants, excuse me, would be enslaved for 400 years. And they would come out, the fourth generation would come out. Now you know that a generation is rounded off to a hundred. Okay? Moses was 80 when they left Egypt.

Moses died at 120. Abraham was or lived to be 175. So we know that a generation is about 100 years. So when God said they would come out, the fourth generation would come out, then it helps answer the question as to the exact time in Exodus chapter 12 being 430 years. But it was also true that it would be about 400 years as well in Genesis chapter 15. So both are true. You see how simple that is? Now, aren't you glad you came today because somebody. Off the streets, going to, Well, the Bible is an error because it says in Genesis 15, 400 years and Exodus 12, 4 years.

So the Bible miss, it's not parallel, it's not correct, but it is. Because both are true. You with me so far? See, God's very consistent in his promise. Consistent. So God didn't give Abraham the exact day, he just said, in the fourth generation, they will come out. Of Egypt, which is about 400 years, and 430 is about 400 years. See how simple that is? God made a promise in the moment. That promise was fulfilled verifies once again the authority of God in His Word. But I want you to know something else about this moment.

Not only was it promised, but it was prominent. It was a time of celebration. A time that should be observed every single year because they must never forget. They must never forget. They need to remember what God had done in their lives. The moment you forget, you will fail in your walk with the Lord. But if you remember, if you remember, you will rejoice in your walk with the Lord. Why does God save somebody? For the sake of his name, for his glory. Remember Philippians chapter 1? Philippians chapter 1, verse number 29: For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.

You are granted the opportunity to believe for Christ's sake, not for your sake. It's all about God. It's all about his glory. It's about his name. He delivered them at the Red Sea for his name's sake, not because they were about to die. It was about his glory, it was about his honor. Everything that happens in our life is about God, it's not about us. That's one of the greatest things we need to understand. Now read on. That he might make his power known. Thus he rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up.

And he led them through the deeps as though as through the wilderness. So he saved them from the hand of the one who hated them. And redeem them from the hand of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries, not one of them was left. Then they believed his words. They sang his praise. Amen. Read the next verse. They quickly forgot his works. Now, how does that happen? Now, you see, that is absolutely amazing to me that they would forget, that they would not remember.

The work of God. When you fail to remember, you will fail. Forgetfulness leads to failure. Every single time. You can't forget. And I'm reading this, and I'm thinking about this and thinking, you know what? I forget. I forget what God has done. And God says, you know what?

You can't forget the work of the Lord. And the Bible is replete with exhortations for us. To remember.

1 Corinthians 11. This do in remembrance of me, right? We take the Lord's Supper the first Sunday of every month, right?

This do in remembrance of me. Don't forget, don't forget the work of emancipation. Don't forget the work of salvation. Don't forget the work of your redemption. This do in remembrance of me. You must remember me. Do not forget. That he is the ultimate creator of all things. And once you forget that God creates all things, Isaiah 45, 7, that he is the creator of calamity, once you forget that God creates all things, you will fail in your walk with the Lord. The Bible says this, 2 Timothy 2, verse number 8.

Remember Jesus Christ, descendant of David, risen from the dead. Not only are you to remember his emancipation, not only are you to remember his creation, but you are to remember his incarnation. That he's a descendant of David, and you ought to remember his resurrection. He has been risen from the dead. And once you forget about the incarnation of Christ, and once you forget about the resurrection of Christ. You will fail in your walk with the Lord. That's always the end of result. So the Bible over and over again says, remember?

Remember? Remember. We read about Israel. They forgot. They forgot. And God says, you need to remember.

Do you remember the works of the Lord? His work in your life? You see, our present attitudes are shaped on how we remember past events and what God did in those events. Same way it was for Israel. Their present attitude always reflected what they remembered about God in the past. And once they forgot about what God had done, what do they do? They murmured, they groaned, they moaned, and they complained. The next time you hear somebody complaining and moaning and groaning, guess what they forgot? They forgot the work of the Lord.

Because you see, when you remember the work of the Lord, you don't complain. You rejoice. You're excited about what God has done. You're not depressed about what's going on around you. You're excited about what God has done. So the moment you begin to complain, And the moment you begin to moan and groan about your circumstances, your situations, guess what you forgot? You forgot the exact thing that God told you never to forget. You forgot the work of the Lord in your life. You forgot about his creation.

You forgot about his resurrection, his incarnation, his redemption in your life. You forgot about all those things. You have been delivered by God. And God wants to use you in a marvelous kind of way to touch other people's lives. So we can't afford to forget. Listen, when you remember the work of the Lord, it causes you to love Him. Did you know that? How about you? Do you remember the works of the Lord? Moses said, Remember this day. Don't ever forget it. You see, it's easy to forget, isn't it?

Isn't it? I mean, after all, we have deadlines. We have kids. We have bills. We have responsibilities. We got places we got to go. We got people we got to see. We got things we got to do. It's so easy for us to forget. That's why you've got to spend every day in the word of the Lord. That's why you've got to spend every day on the knees before God. That's why you can't miss on Sundays. That's why you've got to be with the people of God to rejoice with God and to worship God. Why? Because it's so easy to forget.

We get so enamored with the things round about us that so easily God caught Satan comes in and causes us to forget about what God had done. Think about it. You'll go through those doors this morning. You'll go to lunch. And the very first thing you will do is you will forget about what you learned today.

It'll happen. You'll get up and you'll go to work tomorrow, and guess what? You'll forget. You'll forget about what the lesson was today. That's why you've got to take notes. That's why you to write them down. That's why you to review them so you don't forget. So easy to forget, isn't it? Remember the works. Of the Lord because it causes us to love Him. You know what else you need to remember? I was thinking about this the other day. You need to not only remember the works of the Lord, you need to remember the ways.

of the Lord, don't you? It's so easy for us to forget about his ways. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 8.

I'm sorry for taking a little time here, but I think it's so, so important for us to understand what the word of the Lord says. Listen to Deuteronomy 8, verse number 1. You with me? Chapter 8, verse number 1. All the commandments that I am commanding you today, you shall be careful to do, and you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers. And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years.

The way in which he did it, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. You've got to remember the way God led you. You can't forget that. Verse 11: Bew, Moses says. Lest you what? Forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. Lest when you have eaten and are satisfied and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart becomes Proud, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery.

See that? You see, prosperity has a built-in curse, doesn't it? Prosperity is not bad because you get more. Prosperity is bad because it causes you to forget. See that? So Moses says, beware. You're going to forget about his deliverance. You're going to forget about his emancipation in your life. His redemption in your life. And once you forget about that, you will fail in the land of Canaan. See that? We need to remember the way of the Lord. And how he has led us all these years. Ah, it's so important, is it not?

So the psalmist would say. Psalm 25, verse number 4, show me your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. Psalm 27, 11, teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path. The psalm would crave for the Lord to teach him about his ways so he could walk in his ways. Remember the work of the Lord. Because it causes you to love him. Remember the ways of the Lord because it causes you to look to him. It causes you to look. To him. Listen to Psalm 119, verse number 55. Thy statutes are my songs. This is verse number 54.

In the house of my pilgrimage, O Lord, I remember thy name in the night. And keep thy la. When you talk about the name of God, you talk about the character of God. When you talk about the character of God, you talk about the attributes of God. When you talk about the attributes of God, you talk about the way in which God him operates. See that? So a psal was to cry out, teach me your ways. You see, when you remember the work of the Lord, it causes you to love Him. When you remember the ways of the Lord, it causes you to look to Him.

There's something else you need to remember. You say there's something else? Yeah, there is. You need to remember the word of the Lord, the work of the Lord, the way of the Lord, and the wor of the Lord. Psalm 119, verse number 52, says this, I have remembered thine ordinances from old, O Lord, and what? And comfort myself. When I don't forget your ordinances, when I don't forget your word, guess what I receive? All kinds of comfort. Find the person that's not comforted, and you'll find a person who has forgotten something.

What's that? The word of the Lord. You see, it's the word of the Lord that teaches about the ways of the Lord. And once you begin to understand the ways of the Lord, now you begin to understand the work of the Lord. So you can't forget the word of the Lord. So important. John:, Christ said, Remember the word which I spoke. To you. Don't forget it. And what did Paul say in Acts 20, verse number 35? Remember the words of the Lord Jesus. Remember them. And what did he say? Acts 20:3. As they may know the rest of the verse, remember the words of the Lord Jesus: it is more blessed to give than to receive.

But we forget that, don't we? We forget it. And you know, you forget it because you always want something else. You want somebody to give us something. You want more of this. You want more of that. You're always wanting somebody to give to you because you think the blessing comes in receiving. But you forgot what the word of the Lord said. So Paul says, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's more blessed to give than it ever is to receive. So just keep on giving. Just keep on giving.

Just keep on giving. Give of your time, give of your talents, give of your treasures, but just keep on giving because that's where the blessing really, truly lies. And when you remember the word of the Lord, you will learn. About it. You'll learn about it. And you'll learn to listen to all that he has to say. So you need to remember, number one, the work of the Lord, because it will cause you to love him.

You need to remember the ways of the Lord because it causes you to look to Him. You need to remember the word of the Lord because it causes you to learn about Him. And you know what? You need to remember, listen, the wonders of the Lord. The wonders of the Lord. Psalm 77 verse 11 says, Surely I will remember your wonders of old. Psalm 105 says, Remember his wonders. Nehemiah 4 verse number 14 says, rem the Lord, great and awesome, he's so wonderful. Because when you remember the wonders of the Lord, guess what?

It causes you to lean on him. It causes you to lean on the Lord. So we need to be like Isaiah the prophet. Who said in Isaiah 2, verse number 8, these words, Indeed, while following the way of thy judgments, O Lord, we have waited for thee eagerly, thy name, even thy memory. is the desire of our souls. Thy memory is our desire. Isn't that the way it should be with us? Sure. Listen, we're going to examine Israel's life as they exit Egypt. And they're going to forget. They're going to forget. It's not just a good story.

It's there because God says, don't forget. Don't do that. You need to remember my works, my word, my ways, my wonders. Remember them all. Don't forget them. Because if you want to love me, if you want to learn about me, if you want to lean on me, if you want to look to me, you must remember and never forget, or you will fail. You'll fail. So Isaiah the prophet says, Thy memory is the desire of our souls. We never want to forget about the Lord God. Listen to this, next verse. At night my soul longs for thee, indeed my spirit within me seeks thee diligently.

For when the earth experiences thy judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. When the world experiences the judgments of God, it causes them to repent. And Isaiah the prophet is saying, listen, if we forget about our God, then when things happen round about us, We won't repent. We'll just keep on doing what it is we always do. But the memory of our God is the desire of our souls. That's the way it should be for you and me. Don't forget the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't forget about his work, his word, his ways, his wonders.

Just keep remembering. Because when you remember, your life is filled with rejoicing. But when you forget, Your life is filled with failure. That's the lesson of point one about the moment. Listen, let me say it to you this way: this moment is a promised moment.

This moment can be a prominent moment for you. You say, well, well, who promised me this moment? God did. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse number 1 says that what? Everything happens. By divine appointment. Psalm 139, verse number 16 says that all my days were written before there was not yet one of them. Where were they written? In the book of the Lord. This day was promised to you by God and you didn't even know it, but He promised it to you. You're here. This is a promised moment for you. Here's my challenge today: don't leave without this being a prominent moment for you.

If you've never given your life to Jesus Christ, today's a day. Don't wait another day. Don't wait for another moment because you had no guarantee that tomorrow will be a promised moment for you this side of eternity. The only moment you are guaranteed is a moment right now.

And this can become a very prominent moment when you give your life to Christ. And if you are a believer today, this too can be a prominent moment by making a commitment, Lord Jesus. My commitment to you today is that I will never forget your word. I will never forget your work, your ways, your wonder, your will, your work. Ever will. And make this day a memorial in your life, a prominent day, so you leave this place always remembering and never forgetting. Let's pray.