One More Plague, Part 2

If you have your Bible, trust that you do, Exodus chapter 12 is where we are this morning. Exodus chapter 12. And this morning, as we once again embark on our study of the scriptures, let me remind you once again that our study of the scriptures are never an end in themselves.

They are a means to an end. Our study of the scriptures is to lead us to a better understanding of our God, our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. And if we come and we study the Bible and we don't see Jesus and understand more of Jesus Christ our Lord, then we didn't read it right, we didn't study it right. That's important. That's what the Bible is all about. It's about God, His plan, His purposes. And his power to fulfill that plan and his purposes. And we need to understand that more so today than at any other time in the history of the church.

And I think that our study of the plagues has helped us see that by looking at each plague in depth, coming to understand the significance of that plague and how it relates to the coming of the Messiah and the promise. In the book of Revelation. We spent a lot of time studying those. But today, we continue our study on the tenth plague. It's not called the tenth plague in the Bible, it's called one more plague. So let's be biblical and look at one more plague.

That is the last plague. It's the plague surrounding the death of the firstborn. But that's not the emphasis of the plague. The emphasis of the plague is not the destruction of the firstborn as much as it is in the protection of God's people. It's all about how God protects His people. We need to understand that because what God did in Exodus 12 is a promise of things to come. We look first of all in Exodus 11 at The prediction about the plague.

Then we looked at the rejection of that plague by Pharaoh. And now we move to Exodus chapter 12 on the protection of the plague. And so we're going to spend some time in Exodus chapter 12 understanding how God protects his own people through the shed bl of the Lamb. Having said that, Exodus 12 is about that last plague. And you would think that after 430 years of slavery. That Moses would spend a lot of time talking about the Exodus. After all, you've got to get two million Jews on the road out of Egypt and into the wilderness.

So you think because Moses is this great leader that he would spend some time detailing for us how he mobilized 2 million people to move out of Egypt. But he doesn't spend a lot of time doing that. Instead, he spends the bulk of one last plague dealing with. The protection of God's people. What we call the Passover, when the angel of the Lord would pass over that house that had blood of the lamb on the doorpost and on the lintel. So important that it paints to them the most glorious picture of the Messiah.

Yet they miss it. They don't get it. In their observance of Passover, they have missed What the symbolism pointed to. We don't want to miss it. So we'll spend some time studying it together. And today, as I've said before, you're going be so glad. You can't. Well, I going to read to you this is the first 14 verses of Exodus chapter 12 because I'm not sure how far we're going to get today.

All right? Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, This month shall be the beginning of months for you. It is to be the first month of the year to you.

Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, On the tenth of this month, they are each one to take a lamb for themselves according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household. Now, if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them. According to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblem male, a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.

Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts. and on the lentil of the houses in which they eat it and they shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleaven bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw, or boiled at all with water. but rather roast it with fire, both its head and its legs, along with its entrails and you shall not leave any of it over until morning.

but whatever is left of it until morning you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner, with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.

I am the Lord, and the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord. Throughout your generations, you are to celebrate it as a permanent Ordinance. Now, as we look at the protection of this plague, there are several things I want you to notice with me.

And the first deals with the selection of the lamb. The selection of the Lamb. Now, I'm going to cover a lot of things this morning about this selection. And so, you might just want to sit and listen because if you try to write it all down, you're going to be lost. Okay, so sit, listen.

You can purchase the tape after we're done and write all the verses down and go into great detail. But you need to understand the selection of the Lamb. It was an appointment by God. God appointed this lamb. God had a plan. He's always had a plan. And it's always plan A, never plan B, C, D, or E. God's only got one plan, and it's always fulfilled exactly as He wants it to be fulfilled. And so remember: this is about the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. This is about their freedom. Somehow we need to understand that this pictures to us our freedom in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God appointed the Lamb and the blood of the Lamb to be the protection of the people of God. And that's it. There was no other means of protection. There was no other way out of the judgment that would fall upon Egypt that night. Moses didn't say, well, you know, if you want to do this, this would be a good thing to do, but you could also do this, or maybe you might want to do this, or maybe this is better for you. No, this is the only way. Because this is the divinely appointed way. God says you got to have a lamb.

It's got to be an unblem lamb. It's got to be a spotless lamb. It's got to be a one-year-old lamb, and when that blood is shed, when you sacrifice it, you've got to put it on the doorpost and the lintel of your house, and the death angel will pass over you. That was the only way for them to be protected. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved. There is no other way. Now, I know that's absolute, and I know that's dogmatic, and I know that's not very. User-friendly, but there's only one way to go to heaven, and that's through the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is no other way. Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes into the Father but by me. The only way to get to the Father is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And we need to understand that. You see, God's name is not Allah. It's not that. You can't convert a Muslim by using the Muslim's name for God because the Muslim does not understand or Believe that Allah is Jesus Christ our Lord. We know that He is because Jesus is God. They definitely worship another God, not the same God.

Not the same God. That's so important to grasp. Because there's one way to the Father. That's through Jesus Christ, our Son, His Son. Now listen, let me say it to you this way.

This selection of the Lamb was a plan designed by God from eternity past. Now, I'm just going to share with you my heart this morning so you can understand just the intricate details of this Passover. God has used the lamb as a protection before. That was back in Genesis 22. Turn back with me to Genesis 22 for a moment. Now, hang with me, okay? Because I'm going to cover some things this morning that will hopefully bring Exodus 12 into clear perspective for you. Remember, we're talking about the selection of the Lamb.

Now remember in Genesis chapter 22, verse number 1, it came about after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, here I am. And he said, take now your son, your only son whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Now, if you were with us in our study of Genesis 22, you know what Moriah means. But you should have circled that word Moriah and understand that Moriah means foreseen by God. You with me? Moriah means foreseen by God. So Abraham was obedient. And you know the story.

Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains on which I will tell you. There in the land of Moriah, the place foreseen by God, there is a mountain that I'm going to tell you to offer your son as a sacrifice. So Abraham arose early in the morning and saddled his donkey and took two of the young men with him and Isaac his son and he split wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.

And Abraham said to this young man, Stay here with the donkey, and I will I and the lad will go yonder, and we will worship and return to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son and he took in his hand the fire and the knife so the two of them walked on together and Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and my father he said here I am my son and he said behold the fire and the wood but where is the lamb for the burnt offering Where is the lamb? And Abraham said, God will provide him as lamb for the burnt offering, my son.

God will provide. God will see to it that all is taken care of. So the two of them walked on together, and they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood and bound the son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took his knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord, who was the pre-incarnate Christ, called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. And he said, Do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing.

to him, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his thorns. And Abraham went. and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of the son. And Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will provide, as it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord, it will be provided. Now listen.

Abraham on that day called that place Yave Yer, which means the Lord will see to it. What will the Lord see? What will all see? In the place foreseen by God, Moriah, God will make sure that everyone sees what? That there is a Lamb provided. And the Lamb provided will be him the Messiah. Way back in Genesis 22, that's why in John 8:5, Christ says, Abraham rejoiced.

It says specifically, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. When did Abraham see the day of the Messiah? Genesis 22. And he rejoiced to see that day. Because God says, I will provide myself as a lamb.

What's going to happen is that all will see on the place foreseen by God redemption, protection. Salvation. It is the most sacred piece of ground in the world. That's why there's so much battle over it. But turn to me in your Bible. Ezekiel 2. You got to hang with me. There are two times that the mountain of God or the holy mountain isn't referring to the Temple Mount or Mount Moriah or Mount Zion. That's important. Because what is in Is is a lot deeper than any of us ever realized. You must understand this.

In Ezekiel 28, as Isaiah 14, there is a judgment placed upon the king of Tyre. In Isaiah 14, it's the king of Babylon. In Ezekiel 28, it's the king of Tyre. Both of them set themselves up as God. They wanted to be worshipped as a God. And so there was a prophecy given to them that would condemn them. And in Ezekiel 28, that prophecy changes in verse 11 to help you understand that what was behind the king of Tyre was Satan himself. And the prophet Ezekiel goes into great detail to show us the fall of Satan.

And I want you to listen to what it says. Verse number 13. You were in Eden, the garden of God. And he goes back and reviews the history of Lucifer, that star of the morning. You were in Eden, the Garden of God. You circled that in your Bible. You were there in Eden. Now some believe that this was the Eden of the paradise in heaven. Some believe that. I don't believe that, but some do. And let me tell you why I don't.

Read on. Every precious stone was your covering: the ruby, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the on, and the jasper, the lapis, the zul. The turquoise and the emerald, and the gold, the workmanship of your studdings and sockets was in you. On the day you were created, they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub and cover who covers, and I placed you there. You were on what? The holy mountain of God. Where's that? You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked in the midst of stones of fire.

You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until the righteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your treasure. You were inter filled with violence and you sinned. Therefore, I have cast you as profane from where? The mountain of God. Of the 18 places, the mountain of God or the holy mountain is used in the Bible, 16 refer to the Temple Mount. There are two that refer in context to the Garden of Eden. If you are Jewish and you go to the Temple Institute and you study there, Jewish tradition teaches that the Temple Mount was the Garden of Eden.

See that? They believe that because of the word study of holy mountain or mountain of God, because of where it's located. We know that Satan was in the garden, don't we? We know that Satan fell sometime after chapter 1, verse number 31, between chapter 3, verse number 1. We don't know where, but somewhere in between those two places in the Bible. And we see him in chapter 3, verse number 1. What is he doing? He is tempting Eve. There is the fall of man in Genesis chapter 3. But notice.

In Genesis chapter 3, with the fall of man, the ones who were in the Garden of Eden, the ones who were forbidden to partake of one certain tree, and they succumbed to temptation. And thus death passed upon all men, for now all have sinned. What happened? In that are, God made a promise. Genesis 3:15. What was the promise? The promise was that there would be a seed from the woman that would crush the serpent. Now, think of it this way. The serpent would bruise his heel, but the Messiah would crush his head.

And where was the head of the serpent crushed? At Calvary. Where is Calvary? Mount Moriah. What is Mount Moriah? Where the Temple Mount is, the holy mountain of God. Would it not be true? That God would give the promise of the crushing of the serpent in the same place where man had fallen. Now, I'm not going to be dogmatic on the fact that the Temple Mountain is the Garden of Eden, but if you're Jewish, you believe that. Why? Because of Ezekiel chapter 28. You say, okay, what's that got to do with the selection of the lamb?

Everything. It has to do with everything about the selection of the lamb. Why? Because in Genesis 22, God said he would provide him as a lamb. Abraham rejoiced to see Christ's day. When did he see it? Genesis 22. Where? On Mount Moriah, which is now the Temple Mount, which is now called the Holy Mountain of God. In Genesis 3:15, there was a promise given. That promise is given in the Garden of Eden. It was given to Adam and Eve, the very first prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.

God had a plan. He was going to redeem a bride for his son. And so when he gives the promise in Genesis 3: about how the The seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head when he gives the promise in Genesis 2 to Abraham that he will provide himself as a lamb. You begin to understand that this place, Moriah, this holy mountain of God, is very significant because there would be a lamb that would be slain there. A select lamb, right? Not just any lamb. A select lamb. Now.

To understand that, I want you to turn with me to Isaiah 53. Just by note of reminder that it will be on the Temple Mount, Mount Moriah. Mount Zion, as some call it. It will be in that location that the Messiah will build the temple. Book of Zach tells us about that, and everybody will come to worship him there. You see the significance of that piece of real estate? And there'll be conflict there until Messiah finally builds his temple.

Of course, we know that there's going to be an Antichrist who's going to build a temple there. And he's going to allow Israel to worship there for three and a half years, and then he will desecrate that temple. We know that. That's during the tribulation period. But we know that ultimately the Messiah will build his temple there. And the whole world will come to worship him. Where? Mount Moriah, the holy mountain of God, Mount Zion. Isaiah 53. It says, verse 7, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth like a lamb that is led to slaughter.

The prophecy concerning the Messiah. He was a lamb. This is the only time in the Old Testament that the Messiah is referred to specifically as a lamb. Okay, we know that Genesis 22 says that God would provide a lamb, that He Himself would be that lamb. Now Isaiah 53 qualifies that lamb. Now, you know what John 1:2 says. Turn open your Bible to John 1:2. John the Baptist says the next day he saw Jesus coming to him. He said, Behold, the Lamb of God, right? Who takes away the sin of the world. Verse number 35.

Again, the next day, John was standing. With two of his disciples, and he looked upon Jesus as he walked and said, Behold, the Lamb of God. Jesus Christ now is referred to as the Lamb twice in the Gospels, both In John chapter 1, verse number 29 and verse number 36. With me so far? Go to Acts chapter 8. In Acts chapter 8, you got the Ethiopian eunuch. He's reading Isaiah 53, Isaiah's prophecy. There is this lamb. Philip the evange says, Do you want me to tell you who the lamb is? Want me to explain to you the significance of the lamb?

And the Ethiopian eunuch says, yeah, sure, please do. And Philip translates for him, explains to him the significance of Isaiah 53, because when John the Baptist came, behold, the Lamb of God takes witness to the world. The Ethiopian eunuch was born again in Acts chapter 8 because Philip the evangelist understood the identity of the lamb that was slain. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 18, know that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb, unblem and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Two times in the epistles, Acts and 1 Peter chapter 1, Jesus Christ is referred to as the Lamb. You with me so far? Turn to Revelation chapter 5. You knew we get here. Revelation chapter 5, verse 6. John says, That I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a lamb standing as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Now note, listen carefully. The word that John uses is ar. That means little lamb or pet.

Lamb. Why is that significant? Because during Passover, the head of the household would go out, he would find this lamb, this unblem lamb, he would pick it up, he'd bring it to his family. And they would put this lamb into the home on the tenth day of the month. And that lamb would be cuddled by the children, fed by the children, loved by the children. And then on the 14th day, they would slaughter that lamb. You see, way back in Exodus chapter 12, God was symbolizing the picture of the Messiah. For Messiah would come.

They would love that lamb. They would hold that lamb. They would embrace that lamb. They would care for that lamb. And then one day they would brutally massacre that lamb. See that? Everything pointed to the Messiah. Now, why have I shown you these passages of Scripture? Because there's five times in Scripture. Before the book of Revelation, that God is called the Lamb of God, and yet in the book of Revelation, 28 times he's referred to as the Lamb because that is his apocalyptic name. And it emphasizes the fact that at the very end, Jesus Christ is doing all he can to prove that he is the lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world, so men would embrace him and love him.

As their Messiah. That's why it's repeated so often in the book of Revelation. You see, he wants to be remembered as the Lamb, standing, having been slain, the death wounds he still has. And yet, strong because of his seven horns, the epitome of strength. See, everyone will serve the Lamb. Everyone will serve the Lamb because He's God, you see. So I tell you all that to help you understand that in every word of every page of Scripture points us to Christ. From Genesis to Revelation. It's all about the Messiah, his coming, his saving work, the magnificence of his ministry.

Aren't you glad you came? Oh, I am. I am. And I've been studying this all week. And if you learn anything about Exodus 12, learn this: it points me to Jesus Christ. It pictures to me the sacrificing work of my Savior. For 1 Corinthians 5:7 says, Jesus Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Let's pray.