August 13, 2021
God’s G.P.S. (Gospel Plan of Salvation) . . . continued
Beloved, today and tomorrow we will revisit the Exodus from Egypt in light of the pattern that God has given us in the sanctuary. By this map, God is leading His followers all the way back to Himself!
Just before the children of Israel were to be delivered from their oppression in Egypt, the LORD instructed them about the Passover.
“On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb . . . without blemish, a male . . . you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Now the blood [of the lamb] shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:3,5,6,7,13
This is an explicit reference to the altar of sacrificelocated just inside the entrance of the tabernacle courtyard. The four-day period of bringing the lamb into the house like a pet was long enough for the lamb to become dearly loved. Its subsequent slaughter dramatically highlighted sin’s horror and cost. The Israelites had adopted the pagan practice of carving the family name into the lintel over the door so that the gods could identify them for blessings. This carved name was to be covered by the lamb’s blood, for the true God knows who we are! The destruction of the final plague at the time of the exodus was meant only for those who were unwilling to acknowledge the authority of God over their lives. This is a foreshadowing of the plagues to come upon the earth at the end of time. Does Jesus see me as one who is submitted to His will or as one who goes along with worldly, man-made precepts?
Next is the laver of washing made of bronze, per divine instructions (Exodus 30:18). It was also called the bronze Sea (1 Kings 7:23, 2 Kings 25:13,16 and others). After being brought out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea, with the Egyptians chasing behind, just as the forces of evil pursue anyone who desires to escape his/her sinful past.
Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 1 Corinthians 10:1-2
In context, this is a solemn reminder that it is only through total reliance on the power available to each of us through God’s Spirit—and only God’s Spirit—that we can get clean away from the thinking and practices that place man’s ideas above God’s will. Remember that the name Israel means Overcomer with God (see Romans 9:6-8, 25-26). He is more than ready to provide the power needed to conquer and vanquish—or overpower—the sinful impulses we inherited from Adam and Eve.
But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. John 1:12
to be continued . . .