King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Thursday, February 02, 2023
Chapters: EXODUS 10-12
Study: It Is The LORD’S Passover
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
I had such a hard time staying focused and getting started in the reading of God’s Word this morning, Then I read this, “Without the shedding of blood is no remission.” I actually did have good intentions, I wanted to get a new Bible for church as my other one disappeared, then I was reminded that I need to get more Bibles to give out to the new kids. My good intentions in trying to please God actually hindered me from this important message. God, had so many sacrifices that He had required for a person to be reconciled with Him before Christ, but the one thing that was always required for the remission of sins was blood.
[Hebrews 9:22-24 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:]
Did you ever wonder how people can be so stubborn? I mean, is not all the wickedness, godlessness, and lawlessness out there enough for people to see that it is time to change their ways? Believe it or not, it is God who hardens their heart. Do we know why He does? Well, He actually explains that when He hardened the Egyptians hearts. And as we continue in the reading of Exodus, God, is continuing to send these plagues, we read about seven and now there are three more to go before the Pharaoh will let Israel go. Now, we come to the eight plague, which will be locust.
[Exodus 10:1-5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: 2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD. 3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me. 4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: 5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:]
[and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped,] Think about it, we may think that the world gets away with the things that they do, and for a season it may appear that they do, but there is no escaping God’s judgments. Once they come, God, will remove everything that they have put their trust in, [Psalms 73:1-3,16-17 A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; 17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.]
Well, let me tell you, the Pharaoh and his faithful may have been too stubborn to see that they were destroying their land by refusing to let Israel go worship their God, but the rest of Egypt was not.
[Exodus 10:7-10 And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? 8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go? 9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD. 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.]
[Let the LORD be so with you,] Pharaoh was mocking God, not telling them to go, and at this point, even his own people were telling him to let the Israelites go, but he still refused. This was something that the Israelites were going to be able to tell their children and generations after, how God had gotten vengeance on all the years of enslaving His people. Well, he did not let them go, and therefore, God sent the locusts. Well, this time the Pharaoh sees the damage done, he appears to have come to his senses, even called for Moses and Aaron and said that he sinned against God and asked them to pray to God to remove the locusts.
[Exodus 10:16-20 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. 17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only. 18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. 20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.]
[took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea;] I love this, it reminds me that the second we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour that each and every sin we commit is cast into the depths of the sea, [Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.]
Now, at this point, pretty much everything in Egypt, except for the land of Goshen was destroyed, they had very little cattle, the crops and trees were gone, and yet, God was still not done. Since God knew the Pharaoh’s heart, He did not even give warning to the next plague, which was darkness.
[Exodus 10:22-25,28 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: 23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. 25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. 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.]
[a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:] This was not you average nightfall and even on the darkest night when the moon is not shining, this was utter darkness to where you could not see your hand in front of your face. This is a reminder of the three days that Jesus spent in the tomb after He was hung on the cross and died a sinless death, it was utter darkness upon the earth. And this was not a literal darkness, but spiritual, and anyone who had hope that Christ was going to save them felt that darkness. On that third day, they indeed saw the Light when they discovered that Jesus was raised from the dead, [Matthew 28:2-3,- And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.]
There was a reason that God kept Pharaoh’s heart hard for such a long time, for that last plague would not have had such an impact had it been any other way. This time, the plague was going all across Egypt, and even the Israelites had to get prepared if they wanted to escape this one.
[Exodus 11:1,4-7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 4 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. 6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. 7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.]
[even unto the firstborn of the maidservant] I always need to point this out because I am a firstborn, and it always takes me back to wondering if I would have been one of them. I am not going to lie, there is not a person that passes away since getting saved that I do not wonder if they were saved. First born or not, death, is not a respecter of persons, it will come upon everyone, but salvation will only come to those whom apply the blood of Christ upon their soul, [1 John 1:6-8 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.]
[But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move] Think that God is not in control of all things? We may wonder how so many wicked things can happen when God is in control, and we may even wonder why God allows wicked people to put His people through some of the worst suffering. To be honest, I have asked myself those questions at times. While God is always in control, He does not mess with freewill, even of the wicked. You see, God, hardened the Pharaoh’s heart, which enabled him to be the stubborn fool that he was, because his heart had no intention of truly repenting and turning from his false gods and idols, and to God, therefore, He used his wickedness to not only get vengeance on all those baby boys that were killed, He turned that evil for good to those who trusted God, [2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:]
Each of the plagues that God sent upon the Egyptians had a purpose, the plagues were geared toward three key elements, their gods, their livelihood, and their heart. When you think about it, these are the key elements to our own wellbeing, we need God, we need provisions to live, and we need to know what is deep down inside of our heart. If our heart is motivated by evil, then it will reflect the rest of the elements. And this was the Pharaoh, he thought himself a god, and therefore, his heart was motivated on keeping the Hebrews in bondage because of His hatred for God. It was not that he had no idea that God existed, he literally hated God because of one; his pride, and two; his mortality. Well, this last plague is going to go straight to Pharaoh’s heart. God, gives them the instructions on what to do to prepare themselves for when the plague came through the land. First, they needed a lamb.
[Exodus 12:2-5,11 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 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: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.]
[This month shall be unto you the beginning of months:] This is why the Hebrew calendar does not line up with the western calendar, the beginning of the year for them begins at Passover, which is mid March/April. [every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.] You do realize that Jesus died for every soul from Adam to the very last one to be born on earth? He has enough blood to spread around, [John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.]
[it is the LORD’S passover.] Wow! Those are some powerful words when you stop to think about it. The word passover literally means, an exemption, so, anyone who has the blood of Christ applied to their soul, just like this blood was applied to the doorpost to save the first born, was exempt from death. Praise God! Now, they were to keep this lamb in their house for fourteen days, on the fourteenth day they were to gather around, kill it, pour out the blood, the roast it over an open fire until it was fully cooked. They needed to do something with the blood while the meat was roasting. Why? Well, God explains why.
[Exodus 12:12-14 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. 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. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.]
[For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night,] This reminds me of this passage [Isaiah 55:6-9 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.]
Are you not glad that God’s ways and thoughts are much higher than our own? I know I am. Now, that the plan was put into place, it was time to act on it, Moses called for all the elders and instructed them on what to do.
[Exodus 12:21-25 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. 22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.]
[and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses] They had fourteen days to prepare for this, this sacrifice would be a male lamb or goat without any imperfections. On that day, they would kill the Passover and roast in on the fire in their home. The blood of the lamb or goat would be poured into a basin, then applied to the outside of the doorpost of each home with hyssop. They shall not waste time and let it sit there, but eat it, and be ready to go when they are told to leave. We only have today to receive Christ, do not waste any time if you have not called upon Him as Your Saviour, because we do not know the hour in which Christ will return or bring us home, [The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. – 2 Peter 3:9-10]
The entire Passover is a picture of salvation, who is our own Jesus Christ. God is only looking for one thing to save our soul from death, and that is the perfect, spotless blood of His Son applied to our soul [John 6:53-58]. Now, the time had come, the death angel passes over the entire land of Egypt. Not one house was passed over, but every house that did not have the blood of the Passover on its door was struck, and the first born in every home and field, died that instant.
[And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. – Exodus 12:29-33]
[and be gone; and bless me also.] Notice Pharaoh’s change of heart, he practically throws them out, and asks them to bless him, meaning pray for him. Sooner or later, the world will find out that God is in control, and do not mess with His people. He will bring judgment upon them, one at time, until every single one of them is affected. They may never receive Christ themselves, but they will humble themselves enough to set His people free, [Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. – Luke 18:2-5]
Today’s Prayer: God, Every soul is in Your hands, You know exactly what will come of each of us, and yet You give each of us a choice to believe in You. Thank You, Jesus, for becoming our Passover, for giving Your life and shedding Your blood, to be the remission of our sins once we accept You. I know that there is not one soul in hell that does not beg for You to reach someone who is alive right now if they could tell them of the torment they are in. You are truly the God of the living and we are only made alive through our faith and acceptance of Your sinless death, burial, and resurrection. Lord, Lead us and guide us, let us be a reflection of the Light that is within us, so that those who do have one iota of faith in You can come out of the darkness and into Your Light. Open their hearts, show them the fear that only believers have. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/ready-to-follow-jesus/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
Read Today’s Bible Reading: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/
Copyright © 2023 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.