EXODUS LESSON 24

    Exodus 12:40  "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who
dwelt in Egypt, [was] four hundred and thirty years."

    We see from this, the time since Jacob brought his family to Egypt
to escape the famine in his land. We know that even though this family
voluntarily came to Egypt, they were under somewhat limited
circumstances from the beginning.  These Israelites had never had a
king, or ruler. God was the only ruler they had had, but when they came
to Egypt to live, they were immediately under the Pharaoh.  At first,
it was almost guest status, but they were put in Goshen from the
beginning. After Joseph died, the feeling of the people changed to
these foreigners, and these children of Israel became servants to
Pharaoh. For some undetermined time, they were actually like slaves.
The 430 years covered the whole period, not just the servitude time.
The word "sojourning" just means inhabited, or dwelled in.

    Exodus 12:41 "And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred
and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the
hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt."

    This Scripture above, means, to me, that these 430 years elapsed,
and there was a specific day when all of the Israelites left Egypt on
that same day. This was a large company of people, perhaps close to
three million. "Host" means a mass of persons. This large a company,
probably, did not all make it all the way out of Egypt in that one day,
but that they started their journey on that day.

    Exodus 12:42 "It [is] a night to be much observed unto the LORD
for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this [is] that night of
the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their
generations."

    God did not want them to forget, that He brought them out with His
mighty Hand. God fought their battle against the false gods of Egypt,
and God won their victory. God fights our battles for us against the
evil one. We just use the name of Jesus, and the evil one must flee.
For all generations, the descendents of Israel were to remember that God
delivered them. They were to observe this night every year as a
memorial. Just as we, Christians, are to remember Jesus' great sacrifice
every time we take communion. This is not just for the heads of the
church to remember, but for everyone from small children to the old
folks; men and women.

    Exodus 12:43  "And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This [is]
the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:"

    We see here, again, that God spoke to Moses, and Moses gave the
message to Aaron, and Aaron to the people. "Ordinance" means statute,
or custom.  This was just for the Israelites, because they were the only
ones who had something to remember. A stranger was not passed over,
when death came to the Egyptians. The bitter herbs eaten were to
remember the bitter bondage.  If you actually study the passover
feast, it really observes Jesus as the Passover Lamb.

    Exodus 12:44 "But every man's servant that is bought for money,
when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof."

    A servant actually becomes like a member of the family.  This
slave mentioned, here, was not just one passing through, but would be a
permanent part of the family who bought him.  Circumcision was not
something he (the servant) could accept or reject, but was required.
The Israelites let every one worship. We will discover later on that
the laws, such as not working on the sabbath, were for these servants
as well as their Israelite owners.  The religious requirements of
their lives were the same as the Hebrews, because they were permanent
residents. The fate of the Hebrews was the fate of their servants they
had bought.

    Exodus 12:45 "A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat
thereof."

    You see, this foreigner and hired servant would not be there year
after year to observe this, so just taking it one time, when he was
there, would not be advantageous to him.  He didn't believe, so he
should not partake.

    Exodus 12:46 "In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry
forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye
break a bone thereof."

    This was not to go out of the house, in remembrance that they were
not to go out of the house. The safety was good, just as long as they
were in the house covered with the blood of the Lamb.  This ordinance
about not breaking the bone was carried out by Jesus (The Lamb of
God). The custom (when someone was crucified) was to break their legs,
so they would die faster.  When Jesus was crucified, He had already 
dismissed His Spirit from His body, when they came to break  His legs. 
They did not break Jesus' legs so, that this very ordinance could be kept.
The family, you remember, was to pick a lamb the correct size that they 
could eat, and if they didn't have enough  members of their own family to completely consume the lamb, they  invited another Hebrew family to come and share the lamb.  We could see symbols of people coming to Jesus in this.

    Exodus 12:47 "All the congregation of Israel shall keep it."

    This statement is very similar to the statement for Christians to
remember Jesus by taking communion.  All believers in Jesus should
take communion, and remember our Deliverer (Jesus Christ).  Deliverance
is for everyone.

    Exodus 12:48 "And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and
will 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 one that is
born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof."

    Here, we see a stranger insisting on taking the passover meal.  By
insisting on taking the passover meal, he, was saying, "I am one of you. I
believe the same way you do". Then this Hebrew said "Prove that you
are one of us by being circumcised".  Only the covenant people of God
were to take of this special supper.

    I believe this has a parallel in our churches today.  Only those
who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ should take communion. A heathen
would have no reason to remember something, he did not believe in. I
believe the statement above, also, tells us that if someone comes to
our church, who does not belong to our denomination (stranger), but
believes in Jesus Christ the same as we do, he or she should be
allowed to take communion with us. You see, our communion parallels
their passover. In each, we are remembering our Deliverer. To me, the
purpose in communion, the same as passover, is to remember our
Deliverer who saved us.

    Exodus 12:49 "One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto
the stranger that sojourneth among you."

    I believe this statement just says, (whatever requirements you have
on your own group for taking this passover meal or communion, applies
to this stranger, as well). He would not be exempt from the requirements 
you have, yet no more requirements than you have for your own, would be required.

    Exodus 12:50 "Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD
commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they."

    This verse 50 above, was just saying that after Moses and Aaron had
given these instructions, these Israelites did exactly as God's
instruction had advised them.

    Exodus 12:51 "And it came to pass the selfsame day, [that] the
LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by
their armies."

    Surely this great mass of humanity did appear to be a vast army.
We will find out, also, later on that Moses has them organized to move
smoothly. If they had not had a plan of march, they would have lost
their families and in this large a group,and, probably, would not be 
able to find their group again. Of course, I see Christianity in everything,
and this is no exception. Actually the members of twelve different
families were marching together headed for their promised land. You
remember, twelve is a representative number. This reminds me so much
of the assorted denominations of believers in Jesus, who must march
together to our promised land. We may not dot every I and cross every
T just the same, but we have the same goal, and the same Deliverer.
Our Deliverer (Jesus) is leading us all to heaven. The Bible speaks of
God's people being one. I do not believe that this means one denomination.
Just as there are twelve families here with one goal, we believers in Jesus have one common goal, and that is to be redeemed in Him from this world and spend eternity with Him in our promised land. Death passes over us, the Christians, covered by Jesus' (Lamb's) blood, and we have life through Him.
  

                        Questions Lesson 24


1.  How many years did Jacob's family dwell in Egypt?
2.  Why had they come to Egypt?
3.  Who had been these Israelites' ruler?
4.  When they arrived in Egypt, who was ruler?
5.  How many of the Israelites left Egypt?
6.  What does "hosts" mean?
7.  Why was there to be a remembrance of this night?
8.  How long were they to remember?
9.  Who had fought for them?
10. What parallel does the passover have for the Christians?
11. What was meant by a stranger not eating passover?
12. Why could they not eat?
13. A servant could eat passover, after he was ------------.
14. What did the servants and the Hebrews have in common?
15. What was indicated by not taking the passover out of the house?
16. What were the requirements of the physical condition of this lamb?
17. What specific part of this ordinance did Jesus fulfill on the
    cross physically?
18. Who delivers the Christians?
19. In V-48, what was different about this stranger?
20. What does the author believe this means, pertaining to our churches
    today?
21. Only the ----------- people were to partake of this special supper.
22. What parallels the passover in our church services today?
23. What is V-49 saying?
24. Did the Israelites heed God's words?
25. What two men had God commanded to bring this message to the
    people?
26. What did God call this mass of humanity, that He brought out of
    Egypt?
27. What does the author believe the twelve tribes are symbolic of
    today?
28. What is the number twelve?
29. What brings life to the Christian?