当向耶和华谨守 Keep the Vigil to the LORD
Remember these points
I put these points at the top of my sermon-prep template to remind myself every week:
- Show that main point of passage relates to Jesus and his saving work
- (1 Cor 1:18) A truly gospel-centred message will not be acceptable in a synagogue or mosque
- Did I proclaim the gospel as the headline news of the sermon, rather than as a “by the way…”?
- Unbelievers are called to repent, believe, and be saved
- Believers are encouraged to abandon their old self, renew their minds, put on the new self in Christ
- Preach simple sermons, so that God’s people can see Christ more clearly and love him more dearly
News
Recap of Last Week’s Sermon
- YHWH “came down” to Egypt:
Israel no longer have to worry about how to escape Pharaoh;
they have to worry about how to escape the wrath of God. - We know from early on in Exodus that this is a contest of the firstborn:
- Pharaoh’s firstborn is one person;
God’s firstborn is a people.
- They were made safe by faith: faith that a tiny lamb’s blood smeared on the doorframe can protect them inside.
- Every house in Egypt experienced death: the firstborn died in Egyptian houses, the lamb died in Israeli houses.
- While the imperfect can die for its own sin, only the perfect can bear the sins of another.
10-Where have we heard this before: “Bless me also!”?
- Esau said it to his father Isaac, in Gen 27:34 (after Jacob cheated Esau out of the firstborn-blessing).
- Esau and Pharaoh have both been around God and the covenant people, but they won’t join them. They just want the blessing without the repentance. Neither Esau nor Pharaoh ever said “I’m sorry, please forgive me.” They always acted as if they’ve don’t nothing wrong.
Hook
21, 22- Do you know what this is?
Pictures from the Yad Vashem (“a memorial and a name” in Hebrew). It’s the name of the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre.
In Chinese, the Centre is called 以色列犹太大屠杀纪念馆. Wikipedia article in Chinese.
Second picture is the Hall of Name 名字堂. A conical structure 10m high, with 600 pictures of holocaust victims, representing the 6 million Jewish victims of the holocaust.
Designed by a Canadian Jewish architect Moshe Safdie, who was born in Israel but emigrated to Canada when he was 15. Settled in Montreal, graduated McGill architecture program. He designed the famous Habitat 67.
Montreal also has a Musée de l’Holocauste Montréal (for many years, it was the only such museum in Canada) on ch. de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, near Decarie, and there will be a new and much larger version slated for 2025 (on boulevard St. Laurent).
23- Why build museums like this?
The picture shows the entrance to the Auschwitz (奥斯维辛 Ào sī wéi xīn) concentration camp in occupied Poland.
- To educate people about what happened.
教育人们了解所发生的事情. - To help people never to forget what happened.
帮助人们永远不会忘记所发生过的事情. - To help ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.
为了帮助确保类似的事情不再发生.
1 in 5 Canadian youths not sure what happened during the holocaust.
In today’s passage, YHWH also set up a sort of “museum,” the Passover/Unleavened Bread annual event, to remind every generation of Israelites what happened that first Passover night.
They are to remember the Passover night and their exodus from Egypt, keeping vigil on this night generation after generation, so that they will never forget.
24- What happens when Israel forgets the Passover or the Exodus?
If they don’t remember, it will be one major cause for them to turn away from God.
Same for us. If we forget what Christ did for us, we will quickly drift away from God.
Passage
Exodus 12:33–42 ESV
The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders.
The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds.
And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.
The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.
Section 1 催促百姓 Please Leave
Passage
- They’re being kicked out!
- The verb 催逼 Cuībī is urged. It’s the same verb used for describing Pharaoh’s hard heart.
- Pharaoh hardened his heart: he won’t let the people go
- Egyptian people hardened their hearts: they can’t wait to be rid of the Israelites
- They didn’t have time to make the dough rise, thus unleavened bread.
Section 2 战利品 Spoils of War
Passage
- These gold, silver, and other valuables: both good and bad
- They got these through the grace of God.
- This is like the spoils of war. They didn’t fight, but got the spoils.
- Like Jesus and us. He fought for us to redeem us from sin, and we got the spoils of eternal life with God.
Section 3 闲杂人 Mixed Multitude
Passage
- There are several very controversial topics with the Exodus:
- The path they followed when they left Egypt.
- How many Israelites were there.
- Whcih year did they leave Egypt.
- Mixed multitude: They’re not Israelites, so foreigners from their perspective. Many are probably Egyptians
- “Went up with them”: “Went up” reminds us of what?
- Geographical
- Theological
Lessons
Section 4 不能耽延 Cannot Delay
Passage
- That’s why they eat unleavened bread.
Section 5 谨守记念 Keep the Vigil
Passage
- The Israelite are treated like God’s army.
- A possible time-table of the Israelites in Canaan and Egypt, and the Exodus.
- It’s all YHWH’s doing.
- Never forget this.
So What?
- It’s all God’s doing. The Israelites didn’t do anything. All was done according to God’s plan.
- God won’t allow Israel to forget.
He also won’t allow us to forget. Like what Peter said in 1 Pet 1:12–15
- Peter wrote late in life, when he knew he’ll be with the Lord soon. He’s making sure people don’t forget what he taught them.
- Every Sunday worship, Communion, every day when we read the Bible, these are all extremely important, and not something to be missed.
- God wanted Israel to pass on the Passover event generation after generation,
we should also do the same with the gospel. - Do you pass on the gospel and God’s message to the next generation?
Do you make yourselves good examples for your children?