A Pattern that Reveals the Church (part 4) – Israel Delivered from Egypt
Introduction. When Israel and his family first entered Egypt, they prospered and were esteemed because of what Joseph had done for the Egyptians (Gen. 41). When a new king arose who did not know Joseph, they were enslaved and he “made their lives bitter with hard bondage” (Ex. 1:14). As they “sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came unto God,” “God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant.” (Ex. 1:13-14; 2:23-24).
After God sent Moses to deliver them, even the ninth plague had not moved Pharaoh. After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh finally released them but after they had left, he changed his mind. “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” “He took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt,” intending to kill or enslave them again. As this army approached, Israel cried out in fear, God opened the Red Sea and after Israel had passed, closed it again. “So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians.” (Ex. 14:5-30).
When we read this account, we feel great awe and reverence. What an amazing deliverance! Yet when God sent Jesus into the world to deliver us from the bondage of sin, not only were the forces Jesus contended with greater than that of Egypt, but the power used was also far greater. Jesus came, “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:14-15). After Jesus died, was buried, and raised from the dead, He returned to heaven and: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” (Eph 4:8).
When the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles on Pentecost this deliverance was complete. All obstacles had been removed and the unbreakable chain of the debt of sin was paid. Jesus was enthroned at the right hand of God and all enemies but one had been eternally vanquished. The gospel (good news) was preached for the first time to those enslaved to sin. Feeling the slavery of guilt, they cried out: “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” By divine inspiration Peter said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:37-38). The similarities between Israel at the Red Sea and baptism at Pentecost make them nearly identical except there was far more power in Peter’s words than passing through that sea.
“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” (1Cor. 10:1-11). They are “our fathers,” because when we were baptized into Christ we became “Abraham's seed,” and “as Isaac, children of promise.” (Gal. 3:27-29; 4:28). As they passed through the sea, those walls of water on each side and the cloud of God’s presence above them, they were baptized into Moses just as we are baptized into Christ! Moses was God’s chosen deliverer and when they obeyed Moses by entering the Red Sea, God sealed him as their deliverer. Just as their passage through the sea baptized them and freed them from the slavery of Egypt, our own passage through obedience to the gospel led us through baptism and freed us from the bondage and slavery of sin (Rom. 6:3-23).
When Israel camped before Mount Sinai, God summed up all that He had done to bring them to Him. “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me.” (Ex. 19:4-5). God has told Christians much more about their own deliverance! As Israel stood before “the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,” God made known to them the covenant that was to become the tutor to bring them to Christ.
God revealed things at that moment that had never been done before. First came “the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words,” which will not be heard again until our Lord’s return. (1Th. 4:16) The trumpet started so loud “all the people in the camp trembled,” but then it “grew louder and louder.” Moses had already spoken with God, but “so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.’” (Heb. 12:18-24; Ex. 19:16-25; 20:1-19). With our eyes of faith, able to see the unseen, and relive that day with them, we can feel the same awe, reverence and fear, seeing another example that God can “do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask or think.”
The better we remember this day, the more powerful the application becomes. The Spirit clearly makes this a lesser to greater illustration. Although “you have not come to the mountain... (Sinai), “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” If God had not opened the Red Sea to bring them to Him at Sinai, they could not have come. In exactly the same way that Israel was baptized into Moses to come to Sinai, all sinners must be baptized into Christ to come to Zion. The miraculous power that opened the sea to bring them through is the same power that opens the passage to Zion through the water of baptism. Paul summed this up to the Galatians, “For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar — 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children – 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” (Gal 3:27-29; 4:21-27).
Many prophecies give details of the spiritual Mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem. These prophecies clearly speak of the reign of the Messiah: “I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion,” “they shall call you The City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel”, “for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance” (Ps. 2:6; Isa. 60:14; Joel 2:32). Daniel said, “The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth,” “a kingdom which shall never be destroyed,” While Joel revealed: “I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy” (Dan. 2:35, 44; Joel 3:17). Jesus told His disciples not to leave Jerusalem, because, “in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.” (Isa. 2:2-4; Acts 1:4).
Those 3000 who received Peter’s words in Acts 2 and were baptized entered the kingdom that will never be destroyed on the mountain that fills the earth. As each slave to sin is baptized, they receive the same deliverance and also come to Mount Zion and heavenly Jerusalem. Jesus is reigning from Zion where the chief cornerstone has been laid and where we as living stones have been built up a holy temple. It is also the city whose builder and maker is God that those who died in faith were seeking. Because of our relationship to Jesus, this is where we have been brought. Although it takes some thought and meditation to fully grasp the importance of all these things, it brings a far greater sense of awe and reverence than those before Mount Sinai could have ever felt.
As we came to this great mountain and city, we also came to “an innumerable company of angels.” These angels are the “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). While we would love to know more about them, we trust that God is now using them to minister to us. As the eyes of our hearts are enlightened, we gain a sense of security and importance. Among these angels, we have come “to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven.”
While it is the “church of Christ and church of God” in ownership, It is the “church of the firstborn” in membership. As Paul told the Galatians: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” and “if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” So the same baptism that brought us to Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem also made us Abraham’s seed, heirs and firstborn. We are now “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,” “no longer a slave but a son, an heir of God through Christ,” “like Isaac, children of promise.” and “heirs of promise.” (Rom. 8:16, 29; Gal 3:27-3:29, 4:7, 28; Heb. 6:17). Now, we are “conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren,” who like Him are also firstborn.
We have also come to “the spirits of just men made perfect.” This church of the firstborn extends far beyond this world or age. It extends all the way back to include all the righteous from the time of Abel until the advent of the New Covenant and New Testament church. Every man and women in Paradise was translated as we have into the kingdom of the Son of His love. All who are “qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (Col. 1:12-13).
Conclusion. Those who came to Mount Sinai passed through the Red Sea and were all baptized to Moses. Those who are baptized into Christ and put on Christ have become Abraham’s seed and heirs to all God’s promises. We are all registered in heaven and are now citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem just as much as those who are already made perfect. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 3:20). Thus we are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” (Eph. 2:19-20). This glorious church perfected forevermore is now the temple of the living God and God has given all His glory and majesty to her. Even if we can’t see it within this creation, we can see it by faith.
After God sent Moses to deliver them, even the ninth plague had not moved Pharaoh. After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh finally released them but after they had left, he changed his mind. “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” “He took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt,” intending to kill or enslave them again. As this army approached, Israel cried out in fear, God opened the Red Sea and after Israel had passed, closed it again. “So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians.” (Ex. 14:5-30).
When we read this account, we feel great awe and reverence. What an amazing deliverance! Yet when God sent Jesus into the world to deliver us from the bondage of sin, not only were the forces Jesus contended with greater than that of Egypt, but the power used was also far greater. Jesus came, “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:14-15). After Jesus died, was buried, and raised from the dead, He returned to heaven and: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” (Eph 4:8).
When the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles on Pentecost this deliverance was complete. All obstacles had been removed and the unbreakable chain of the debt of sin was paid. Jesus was enthroned at the right hand of God and all enemies but one had been eternally vanquished. The gospel (good news) was preached for the first time to those enslaved to sin. Feeling the slavery of guilt, they cried out: “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” By divine inspiration Peter said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:37-38). The similarities between Israel at the Red Sea and baptism at Pentecost make them nearly identical except there was far more power in Peter’s words than passing through that sea.
“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” (1Cor. 10:1-11). They are “our fathers,” because when we were baptized into Christ we became “Abraham's seed,” and “as Isaac, children of promise.” (Gal. 3:27-29; 4:28). As they passed through the sea, those walls of water on each side and the cloud of God’s presence above them, they were baptized into Moses just as we are baptized into Christ! Moses was God’s chosen deliverer and when they obeyed Moses by entering the Red Sea, God sealed him as their deliverer. Just as their passage through the sea baptized them and freed them from the slavery of Egypt, our own passage through obedience to the gospel led us through baptism and freed us from the bondage and slavery of sin (Rom. 6:3-23).
When Israel camped before Mount Sinai, God summed up all that He had done to bring them to Him. “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me.” (Ex. 19:4-5). God has told Christians much more about their own deliverance! As Israel stood before “the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,” God made known to them the covenant that was to become the tutor to bring them to Christ.
God revealed things at that moment that had never been done before. First came “the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words,” which will not be heard again until our Lord’s return. (1Th. 4:16) The trumpet started so loud “all the people in the camp trembled,” but then it “grew louder and louder.” Moses had already spoken with God, but “so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.’” (Heb. 12:18-24; Ex. 19:16-25; 20:1-19). With our eyes of faith, able to see the unseen, and relive that day with them, we can feel the same awe, reverence and fear, seeing another example that God can “do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask or think.”
The better we remember this day, the more powerful the application becomes. The Spirit clearly makes this a lesser to greater illustration. Although “you have not come to the mountain... (Sinai), “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” If God had not opened the Red Sea to bring them to Him at Sinai, they could not have come. In exactly the same way that Israel was baptized into Moses to come to Sinai, all sinners must be baptized into Christ to come to Zion. The miraculous power that opened the sea to bring them through is the same power that opens the passage to Zion through the water of baptism. Paul summed this up to the Galatians, “For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar — 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children – 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” (Gal 3:27-29; 4:21-27).
Many prophecies give details of the spiritual Mount Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem. These prophecies clearly speak of the reign of the Messiah: “I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion,” “they shall call you The City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel”, “for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance” (Ps. 2:6; Isa. 60:14; Joel 2:32). Daniel said, “The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth,” “a kingdom which shall never be destroyed,” While Joel revealed: “I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy” (Dan. 2:35, 44; Joel 3:17). Jesus told His disciples not to leave Jerusalem, because, “in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.” (Isa. 2:2-4; Acts 1:4).
Those 3000 who received Peter’s words in Acts 2 and were baptized entered the kingdom that will never be destroyed on the mountain that fills the earth. As each slave to sin is baptized, they receive the same deliverance and also come to Mount Zion and heavenly Jerusalem. Jesus is reigning from Zion where the chief cornerstone has been laid and where we as living stones have been built up a holy temple. It is also the city whose builder and maker is God that those who died in faith were seeking. Because of our relationship to Jesus, this is where we have been brought. Although it takes some thought and meditation to fully grasp the importance of all these things, it brings a far greater sense of awe and reverence than those before Mount Sinai could have ever felt.
As we came to this great mountain and city, we also came to “an innumerable company of angels.” These angels are the “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). While we would love to know more about them, we trust that God is now using them to minister to us. As the eyes of our hearts are enlightened, we gain a sense of security and importance. Among these angels, we have come “to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven.”
While it is the “church of Christ and church of God” in ownership, It is the “church of the firstborn” in membership. As Paul told the Galatians: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” and “if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” So the same baptism that brought us to Zion and the heavenly Jerusalem also made us Abraham’s seed, heirs and firstborn. We are now “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,” “no longer a slave but a son, an heir of God through Christ,” “like Isaac, children of promise.” and “heirs of promise.” (Rom. 8:16, 29; Gal 3:27-3:29, 4:7, 28; Heb. 6:17). Now, we are “conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren,” who like Him are also firstborn.
We have also come to “the spirits of just men made perfect.” This church of the firstborn extends far beyond this world or age. It extends all the way back to include all the righteous from the time of Abel until the advent of the New Covenant and New Testament church. Every man and women in Paradise was translated as we have into the kingdom of the Son of His love. All who are “qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (Col. 1:12-13).
Conclusion. Those who came to Mount Sinai passed through the Red Sea and were all baptized to Moses. Those who are baptized into Christ and put on Christ have become Abraham’s seed and heirs to all God’s promises. We are all registered in heaven and are now citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem just as much as those who are already made perfect. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 3:20). Thus we are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” (Eph. 2:19-20). This glorious church perfected forevermore is now the temple of the living God and God has given all His glory and majesty to her. Even if we can’t see it within this creation, we can see it by faith.