At the beginning of the book of Genesis we see one man bearing the image of God. But at the end of the book of Exodus we see a corporate house filled with the glory of God. God’s intention in His creation of man was not simply to have man; it was to have a corporate house as His dwelling place on earth, a house that could be filled with His glory for His expression. When God has such a house, He can dwell on earth. Heaven is a place where He lodges temporarily. God, however, desires an eternal dwelling place. At the end of the book of Revelation we see that New Jerusalem, God’s eternal habitation, comes down out of heaven to the new earth (Rev. 21:2). God’s dwelling place on earth is a corporate man redeemed by God, indwelt by God, saturated with God, and one with God. In this dwelling place God is able to express Himself. This is God’s eternal plan. Today God is still working toward the fulfillment of this plan.
At the time of Exodus 1, God’s corporate people had fallen in at least three ways. First, they had become so sinful that they had fallen under God’s judgment; second, they had fallen under the slavery of Pharaoh and had become worldly; and third, they were permeated with the smell of garlic. Hence, they needed to be redeemed from God’s judgment, delivered from bondage in Egypt, and reconstituted with a pleasant-smelling element. When God’s people were in Egypt, they frequently ate garlic, leeks, and onions. No one likes the smell of garlic. Anyone who contacted the children of Israel in Egypt would have been offended by the odor of garlic. Before God, the children of Israel were condemned; in Egypt, they were held under bondage; and in relation to themselves, they smelled like garlic. They surely needed to be redeemed, delivered, transformed, and reconstituted. They had to become a different kind of people, people no longer under God’s judgment, no longer held in bondage in Egypt, and no longer giving off the odor of garlic.
God’s intention was that His chosen people would be His dwelling place on earth. But His people were under His judgment, they were under bondage in Egypt, and they smelled of garlic. How could God dwell with such a people? How could they be His dwelling place? It seemed impossible. However, it was not impossible with God. Christ came into their situation as the delivering Angel, as the speaking Moses, as the redeeming Lamb, and as the nourishing unleavened bread. This Christ is wonderful.
According to Exodus 3, Christ as the Angel of the Lord is the Triune God. In Exodus 3:6 the Angel said, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” The God of Abraham refers to the Father; the God of Isaac, to the Son; and the God of Jacob, to the Holy Spirit. Hence, the Angel of the Lord is the Triune God. We were in a fallen condition in Egypt, but Christ as the Angel of the Lord came to deliver us. Although we do not have the strength to escape from Egypt, Christ has the strength. In fact, He even is the very strength.
Christ also came as the Lamb to shed His blood to cleanse us and to accomplish redemption for us, that is, to redeem us out from under God’s judgment. We are no longer under the judgment of God. We are free! We are a redeemed people covered by the blood of Christ. As the Lamb, Christ also nourishes us, strengthens us, and affords us the energy to walk out of Egypt. His blood redeems us from God’s judgment, and His life is the nourishment, giving us the energy to escape from Egypt.
Exodus 12 reveals that Christ is also the unleavened bread. The fact that Christ is the unleavened bread signifies that Christ is the sinless element. With Him, there is no sin; He is entirely pure. When we eat Him as the unleavened bread, we take in His sinless element. By eating the flesh of the Lamb, we receive the strength to walk out of Egypt, and by eating the unleavened bread, we partake of the element that purifies us and keeps us from sin. Praise the Lord that we are out of Egypt and that we have become unleavened bread. This bread is making us sinless.