According to the record of the Old Testament, the children of Israel were in Egypt, they journeyed through the wilderness, and they entered into the good land. When the Israelites were in a fallen state in Egypt, they were under God’s judgment, they were under the bondage of the Egyptians, and they were permeated with the odor of garlic. The judgment upon them was related to God’s righteousness, their bondage was related to the Egyptians, and the odor of garlic was related to their living. This was the condition of us all before we were saved. We were under the condemnation of God’s judgment, we were under the bondage of the world, and we were saturated with the odor of worldly “garlic.” Garlic represents various worldly things, such as dancing and gambling. Before we were saved, we all had the odor of garlic. But we all were chosen and predestinated to be God’s people that He may have a dwelling place on earth. God’s intention is to make us His habitation on earth that the God in heaven may come down to earth. This habitation cannot be in Egypt; it must be in the good land. However, we, God’s chosen people, had fallen into Egypt. How could we escape from Egypt, pass through the wilderness, and enter into the good land? For this we need God’s deliverance, God’s salvation.
Now we must see how God exercises His deliverance of His chosen people. God delivers us by feeding us. He saves us by giving us something to eat. Thus, we are delivered out of our pitiful situation by eating. We have a saying, “Eating Jesus is the way.” Jesus, however, is profound, and eating Him is not a simple matter. Jesus is unsearchably rich and all-inclusive; He is everything. When we were in Egypt, we had to eat Him as the Lamb because we were under God’s judgment and were held in bondage to the world. The Lamb shed His blood for our sins, cleansed us of our sins, and redeemed us from God’s judgment. This Lamb also has the nourishing life. By eating Him we are strengthened to leave Egypt. Thus, by the blood of the Lamb we are redeemed from God’s judgment, and by the life of the Lamb we are energized and strengthened to escape from Egypt.
When the children of Israel ate the Lamb, they also ate unleavened bread (Exo. 12:8). Likewise, we eat Christ not only as the Lamb, but also as the unleavened bread. When we take Christ as our life, this life not only energizes us and strengthens us; it also purifies us. This life is an unleavened life, a purifying life. The more we call on the name of the Lord Jesus and take Him into us, the more we are purified from within. We become not only strong, but also pure. The blood of the Lamb redeems us from God’s condemnation, the nourishing life of the Lamb strengthens us and energizes us to walk away from bondage, and the unleavened bread, eaten with the flesh of the Lamb, purifies us.
The children of Israel not only ate unleavened bread, but also bitter herbs. Few Christians pay attention to the matter of the bitter herbs in Exodus 12. As the life of Christ purifies us, it becomes within us a sense that gives us a bitter feeling, a bitter consciousness, whenever we try to touch something sinful or worldly. The indwelling Christ will never allow us to touch such things. If you attempt to go back to the “garlic” of the world or to sinful things after you have partaken of Christ, you will have an unpleasant feeling, a sense of bitterness, within you. When I was young, I was very fond of playing soccer. Apart from my studies I cared for only one thing, and that was soccer. How happy I was on the soccer field! However, after I was saved, I could no longer enjoy soccer. Whenever I tried to play, there was a bitter taste inwardly instead of a sweet one. One day, as the ball came my way, I was unable to kick it. Something within was restraining me. The bitter feeling within me was so strong I could not move my feet. Although I wanted to play soccer, the indwelling Christ did not allow me to do so. This is the experience of Christ as the bitter herb. Have you not tasted such bitter herbs since you were saved? Praise the Lord for Christ as the bitter herb!
Let us take another illustration of the bitter herb, this time from the experience of married life. I have never met a married couple who have not exchanged words. No wife wants to lose the case, and no husband wants to be subdued by his wife. Thus, a wife and husband quarrel. Before you were saved, you might have enjoyed exchanging words with your husband and boasting to a friend concerning how you subdued him. However, things changed after you were saved. As you were exchanging words with your husband, something within told you to stop it. Perhaps you did not heed this inner sense and continued arguing with him. However, after he left for work you found that you had no peace. Something inside was troubling you, and there was a bitter feeling within. Instead of the desire to tell your friend about how you subdued your husband, you sensed a very bitter taste within. A few days later, you tried to exchange words with your husband again, but this time you were not able to speak. When he asked you what was wrong, you said that there was nothing wrong and encouraged him simply to go to work. This is Christ as the bitter herb.
All women enjoy buying beautiful things. When you went shopping before you were saved, you felt happy about the things you bought. But after you were saved, your feelings about shopping began to change. Suppose a sister goes shopping. As she gazes at a certain beautiful item, something within tells her not to look at it. Suppose the sister does not obey this feeling and purchases the item anyway. Suddenly, her happiness goes and the sense of bitterness comes. The item was on sale at a fifty percent discount. Nevertheless, the inner sense had forbidden her to buy it. Therefore, after making the purchase and bringing it home, the sister senses a bitter taste within. Because of this bitter feeling, she cannot pray well or even sleep well. This is the experience of the troubling Christ as the bitter herb.
Do not think Christ always gives you peace. Many times He gives a bitter taste instead of a sense of peace. Oh, Christ is a real troublemaker! Although the Lamb is sweet, the herb is bitter. Many times we say that Christ is sweet, and we often praise Him for His sweetness. But Christ is also bitter. There are times when we should praise Him for His bitterness and say, “Lord Jesus, I praise You for Your bitterness!” If we have been trained by experiencing Christ as the bitter herb, we shall obey the inner sense when it tells us not to buy a certain item in a department store. We know that if we buy it, we shall suffer bitterness. However, we are not easily trained.
I have suffered this kind of bitterness again and again. Forty-five years ago, as a young man, I was never willing to lose a case to my wife. But every time I exchanged words with her, I experienced the bitter herb. Therefore, I said, “Lord, by Your mercy, I will never argue with my wife again.” However, the next day my wife troubled me again. Perhaps she said, “What are you doing in your room? Don’t you know it’s time for breakfast? Why won’t you come out?” To this, I would reply, “What is the matter with you? What is wrong with me staying in the room to pray? Don’t you know that I am having morning watch? I have been reading the Bible and praising the Lord.” Immediately after saying these words, I sensed the bitter taste again. I have had to learn the same lesson over and over. Eventually, when my wife asked me what I was doing, I did not even dare to say, “Praise the Lord.” Rather, I kept silent and inwardly praised Him. When I did this, I experienced happiness instead of bitterness. This inner sense of bitterness surely teaches us. Hallelujah for Christ as the bitter herb!
By the blood of the Lamb we are redeemed, by the life of the Lamb we are strengthened, and by the unleavened bread with the bitter herbs we are purified and kept sinless. Thus, we are redeemed, released, delivered, purified, and cleansed. No longer are we in Egypt under God’s condemnation and the world’s slavery; no longer are we saturated with the odor of garlic. Now we are in the wilderness.