In the foregoing messages, we considered the Passover. Now we come to Israel’s exodus from Egypt, an event which followed the Passover. As we all know, the word exodus means a going out.
The points we shall cover in this message concerning the exodus from Egypt are all to be found in the New Testament. However, if we read the words of the New Testament without considering the picture of the exodus presented in the Old Testament, we shall not be impressed very deeply. Hence, we need to consider both the words in the New Testament and the picture in the Old Testament.
Often we are able to grasp spiritual things more adequately through pictures than through words. In New Testament terms, to have an exodus is to get out of the world. However, without the picture in the book of Exodus, it is difficult to say just how we are able to get out of the world. To talk about this matter without consulting the picture may lead only to confusion. Therefore, we thank the Lord both for the picture in the Old Testament and for the plain words in the New Testament.
The children of Israel did not make their exodus from Egypt of their own accord or by their own power. If they had been left to themselves, they never could have come out of Egypt. The exodus was accomplished by the saving God. Firstly, God subdued Pharaoh, the one who had usurped the children of Israel, and then He subdued all the Egyptians (12:29-33). As we apply this principle to our experience, we see that God comes in to subdue Satan, everything and everyone that stands with Satan, and also our environment. When the children of Israel made their exodus from Egypt, the whole environment was subdued by God. Everything was set for the children of Israel to leave Egypt. Even if they had wanted to remain in Egypt, the environment would not have allowed them to remain. They had no choice except to leave.
According to the picture in the book of Exodus, God’s salvation includes the aspect of the Passover and the aspect of the exodus. It was easy for God’s people to observe the Passover, but it was not easy for them to have an exodus. The difficulty lay in the fact that the exodus required a suitable environment. Suppose the situation in Egypt did not allow God’s people to leave. How then could they have made their exodus? It would have been impossible. The exodus required a thorough subduing of the environment. Israel’s exodus was the result of a long struggle between Moses and Pharaoh. It was preceded by twelve negotiations with ten plagues. This indicates that it is not easy for God to deliver His chosen people from the usurping hand of Satan and from the world. All genuine Christians have experienced the Passover, but only a small minority of believers have experienced the exodus. The reason for this is that certain aspects of their environment have not yet been subdued.
If our environment has not been subdued, we may have the Passover, but not the exodus. Perhaps your wife, husband, or relatives need to be subdued. When some hear that their environment must be subdued, they may be discouraged and want to give up. However, not even the matter of giving up depends on us; it depends wholly on the Lord. Instead of giving up, we should cooperate with Him. To be rescued from the usurping hand of Satan and from the world, we need God’s hand to subdue our environment.
In this record we are told twice that “by strength of hand” the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt (13:3, 14). God’s people were saved not only by the blood of the Passover lamb, but also by the hand of God. The blood saved them from God’s righteous judgment, but the hand saved them from Pharoah’s usurpation. It is the same with us today. Through Christ as our Passover we are saved from God’s judgment, but by God’s subduing hand we are saved from Satan and the world.