The children of Israel went forth from Egypt with all their children and their flocks and herds (12:37-38, 31-32). According to 12:38, a “mixed multitude went up also with them.” If there had been only a small number of people making their exodus out of Egypt, there would not have been a mixed multitude. But because the number of God’s people was so large, approximately two million, a mixed multitude went with them. God’s people were very prevailing, and some who were not Israelites wanted to go out of Egypt with them. Hence, the presence of the mixed multitude here was a good sign. According to the book of Numbers, however, this mixed multitude later was a cause of trouble. But even this trouble taught God’s people some valuable lessons. We in the Lord’s recovery today have also learned a great deal through the mixed multitude that has been with us.
The children of Israel made an absolute exodus from Egypt. Everything they had was brought out with them. This is the kind of exodus, the kind of departure from the world, that is ordained of God. Our exodus must be so absolute that it makes others willing to follow us and join us.
Exodus 12:40 and 41 say, “Now the time of dwelling of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the armies of Jehovah went out from the land of Egypt” (Heb.). These four hundred thirty years began in Genesis 12 when God made the promise to Abraham that He would give the good land to Abraham’s seed. From that day until the night of the exodus was exactly four hundred thirty years. Thus, the exodus marked the termination of this period of time. For all these years the people God had chosen and to whom He had promised the good land had not been dwelling in the land of promise. Instead, they had been sojourning in a Gentile land represented by Egypt.
According to Genesis 15:13-14 and Acts 7:6, the children of Israel were under persecution for four hundred years. These four hundred years began with Ishmael’s mocking of Isaac in Genesis 21. This means that from Genesis 12 to Genesis 21 there was a period of thirty years, and from Genesis 21 to Exodus 12 there was a period of four hundred years. Therefore, for four hundred thirty years God’s people were in a strange land, and for four hundred years they suffered persecution.
You may wonder what this has to do with us today. If we have not had an exodus from the world, then we are still sojourning in a strange land. We are not dwelling in Christ who is our good land. According to God’s promise and ordination, we should live in Christ as the good land and enjoy Him as the land. This, however, requires an absolute exodus. As God’s chosen people, we should dwell in Christ. Our exodus from the world marks the end, the termination, of our sojourning in a strange land.
Although God has chosen and ordained us to live and dwell in Christ, many of His people are not dwelling in Christ. Instead, they are still living in Egypt. This indicates that even after we have been saved, we may still sojourn in the world. Only when we leave the world in an absolute way do we terminate the time of our sojourning in a strange land. Hence, our exodus is the termination of our four hundred thirty years.
Many Christians have not experienced such a termination because they have not yet had an exodus. They have been chosen by God and ordained of God to dwell in Christ. Nevertheless, from the time of their second birth, they have been sojourning in the world. Only when they have an absolute exodus will they terminate their period of sojourning in Egypt.
Without this picture in the book of Exodus, we cannot understand thoroughly the words in the New Testament about being separated from the world. The account of the book of Exodus makes it clear that our exodus must be the termination of our period of sojourning. Apart from such an exodus, it is not possible to dwell in Christ as the good land. Furthermore, as long as we are in the time of sojourning, we are under a kind of persecution that allows us to have no rest, satisfaction, or proper enjoyment. Because they are still in Egypt, many Christians do not have rest, satisfaction, or fullness of joy in Christ. But when they come out of Egypt in an absolute way, they will terminate not only their time of sojourning in the world, but also their years of dissatisfaction and restlessness. Although only a minority of genuine Christians have made their exodus from Egypt, many of the saints in the Lord’s recovery have made such an exodus.
To have the Passover is one thing, but to experience the exodus is another. As we shall see, the crossing of the Red Sea is still another crucial event. It marks the completion of the first stage of God’s salvation. This stage of God’s salvation includes the Passover, the exodus, and the crossing of the Red Sea. Only after the children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea were they fully delivered from Egypt and released to praise the Lord. However, God’s salvation includes more than this. Even the building of the temple is part of the full salvation of God.