Exodus 14 - 15:21We are reading the Exodus journey for Lent, the 40 days before Easter which mirror Jesus’s 40 days spent in the Wilderness tempted by Satan and the 40 years it took the Israelites to travel from Egypt to the Promised Land.
Timeline of the Journey
17/3 - Slavery - Exodus 1-7:7
24/3 - Deliverance - Exodus 7:8 - 13
31/3 - Baptism - Exodus 14 - 15:21
7/4 - Holiness - Exodus 19-32
14/4 - Trials and Perseverance - Exodus 15:21 - 18, 33-40
21/4 - Promised Land / Resurrection Sunday
then if my people will humble themselves and pray, and search for me, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear them from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
The first 4 are our part but it is only the Lord who can forgive sins and heal us.
2. The Lords message to the Pharaoh was 2 part. - “let my people go (1) and worship me (2)”. If we are going to be set free it is not just in stopping doing wrong, it is in turning to the Lord and worshiping him and nothing else.
Then you are to tell him, ‘Jehovah says, “Israel is my eldest son, and I have commanded you to let him go away and worship me, but you have refused: and now see, I will slay your eldest son.”’” Exodus 4:22-23
3. The Israelites were finally delivered from the Angel of Death by their obedience in putting the blood of he lamb on the doorposts
The blood you have placed on the doorposts will be proof that you obey me, and when I see the blood I will pass over you and I will not destroy your firstborn children when I smite the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12:13
In the same way, Jesus delivers us from slavery to sin and saves us from Death by his Blood on the Cross. True belief always involves action.
For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
Our action confirms what we truly believe !
However, up until now we are still in Egypt ! We are saved but we need to move out and cross the Red Sea because if we remain in Egypt, we will remain slaves to the Pharaoh. The way out is not easy but it is the only way to freedom.
The topic for this week is Baptism. We are not getting out of Egypt without crossing the Red Sea.
Week 3 - Baptism
Some things in our lives are so memorable that we will never forget forget them. But some stories are so important that they need to be passed on to the next generation otherwise they will be forgotten. The Passover was so important that the Lord commanded his people to have a 7 day celebration every year to remind them. Jesus also commanded on the night of the Passover to have the Communion to remember his sacrifice. To this very day, the Israelites keep the Passover and we keep the Communion.
“You shall celebrate this event each year (this is a permanent law) to remind you of this fatal night. The celebration shall last seven days. For that entire period you are to eat only bread made without yeast. Anyone who disobeys this rule at any time during the seven days of the celebration shall be excommunicated from Israel.
Exodus 12:14-15
But why the bread without yeast ?
Yeast are living organisms that feed off of simple sugars, breaking them down into carbon dioxide, alcohol (ethanol, specifically), flavor molecules, and energy during the fermentation process. When yeast breaks down glucose, two molecules of carbon dioxide and two molecules of ethanol are formed. While at room temperature, the alcohol is liquid, but when the bread hits the oven, the alcohol begins to evaporate, transforming into gas bubbles that contribute to the rise of the bread.
Yeast is what puffs the bread up, it adds nothing to the goodness of the bread. Remember pride is a roadblock to escaping from Egypt. Escape lesson 101 is to humble ourselves. A lot of successful people forget where they came from and get filled with pride. Pride is a roadblock. It wasn’t us who did it, it was the Lord !
Yeast also means false teaching.
“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They thought he was saying this because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus knew what they were thinking and told them, “O men of little faith! Why are you so worried about having no food? Won’t you ever understand? Don’t you remember at all the five thousand I fed with five loaves, and the basketfuls left over? Don’t you remember the four thousand I fed, and all that was left? How could you even think I was talking about food? But again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’” Then at last they understood that by yeast he meant the wrong teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Matthew 16:6-12
Jesus likened wrong teaching to yeast, that is why we need to stop listening to the World’s teaching that contradicts clear bible teaching and follow Jesus closely, listening only to him. If we don’t, we eventually lose our ability to discern good from evil.
Stop listening to teaching that contradicts what you know is right.
Proverbs 19:27
You don’t start a long walk without;
1. Checking you have everything you need - food, clothing, shelter - as well everything you don’t to keep the luggage light
The Israelis took with them their bread dough without yeast, and bound their kneading troughs into their spare clothes, and carried them on their shoulders. And the people of Israel did as Moses said and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord gave the Israelis favor with the Egyptians, so that they gave them whatever they wanted. And the Egyptians were practically stripped of everything they owned!
Exodus 12:34-36
2. Checking the map and following your leader You’ve seen the big red “you are here” sign to reassure you. But since you’ve never once before been to your destination, it will give you great confidence to have a leader that knows how to get there. In this case the Israelites had Moses (who’d never been). But at least they knew they had the Lord thanks to all the miracles he had done.
That very day the Lord brought out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt, wave after wave of them crossing the border.
Exodus 12:51
A good leader must bring the people with them. Many ventures fail because the boss was completely unrealistic about what the team was capable of.
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
Exodus 13:17-18
Either way out of Egypt, there is a baptism ahead. A baptism is a crossing, a rite of passage. The Israelites thought they were ready for a fight but the Lord knew they were not ready for that kind of baptism.
There are 7 types of baptism in the Bible and we can see the picture of 5/7 in the Crossing of the Red Sea
1. Baptism of Moses
For we must never forget, dear brothers, what happened to our people in the wilderness long ago. God guided them by sending a cloud that moved along ahead of them; and he brought them all safely through the waters of the Red Sea. This might be called their “baptism”—baptised both in sea and cloud!—as followers of Moses—their commitment to him as their leader.
1 Corinthians 10:1-2
Baptism represents our commitment to Jesus. We acknowledge he is the one who has delivered us from Slavery to Sin and the World and we are committed to following him on our journey to the Promised Land (like Moses lead the Israelites from Pharaoh and Egypt to their Promised Land)
2. Baptism of John
This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptised as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them.
Mark 1:4
The Israelites had to leave Egypt and cross the Red Sea. Walking away from Egypt means turning your back to sin, John’s baptism means leaving the past behind and not looking back. We should not even want to go back to Egypt. That is not a good place for us. That place is for the Egyptians not the Israelites. They can keep their false gods along with their luxury living at the expense of others. That’s where we were slaves, where we lost our identity. Don’t catch that ferry !
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
“With water I baptize those who repent of their sins; but someone else is coming, far greater than I am, so great that I am not worthy to carry his shoes! He shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He will separate the chaff from the grain, burning the chaff with never-ending fire and storing away the grain.”
Matthew 3:11-12
The Israelites were lead by the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. In the same way the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth so we need to be immersed in Him !
He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, for it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, for he lives with you now and some day shall be in you.
John 14:17
The Holy Spirit also liberates us from the law (we will talk more about this next week). Baptism represents liberation from the old Slave master who is as harsh on us as the Pharaoh was on the Hebrew slaves.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2
4. The Baptism of Fire
Fire represents judgement and separation as were the Egyptians separated from the Israelites by the pillar of cloud and fire and in the same way the chaff is separated from the wheat and burned with never ending fire. For the believer, fire has a refining effect, removing the dross from our lives and it was God’s judgment on sin at the Cross that separated us from the World and saved us.
5. Baptism in the name of Jesus
The Egyptians were drowned in the sea but the Israelites walked out free on the other side. Baptism represents death and resurrection. In effect the old person dies so that the new person can live. We are joined to Christ and his resurrection.
Some people ask, I’ve made a lot of mistakes since I got baptised, can I be baptised again ? In Jewish culture there is more than one baptism.
Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? For sin’s power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptised to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the power of your sinful nature was shattered. Your old sin-loving nature was buried with him by baptism when he died; and when God the Father, with glorious power, brought him back to life again, you were given his wonderful new life to enjoy.
Romans 6:1-4
Baptism is like marriage. It is our joining to Christ that saves us not the act of baptism itself. You don’t need to walk down the aisle more than once with the same spouse to remain married !
I’d like to close by watching the Prince of Egypt awesome closing scene of the Red Sea Crossing and for us to think of their “baptism” and what that means for each one of us today. It’s not a perfect match to the Bible but ask yourself what would have happened if Moses and the Israelites had not obeyed the Lord and gone through the Red Sea.
As we shall see next week, The Prince of Egypt film finishes with Zipporah saying to Moses “Look at your people Moses, they are free” and then you see him triumphantly walking down from Mt Sinai towards the Israelite camp carrying the 10 commandments. But some of us remember what happened next !
2 Chronicles 7:14
The first 4 are our part but it is only the Lord who can forgive sins and heal us.
2. The Lords message to the Pharaoh was 2 part. - “let my people go (1) and worship me (2)”. If we are going to be set free it is not just in stopping doing wrong, it is in turning to the Lord and worshiping him and nothing else.
Then you are to tell him, ‘Jehovah says, “Israel is my eldest son, and I have commanded you to let him go away and worship me, but you have refused: and now see, I will slay your eldest son.”’” Exodus 4:22-23
3. The Israelites were finally delivered from the Angel of Death by their obedience in putting the blood of he lamb on the doorposts
The blood you have placed on the doorposts will be proof that you obey me, and when I see the blood I will pass over you and I will not destroy your firstborn children when I smite the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12:13
In the same way, Jesus delivers us from slavery to sin and saves us from Death by his Blood on the Cross. True belief always involves action.
For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
Our action confirms what we truly believe !
However, up until now we are still in Egypt ! We are saved but we need to move out and cross the Red Sea because if we remain in Egypt, we will remain slaves to the Pharaoh. The way out is not easy but it is the only way to freedom.
The topic for this week is Baptism. We are not getting out of Egypt without crossing the Red Sea.
Week 3 - Baptism
Some things in our lives are so memorable that we will never forget forget them. But some stories are so important that they need to be passed on to the next generation otherwise they will be forgotten. The Passover was so important that the Lord commanded his people to have a 7 day celebration every year to remind them. Jesus also commanded on the night of the Passover to have the Communion to remember his sacrifice. To this very day, the Israelites keep the Passover and we keep the Communion.
“You shall celebrate this event each year (this is a permanent law) to remind you of this fatal night. The celebration shall last seven days. For that entire period you are to eat only bread made without yeast. Anyone who disobeys this rule at any time during the seven days of the celebration shall be excommunicated from Israel.
Exodus 12:14-15
But why the bread without yeast ?
Yeast are living organisms that feed off of simple sugars, breaking them down into carbon dioxide, alcohol (ethanol, specifically), flavor molecules, and energy during the fermentation process. When yeast breaks down glucose, two molecules of carbon dioxide and two molecules of ethanol are formed. While at room temperature, the alcohol is liquid, but when the bread hits the oven, the alcohol begins to evaporate, transforming into gas bubbles that contribute to the rise of the bread.
Yeast is what puffs the bread up, it adds nothing to the goodness of the bread. Remember pride is a roadblock to escaping from Egypt. Escape lesson 101 is to humble ourselves. A lot of successful people forget where they came from and get filled with pride. Pride is a roadblock. It wasn’t us who did it, it was the Lord !
Yeast also means false teaching.
“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They thought he was saying this because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus knew what they were thinking and told them, “O men of little faith! Why are you so worried about having no food? Won’t you ever understand? Don’t you remember at all the five thousand I fed with five loaves, and the basketfuls left over? Don’t you remember the four thousand I fed, and all that was left? How could you even think I was talking about food? But again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’” Then at last they understood that by yeast he meant the wrong teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Matthew 16:6-12
Jesus likened wrong teaching to yeast, that is why we need to stop listening to the World’s teaching that contradicts clear bible teaching and follow Jesus closely, listening only to him. If we don’t, we eventually lose our ability to discern good from evil.
Stop listening to teaching that contradicts what you know is right.
Proverbs 19:27
You don’t start a long walk without;
1. Checking you have everything you need - food, clothing, shelter - as well everything you don’t to keep the luggage light
The Israelis took with them their bread dough without yeast, and bound their kneading troughs into their spare clothes, and carried them on their shoulders. And the people of Israel did as Moses said and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord gave the Israelis favor with the Egyptians, so that they gave them whatever they wanted. And the Egyptians were practically stripped of everything they owned!
Exodus 12:34-36
2. Checking the map and following your leader You’ve seen the big red “you are here” sign to reassure you. But since you’ve never once before been to your destination, it will give you great confidence to have a leader that knows how to get there. In this case the Israelites had Moses (who’d never been). But at least they knew they had the Lord thanks to all the miracles he had done.
That very day the Lord brought out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt, wave after wave of them crossing the border.
Exodus 12:51
A good leader must bring the people with them. Many ventures fail because the boss was completely unrealistic about what the team was capable of.
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
Exodus 13:17-18
Either way out of Egypt, there is a baptism ahead. A baptism is a crossing, a rite of passage. The Israelites thought they were ready for a fight but the Lord knew they were not ready for that kind of baptism.
There are 7 types of baptism in the Bible and we can see the picture of 5/7 in the Crossing of the Red Sea
- Baptism of Moses (1 Cor. 10:1-2)
- Baptism of John (Mark 1:4-8)
- Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11-12)
- Baptism of Fire (Matt. 3:11-12)
- Baptism in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:36-38)
- The Baptism of Jesus (Matt. 3:13-17)
- Baptism of Suffering (Mark 10:38-39)
1. Baptism of Moses
For we must never forget, dear brothers, what happened to our people in the wilderness long ago. God guided them by sending a cloud that moved along ahead of them; and he brought them all safely through the waters of the Red Sea. This might be called their “baptism”—baptised both in sea and cloud!—as followers of Moses—their commitment to him as their leader.
1 Corinthians 10:1-2
Baptism represents our commitment to Jesus. We acknowledge he is the one who has delivered us from Slavery to Sin and the World and we are committed to following him on our journey to the Promised Land (like Moses lead the Israelites from Pharaoh and Egypt to their Promised Land)
2. Baptism of John
This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and taught that all should be baptised as a public announcement of their decision to turn their backs on sin, so that God could forgive them.
Mark 1:4
The Israelites had to leave Egypt and cross the Red Sea. Walking away from Egypt means turning your back to sin, John’s baptism means leaving the past behind and not looking back. We should not even want to go back to Egypt. That is not a good place for us. That place is for the Egyptians not the Israelites. They can keep their false gods along with their luxury living at the expense of others. That’s where we were slaves, where we lost our identity. Don’t catch that ferry !
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
“With water I baptize those who repent of their sins; but someone else is coming, far greater than I am, so great that I am not worthy to carry his shoes! He shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He will separate the chaff from the grain, burning the chaff with never-ending fire and storing away the grain.”
Matthew 3:11-12
The Israelites were lead by the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. In the same way the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth so we need to be immersed in Him !
He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, for it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you do, for he lives with you now and some day shall be in you.
John 14:17
The Holy Spirit also liberates us from the law (we will talk more about this next week). Baptism represents liberation from the old Slave master who is as harsh on us as the Pharaoh was on the Hebrew slaves.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2
4. The Baptism of Fire
Fire represents judgement and separation as were the Egyptians separated from the Israelites by the pillar of cloud and fire and in the same way the chaff is separated from the wheat and burned with never ending fire. For the believer, fire has a refining effect, removing the dross from our lives and it was God’s judgment on sin at the Cross that separated us from the World and saved us.
5. Baptism in the name of Jesus
The Egyptians were drowned in the sea but the Israelites walked out free on the other side. Baptism represents death and resurrection. In effect the old person dies so that the new person can live. We are joined to Christ and his resurrection.
Some people ask, I’ve made a lot of mistakes since I got baptised, can I be baptised again ? In Jewish culture there is more than one baptism.
Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? For sin’s power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptised to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the power of your sinful nature was shattered. Your old sin-loving nature was buried with him by baptism when he died; and when God the Father, with glorious power, brought him back to life again, you were given his wonderful new life to enjoy.
Romans 6:1-4
Baptism is like marriage. It is our joining to Christ that saves us not the act of baptism itself. You don’t need to walk down the aisle more than once with the same spouse to remain married !
I’d like to close by watching the Prince of Egypt awesome closing scene of the Red Sea Crossing and for us to think of their “baptism” and what that means for each one of us today. It’s not a perfect match to the Bible but ask yourself what would have happened if Moses and the Israelites had not obeyed the Lord and gone through the Red Sea.
As we shall see next week, The Prince of Egypt film finishes with Zipporah saying to Moses “Look at your people Moses, they are free” and then you see him triumphantly walking down from Mt Sinai towards the Israelite camp carrying the 10 commandments. But some of us remember what happened next !
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