Redemption and Consecration

TRANSCRIPT

I greet you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our text for tonight's message is taken from Exodus chapter 13, verse 1 and 2, and verses 11 to 16. The story of the Exodus teaches us many important doctrines. For example, it teaches us about sin. The reason why God sent the plagues against the Egyptians was because of their sins. It teaches about judgement. The reason why God took the lives of all the firstborn of Egypt was because of judgement. It teaches about the atonement. The reason why God spared the lives of the Israelites was because of the blood of the Lamb offered as a substitute. It teaches about the communion of saints. The Israelites were commanded to keep the Passover physically together so that they will remember God's salvation. It was also about sanctification. The reason why they were commanded to keep the Feast of the Unleavened Bread was because leaven signifies the influence of sin and the need for biblical separation. In other words, what was in Egypt must be kept in Egypt.

Now there is one more lesson for the children of Israel to learn, and that was the doctrine of redemption. God secured their deliverance by the payment of a price—the blood of the lamb, and that had to do with redemption. So, as we study these few verses, it will help us to appreciate our own salvation. It will remind us of the person and work of Christ, as Ephesians 1 verse 7 says, "n whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace". If we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, then you and I ought to be consecrated unto Him, right?

I. The consecration

So, this is what we want to learn for today's message. The title is "Redemption and Consecration." Firstly, let us consider the consecration. Let us begin with verses 1 and 2, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine." To sanctify is to consecrate, to set apart something or someone as holy. So when God says, "Sanctify unto me all the firstborn," it means set apart all the firstborn unto me. The reason why God commanded the Israelites to consecrate all the firstborn sons to Him was because they belonged to Him in the first place. In other words, God was claiming His right to Israel's offspring.

Why did God only mention Israel's firstborn? Why not every child? You see, the firstborn sons were very important in the ancient world, just as they are in many cultures today. They signified the centre and future of the family, as in future generations; the eldest son has special responsibilities and privileges, including the right of inheritance. The point of consecrating the firstborn son was to show that the whole family belonged to God. The firstborn represented all the offspring, including the girls as well as the rest of the boys. This principle can be seen when the Israelites brought the first fruit during the Feast of Harvest. Whenever they had a harvest, the Israelites would offer the first fruit to God, signifying that the whole harvest belonged to Him. In the same way, the firstborn was the first fruit of the family. To consecrate him was to consecrate everyone else who came from the mother's womb.

Take a moment and consider this: why was God so angry with the Egyptians, especially when the Pharaoh tried to kill all the sons of Israel? Not only was that a vicious genocide, but essentially they were trying to take over God's right to be a Father of the Israelites. That was the reason why God was so angry when the Pharaoh refused to let his people go and worship Him. And through Moses, He said to the Pharaoh, "Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn." (Exodus 4:22-23). So when God took the lives of all the firstborn of Egypt, he was not being vindictive or throwing some kind of tantrum. On the contrary, he was rightly and justly defending his right to be a father of his sons.

Toward the end of Moses' life, he said to the people in Deuteronomy 32:6, "is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?" The answer, obviously, is yes. God was their Father. He was their Maker and Creator, and He deserves each and every one of those Israelites to be consecrated unto Him, to worship, serve, and obey Him.

Dear friends, isn't that true of us as well? God is our Father, he is our Maker and Creator, and He deserves each and every one of us to be consecrated unto Him, that we may worship, serve, and obey Him.

Let's say one of our children wants to serve the Lord full-time. The first thing that comes into many parents' minds is that it is a great sacrifice. But that should never be the way. Let me give you an illustration of this common attitude of many people. There's this couple who has three children, let's call them John, Mark, and Peter. One day the couple discuss amongst themselves and they said, "Our first son, John, is good with languages. He has good articulative skills. We should send him to Oxford University. He will be a good lawyer. Our second son, Mark, is good with music. He can play multiple instruments. Let's send him to Juliet University. He will be a good musician. Our third son, Peter, is a bit slow and unsteady. He is not good at anything. Maybe we should send him to the Far Eastern Bible College. Perhaps the Lord can use him in the ministry." Is that our attitude? God forbids.

We want to give to the Lord our best, and we should always give to him our best. It is not just a privilege that our sons and daughters want to serve the almighty God, but indeed He deserves our sons and daughters to be consecrated unto Him, to be set apart unto Him, to serve Him, because they belong to Him in the first place. Our children, they belong to Him, all of us belong to Him too. So we ought to be consecrated unto Him, that we may serve Him, worship Him, and glorify Him.

II. The redemption

Let us move on to our second point, the Redemption. Look down to verse 11, "And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee”. God wanted his people to remember their salvation forever, so they must continue this practice even after they reach the Promised Land. And what must they do? Verse 12, "That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix," – which means the womb – "every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD's." The phrase "set apart" is different from the word "sanctify" in verse two, it has a stronger emphasis. It means to give over or pass over. In other words, they must give over the firstborn of their animals to God. This meant they must offer those animals as sacrifices unto God (you can read about that in Exodus 18:17).

But there was one exception: the donkeys. Look at verse 13, "And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem." You see, the Israelites were not allowed to eat the donkeys or use them as sacrifices. God considered them unclean in a ceremonial sense, therefore they were unacceptable to be used as a holy sacrifice. So they had to redeem the donkey through the payment of a price, and that was the price of a lamb offered as a substitute in place of the donkey. If the firstborn of the donkey was not redeemed with a lamb, then they must break his neck, which means it shall be killed.

Here, God divided between clean and unclean animals. The purpose was to teach His people to distinguish between what was holy and unholy. But notice something, the phrase "all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem," the last part, it was put together with the donkeys. In other words, God was saying to the Israelites, "You need to redeem the firstborn of men just as you redeem the donkeys." What does that teach us? Man is unclean because of sin, and as a sinner, he's in need of salvation. He must be redeemed, otherwise he will perish, just like the donkey which was not redeemed, the neck will be broken. So all the firstborn of men had to be redeemed by the sacrificial lamb. He was redeemed by a replacement, the lamb died in his place as a substitute.

Once again, here, he points us to the cross of Christ, where the Bible tells us, "Jesus gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness" (Titus 2:14). When we say Jesus is our Redeemer, it means He died in our place. If He is not our Redeemer, then we will be just like the donkeys whose necks were broken. So we must be redeemed and consecrated to the Lord.

This Redemption and consecration was practiced by the Israelites from then onwards. For example, the Israelites would give their children to God to be consecrated to worship and serve Him at the temple. The Levites who consecrate their sons to the priesthood. Remember Hannah, she vowed if God were to give her a son, she would give over that son to God that he may serve God all the days of his life. Later on when her son Samuel was born, she took him to the Tabernacle and said, 'I prayed for this child, the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. Now I brought him that he may serve the Lord all the days of his life.'

Perhaps the classic example would be Mary and Joseph who took their firstborn son Jesus to Jerusalem. You can turn with me to the Gospel of Luke chapter 2 verses 22 to 23. Look at the second part of verse 22, “they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)”. Holy means set apart. This was a quotation from Exodus 12 verse 13, the same thing that we are considering a moment ago.

Mary and Joseph were devout Jews, they knew what the law required. Of course, Jesus did not need to be redeemed, right? Because He was sinless, one hundred percent perfect. But it was necessary for Him to keep all righteousness. So His parents kept the law. In fact, His whole life was consecrated to serving God the Father. Jesus Himself said, 'I have came down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me' (John 6:38). From the moment He was born, all the way to the cross and the empty tomb, Jesus was consecrated, committed and dedicated to serve God the Father in saving lost souls.

Dear friends, this passage about redemption and consecration helps us to understand that our children really do not belong to us. They belong to God in the first place, they belong to God ultimately. Therefore when we present our children at baptism we are essentially saying to God, 'This child belongs to You, and I brought this child before You in complete obedience. That you alone are our Maker, our Creator, You are the One who has entrusted this child to me, You have created this child and You have created him for Your glory. You alone are able to redeem and save this child.' And then you commit this child, you give over this child to the Lord's leading and the Lord will guide and lead You. When you walk away from the baptism service it does not mean that your children are now your own, no. God is the One who has entrusted this child to you and therefore you must bring up this child in the fear and admonition of Him.

The problem with many of us is that sometimes we think our children belong to us, they exist for us, for our joy, for our desires – our children exist for God, so we must give them over to the Lord. One man who understood this very well was Abraham. Remember Abraham, he was told by God to take his son, his only son whom he loves so dearly, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. Abraham was prepared to do as he was told and it was not until he raised his knife to slay his son that God intervened by providing a substitute.

Many people are troubled by this account of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac. As parents with children, when we look at our little ones, we say, 'What a beautiful child, my son, my daughter.' And then when we consider Isaac and the sacrifice, we find the whole episode deeply disturbing. One parent even said, 'If God were to stand right in front of me and told me to do that, I would never obey him.' You know what is the problem with us? It is this wrong assumption about 'my son, my daughter' that is the problem. When we assume that we own this child, this child belongs to us. But in reality, it belongs to God in the first place, and God is the rightful father.

Apparently Abraham had a better understanding of what it means to be a father, he knew Isaac was for God's pleasure and glory not his own, and therefore he was willing to offer his son up on God's altar. Dear friend, this evening if God wants your son and daughter to serve Him full-time, are you willing to let go? If God wants your son and daughter to be missionaries to go to dangerous territories, are you willing to let go?

Our mindset should always be, 'God, he belongs to You, he is Your son whom You have entrusted unto me to take care of. If You want to use Him, You can have Him. You are the rightful Father.' That should be our attitude.

God wanted the Israelites to learn this lesson from the very beginning and so He commanded them to consecrate their children to Him at birth. So they must start off from the very beginning when the child was given birth, that was the time they consecrated a child to God by redeeming their sons. The parents learned that their children need salvation. The only way for their children to be saved was by the blood of the Lamb.

By consecrating their sons, the parents learned that their children belong to God and ultimately they are created for His glory. So these were two very important lessons the Israelites must learn. Their children need a Salvation, their children belong to God and ultimately they were created for His glory.

The same thing applies to our children. Our children also need salvation, isn't it true? And our children were also created for God's glory. God is the rightful Father and they must glorify Him. In fact, the reason why God commanded the Israelites to observe the Passover, the feast of the unleavened bread and also to remember about this redemption and consecration of their firstborn, it was to give the Israelites many opportunities to remember these truths and then to teach their children as they grew up.

Look at verse 14, “And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.”

So it was not only the parents who ought to learn that their children belong to the Lord, but, more importantly, the children themselves ought to know this important truth, because the time will come when the child will grow up and when they comes to a particular age they will ask the parents, “Daddy, Mommy when I was an infant you brought me to the Lord and I was baptised. I was consecrated to the Lord. Why did you do that? What is the meaning of that?”

And then the parents would explain to the child, “Dear son or daughter, God is your heavenly Father, He is the one who has entrusted you to me. He is the one who has created you and He has created you not to satisfy your own pleasures, not to satisfy my pleasures, but His pleasure and glory. You must live for His glory so when you make decisions in life, when you make plans, when you make choices in regards to your future directions, you must always consider your Father who is in Heaven.” So the parents must teach their children the significance of all the things that they had done for the child, because of God. just like the Israelites will tell the children why we have circumcised you, why we have consecrated you to God, why we keep the Passover, why we keep the Feast of the Unleavened Bread – so that the children will grow up understanding all these spiritual truths.

Finally look at verse 16, “And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.” Dear friends, God's people must always remember, and they must not forget. Later on, the Israelites would tie the phylacteries (those little boxes containing Hebrew scripture verses) on their foreheads, on their left arms but it was not just to be a physical exercise but a spiritual exercise. It was not supposed to be something they carry physically only but something that they must remember in their hearts and minds and to be applied into their lives just like when we come together for the Lord’s Day service, when we are gathered here for prayer meeting, when we partake of the Lord's Supper, when we are being baptised or bring our children for infant baptism and so forth, it is not just a physical exercise. If we are just going through the motions, if we are just going through the routine, then it is meaningless. It must be a spiritual exercise and we must understand the spiritual significance for He will help us do remember that we were redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and we will be reminded that we ought to consecrate our lives to serve Him and for His glory alone. God indeed is our heavenly Father. Let us pray.

Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to consider this portion of scriptures. And help us not to go through the things that we are doing in church, in worship, in serving – they are not just physical exercises but spiritual exercises with spiritual significance. And we pray that we will not go through them like a routine, like going through the motions, but with understanding, with our hearts and minds in tune with thee. Indeed our lives belong to Thee; our children belong to Thee. Thou art our heavenly Father and help us to be mindful of that so that we will remind ourselves and our children too that we must live our lives for this sole purpose to glorify our heavenly Father and we pray that thou will remind us of this truth always because as humans we always forget. Forgive us if there are times whereby we think our lives belong to us and us alone, as if our children, they are for our joy and for our desires alone – God forbids. All of us must be given over to Thee, be consecrated. Thou who has redeemed us by the blood of Thy only begotten Son; we ought to consecrate our lives unto Thee to, worship, serve, obey and love Thee all the days of our lives. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

SERMON OUTLINE

• I. The consecration
• II. The redemption

THE BOOK OF EXODUS

God’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To Pass

God’s Prophecy and Promise Had Come To Pass

Exodus 1:1-7

From Prosperity to Persecution

From Prosperity to Persecution

Exodus 1:8-14

God’s Protection in the Midst of Adversities

God’s Protection in the Midst of Adversities

Exodus 1:15-21

The Faith of Jochebed

The Faith of Jochebed

Exodus 1:22-2:10

Moses in Egypt

Moses in Egypt

Exodus 2:11-15

Moses in the Desert of Midian

Moses in the Desert of Midian

Exodus 2:16-25

Moses and the Burning Bush

Moses and the Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-9

Who Are You?

Who Are You?

Exodus 3:10-15

Who Am I?

Who Am I?

Exodus 3:10-15

God’s Message to Israel and Egypt

God’s Message to Israel and Egypt

Exodus 3:16-22

What If They Still Don’t Believe?

What If They Still Don’t Believe?

Exodus 4:1-9

Send Someone Else

Send Someone Else

Exodus 4:10-17

Moses’ Return to Egypt

Moses’ Return to Egypt

Exodus 4:18-20

When Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got Worse

When Things Seemed to Get Better, They Got Worse

Exodus 5:10-21

When We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble Comes

When We Have Done Everything Right, and Yet Trouble Comes

Exodus 5:22-6:5

Having to Learn the Same Lesson Twice

Having to Learn the Same Lesson Twice

Exodus 6:6-12

Faithful or Unfaithful

Faithful or Unfaithful

Exodus 6:13-27

What God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and Obedience

What God Wants Is Our Faithfulness and Obedience

Exodus 6:28-7:7

The First Plague - The River of Blood

The First Plague - The River of Blood

Exodus 7:14-25

The Second Plague - The Frogs

The Second Plague - The Frogs

Exodus 8:1-15

The Third Plague

The Third Plague

Exodus 8:16-19

The Fourth Plague

The Fourth Plague

Exodus 8:20-32

The Fifth Plague

The Fifth Plague

Exodus 9:1-7

The Sixth Plague

The Sixth Plague

Exodus 9:8-12

The Seventh Plague

The Seventh Plague

Exodus 9:13-35

The Eighth Plague

The Eighth Plague

Exodus 10:1-20

The Tenth Plague

The Tenth Plague

Exodus 11:1-10

The First Passover

The First Passover

Exodus 12:1-13

The Feast of the Unleavened Bread

The Feast of the Unleavened Bread

Exodus 12:14-28

Departure From Egypt

Departure From Egypt

Exodus 12:29-42

This Do In Remembrance of Me

This Do In Remembrance of Me

Exodus 12:43-51; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!

Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!

Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12

Redemption and Consecration

Redemption and Consecration

Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16

Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Exodus 13:17-22

Between the Desert and the Red Sea

Between the Desert and the Red Sea

Exodus 14:1-14

Crossing the Red Sea

Crossing the Red Sea

Exodus 14:15-31

The Song of Praise

The Song of Praise

Exodus 15:1-21

Will You Obey Or Not?

Will You Obey Or Not?

Exodus 15:22-27

The Danger of a Complaining Spirit

The Danger of a Complaining Spirit

Exodus 16:1-3

God’s Response to Israel’s Complaints

God’s Response to Israel’s Complaints

Exodus 16:1-10

The Test of Faith

The Test of Faith

Exodus 16:11-20

Lessons About the Sabbath

Lessons About the Sabbath

Exodus 16:21-36

Do Not Test God

Do Not Test God

Exodus 17:1-17

Lift Up Your Hands

Lift Up Your Hands

Exodus 17:8-16

The Blessedness of Reunion

The Blessedness of Reunion

Exodus 18:1-12

Why Do We Have Leaders?

Why Do We Have Leaders?

Exodus 18:13-27

I Will Carry You On Eagles’ Wings

I Will Carry You On Eagles’ Wings

Exodus 19:1-6

Approach God Fearlessly or Fearfully

Approach God Fearlessly or Fearfully

Exodus 19:7-15

God Reached Out And Spoke

God Reached Out And Spoke

Exodus 19:16-25

Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods

Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods

Exodus 20:1-3

Thou Shalt Not Make Graven Images

Thou Shalt Not Make Graven Images

Exodus 20:4-6

Thou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s Name

Thou Shalt Not Dishonour God’s Name

Exodus 20:7

Thou Shalt Keep The Sabbath Day

Thou Shalt Keep The Sabbath Day

Exodus 20:8-11

Honour Thy Father And Thy Mother

Honour Thy Father And Thy Mother

Exodus 20:12

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Exodus 20:13

Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

Exodus 20:14

Thou Shalt Not Steal

Thou Shalt Not Steal

Exodus 20:15

Thou Shalt Not Lie

Thou Shalt Not Lie

Exodus 20:16

Thou Shalt Not Covet

Thou Shalt Not Covet

Exodus 20:17

The Response To The Ten Commandments

The Response To The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:18-21

How God Wants Us To Worship Him

How God Wants Us To Worship Him

Exodus 20:22-26

Why Would God Allow Slavery?

Why Would God Allow Slavery?

Exodus 21:1-11

The Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a life

The Punishment Fits The Crime — a life for a life

Exodus 21:12-17

The Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eye

The Punishment Fits The Crime — an eye for an eye

Exodus 21:18-36

The Punishment Deters The Crime — property laws

The Punishment Deters The Crime — property laws

Exodus 22:1-15

The Character Of God

The Character Of God

Exodus 22:16-20

Reaching Out To The Down-And-Out

Reaching Out To The Down-And-Out

Exodus 22:21-24

The Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of God

The Compassion, Authority & Holiness Of God

Exodus 22:25-31

Truth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But Truth

Truth Cannot Be Subjected To Anything But Truth

Exodus 23:1-9

Remember Who God Is

Remember Who God Is

Exodus 23:10-19

What Must We Do To Have Victory

What Must We Do To Have Victory

Exodus 23:20-33

How We Ought To Worship God

How We Ought To Worship God

Exodus 24:1-4, 7

On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?

On What Basis Can We Approach His Majesty?

Exodus 24:4-8

Responding To God’s Invitation

Responding To God’s Invitation

Exodus 24:9-18

The Right Attitude Of Giving

The Right Attitude Of Giving

Exodus 25:1-8

There I Will Meet You

There I Will Meet You

Exodus 25:9-22

Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?

Physical Or Spiritual Bread, Which Is More Important?

Exodus 25:23-30

Let Your Light So Shine Before Men

Let Your Light So Shine Before Men

Exodus 25:31-40

If Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up Hence

If Thy Presence Go Not with Me, Carry Us Not Up Hence

Exodus 33:12-23