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Exodus 5:1 (KJV) And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

Exodus 7:16 (KJV) And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness …

Exodus 8:1, 25-28(KJV) And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. … 25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. 26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. 28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.

You might wonder why we would study Israel and the Exodus that they had from Egypt. When I was a young Christian I often saw the Bible as two books. One – the Old Testament – I saw as a book of history, and the New Testament as current teaching for the Church. I focused a lot of my studies on the New Testament. But as I was reading through Corinthians one day I found out I was wrong. You see, the Old Testament is the foundation for the New Testament. The Bible that Jesus used in His ministry was the Old Testament. The Scriptures that He quoted were the Old Testament. When Jesus was attacked by the devil in the wilderness He fended off the devil quoting Old Testament texts. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3

Matthew 4:4 (KJV) …. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

and Deuteronomy 6:16

Matthew 4:7 (KJV) …. It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

and Deuteronomy 6:13

Matthew 4:10 (KJV) … it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

When Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount He preached from the Old Testament, relying heavily on the books of Deuteronomy and Numbers. And when Jesus spoke of the Greatest Commandments He quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12, and Leviticus 19:18when He said:

Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV) … Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

When the Apostle Paul preached, he often quoted Old Testament text. When Paul preached of Israel and the Exodus he said:

1 Corinthians 10:6 (KJV) Now these things were our EXAMPLES, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

1 Corinthians 10:11-12 (KJV) Now all these things happened unto them for ENSAMPLES: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

What happened to Israel is a τύπος tupos (too’-pos) –a “MODEL” or a“TYPE”, an example for we who are Christians in the Church. When we look at the Book of Exodus Israel was literally led out of Egypt by God. This is true. But Israel is a model of the Church, and what happened to Israel an example we need to take heed of.

Israel is a Type of the Church
The Israelite a Type of the Christian
Pharaoh is a Type of the devil
Egypt is a Type of the sinful world

God is giving us not only a historical account but a picture of what He wants and expects from us. TEN TIMES God sent Moses before Pharaoh with a message. Over and over again God tells Pharaoh:

Let My people go

Over and over again God brings a judgment on Pharaoh and on the nation of Egypt. Over and over again we see a struggle between God and Pharaoh, between Israel and Egypt. We see the persistence of evil – but the superiority of God.

God Can And Will Free His People

Israel was a nation of slaves bound to Egypt. This was literally true. But this is also the model of every person who has ever been saved by God. We are born into this world bound by the sin that indwells us. We are born enslaved to sin.

The Apostle Paul quoting Psalm 14:3 and Psalm 53:3states:

Romans 3:10-12 (KJV) As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

The Israelite was born in bondage to Egypt, a picture of the sinful world. Every person born into this life is born in bondage to sin. We are told in

Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We – like the Israelites – are hopelessly enslaved to sin and to this world. The Lord Jesus said:

John 8:34-36 (KJV) …. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth SIN IS THE SERVANT OF SIN. 35 AND THE SERVANT ABIDETH NOT IN THE HOUSE FOREVER: BUT THE SON ABIDETH EVER. 36 If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

God wants His people to be free from the world. He sends Moses to Pharaoh. “Let My people go”He says. “Let My people go” from what? From Egypt. From Sin. Sin is no pleasure, but a terrible thing that robs us of our joy.

Romans 6:23 (KJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If you stay in Egypt as a slave eventually you will die. If you stay in the world enslaved eventually you will die. The wages of sin is ALWAYS death. We see this in the trials that come on Egypt. God tells Pharaoh:

“Let My people go that they may serve Me in the wilderness”

Pharaoh that old Devil says:

Exodus 5:2 (KJV) …. Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

This is sin. Sin says “Have the slaves make bricks without straw”. Sin is never a blessing. It may seem a blessing, but it is not. Sin hurts people. Sin brings oppression and the judgment of God. Our world today is under sin, and nearly falling over because of it. If you are saved you do not embrace sin but HATE sin. The Apostle said:

Romans 6:6-11 (KJV) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise, RECKON YE ALSO YOURSELVES TO BE DEAD INDEED UNTO SIN, BUT ALIVE UNTO GODthrough Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Israelite could not save themselves – God had to save them.
The Christian cannot save himself – God has to save us.

IllustrateOne the greatest songs – and one of my favorites – is Amazing Grace. Listen to the words. Sing it with me if you know it.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a WRETCH like me;
I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see!

A preacher told me once that he had a relative that was playing this song on the piano. He said that this relative had scratched out the word WRETCH and put in its place, SOMEONE. The reason he scratched out that word is that he thought he wasn’t really a WRETCH. He was a nice guy. He went to Church. He paid his taxes and his tithes. But Beloved, if you weren’t a slave to sin prior to meeting Christ, then you never met Christ. Who did Jesus come to save? He said:

1 Timothy 1:15 (KJV) …Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Luke 19:10 (KJV) For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

And Jesus, quoting from Hosea 6:6 and Micah 6:8said:

Matthew 9:12-13 (KJV) …. They that be whole need, not a physician, but they that are sick.13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

God did not come to save the Egyptians satisfied in their sin. He came to save His people from their sins.

Sin’s Hold Is Broken So We Are Able To Serve The Lord

Exodus 5:1 (KJV) And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

What does God do when He frees the Israelite? They are freed from the world to serve the Living God. What does God do when He frees the Christian? We are freed from the world and sin so that we can serve the Living God. Israel wasn’t freed so they could go live however they wanted. They were freed to serve God. The Apostle wrote:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (KJV) What?know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

God’s people are saved from serving sin TO serving God. We are saved not to just occasionally to look to God, but to live for Him Who saved us. We are to glorify God in all that we do.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (KJV) Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

We do not glorify God when we sin. We glorify God when we do the things He has commanded us to do. We glorify God when we love one another. We glorify God when we give Him our first consideration. We glorify God when we forgive, and do good to our enemies. We glorify God when we brag on Him and let Him use us to reach others. We do not glorify God when we sin.

Romans 6:14-18 (KJV) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

God wanted Israel out of Egypt so that they could go out and serve Him in the wilderness. God saves us to serve Him. He said, “so they can have a FEAST in the wilderness”. God is not hungry. God is not thirsty. But God wants us to celebrate Him, to glorify Him. Why? Because though sin was persistent, God was MORE persistent in seeking our salvation. Israel didn’t save Israel. God saved Israel. David didn’t save David. God saved David. But now saved, God calls Israel and David to celebrate and worship Him.

We do not glorify God when we compromise with sin.

We live in a compromising age. Church after Church compromises with the world in order to “reach more people”. Our God does not compromise with sin. At one point Pharaoh called for Moses to compromise:

Exodus 8:25 (KJV) And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.

This is what the devil and the world say to every child of God. “You can live for your God – just don’t leave Egypt. Stay here with us.”Moses replied:

Exodus 8:26-27 (KJV) … Moses said It is not meet so to do …We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.

We will do what our God has told us to do. Oh, Beloved, we must never compromise with the world. To compromise with the world is to reject God. The stepbrother of Christ James wrote:

James 4:4 (KJV) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son. But God does not love sin. God does not compromise with Egypt. If you are His you are called out of Egypt.“Out of Egypt have I called My Son” (Matthew 2:15; Hosea 11:1).

Being rebuked, Pharaoh offered another compromise:

Exodus 8:28 (KJV)28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away:…

You can worship your God – but don’t be a fanatic! Don’t take it too seriously. Stay close to the world. The devil is not threatened by the person who is uncommitted, the one who sits on the fence hanging between two worlds. Yet this is not what God has said. When Israel left Egypt they went where God went. The Bible says that God went before them as a pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day:

Exodus 13:21-22 (KJV) And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

You cannot be a servant of God and hide it. If you are following God people we see His Pillars in your life. Coming to Christ changes your life. There’s been a lot of talks recently about the nature of salvation. Some say “God will save me as I am, and allow me to rest in my sin”. That’s not true. God didn’t save Israel by leaving her in Egypt, and God doesn’t save the Christian to leave him wallowing in his sin. Sin is persistent. The devil is persistent. But God will conquer sin. God will break sin’s hold on your life.

Redeemed People Worship The Lord
By Changing Our Position

Moses told Pharaoh …

Exodus 8:27 (KJV)… We will go THREE DAYS’ journey into the wilderness,

Why did Moses tell Pharaoh “we will go THREE DAYS journey”to worship God? Why not just say “We’ll go”?Because that’s what God told Moses to say in:

Exodus 3:18 (KJV) … now let us go, we beseech thee, THREE DAYS’ JOURNEY into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.

Three days was God’s demand. Moses did not compromise the Word of God. I don’t know that Moses knew why three days was important, but what God said Moses stayed with. There’s a lesson in that. What God has said is true even if the entire world vote against it. Stay true to God.

Why three days?
Three days is a change of position.
It is an act of obedience.
It is a willingness to step outside the comfort zone for God.

When God told Abraham to sacrifice his only child
it took him three days to get to the mountain (Exodus 22:4).

When Jonah was swallowed by the great fish he stayed in its belly
three days and three nights until he repented(Matthew 12:40).

In obedience to the Father Christ stayed three days and three nights
in the tomb (again, Matthew 12:40)– He changed His position for us!

When you are saved by faith in Christ YOUR POSITION CHANGES. You become Christ’s possession, not the world’s. You are to live for Him and in Him. Jesus died for us so that we can attach ourselves to Him. He said:

John 15:5-7 (KJV)  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  [6]  If a man abides not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.  [7]  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Our strength and power for living are in Christ. We must live for Him. If you wish to be a child of God – one of His people – then you must receive Christ as He is. You must ADMIT your need for Him. ADMIT you are a sinner in need of the Savior. You must BELIEVE that Christ and Christ alone is the only way by which we can be saved from Egypt and death. The Israelite took a Lamb without spot or blemish and, killing that Lamb, placed its blood on their homes. Christ died for you. He took your place of punishment on Calvary. Finally, we are to CONFESS Christ before men. To do as He said without argument. To be baptized because He commanded it. To walk distinct and loving, in the world but not of the world.

Jesus Christ came in the flesh to conquer sin. Sin was a barrier between us and God.

Galatians 4:4-7 (KJV) But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

We who are saved are saved because we have heard and believed what God has said. We know that Jesus Christ came – born of a virgin – to die for our sins. We know that His Blood was shed to cover our sins. He is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. God changes our position when we are saved. Positionally we are no longer sinners but are sons of God. The Blood that Jesus shed on Calvary was a covering for our sin. Being saved, we no longer serve sin nor this world but are to serve our Lord. Why did God save Israel? “That they may serve Me in the wilderness”. We are not saved to sit but are saved to serve. We are saved to celebrate Him!