If you would, turn to the book of Exodus, chapter 12. We're going to be starting in verse 29 tonight. This is part of our ongoing study on the Passover. This is lesson number four, if you've been keeping up. There's four lessons, plus if you go to our sermon audio page, There's four lessons plus the introduction. The introduction being the first in the series. So there's actually four sermons on this so far. And there will be more to come. We're not going to finish the study tonight. We've got more to cover. And in this lesson tonight, we see the promise God made to Moses and Aaron come to pass. We're going to see what this has been all about all along from the beginning of the chapter where God has told them to be sure they explain clearly to the children of Israel how to observe the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. They all go together, but the key is the Passover. They have to follow it exactly as God commanded or they're gonna have death in their families just like the Egyptians. Now you can imagine, they've seen God work. There's been several plagues up until now. None of them that were as drastic as this one. And it's a horrible plague when you get down to it. I mean, today, people who are not Christian especially, look at this, or even those who are very liberal in Christianity, they look at this and look, how could a loving God do what He did to these people? Well, it just shows you that God has His remnant, He has His chosen people, and those who are not, He doesn't love them. He never promises. He never says. He never promises in His word that He loves everybody in this world. Everybody who has ever been born. Certainly, you can look to Romans chapter 9 and you can see that He didn't love Pharaoh. And you see it here. I'm not going to go to Romans 9 tonight. Maybe later in the study we will. Because Paul does write about Pharaoh in that chapter. when it pertains to God's elect and to God's election and predestination. But just know that this is a horrible thing that God has put on Egypt. But we see the example of election and predestination in this story. And you can't preach and teach from the story of the Passover without without seeing the election and predestination. If you're not seeing it, then something's wrong. You need to go back and read it again because it's there. It's clearly there. God has his chosen people within the nation of Egypt. They are a separate nation. They have been a separate nation all along. Remember all the way back to Joseph. the son of Jacob when he brought his father and his brothers and their families to the land of Egypt during the drought so that they didn't starve to death in the land of Canaan. He brought them there where he could take care of them. He put them to work. They worked the herds of Pharaoh, took care of his crops. Pharaoh gave them, well, actually, Joseph requested of Pharaoh that he give them the land of Goshen while they were there, and it was a temporary thing. We'll see tonight. Let me think. I can't remember if it's tonight or if it's gonna be next time. Maybe it's next time. that we'll see how long they were in the land of Egypt. It was 430 years. It's a long time. They had grown to be a great nation. I believe it was like 600,000 people at this time. that belong to the nation of Israel, plus there were their servants, there were strangers among them, people who were not part of the nation of Israel, but were believers in God, in the same God as Israel. As we explained that last time, it appears as though there were people that were, they were descendants of Abraham and of the line of Isaac, but they were not part of the nation of Israel. They had not moved with Jacob's family to the land of Egypt. They were distanced cousins. An example I gave last time, I believe it was, of some of those was Moses' father-in-law. His family were not of the... They were of the bloodline of Abraham, but they were not of Jacob. So there were those who the Bible calls them strangers. There were people who were descendants or the descendants of Abraham, but they were not part of the descendants of Jacob. And so therefore they were not as close akin, but they were still kin. Distant cousins as we would call them today. Now, the promise of the final plague upon the nation of Israel before the nation of Israel leaves for their journey to the promised land of Canaan is what we're going to look at tonight. And what seems to many today, as I said before, is a very cruel way to get Pharaoh's attention and to get him to soften his heart of stone is exactly the way God chose to do just that. God chose to do this. It was prophesied of. He told Moses and Aaron that this is what was gonna happen, and that they were to prepare for it. There was a process that the people of Israel were to go through. They were to pick the firstborn of their flocks, whether it was a sheep or a goat, the first lamb, male, had to be a male, had to be perfect, no blemishes. We see all of this, and we think, okay, this is, only for their day. This is only for the purposes of the nation of Israel, for them to escape Egypt. And then of course we see where the Lord told them that they were to observe this forever. And again, I completely agree that the observance of the Passover is only for the nation of Israel. We'll talk more about that later, and I've talked about it before, and it's going to come up again in this study. It is not for the Lord's churches. Why? Because Jesus fulfilled the Passover on the cross. He was our Passover lamb. He was His blood that was shed on the cross that covers our sins. The Passover that we see in Exodus, not only was it a show of God's power and might, it was also a show of His election. And what about predestination? Well, He predestined this before the beginning of the world. We know that. Everything that He does is predestined before the beginning of the world. Passover, what would happen with the plague that's coming upon Egypt? God knew it was going to happen. He planned it. And we think, well, how could a loving God plan the deaths of thousands of children? And not just children, remember, it was the animals also. These were His creation. He did it because he had a chosen people, a people that he loved, a people that he loved dearly and deeply, so much so that he was willing to do all of this to get them out of the hands of the Egyptians. Was there a better way? Maybe. But don't forget also the Passover is also an example and a prophecy. of the coming of the Messiah and what the Messiah would do. Remember he's known as, he's also known as the Lamb, the Lamb of God. Why? Because he was the sacrificial lamb, the ultimate sacrificial lamb. Now, my wife and I met someone recently that was raised a Jew. He's a Gentile, but he was raised a Jew. His stepfather was a proselyte. And he was telling us, we asked, you know, what about how you were raised? He said, I had to follow all the dietary laws and all that of the Jews. And they were very strict on it when he was growing up. And I said, well, what about the Passover? Did you observe the Passover? He said, oh, yeah, sure we did. I said, did you spread the blood over your doorpost? And he kind of laughed, and he said, no, we didn't. Of course, now he's not Jewish now. He doesn't follow those rules now. He claims to be some kind of Baptist. But he said, no, we didn't do that. And I said, why not? And he said, well, the modern Jews don't do that. He said, it's only those who are strict Orthodox that will practice that. He said, so the more liberal, the less they partake of the observances as they should. So that's what I thought. I mentioned that before. I wondered about that. And so that was correct. They don't observe that today. And of course, those who, in Christianity, so-called Christianity, the Christian religion, Those who try to observe this holiday also, you don't hear of them spreading the blood over the doorpost. Why? I don't know. I mean, I've asked that question and nobody can give me an answer. Well, we can't do that. Neighbors might not like it. Well, so what? Are you going to follow the tradition or not? Are you going to follow the practice that you claim or not? It's funny how people get something in their head and they think, well, we're going to observe these Jewish holidays until you tell them, well, you know, you've got to kill an animal to observe this one or that one. What are you going to do about that? Oh, we can't do that. Well, why not? That's what it tells you to do. That's what God's law tells you to do. If you're going to follow the law, follow it. If not, leave it alone. So again, in all reality, especially as the Lord's churches, the true churches of the Lord, we are not commanded to follow the observances in the law, the sacrificial observances. Those are for the nation of Israel only. Okay, so back to our study. Verse 29, let's start reading there. And it came to pass that at midnight, the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of cattle. So, from the very beginning of this, we've noticed God has warned Israel This is what's going to happen. The firstborn of every house, the firstborn of every flock and herd, all the animals, the firstborn of everything is going to die in one night. Not over a period of time, but all in one night at the same time. And when the Lord passed over the land, and you notice this is only in Egypt. This is not a worldwide occurrence. This is just in Egypt. And notice it's from the house of Pharaoh on down. So from their king on down. And remember who Pharaoh is to the Egyptians. Not only is he their king or their leader, but they also look to him as a god. He is a false god. They look to him, they pray to him, they worship him, You go over there today and you see all the archaeological finds that have been found over there, the temples and the pyramids and all that that's over there in Egypt from that time period, and you see the carvings on the walls, and you see the statues and all that, and it's very obvious that they worshipped their pharaohs. whoever he was and I've never really fully understood it other than it's just it's just the evilness of man's all it is but how can you say a man is a god when eventually one day he's going to die you know you you think of a god that you worship would be something that would would live forever even the the false gods of the Greeks and the Romans were eternal, at least from my understanding anyway, but Pharaoh was, he may be in the afterlife, they did prepare him for the afterlife, but earthly speaking, he did not live. Some not that long. There were some who were teenagers that were in their early 20s when they died from disease or whatever. Some lived a long time. So from Pharaoh on down, he says even those that are being held in the dungeon, those who are under arrest, it doesn't matter who they are. He's not a respecter of persons in this matter, is he? God, the God that he is, is not a respecter of persons in this matter. Everybody from the highest to the lowest, And then he says, all the firstborn of cattle. Not just cattle, but of all the animals. We saw that earlier in the chapter. It's all the animals. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. All throughout the land. The firstborn of every house was dead now. Pharaoh rose up, it says, in the night. It affected his house, it affected his servants, and all the Egyptians. Everybody in the land of Egypt, except for the nation of Israel. They were the only ones who were spared. Notice the first thing Pharaoh does once he finds out how widespread this plague is. And once he finds out or hears the cries of the people, the people are going to want to know what's going on. They're going to go to Pharaoh and want to know what's going on. Of course, Pharaoh has just lost his son also, his firstborn. He's grieving with the people. But now he's got to step up as their leader and their ruler. He's got to make decisions. What do I do? What's he do? The first thing he does in verse 31. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, Rise up and get ye forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel, and go serve the Lord as ye have said. He knows what's caused this. How? Because he's been warned. God has warned Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron that these things were going to happen. His soothsayers and magicians cannot stop it. They have not stopped it. They have had nothing to do with it. This is something that they could not mimic. But Pharaoh tells in the middle of the night, He wakes Moses and Aaron up. It's time to go. And that's exactly what God told them what happened. He told them, when you partake of the Passover, do it fully clothed, with your shoes on, with your bags packed and ready to go. And that's what they've done. And so He tells Moses and Aaron, get up and get out of here. Take the people of Israel with you. I don't want to see any of you ever again. And he says, go serve the Lord. As you have said, the whole reason for them wanting to leave the land of Egypt was religious freedom. The Egyptians had clamped down even on their worship. They were having to work an unreal amount of hours for the Egyptians, making bricks and doing whatever else they were doing. They had been persecuted greatly since people had forgotten about Joseph. Remember, in the beginning of Moses' story, we saw where there came a time when the people forgot about Joseph. They forgot about the kindness and the goodness that Joseph brought to the Egyptians, and how the children of Israel were just as kind and generous as Joseph was. They were loyal. They were loyal citizens of Egypt. Although they were a separate nation and they were commanded not to intermingle with the Egyptians, not just in marriage but also in religion. Those things had been forgotten about by both sides. So Pharaoh tells him to leave, to take all the people with him. And he doesn't stop there. He says, also take your flocks and your herds, as they have said, as ye have said, and be gone, and bless me also. He says, get out of here, take everything you, all your possessions, everything you own, get out of here. Oh, and by the way, while you're on your way out, pray for me. That's what that, Bless me also means pray for me. Why? He's just lost his son. Pharaoh was, and remember it's not just Pharaoh, it's all his family has lost their first born. This is a long lasting effect on the people of Egypt. They've lost a lot of people, a lot of sons in this plague. And it's not, again, it's not, in Nazi Syria it was in every house. Every house in the land of Egypt has lost somebody. So it's not just Pharaoh, it's his, if he had siblings, it was his siblings, his cousins, his, the people who were under him in his government, his politicians, his friends, Family, friends, everybody, anybody he knows, everybody he knows, plus all the land of Egypt, have lost their firstborn son. verse thirty three in the egyptians were urgent upon the people so that not just the fire was the whole country the whole nation of these egypt all of a sudden becomes as urgency let's get these people out of here and and this is not this something that takes this happens immediately they tell me you've got to go now and of course war from what we have studied before in this chapter it appears as though Moses and Aaron have prepared the people for this. They've told them, be ready. Get your affairs in order. Get your stuff packed. Be ready to go. And we'll see as we go through the rest of this chapter, it doesn't take them very long. I mean, they've got most things gathered up already. Anything they can carry. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, we'd be all dead men. leave before your God kills all of us. That was their fear. Now that they've seen what God can do, they were like, what if we're all next? You know, and certainly, you know, God doesn't, I don't believe he tells in the scripture if this plague didn't work like the others didn't work, which they did, but not in the way that we would think they did. They, this one, works, but what if it hadn't? What if Pharaoh had hardened Pharaoh's heart one more time? What would have been the consequences? It could have been the whole nation of Egypt could have died next. What else would have got their attention? This has gotten their attention now. The people, the common people even, have had enough. They're about to You can see that they're about to get upset with Pharaoh. Let these people go. Get them out of here. And the people took their dough before it was leavened. They're kneading troughs, being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. What is the purpose in this? Well, remember, the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread that we've been talking about. Here in verse 34, the children of Israel pack up their unleavened bread dough and their mixing bowls. Why would they go to that trouble? Why wouldn't they just leave? They've got their herds with them, so obviously they've got... Pharaoh tells them to take their flocks and their herds, so they've got meat. Why would they take the unleavened bread dough with them. Why would they bother? Why not just leave it behind? Well, remember the command from God. Not only were they to participate in the Passover, but the Passover was the beginning of the seven days of unleavened bread. The days of unleavened bread was the last seven full days. So, they're going to have to have bread to eat for the next six days. And they're going to be in the wilderness. They're not going to be back in Egypt. They're going to have to take it with them. They're going to have to cook it out there in the wilderness. And so they take everything with them that they need to do that, to participate in the Days of Unleavened Bread. Then in verses 35 and 36, And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses. And they borrowed from the Egyptians jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent them some things as they required, and they spoiled the Egyptians. Now we think, well they just robbed these people. No, they did what God told them to do. God told them to take what they could from the Egyptians, not to steal it. He says they're borrowed, but they asked him for it. He says the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses. Where did Moses get the word from? Where did Moses get this idea from? He got it from the Lord. They borrowed the Egyptians' jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment. And not just their jewelry, they took their most precious jewelry that they had, the most valuable. They also took their fanciest clothing, the raiment. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. They didn't steal it. There was no hard feelings from the Egyptians. They just wanted them out of the land. They asked them for it and the Egyptians said, sure, take it. If that's what it takes to get you out of here, please take everything we got. So they gave everything that was required. And they spoiled the Egyptians. In other words, it was like the spoils of war, basically. They took the valuables of the nation of Egypt. Later in the story, in the Exodus story, and we're not going to get there I don't think in this study, but you can see after they cross the Red Sea and they stop and Moses goes up on the mountain the first time to talk to God and he comes back. He's been gone longer than they expected. They gave up on him coming back and so what did they do? They had Aaron take the gold and silver they had and make these golden calves and make false gods. They used these things they got from the Egyptians. Now, was that what they were supposed to do? Certainly not. Not, they weren't, they were not only, not only were they not to use, not only were they, they weren't, were not only to not make false gods, But this gold and silver was supposed to be held for later. It was supposed to be used for the utensils for the tabernacle. It was to be used for the gold covering that was to go over. Remember the Ark of the Covenant was made out of wood, but it was covered in gold, in a layer of gold. It was supposed to be used for those things. And here they've made a false god out of it. And that's the first thing they do. But there is a purpose. God has a purpose for everything they do in this story. And a purpose for taking the precious jewels, jewelry and clothing and all that from the Egyptians. And this, this clothing that they took would later be used in some of the for the priest, for the tabernacle worship. So there was purpose in all this. Now verse 37. Verses 37 through 51 actually. We see the children of Israel leave the land of Egypt. And this is a big thing. I mean you think about that many people leaving a nation. You're going to notice something really quick. I mean, one thing is probably going to hurt the nation of Egypt financially, economically. They're going to lose a lot of their workers. You think about in our nation, you look at our nation today, and if 600,000 people were to leave overnight, our economy would probably collapse. Not only are you losing workers and people who do the jobs, but you're also losing people who were spending money, paying taxes, all those things. So it was in the land of Egypt. They lost an economic source overnight. Verse 37, and the children of Israel journeyed from Ramesses to Sukkoth about 600,000 on foot. that were men besides children. So 600,000, that's besides the women and children. This is just the men. Very possibly over a million people. And a mixed multitude went up also with them. And it doesn't tell us how many that were in the mixed multitude, does it? This mixed multitude would have been those who were Not of the children of Israel, but possibly their servants. Some of them had servants. This would have been some of those strangers that we talked about earlier and talked about last week also that were not part of the nation of Israel, but they were still worshiping the same God. There were others that were in the land of Egypt that wanted out. And it just fell in with this group and left with them. And a mixed multitude went up also with them, and flocks and herds, even very much cattle. They took everything. Remember, when they came to the land in Joseph's day, the children of Jacob there had their own animals. They brought their own flocks and their own herds with them. And they raised them in the land of Goshen, where they lived. And they kept them separate from Pharaoh's animals. They also were in charge of raising Pharaoh's flocks and herds. Pharaoh saw how good a husbandman they were, and he hired them to oversee his flocks and herds. But they've got their own, and so they leave with them. Some say that this mixed multitude that went up also with them, because it's mentioned here in verse 38, possibly could have been the people who worked for them, their servants who worked for them over their flocks and herds. I don't know for sure, but that's what some say. In verse 39, they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt. For it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual." In other words, they weren't able to carry food with them. That was one of the things that they were not permitted to take was the food out of the land of Egypt. There are several thoughts on that. One, they just didn't, they didn't have, they're on foot, remember. He told us there in verse 37 that they were on foot. they couldn't carry that much with them. It wasn't like they could take a lot of things with them. They took what they had to. You look at, in the early days of our country, when you had the pioneers who were moving west, there were a lot of things they had to leave behind. They were, There were some things they could take, but a lot of things they couldn't take. A lot of times they lived off the land. And that's what the children of Israel, that was the plan, was they were going to live off the land. Well, they're going to the wilderness. There's not much out there. They're going to have to rely on the Lord to provide for them. And so while they've got this unleavened bread, they're going to use it, well, for about six days. They're going to use unleavened bread. Unleavened cakes it says of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt Because it was not leaven now remember during that during those seven days of of the days of unleavened bread They were not allowed to have even yeast or any leaven at all in their house Now that they're on the road and they're on foot and They're still not, that law still applies. They're not in their home, they're not in their physical house, but their house, in the scripture, if you've ever noticed, when he talks about the house of Moses, or the house of Aaron, or the house of so-and-so, whoever, he's talking about their family, and all their possessions, whether they're in a physical house or not, they're of that man's house. So, in this case, they would not be allowed to take Levin with them. They couldn't have it with them when they went. And so they had this unleavened bread. And he says they could not tarry, they couldn't wait, they didn't have time to gather up food. Remember they had to eat all of the Passover that one night. They couldn't hold any of it over and take with them. They had to cook it and eat all that. There was no leaven in the house. Just the unleavened bread. or what we call today flatbread is a form of unleavened bread. Now, the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was 430 years. Remember, they were never fully, they acted as Egyptian citizens, but they were never fully Egyptian citizens. They were not permitted to join the nation of Egypt from the Egyptian standpoint and from God's standpoint, they were not to intermingle. They were not to become citizens of Egypt. They acted as citizens. They were abided by the same laws of Egypt as far as they could, but they were sojourners. They were only there for a temporary time. That was the whole, when Joseph brought them, that was the understanding, that they were only there for a short time. Well, that short time turned out to be 430 years. And it came to pass at the end of the 430 years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. So exactly 430 years. On the 430th year, they left. The 430th year they left. That day, the day that it turned 430 years. The 430th year anniversary, if you will, of them going into the land. They leave. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. Talking about the Passover. This is that night of the Lord to be observed of all who, the children of Israel, in their generations. Where does it say Gentiles? Where does it say Christians? It doesn't. This is only for the children of Israel. Only for the children of Israel. Now, the law of the Passover. God, in the next few verses, God gives some more details on the Passover. He tells who can and cannot partake of the Passover. And He's very strict on these things, just as strict as He is with everything concerning the Passover. Just like with the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is very strict. You do things the way the Lord told you to in His Word, or you don't partake of it. That's how it goes. Verse 43, And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, The ordinance of the Passover. There shall no stranger eat thereof. Who were the strangers? They were the ones who were the distant cousins. They were not part of the nation of Israel. Remember he said it was to be observed by the children of Israel, not their cousins. But every man's servant that is bought for money when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof." Now, the explanation for this is that when they bought a man, well, not necessarily a man, but a person, they bought him for money. They bought a servant. And they circumcised him. That meant that he was willing to become a part of them. He was to follow their God. He converted. He was a proselyte, is what they would call him later. he was allowed to eat. Why? Because he's part of their house. Remember when you get to later in the Old Testament and even in the New Testament, servants were considered part of the house of their masters. You see that all throughout the New Testament, where masters are part of their house. And so servants are part of the master's house. You see that with the example of the Philippian jailer. Paul told him that those, him and all those in his house. There are other places that Paul talked about how the servants were part of the master's house. You see that in Even in Jesus' ministry in the Gospels, four Gospels, Jesus often referred to people being the servant being part of their master's house. A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof. So someone who is not part of a house in the nation of Israel, someone who's a foreigner, a foreign worker of some kind, someone who comes in and has no desire to become or to follow the God of Israel, someone who is only there a hired servant, who is hired to help in a certain matter, they're not to partake of it because they're not circumcised. In one house shall it be eaten. Thou shalt not carry forth out of the flesh abroad out of the house, neither shall you break a bone thereof." So they weren't to, you know, when they were eating, they weren't to carry it anywhere else. If, again, you remember he told them in the beginning of this that if your neighbor didn't, if you were, if you had a small family, or perhaps there was only a man, maybe a widow, a widower, They were the only ones, or maybe it was just a married couple, and they were the only ones in the home. Their children were grown and gone. Whatever. If they had too much, they were to share with their neighbor. That's not what he's talking about here. They weren't to go and take it and give it to others. During the meal, it was to be eaten in one house. So if your neighbor didn't have any, if you had too much and your neighbor didn't have any, that came to your house and ate. That's how it worked. And he said, neither shall you break the bone thereof. What is that? What does that matter? Remember Jesus? None of his bones were broken. What did they do to the two thieves on the cross, the crosses beside him, on either side of him? They broke their leg bones, didn't they? But not his. That was the common practice with the Romans. When they'd come around at a certain time of day, and if those men were still breathing, They broke their legs and the shock of breaking their legs would finish them off. But when they got there, Jesus was already dead. He had already given up the ghost. And so they stabbed him with a spear just to make sure. And so that is the example given here. This is a prophecy. Again, remember, this is a prophecy of what's going to happen to the Lamb of God. They're not to break when they cook the meat of the lamb. Remember, they were cooked from the feet to the head. They were cooked the whole thing. All they were to do was they had to skin it, of course, but they were not to break any of its bones when they cooked it. And if you do it carefully, you can pull the meat off of an animal that's been cooked without breaking the bones. That's what they were to do. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. All the congregation of Israel. Nobody else. Only the congregation of Israel. I can't stress that enough because we're coming up on the season that the Passover is observed and the Catholic holiday of Easter is observed. And people want to partake of, people who are against pagan holidays, a lot of them want to partake of, they want to go back and partake of these Jewish holidays. People who are Gentiles, people who are not, not of the nation of Israel. You can't do that. all the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it. And he shall be as one that is born in the land, for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof." there's a very strict rule for taking of the Passover. You have to be circumcised. What is the requirement that we have, one of the requirements we have for the Lord's Supper? It's not circumcision, one of them, and I'm not talking about physical circumcision. Remember Paul, in the New Testament, in many of his letters, he warns the Jews about the laws of circumcision, that the circumcision was not just, the physical circumcision, they were to abide by the law, was a law of obedience. But there's also a circumcision of the heart. In the New Testament, the keeping of the Lord's Supper, the first requirement is that you have to be saved. You have to have been circumcised of the heart. There are others, as we go through this study, we'll look at others, but that's the number one rules to the Lord's Supper to participate in the Lord's Supper, you have to be saved. You cannot participate if you're not saved. What's the next one? You have to be part of the congregation. You can't be outside. You can't be a foreigner or a hard servant. You know, if we have a if we have a person who's a say, a handyman we hire or someone who comes and does repairs to our building or replaces our heating and air conditioning unit or whatever, That doesn't make them a member of the congregation, does it? They can't come in and participate in the Lord's Supper. That's against the rules. And again, there are others. We'll get to those at a later time. One law shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. Thus did all the children of Israel As the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. So we look at this and we think, boy, for once in the life of the nation of Israel, they followed what the Lord said exactly as He said it. They don't do that very often, do they? We don't do it very often ourselves, but certainly in their story, the nation of Israel rebelled and rebelled and rebelled against God. Every time they turned around, they were rebelling against God. But in this case, with the Passover, they followed it to a T. At least the first time that we know of, they followed it to a T. They did everything that God commanded them to do. And God honored it. They kept their end of the covenant, and He kept His. And it came to pass the same day that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies. So on the day the next, remember the Passover was eaten as a supper sometime after 6 p.m. On the first day or the first day of the Days of Unleavened Bread on the, what was it, the 21st day of the, I'm gonna mess that up. I'll have to look it up. But there was a certain day in the month of Abib that they were to partake of it. Let's go back. I'm gonna mess that up. It shall be, verse 2 says, it shall be the first month of the year to you, that's the month of Abib, or the month of Nisan, as it is now for them. In the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them Irma and Elam. and it shall be kept up until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation shall kill it." So it is. It's the fourteenth day of the month when they were to kill it. So on the fourteenth day of the month of Abib, or the month of Nisan, whichever one you use, they left the land of Egypt. The first part of the day, the morning, or the evening was the first part of the day. the evening and the morning. You had the evening, which started at 6 p.m. The first part of the day, they ate their supper. They went to bed, got some rest. In the middle of the night, Moses and Aaron woke them up after they had talked with Pharaoh. When daylight come, they were to be ready to go. And they were. They packed up, put all their gear on, and they left. During, in the same day, it says this is the self, same day. So they left that same day, before the evening of the next day. They start, they left. We'll, next time, we're gonna start with chapter 13, and we're gonna look, we're gonna look more at the sanctification that is a result of the Passover. He talks about the sanctification of the firstborn. So we'll look at that. We're almost done with what we're going to look at in Exodus. We're not going to go much further into the Exodus story because it's going to get away from the Passover. And we'll go on. I want to look at Some places later in the Old Testament that talk about the Passover, where they observed it later, some out in the wilderness. And then again, when they get into the promised land and they begin to observe it, the first few times they observe it there, it talks about that also. And then we'll look at, and that won't be as long a study as what we've had here, I don't believe. We'll also look at the Passover that was observed later in the Old Testament. And then we'll get to the New Testament. And we'll see how it was observed during the days of Jesus. And we'll get deeper into why we don't observe it today. Why we're not required to observe it today. Not just because we're not of the nation of Israel, but because it's been fulfilled. And there's no longer a need for it. So, that's all we'll have for tonight.