“And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they [spoiled]…” It says borrowed. They had no intention of bringing it back. “…They [spoiled] borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they [gave] lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians” (Ex. 12:33-36).

Key verse beginning in verse 37 down to verse 42. Let’s read it. “And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.” So this is where we get the figure of 1.8 million. If we have one woman and one child per man, then you get 1.8 million people. “And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. And 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” (vs. 37-39).

Verse 40, according to the commandment of God. Remember that we read back there in Numbers 33. “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations” (vs. 40-42). This is not the Passover because the Passover they stayed in their homes. They came out by night. Now how does this tie in with Genesis 15? It ties in this way, verse 41. “It came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass,…” Selfsame day in reference to what? In reference to Genesis 15.

Let’s go back there. Let’s pick it up in verse 17. “And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down [which we know begins a new day, correct?], and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day [being nighttime] the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land,…” Also, “this same day”, what also has part of the covenant? Come back here to verse 13. “And He said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs [that’s all they were in Egypt], and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years [it was actually 430]; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge:…” And God said He did judge them on the Passover night, correct? Yes. “…And afterward shall they come out with great substance.” Did they do that? Yes. “And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Gen. 15:13-16). So when the sun went down, beginning the 15^th, that same day God made the covenant that He would bring them out and that they would inherit the land. So that’s what the “self same day” is referring to. And God did it by walking through this special sacrifice which is called a maledictory oath. Meaning that once you make this oath you cannot change. And of course then, the smoking furnace burned up all the sacrifice completely.

So then, since verse 18, “the same day” equals to the same day in Exodus 12:41, “self same day”, that is the 15^th day of the first month. So therefore when we come back to Genesis 15, the promises that God gave to Abraham was then on the night of the 14^th, which is the same night in which we take the Passover, in which we have the promises of eternal life given to us by Jesus Christ in the words of the New Covenant, correct? Yes.

Now before we go on let’s come to understand a little bit more about this maledictory oath. Let’s see it here in the book of Jeremiah 34. This tells us what kind of oath this is. There is no greater, no stronger oath. And of course, in doing this not only did He make the covenant with Abraham to bring the children of Israel out, but He also foretold of His coming crucifixion. So let’s see this oath, and we will see what happens when people don’t keep it. This is the most solemn oath that you can have.

Verse 8, “This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;” Now here’s the liberty. They made a covenant. We’ll see how they made the covenant. “That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go” (Jer. 34:8-10).

Now notice what happened here. “But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids” (vs. 11). Almost like Pharaoh, right, when Moses said, “Let my people go.” They couldn’t get along without the servants. So the Jews, when they let them go they said, “Oh, look what we did. We’ve got to do the work ourselves.” Too bad.

Verse 12. They went back on their word. They went back on a covenant, see. And I want you to also remember that in relationship to the coming Passover, which is a renewing of the New Covenant. “Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto Me, neither inclined their ear. And ye were now turned, and had done right in My sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name: but ye turned and polluted My name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto Me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth” (vs. 12-17). Now how serious is a covenant? Mighty serious. How serious is it when you break it? And remember, they did this in the house of God. And also remember, that when we do things, we have access to God the Father in heaven above. So this is not just in a physical house upon the earth where we have a covenant, you see.

Verse 18, “And I will give the men that have transgressed My covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before Me, when they cut the calf in twain,…” Just like Abraham did. He cut it in two. “…And passed between the parts thereof,…” Because when anyone made that kind of covenant and passed between the parts of the animals that were sacrificed for that covenant, what they are declaring by their action is this: if I break this covenant I will be like these animals that have been sacrificed - cut down the middle.

Now continuing, verse 19. “…And [they] passed between the parts thereof, the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth” (vs. 18-20). Did not the fowls of heaven come down to try and get the sacrifices that Abraham made? Yes. So now He’s going to say, “I’m going to do this to you.”

“And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which are gone up from you. Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant” (vs. 21-22). Apparently, God fought their battle for them, drove back the king of Babylon. So they said, “Thank you God for doing that. We repent. We’ll let our slaves go free.” And then they changed their minds. So He said, “Now I’m going to cause the king of Babylon to return, and now he’s going to do in the whole city.” So this tells you the seriousness of the kind of oath that there is when you make a covenant and pass between the parts. That’s the oath that God made with Abraham to guarantee that he would have 1) physical seed, 2) spiritual seed, 3) that He would take them out of the land of the stranger in the same day that He made the covenant with Abraham. That very same night. So you see, the Passover, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread really began with Abraham and not with Israel.

Now let’s look at the extension of this covenant, the physical seed, which would be Israel. And they would come through Isaac. Let’s come to Genesis 17. And oh, the Arabs would that it would have been Ishmael. But it wasn’t. So here then is a continuation of the covenant, now giving in detail the requirements for the physical seed. Let’s begin in verse 1. Abraham had to wait a long time, didn’t he? Now this was a year before Isaac was born. And Isaac was then the promise of the physical seed. “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,…” Well now let’s see. He left at 75, didn’t he. Here we are 25 years, inclusive counting, alright? “…And [He] said unto him, I am the Almighty God [El Shaddai]; walk before Me, and be thou perfect.” Now just put in your margin there, Matthew 5:48, because we are told to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. So you see here again, it’s the same requirement. It is the gospel as preached to Abraham, right? Yes. Matthew 5:48.

Now verse 2 of Genesis 17. “And I will make My covenant between Me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.” And that was before Isaac was even born. Because you see, when God says something it is as good as done. That’s what’s important. So when God says you will be in the kingdom of God, it is as good as done. The only condition is, you have to endure to the end and be faithful. You’ll make it.

Now verse 6, “And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations…” Now this is, then, the physical seed. “…For an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep My covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised” (vs. 6-10). So here’s the covenant of circumcision. Now remember that he was blessed of God, had righteousness imputed to him, his sins forgiven him for 25 years while he was in uncircumcision so that he could be the father of the uncircumcision who receive the promise of eternal life, as well as the father of the circumcision.

Continuing verse 11, “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant” (vs. 11-13). And that was until it was continuous to that time. And I think for all the descendants of Israel should be, to this day. Not for salvation but for the keeping of the covenant here because we live today in the land that God gave to the descendants of Israel. Not for salvation, but for this part of the covenant because whoever are the descendants of Israel should.

Now, verse 14. “And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant.” Now you see, God has not required this of the Gentile and their own nations. We know that in the New Covenant circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the circumcision of the heart, and faith in Christ. But this is for the physical seed.

Now, verse 15. “And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before Thee!” The easy way out. “And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year” (vs. 15-21). It’s important for us to understand that God does things at the set time. So then they had the circumcision party.

Now, Isaac was born, sure enough at the set time that God had said, and then we have something profound. Here, let’s come to Genesis 21:1. “And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age,…” You see, God does the impossible things. That way it can never be said that it’s of a man. Now you show me any 100 year old today who has a pregnant 90 year old wife, and then we will know that this was not a miraculous thing. “…At the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him” (Gen. 21:1-5). So that means he was pretty close to the end of his 100^th year, because remember when God told him back here in chapter 17:17, he said, “Shall a child be born of him that is a hundred years old?” So apparently he was just 100 at that point. No more than three months into his 100^th year, and Isaac was born before the 100^th year was out. That’s how we have the chronology.

Now then, let’s talk about the Passover and Isaac, because this time it talks about Isaac and Abraham. Now this we find some tremendous types coming down to the prophecy, not only the prophecy but the actual crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Here we find that in type Abraham is a type of God the Father, who has only one son. And this son is to be sacrificed. Now we do not have anything dogmatic that we could say that this took place on the Passover day. It’s possible, but we don’t know for sure. So we can’t say that. Now here is a test that Abraham went through. Now remember what we read at the beginning in Luke 14:26. Here again he is going to be tested on this. Not only do we do that when it’s called “counting the cost” where in Luke 14:26 to the end of verse 33, but we always count the cost continually as we go through our Christian life. We’re confronted with many things where we must count the cost. Will we obey God or not? Will we believe God or not? Will we trust God or not? And that’s on an ongoing basis. It’s not just, you know, you do it once and it’s over with, see. No, not at all. So here he is. We don’t know how old. As we see a little later, Isaac is called a lad. So, we could say that he was probably less than 20. They even have an indication that he was say, not much more than 12. So between 12 and 20 was the age of Isaac when this event took place. Which means that from the time that God called Abraham we have 37 to 45 years when this event took place. So you see, God also tested Abraham all those years, didn’t He?

Now I’ve got another tape that I did, you know the Abraham and his human nature, and the things that he did. Now Abraham had a little deceitful streak in him, which Isaac inherited, and also Jacob inherited. And also Jacob’s mother, she had a little deceitful streak in her. So God uses some of those human weakness in His plan. But here we have between 37 and 45 years when this event took place in Genesis 22. Now let’s begin in verse 1. “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt…” Now this means test Abraham. God does not tempt anyone with evil. Let’s understand that. God puts before us choices, whether we will obey Him or not. When we are tempted with evil and drawn away of our own lusts, and then the lust conceives and brings forth sin, God did not make us sin when we do that. That’s a wrong human nature. And of course that’s why we have the Feast of Unleavened Bread continuously year by year, as long as we are in the church of God, so that we understand that our human nature is always here and we always have to be working on getting rid of it, just like we get rid of leaven out of our lives.

Now Genesis 22:1, “And it came to pass after these things, that God did [test, or prove] tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And He said, Take now thy son, thine only son…” Now was Ishmael Abraham’s son? Yes, he was. But not of Sarah. Not counted as the seed for the promise, so therefore He said, “Your son, your only son.” So this is very much a type of God the Father in relationship to Christ. In this case then, Isaac being a type of Christ, Abraham being a type of the Father. “…And get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Gen. 22:1-2). Now, there were mountains in Moriah. Now the Jews claim by tradition that this was the area where the temple was built. But also one of the mountains of Moriah then would be the mount that later became to be called the Mount of Olives. So could this be, and of course you need to understand the Mount of Olives is higher than the temple mount. So could this be the mount where Christ was crucified? If the parallel follows then that could be true so I just leave that as a question.

“And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and [cut] clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son [that’s almost like a type of carrying the cross that Christ did, remember?]; and he took the fire in his hand,…” Now that means he took a kettle of hot coals for a fire, because obviously you are not going to carry it in your hand. Because if you carry fire in your hand you’re going to burn it. “…And a knife; and they went both of them together.” I imagine it was kind of a silent climb up that mountain. “And [finally] Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood [I see the fire and I see the wood]: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (vs. 3-7). Now we notice two things here. There are two acts of faith. 1) Abraham, he believed. 2) And Isaac, he also believed and did not complain. He could have said, “This is ridiculous. We’re going up here and you’re going to offer an offering, and I find out at the last minute it’s me!” But he didn’t do it.

Now verse 8. “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering:…” Now sometimes God waits until the very last minute for deliverance, doesn’t He? Yes, He does. “…So they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there,…” Now let’s understand something about sin offerings and burnt offerings. On the Mount of Olives, now let’s picture this in your mind. You’re looking at the temple area, and you are looking north. To the right is east. To the east of the temple is the Kiddron Valley going down 600 feet. Actually 450. They built a bridge across the Kiddron Valley to go into the East gate of the temple. This bridge went to the Mount of Olives. On the Mount of Olives right near the crest of the Mount of Olives was what was called the Miphkad Altar. Now this was a special altar outside the temple area. This is where they took all the sin offerings, and they took all the skins of the sin offerings and they burnt them in the Miphkad Altar. So this was like a huge pit. And these things were constantly and continually burnt. And at the bottom of the pit there was a conduit which went down into the Kiddron Valley, at which periodically they would push the ashes out.

Now, question: could it be that where he built this altar was later where the Miphkad Altar was built? Even though this was a burnt offering, Christ was a sin offering, wasn’t He? Christ was not burned, was He? No, because He had to be buried and raised so the parallel breaks down when you get out of the physical parallel and you start getting into the real sacrifice of Christ. So he “…built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood” (vs. 9). Now this means that this probably tells us that he was more like 12 years old so that Abraham could pick him up and place him on the altar. If he’s a full grown man, probably he couldn’t do that.

Now verse 10, “And Abraham stretched forth his hand [he put down his hand], and took the knife to slay his son.” Now why did he do that? His only son and the one to whom, he was told, you would have physical seed. Why was he willing to do this? Well, 1) because God commanded him to. But also what was in his mind? Was he doubting God? Was he angry at God? Here, let’s come to Hebrews 11. Was he doubting God? Was he angry at God? What was it?

Now I’m going to read from my translation, Hebrews 11. Let’s begin in verse 8, because this gives a real good summary of the life of Abraham. “By faith Abraham, [after] being called of God to go out into the place which he would later receive for an inheritance, obeyed and went, not knowing where he was going. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, like a foreigner, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the joint-heirs of the same promise; for he was waiting for the city with the foundations of which God is the Architect and Builder. By faith also Sarah herself received power to conceive seed, and gave birth when she was well beyond childbearing age, because she esteemed Him faithful Who had personally promised her a son. Because of this faith, there came into being from one man -- and moreover, one who was reproductively dead -- descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens, and as countless as the sand on the seashore” (Heb. 11:8-12).

Now verse 13, let’s just read right on. “All these named above died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar, and having been persuaded of them, and having embraced them, and having confessed that they were strangers and sojourners on the earth. For those who say such things make it manifest that they seek their own country, as promised by God. And if, on the one hand, they had let their minds dwell fondly on the place where they came from, they might have had opportunity to return. But now, on the other hand, they are aspiring to a more excellent country -- that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, because He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was being tried, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac shall your Seed be called”; because he reckoned that God was able to raise him up even from among the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative way” (vs. 13-19). That’s why he was willing to do it. Because he knew that if it came down to the point where he did offer his son as that offering, that God would raise him from the dead.

Ok, now let’s come back and we’ll have just enough time to finish Genesis 22. So he took the knife, verse 10, to slay his son.And then he heard a voice from heaven. I imagine before he took out the knife that he looked around everywhere and didn’t see a lamb. So then verse 11. “And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.” And I imagine he said, “HERE AM I.” “And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God,…” So how long was he tried before God really, really knew through and through that Abraham feared God? 37 to 45 years. Say, 37 years. Now is it any wonder that we still go through trials though we’ve been in the church for how long. See, same thing. And how many people have been in the church for so long and say, 10, 15, 20, 30 years, and then to leave? So that’s why we’ve had the trials come upon us that have come upon us, for the same reason.

“…For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.” Now how did the ram get there? Well, either God drove it up there while his back was turned, or God supernaturally created a ram right there, which would be fitting, to supernaturally create one, because that would be a type of Christ who was a supernatural creation, correct? Yes. “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehova-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen” (vs. 11-14). Now I wonder if that’s also a prophecy of the sacrifice of Christ on the Mount of Olives? Just a question.

“And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By Myself have I sworn,…” Now here is where everything becomes completely irrevocable. It cannot be turned back. Nothing can stop from what God has promised. All the promises of God will come as He said. “…For because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven [spiritual seed], and as the sand which is upon the sea shore [physical seed]; and thy seed [the physical seed] shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice” (vs. 15-18). Now that’s the only way we’re going to have the blessing of God, is if we obey the voice of God. And as we covered in our series concerning Hebrews, if you don’t listen to Christ there is no eternal life.

So we’ll continue on next time with Passover: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel, and Christ.