THE CALL TO ACTION

My friends, perhaps this is an odd passage to consider.  However, I thought it would be beneficial to dwell in the midst of a plague for a few moments.  Let’s go back to a time when God had had just about enough of the Egyptians.

Scripture Reference: Exodus 12:7-14

The scripture used for this sermon is found in Exodus 12, verses 7-14.  As a little background, Moses has the God given task to bring the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt.  The goal is about to be reached, but God has one more plague to bring upon the unyielding/unbelieving Egyptians.  The passage reads:

⁷ Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ That same night, they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹ Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs, and internal organs. ¹⁰ Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. ¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.  ¹² “On that same night, I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. ¹⁴ “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, in our past, present, and future, we need you.  In days like these, we need a word from you.  We need to renew, refresh, and reinvest in your call.  May the words of the message bring hope to your people.  May these words shine with the power and might that is available to us through the Holy Spirit.  Enter into my soul that I might speak words that are pleasing in your sight.  It is in the name of Jesus that I pray.  Amen.

PART I – The Message Plan, Call To Action, and Do This

My friends, perhaps this is an odd passage to consider.  However, I thought it would be beneficial to dwell in the midst of a plague for a few moments.  Let’s go back to a time when God had had just about enough of the Egyptians.  Plagues and famine had been wrought or rained upon the people.  Moses kept trying to tell them that God was calling them to action.  But they couldn’t hear.  Wouldn’t hear.  Didn’t hear.  It seemed like mayhem was the order of the day.  Today, mayhem is the order of our day.  We’re talking about this call to action.

I always like to see what words mean and how they flow together, or whether they have greater meaning when considered separately.  The word call.  You know that one.  To beckon, to ring up, to summon, appeal, request, demand.  How about the verbs to visit or sojourn?  I think we have a workable definition for call.

Then there’s the other word action.  Action can mean deed, achievement, feat, accomplishment, engagement, encounter, or clash.  So, we get the idea” 

One other word in this title that is significant is the definite article, “the”.  (Okay, schoolteachers), I hope I got that part of speech correct.  “The” is the definite article.  It implies main, primary, top.  That’s a little bit of word definition play fun.  We ultimately are looking for the call to action.

So, about the time right before that great Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, there had been all these plagues – water turned to blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock dying, pestilence, boils, hailstorms, locusts, and darkness.  One or more of those plagues may seem like inconveniences to some of us today.  Maybe someone likes frogs or had to deal with a boil or two.  Most of us had to live through those cicadas that, to me, are like locusts.  The citizens of Alaska know about white nights, where it’s dark even at the height of the day.  And, so, there could always be someone who says Okay, we can get through this or that. It’s not so bad.  It’s no big deal.  But put them all together, one right after the other, and it is relentless torment.  Oh, those plagues!!

So, back to Moses and Pharaoh.  Pharaoh wasn’t hearing it.  Pharaoh, the head the one passing down the decrees.  The one who held the people’s fate in his hands.  He had the final word, and he wasn’t listening.  So, by the time we arrive at our focal passage, God has had it.  And, just like many of us, Pharaoh thought he was all that and could beat this God Moses was talking about.

Let me pause for a moment and go back a little further.  Just in case you thought God only began to have the freeing of the Israelites on his mind during the period when the adult Moses entered the scene, bringing the plagues promised by God, think again.  (Wow, that was a run-on sentence!)  But if you think about this thing, you may remember that the Israelites had been in bondage well before Moses was born.  God told Abraham that they would be in bondage for 400 years. (See Genesis 15:13). That’s another saga, though.

Moses was to be the one to bring the Israelites out of bondage.  God had been watching and preparing for a time such as this.  God had given the folks plenty of time to get it together.  This is an example of God’s patience.  God gave a call to action, and He was willing to just watch, remind, and wait.  So, by the time we read about lice and locusts, God’s patience had run out.

The Message Plan

So, what’s the plan?  What are we going to try to discover this morning?  Well, using this text from Exodus 12, we are aiming to discover something about that action or goal.  We will consider what needed to be done, what warning the people received about what was coming, and how the people could be saved.

Call To Action = Goal:

What about this call to action?  What about this call to action that affected everyone?  It affected the Israelites, and it affected the Egyptians.  Simply put, this call was for God’s people to be let go.  Let His people leave Egypt and go about their way.  Leave them alone.  Stop harassing, bullying, enslaving, making fun of, abusing, and doing every wrong thing you are big enough (or think you are big enough) to do.  Imagine telling folks to make a brick without straw!  Come to think of it, imagine telling our babies, who cannot be vaccinated, or whose parents choose not to get their children immunized, to go to school and ride on buses without masks and ignore safety protocols.  Pardon me, but sometimes scripture can bring you right back to present-day times, can’t it?  Okay, Pharaoh, just stop in your tracks and let them go!

Do This

God has said time and time again to let His people go.  He sent signs that should have caused somebody in Egypt to realize He meant business.  The people would not act, and the Israelites were waiting.  They were toiling and slaving but waiting, nonetheless. 

Now, while God’s people were waiting to be freed, God had something He wanted them to do.  Hum, someplace later in the Bible, in the New Testament, it tells us that faith without works is dead.  But I’ll leave it up to you to find that passage.  Now, where was I?  While God’s people were waiting to be freed, in a couple of words, God said, “Do this”.  In Exodus 12:7, God tells Moses to direct the Israelites to:

Take some of the blood [of the lamb]  and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night, they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.

Now, through Moses, God had revealed to the Israelites that they would be free.  Nevertheless, they too had something to do.  He explained how they were to worship him right at that moment.  I didn’t notice anything like would you like to; or if you want to; or, no need to do it now.  God said Take, put, eat, and roast.  All he said was Do this. He also said to do it tonight.  Not tomorrow, or the next day.  Do this, this night.  God knew they hadn’t reached their goal.  He knew they weren’t free.  And yet, while they waited to be freed, HE said Do this.

I know we still have some COVID lurking around. I know there is trouble in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Israel, Africa, and all over the United States.  I know storms are raging and fires are burning.  There is mayhem all around us. I know.  I know!  I know!!  But while you wait… Do this.

God said Put blood on the houses where you live, roast the lamb over the fire, and eat all of the lamb that very night. Very specific in the details.  But there was more to what God wanted them to do.

 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs, and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.

You know, we humans sometimes need the details to be a little clearer. Even though the to-do list is laid out, it was determined that they needed more clarifying instructions. 

For those of you who always think a meal is like “Burger King”, and you can have it your way, it was just not so in those days.  No, you can’t have fried, or broiled, or boneless and gutless lamb.  Does anybody not like to eat fish with the head still on it?  No worries, it wasn’t on the menu.  Does anybody not like to eat meat at all?  Oh well, vegan wasn’t an option at this meal. Imagine having no choice except to eat that fire-roasted lamb.  No tartar for you tonight.  And, by the way, don’t leave any of it for tomorrow.  No leftovers.  Do not say uhm, that was so good, I’m going to save some for tomorrow.  If any is left, burn it.   Now, tell the truth, who would be sleeping and waking up running to the fridge to get one more bite before time to beat that deadline and set the leftovers on fire? 

Want to reach your goal?  Want to be free?  Want to be saved?  Want to live!  Do this.

Now, God had more for the people of Israel to do.  Something he needed them to do.  He provided instructions on how the meal should be eaten.  Verse 11 tells us

11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

What a time to live in!  Okay, don’t forget, many times today we are living in the midst of Zoom worship, meetings, and gatherings.  So, quick and don’t go try to fix anything.  Who is ready for a meeting like the Passover one the Israelites were about to eat.  Do you have your cloak, and is it tucked in?  Do you have your shoes on?  Now, we are in the land of Zoom Worship.  Who got dressed up for this occasion? 

See how easy you’ve got it?  But, wait, that’s not all.  Eat with your staff in your hand.  Think it’s easy? At your next meal, put something in your hand that could represent a staff, and then have your meal.  Butter your bread while holding that staff.  Try to cut a morsel of steak while holding that staff!  Lucky they were only eating a chunk of meat and an unleavened slab of bread!!

God didn’t say that the waiting would be easy.  He didn’t say that worship would be without some uncomfortable effort.  Everything that we do while we are waiting on the Lord is not going to be pleasing or satisfying.  Nevertheless, prepare, smear some blood, roast the lamb, hastily eat, and burn the leftovers before morning.  While you are waiting, God said Do this.

What is God telling you to do?