The Morris County chronicle., 1901-12-13
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
international Sunday School lesson
for December IS. 1901.
BY REV, FRANKLIN B. DwIGHT.
EXODUS XII:1-l7.
The Passover
The Passover.


with dishevelled hair running wildly
through the streets of the Egyptian
capital. We can hear the loud wall
of anguish which rises as with one
voice from ten thousand mourners.
We can see excitement and consterna-
tlon written on the faces of an entire
and in the midst of it all we
can see the proud and wicked king
who at last is forced to give up the
struggle aud to admit that he can not
fig t against God.
All this horror and confusion has
been taking place in the evening OF
the fourteenth day of the month Nj
san. which came in the spring about
the end Of March or first part of April.
The 5ays were reckoned from sunset
To sunset. And now the sun has sunk
below the horizon of the Egyptian
desert. The night comes on. The
stars shine out in heavenly stiffness.
as If to mock the awful chaos which
overwhelms the land. And now the
full moon rises and lights q race
which is that night born into great
national life, the people of Israel in
the land of Goshen. For here we can
see enacted strange and significant
ceremony. Within each home there
is family gathering. Around the
board sit ten or twenty persons. and
on the table is lamb, carefully se-
lected, for it must be without blemish,
and kept for four days, that it may
be suitably prepared. Fitting type
was this of the spotiess Lamb of God,
in whom all the symbols of Old Testa-
ment prophecy find their fulfiiment.,
And now the simple meal is eaten in
haste. There is no time for the brea,l
to be raised in the usual manner. It
must be eaten unleavened, and yeast
or leaven, will henceforth be to Israel
q type of sin. sin which must be put
away before seeking God salvation.
1t must be eaten with the bitter herbs
of the land, which, as they take this
passover through all the future years
of their history, will be to them a
reminder of the bitterness of their
years of bondage. And so the first
passover meal is eaten in peace and
been put upon the door posts OF their
Jehovah, the God of righteousness So, does
not enter to punish sin with death
With tl,eir sandals on their feet, their
long, loose garments girt about them,
that they might be ready for an i'm
mediate start. and their slaves in
their hands the people Of Israel eat
this hasty meal, and SO by faith"
Moses kept, or instituted the pass
over and the sprinkling of blood.
(See margin, Revised Version, Heb.
XII :28
Of all the Old Testament types and
symbols the Passover is the most sig
nificant. Iu some of its features it is
still celebrated by the descendants of
ancient Israel. 1t stands as a.historic
memorial and those who keep it as
living witnesses of the great deliver
anoe of Gods chosen people from
Egypt, more tt an three thousand years
ago. And the annual passover of the
Jews today lends wonderful confrma-
tion to the accuracy of the Scripture
history.
But still more interesting is the
carrying over of its basic spiritual
teachings to the Christian Church.
Its true meaning is specially symbo
Jized in the Lords Supper. Ii is re-
membered with peculiar vividness in
the Christian festival of Easter. fall
ing at the same season as the Pass
over, and it is illustrated in the whole
Christian life, when that life is lived
in union with Christ and is perpe-
tual sacrament of praise to Him.
And this, / think, is what the Apostle
meant. when he said, tChrist, our
Passover. is sacrificed for us, therefore
let us keep the feast" " Il Cor. WIS. J
Three great truths stand out plainly
in this lesson.
The first is that of SUBSTITUTION.
Sin entered into the world and death
by sin. Tt is the constant teaching of
Scripture that sin deserves and can
not escape death. "The soul that sim
meth IL shall die, - and the Apostle
teaches that all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. i" The
sprinkling of the blood of the lamb on
the door posts was, as canon Cook
clearly explains ga representation of
the offering Of the life, substituted
for that of the first born in each
house - God visited bodily death ON
the Egyptians, but spared Israel, be-
cause they showed faith in Him and
availed of the substitute which He
appointed. And spiritual death must
come upon every soul which does
not embrace the vicarious sacrifice Of
which the passover lamb was a pro-
phecy aud pledge. But Israel, obey
ing God, was saved with a great de-
liverance. So the sinner, pleading the
death of Christ his substitute. finds
pardon Of past sin and is saved with
q great salvation.
The second truth taught is the need
of PREPARATION. We have seen how
carefully Israel at the command of
Moses prepared for their departure
and kept this simple feast. Prepara-
tion implies faith, and faith Is proved
by obedience. That all I,rael und r.
stood the full meaning of the com
mands given to them we need not be-
lieve. But what we know is, that they
trusted Goa and their faith, however
weak and ignorant, was sufficient to
lead them to DO what He commanded
and so they were saved. 1t is not es-
sential that men should fully under
stand Gods redemption, that He has
for them that seek Him.
1t is only needful that they should
do His will, repent of sin and seek
fe fellowship With Christ, and He will
manifest Himself to them as He does
not unto the world.
The third truth taught is that of
DIVINE STRENGTHENING.
The people were to fe d, upon the
lamb. Its substance was to become a
part of them, and strengthened by this
meal they were to go forth toward the
land of promise. Aud so the Chris
tian, not only at the communion table
hi,t fhrnn phont his whole life hv the