Dedicated To The Men of God Who Preach the Word of God As It
Is To Men As They Are
"Preach The Word"
TOO LITTLE FOR THE LAMB
"They shall take to them every man a lamb, according to
the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: and if
the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his
neighbor next unto his house take it according to the
number of the souls; every man according to his eating
shall make your count for the lamb." (Ex. 12:3, 4).
The lamb was to be eaten, all eaten, eaten by all, and eaten at
once. The Lord Jesus is to be received into the soul as its food,
and this is to be done with a whole Christ, by each one of His
people, and done just now.
I. THE TEXT REMINDS Us OF A PRIMARY PRIVILEGE.
1. That each man of Israel ate the Passover for himself; "every
man according to his eating." So do we feed upon Jesus, each
one as his appetite, capacity, and strength enable him to do.
2. But this same delicious fare should be enjoyed by all the family:
"a lamb for an house."
Let not these two favors be despised. Let no man be content
without personal salvation, nor without the salvation of his
whole house. We have both promised in that famous text,
Acta 16:81.
II. THE TEXT MENTIONS A POSSIBILITY, AND PROVIDES FOR IT.
There may be a want of persons to feed upon the Lamb, though
there can be no lack of food for them to feed upon. The last thing
that was supplied to the great marriage feast was guests. The oxen
and the fatlings were killed, and all things were ready, long before
"the wedding was furnished with guests."
1. One family is certainly too small a reward for Jesus—too
little for the lamb.
2. One family is too little to render Him all the praise, worship,
service, and love which He deserves.
3. One family is too little to do all the work of proclaiming the
Lamb of Cod, maintaining the truth, visiting the church,
winning the world. Therefore let us call in the neighbor next
unto our house.
If our neighbor does not come when invited, we are not responsible;
but if he perished because we did not invite him, blood-guiltiness would be upon us. "If thou Jost not speak ... his blood will I require at thine hand" (Ezek. 33:8).
III. THE WHOLE SUBJECT SUGGESTS THOUGHTS UPON NEIGHBORLY FELLOWSHIP IN THE GOSPEL.
1. It is good for individuals and families to grow out of selfishness,
and to seek the good of a wide circle.
2. It is a blessed thing when the center of our society is "the
Lamb?
3. Innumerable blessings already flow to us from the friendships
which have sprung out of our union in Jesus. Church fellowship
has been fruitful in this direction.
Illustration:
A little boy asked his mother which of the characters in "The
Pilgrim's Progress" she liked beat. She replied, "Christian, of
course; he is the hero of the whole story." Her son said, "I don't,
mother; I like Christiana best; for when Christian went on his
pilgrimage he started alone, but when Christiana went she took the
children with her."
Illustration:
A man was going to his work one morning, when he was told that
the river had burst its banks, and was sweeping down the valley,
carrying death and destruction wherever it went. His informant
did not seem much concerned about the matter, but the brave workman
immediately rushed off down to the lower part of the valley,
shouting, "If that's so, somebody has got to let the people know."
By his timely warning he saved the lives of many people.
Sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
