Exodus

Book of Exodus

First Impressions

- What do you see in this book that tells you about the Original Reader?

Exodus 1:1-7 states, “These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there. In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.”  These descendants eventually became enslaved by Pharaoh in Egypt.  One of these descendants, Moses, was lifted up out of the water (see Exodus 2:10) as a baby and eventually became God’s chosen vessel to deliver the Israelites from their bondage to the Egyptians.  The original readers of the book of Exodus would have been descendants of Israel (Jacob).  They would have been very knowledgeable of the fact that the Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for many years and that God through Moses had delivered them from their Egyptian bondage in unmistakably miraculous ways.  

- What do you see in this book that tells you about the author?

According to the introduction to Exodus in the Sourceview Bible, the author of the book of Exodus is Moses. In Exodus 24:1-2, the Lord instructed Moses, “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders.  All of you must worship from a distance. Only Moses is allowed to come near to the LORD. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.” Exodus 24:3-4 states, “Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the LORD had given him.  All the people answered with one voice, ‘We will do everything the LORD has commanded.’ Then Moses carefully wrote down all the LORD’s instructions.” Additionally, Exodus 34:27 states, “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.”  Exodus 34:28 states, “Moses remained there on the mountain with the LORD forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water.  And the LORD wrote the terms of the covenant – the Ten Commandments – on the stone tablets.”  Exodus 40:16 states, “Moses proceeded to do everything just as the LORD had commanded him.”  It is clear that the author of the book of Exodus was Moses.  It is also clear that Moses had a strong desire to do everything that the LORD commanded him to do. 

- What are the main themes, and repeated ideas in this book, and what is a one sentence summary of the "main idea"?

One of the main themes in the book of Exodus is that God desires our very best.  For example, the LORD said to Moses, “Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.” (Exodus 13:2).  God desires to reveal His glory.  Exodus 14:17-18 states, “And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will charge in after the Israelites. My great glory will be displayed through Pharaoh and his troops, his chariots, and his charioteers. When my glory is displayed through them, all Egypt will see my glory and know that I am the LORD!”  God desires to communicate with His people and He expects them to be obedient to Him.  For example, God through Moses gave His people the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:1-17).  Exodus 24:12 states that the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.” God desires relationship with His people; therefore, God communicates to His people what He expects them to do and what He expects them not to do.  Further, God expects His people to be obedient to Him. God desires to have an intimate relationship with His people and He clearly communicates to His people what He expects them to do in order to enjoy intimate relationship with Him.  

- What is the primary reason this book was written?

According to the introduction of the book of Exodus in the Sourceview Bible, the reason the book was written was “to remind the Israelites how God had rescued them from oppression.”  God had made covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  God is faithful to keep His covenants; therefore, God did what He said He would do and delivered His people from slavery in Egypt. 

Theme Tracing

- What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

The book of Exodus reveals a lot about the character and nature of God.  For example, this book demonstrates that God is holy.  In Exodus 3:5, the LORD commanded Moses to “take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.”  God refers to Himself as “I AM” (Exodus 3:14) and as “Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:15).  God demonstrates that He is capable of performing miraculous signs such as turning Moses’ shepherd’s staff into a snake and turning it back into a shepherd’s staff again (see Exodus 4:2-4), infecting Moses’ hand with a severe skin disease and making his hand healthy again (see Exodus 4:6-7), and turning water from the Nile into blood when it is poured onto dry ground (see Exodus 4:9).  We are reminded that God is our Creator (see Exodus 4:11).  In Exodus 6:2-8, God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh – the LORD.  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai – ‘God Almighty’ – but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. And I reaffirmed my covenant with them.  Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them. Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the LORD. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God who had freed you from your oppression in Egypt. I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the LORD!’”  This one passage in Exodus describes so very much about the nature and character of God! The LORD demonstrated His great power when He sent ten plagues upon Pharaoh and the people of Egypt (see Exodus chapters 7 – 12) yet He simultaneously protected His people, the Israelites, from these same plagues.  God is relational.  God gave us His Ten Commandments through Moses at Mt. Sinai (see Exodus 20:1-17).  These commandments teach us, His people, how to relate to God and how to relate to one another.  These Scripture references and others within the book of Exodus reveal much about the nature and character of God. 

- What does this book show about God's redemptive plan for mankind?

Nelsen’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts does an excellent job of outlining God’s redemptive plan for the Israelites in the book of Exodus.  According to this book, the book of Exodus may be outlined as the following:

Part One: Redemption from Egypt (1:1-18:27)

1.      The Need for Redemption from Egypt (1:1-22)

2.      The Preparation of the Leaders of the Redemption (2:1-4:31)

3.      God’s Redemption of Israel from Egypt (5:1-15:21)

4.      The Preservation of Israel in the Wilderness (15:22-18-27)

Part Two: Revelation from God (19:1-40:38)

1.      The Revelation of the Old Testament (19:1-31:18)

2.      The Response of Israel to the Covenant (32:1-40:38)

The book of Exodus demonstrates God’s redemptive plan for the Israelites.  It began with the Israelites need for redemption and concluded with God filling the Tabernacle with His glory.  This plan is just a foreshadowing of what Jesus will do to redeem mankind in the future.

Application questions

- Personal Application

While studying the book of Exodus, I am reminded that God desires an intimate relationship with His people.  I am reminded that God desires an intimate relationship with me.  God knows His people and He knows what is best for His people. God knows me and He knows what is best for me.  In the book of Exodus, God through Moses gave us, His people, the Ten Commandments.  These Ten Commandments show us how to relate to God and how to relate to other people.  I am reminded that I am to obey God and His commandments in order to successfully relate to God and to successfully relate to other people. 

- Point of Passion

My passion is to know God and to make Him known.  I am especially passionate about making Him known to teenagers and young adults.  In the book of Exodus, I am reminded yet again that God desires an intimate relationship with His people.  Fortunately, God has provided a way for each of us to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him.  For example, we can enjoy greater intimacy with God when we choose to be obedient to God and His commandments.  Conversely, we feel less intimacy with God when we choose to be disobedient to God and His commandments.  We all have a choice to make.  We can either choose to be obedient to God and His ways or we can choose to be disobedient to God and His ways.  Obedience to God tends to lead to greater intimacy with God while disobedience to God tends to lead to lesser intimacy with God.  I desire to live my life in an intimate relationship with God and encourage others to do the same.