The Bible: Book of Exodus

1. The Bible:Bookof Exodus – 6th
December2016
“The water flowed backand covered the chariotsandhorsemen—theentire army ofPharaohthat had
followedthe Israelitesinto the sea. Not one of them survived.” (Exodus 14:28).
It is believed that Moses was the author of the Book of Exodus. “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a
scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the
name of Amalek from under heaven.”(Exodus 17:14).The Book of Exodus was written between 1440 and 1400
B.C. The word “exodus” means departure. In God's timing, the exodus of the Israelites fromEgypt marked the end
of a period of oppression for Abraham's descendants.We can learn this when we read from Genesis 15:13, “Then
the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a
country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.”
Furthermore, we can also learn of the beginningof the fulfillmentof the covenant promiseto Abraham that his
descendants would not only livein the Promised Land, but would also multiply and become a great nation as we
read from Genesis 12:1-3,“The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s
household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your
name great, and you will be a blessing.3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and
all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Finally when they came to the Promised Land the Lord promised
them: “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there
to the LORD, who had appeared to him.:(Genesis 12:1).
Although the above passages arefromthe book of Genesis,it is stated in this presentation so that we can
understand that the purposeof the book of Exodus may be expressed as tracingthe rapid growth of Jacob's
descendants from Egypt to the establishmentof the theocratic nation in their Promised Land.
Exodus begins where Genesis leaves off as God deals with His chosen people, the Jews. It traces the events from
the time Israel entered Egypt as guests of Joseph, who was powerful in Egypt, until they were eventually delivered
from the cruel bondage of slavery into which they had been brought by "...a new king...which knew not Joseph"
We can learn this from Exodus 1:8,“Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.”
The book of Exodus Chapters 1-14 describethe conditions of oppression of the Jews under Pharaoh,the riseof
Moses as their deliverer, the plagues God brought upon Egypt for the refusal of their leader to submitto Him, and
the departure from Egypt. God’s sovereign and powerful hand is seen in the miracles of the plagues—endingwith
the plague of death of the firstborn and the institution of the firstPassover—thedeliveranceof the Israelites,the
partingof the Red Sea, and the destruction of the Egyptian army. We can learn this from Exodus 14:21-22,“Then
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east
wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry
ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”
The middle portion of Exodus is dedicated to the wandering in the wilderness and the miraculous provision by God
for His people. But even though He gave them bread from heaven, sweet water from bitter, water from a rock,
victory over those who would destroy them, His Law written on tablets of stone by His own hand, and His presence
in the form of pillarsof fireand cloud,the people continually grumbled and rebelled againstHim. We can learn this
from Exodus 15:23-25,“When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is
why the place is called Marah.[f]) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
25 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and
the water became fit to drink.”

2. In the book of Exodus we can also learn of Gods Ten Commandments as we can read from Exodus 20:1-21 “And
God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before[a] me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. (Exodus 20:1-4). The lastthird of the book
describes the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and the plan for the Tabernaclewith its various sacrifices,
altars,furniture,ceremonies, and forms of worship.
The numerous sacrifices required of the Israelites were a pictureof the ultimate sacrifice, which we know as
Christiansto be the Passover Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. This is stated in 1 Peter 1: 18-21,“For you know that it
was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed
down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He
was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him
you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” We
can learn from the book of Exodus on the night of the lastplagueon Egypt, an unblemished lamb was killed and its
blood applied to the doorposts of the houses of God’s people, protecting them from the angel of death. This
foreshadowed Jesus, the Lamb of God without spot or blemish,whose blood ensures the possibility of eternal life
for those who believe in faith in Jesus Christas one’s saviour.
The Mosaic Lawwas given in partto show mankind that they were incapableof keeping it. When we consider the
Ten Commandments, as Christianshowever much we may steadfastly want to followGods law,most often we fail
one way or the other. We are unableto pleaseGod by law-keeping becausewe break it becausewe livein a world
filled with evil.Therefore, Apostle Paul exhorts us to put our faith in ChristJesus so that we may be justified by
faith in Him. We can learn this from Galatians 2:16 “…know that a person is not justified by the works of the law,
but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[a]
Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”
God’s provision for the Israelites,from deliverancefrom captivity to the manna and quail in the wilderness,are
clear indicationsof His graciousprovision for His people. Among the symbolic presentations of Christ,in the book
of Exodus we find the story of Gods provision of water from the rock as we can read from Exodus 17:6, “I will
stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to
drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.” Just as Moses struck the rock to provide life-giving
water for the people to drink,so did God strike the Rock of our salvation,crucifyingHimfor our sin,and from the
Rock came the gift of livingwater as we learn from John 4:10, Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God
and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
The provision of manna in the wilderness is a perfect pictureof Christ,where He said:“I am the bread of life.”
(John 6:48).Like when the Israelites were provided by God when they were in the wilderness,Jesus Christour God
and saviour, was provided to give us the possibility of an eternity with Him.
Therefore as Christians wemust know that God has promised to supply all our needs as we can learn from 1
Corinthians 1:9 “ God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Therefore
we are to trust in the Lord, for He can deliver us from anything.But we must also bear in mind that God does not
allowsin to go unpunished forever. As a result,we can trust Him in His retribution and justice.When God removes
us from a bad situation,we should not seek to go back. When God makes demands of us,He expects us to comply,
but atthe sametime He provides graceand mercy becauseHe knows that, on our own, we will notbe able to fully
obey