Exodus and Genesis reveal the creative power and majesty of our God and by many types and figures, point forward to Jesus Christ. While Genesis is the ‘seed-bed’ for the Truth’s doctrines and promises and primarily dealt with faithful individuals like Noah, Abraham and Joseph, Exodus established Almighty God’s dealings with His nation. Genesis closed with Israel numbering just 70 souls; Exodus, in its first chapter, sees those 70 grow into a mighty nation. The way Yahweh fed and led His nation is especially relevant to us living, as we do, in a vast worldwide ecclesia. Exodus saw Israel delivered from bondage, brought into covenant with God (Exod 19:4–6) and promised that they could be “a kingdom of priests” (Exod 19:6; Rev 5:10). We share this hope in Christ.
The second book of Moses abounds with revelation, education and hope; yet the only time “exodus” appears in the Bible is in Luke’s record of Christ’s transfiguration: “and spake of (Jesus’) decease [‘exodus’] which he should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31).
Exodus abounds with divine ways: think about the following facts and principles as you read Exodus this month. As a family exercise find and colour in items below that repeat:
- Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – 2:24; 3:6,15,16; 4:5; 6:3,8; 32:13; 33:1
- The Name of Yahweh revealed in Exodus 3:14
- “ye shall know that I am Yahweh” –– 6:7; 7:5,17; 8:22; 10:2; 14:4,18; 16:12; 29:46; 31:13 (10 times)
- “Israel is my son, my firstborn” 4:22,23; 11:5; 12:12; 13:2,13 … 34:20 (19 times)
- The angel of God’s presence “went before the camp of Israel” 14:19; 32; 34, etc
- “make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them” 25:8
- Find and mark each time Moses ascends and descends Mt Sinai; and
- “See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount” 25:40 and Hebrews 8:5.
These facts and principles open our eyes to the things that are important to God. Romans 10:17 reminds us that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Obedience and love thrive in minds that know the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Exodus provides the knowledge that enables us to know Yahweh and His Son.
The early chapters in Exodus direct us to Abraham because his faith draws us closer to God and Christ. Similarly, the Memorial Name focuses our thoughts on the time when Yahweh’s glory will fill the earth and exclude sin and death. We hope for the day when we will “know Yahweh”, when Israel will return to Him and “the hope of Israel” will energise every man and woman. We want to be God’s firstborn: we aspire to be part of “the ecclesia of the firstborn” (Heb 12:23), to live with “Jesus the mediator of the new covenant” (v24). While eternal life cannot be earned, Jesus Christ expects us to be faithful to the “pattern … shewed … in the mount”. God’s way of reconciliation is the only sure way to life.
Outline of Exodus
Chapter Event
1–7:13 Israel in Egypt
7:14–12:30 The 10 plagues
12:31–15:21 Israel delivered
15:22–27 On the way to Sinai
16 Bread from heaven: manna
17 Water from the rock, war with Amalek
18 Jethro’s good counsel
19–24 Israel at Mt Sinai
25–31 The Tabernacle
32 Aaron and the golden calf
33–34 Yahweh shows His glory to Moses
35–39 Israel makes the Tabernacle
40 The Tabernacle set up, the Glory enters
Notable events and lessons
Amram and Jochebed save Moses. Exodus opens with a picture of faith in action. Pharaoh decreed, “Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river” (1:22). When Moses was born to Amram and Jochebed, “she saw him that he was a goodly child, (and) she hid him three months” (Exod 2:2).
Acts 7:20 records that “Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months”; and in Hebrews 11:23 that “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child.”
Amram and Jochebed obeyed Pharaoh by placing Moses in the river; however, by faith they also placed him in an ark and sent Miriam to follow his journey on the river current to where Pharaoh’s daughter was known to bathe. Jochebed’s faith was rewarded by being made Moses’ nurse. She was therefore able to educate Moses in godly ways.
The three accounts tell us why the man Moses chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Heb 11:25). His parents worked together with God. Exodus says his mother saved Moses, Acts says it was his father, Hebrews tells us it was both. This was typical of Jesus’ childhood. God’s truth and power worked through a faithful couple who were united in serving Yahweh.
Memorial Name and special titles
- Exodus 3:14 “I will be who I will be” ehyeh asher ehyeh – the first-person version of Yahweh
- Exodus 6:3 “I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of El Shaddai, but by my name Yahweh was I not known to them.”
- Exodus 15:26 adds, “I am Yahweh that healeth thee.” – Yahweh raphekah
- Exodus 17:15 “Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Yahweh-nissi” – ‘Yahweh my banner’ – a title that foretold the promise of Isaiah 11:10 that Jesus Christ would be “an ensign of the people”.
The clause, “they shall know that I am Yahweh”, begins in Exodus and will be fulfilled when Christ goes forth as a conquering king in Revelation 19.
The Name climaxes in Exodus 34:6–7 “Yahweh, Yahweh El, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty ….”
Moses ascends and descends Mt Sinai
1st Ascent 19:3–6 “Moses went up unto God”; Descent v7–8
2nd Ascent 19:8 “Moses returned the words of the people unto Yahweh”; Descent v14–19
3rd Ascent 19:20–24 “Yahweh called Moses up to the top of the mount”; Descent v25
4th Ascent 20:21 “Moses drew near unto … where God was”; Descent 24:3
5th Ascent 24:9–32:14 “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu”; Descent 32:15
6th Ascent 32:31–33 “And Moses returned unto Yahweh”; Descent 32:34
7th Ascent 34:4 “Moses rose up early … and went up unto mount Sinai”; Descent 34:29.
“Let them make me a sanctuary”
Exodus 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”
We cannot expound the details and the glory of the tabernacle here; all we can do is sketch the grand picture and hope that reading Exodus will stimulate you to study this parable.
Exodus 25–40 reveals the form of divine worship that pleases the Father. In symbol and ritual, Yahweh systematically elaborated the worship and glory that would be revealed in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Ark, the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim showed first and foremost that our heavenly Father is underived holiness. He dwells in light we cannot approach to. On one hand, He placed these objects in the Most Holy and prohibited men from entering His sanctuary; thus underlining His absolute holiness. On the other hand, He placed the Most Holy in the centre of the encamped nation to tell them and us that He desires to be in us, with us, ever in our hearts. This was the tabernacle’s purpose: He tells us that He will always be near us even though we cannot yet behold His Presence.
Two words are used for the tabernacle in Exodus: mishkan meaning dwelling place (derived from shakan, to dwell, 25:8) and ohel meaning tent. The ohel was the tent that the people saw; but the mishkan was what those who thought about the tabernacle understood. The tabernacle taught great lessons but none of its detail was visible (other than the door and the linen wall). People had to study what Moses told them in order to learn its parable of salvation. The first lesson was offering: “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering… willingly” (25:2). Those who volunteered their service learned the way to true worship.
Israel’s offerings (25:3–7)
- Gold, silver, brass; blue, purple, scarlet; fine linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins, badgers’ skins, shittim wood, oil (12)
- Spices and incense: myrrh, sweet cinnamon, sweet calamus, cassia (30:23–24); stacte, onycha, galbanum, frankincense (30:34–36) (8)
- Stones for the breastplate: sardius, topaz, carbuncle, emerald, sapphire, diamond, ligure, agate, amethyst, beryl, onyx, jasper (28:17–20) (12).
Total materials = 32. The Israelites took these precious metals and jewels when they plundered the Egyptians (11:2–3).
Mortal men were forbidden entry to the Most Holy with the exception of the High Priest, who went in once each year with blood typifying Jesus’ entry into immortality through his own blood. No mortal person can survive the shekinah glory of God’s immortal presence (1 Tim 6:16). Yet the Almighty showed that there was a way into the Most Holy through the Holy Place where the mortal priests served God. Their work was lit by a Lampstand (= walking in the light of the Word); there was the Shewbread Table (= walking in fellowship) and the Golden Altar next to the veil (= the way through the veil to God by prayer). The glorious veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy and represented Jesus Christ’s body (Mark 15:37–38; Heb 10:20).
Yahweh placed a washing Laver at the entrance to the Holy Place to show that we must be baptised to start the journey. Near it stood the Altar of Burnt Offering telling us that to please God and Christ we must sacrifice our self-will. Following baptism, we live as Christ’s priestly ambassadors in his Holy Place. He leads us to the Kingdom where death will be swallowed up in immortality and we will then enter Yahweh’s Most Holy Place. The Father enclosed the mishkan (dwelling place) and ohel (tent of His presence) in a wall of linen with one doorway which is Jesus Christ (John 10:7; 14:6). The linen wall showed that there must be a difference between the profane world and our life in His tabernacle.
Last of all, He gave the priests garments “for glory and for beauty” (28:40), garments that typifiedthe moral and personal glory of His Son (Isa 61:10). God also gave the formula for the anointing oil (30:25–33), and the incense (30:34–38), showing that only He can anoint us with gladness and none but God designs and hears acceptable prayer. Our approach to God through Christ is grounded in these chapters and deserves our study.
The Sadducees’ trick question Luke 20:27–38
When the Sadducees (who deny “that there is any resurrection”) came to Christ, they asked him about a hypothetical woman who had seven husbands: “in the resurrection whose wife of them is she?” The Sadducees taught “that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit”( Acts 23:8). The Sadducees insisted that Moses did not unambiguously teach the resurrection of the dead. So, how did Jesus answer their error? He went straight to Exodus 3 and Moses’ record of the burning bush. Quoting Moses, Jesus said: “that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he (called) the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living.” But Exodus 3:6 was only part of Christ’s answer; read what Exodus 3:2 says, “the angel of Yahweh appeared unto him in a flame of fire” and “the bush was not consumed” because the fire Moses saw was Almighty God’s spirit. Exodus 3 showed that there is a resurrection, angels and spirit power! What a complete answer to all the Sadducees’ errors!
Consecration of Aaron and his sons – Exodus 29
When Aaron and his sons were consecrated and dressed in their garments “for glory and for beauty”, everything that was done to Aaron was also done to his sons. In Exodus 29 there are 16 occasions where Moses washed, clothed, offered sacrifices for, and anointed “Aaron and his sons” (v4,5,8,9,10,15,19, 20,21,24,27,28,29,32,35,44). Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and everything he did was for his brethren as well as for himself.
This matches the relationship of Jesus Christ to his own death as explained by John Carter in the Unity Book. “He needed redemption, he needed salvation from death. The confusion arises when we isolate him from his work. He was there to be our saviour …” (p21). Jesus Christ can never be separated from the work he came to do; that is why he shared our nature, our temptations, our need for salvation, and why he was the first to benefit from his work. Back in Exodus, at the consecration of the Aaronic priesthood, everything that was done for Aaron was also done for his sons. In this figure, Aaron represents Christ and his sons represent us.
The golden calf – Exodus 32
In Exodus 24:9, Moses ascended Mount Sinai with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, 70 elders and Joshua (v13). They saw the angelic glory (v10–11) and then Moses and Joshua were invited to receive the stone tables “and a law … which I have written” (v12). “Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights” (v18). The impatient people asked Aaron to “make us gods” (32:1); “as for this Moses … we wot not what is become of him”. Could this be us? How quickly people forget God’s benefits! In just 40 days, they forgot the 1st and 2nd commandments.
The people willingly offered their golden earrings which Aaron melted and cast into a form the people saw as a calf – an Egyptian deity; and so they “sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play” (32:6). Paul cites this verse and diagnosed the problem as lusting “after evil things” and as idolatry (1 Cor 10:6,7). Covetousness and idolatry was the scourge of Corinth and it is everywhere today. As Moses answered Joshua (32:18), “It is not the voice of [war] … but the noise of them that sing do I hear”. As we read Chapter 32, may we remember how impatience, indulgence and ignorance of God’s commandments delivered them to idolatry, and so thousands lost their lives eternally (32:26–28). Let us beware (1 Cor 10:5–12).
Yahweh shows Moses His glory
Moses’ love for Israel was seen in his appeal for God’s forgiveness (32:31–32). Yahweh promised, “I will send an angel before thee” and lead you to “a land flowing with milk and honey” (33:2–3). Moses felt inadequate for this great task; so Yahweh assured Moses of His “presence” (v14), which led Moses to ask, “shew me thy glory” (v18). God so loved Moses, spoke with him “face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (v11), and He showed him His glory.
Thus in Exodus 34:5 we read that the Almighty “descended in a cloud” and in verses 6–7 “ Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, Yahweh, Yahweh El, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation [of them that hate me, 20:5].”
New Testament citations and allusions
Jesus Christ, Paul, Peter and James were drawn to Exodus for examples of God’s words and the hand of providence. For example, think how often the manna is mentioned in the New Testament. The list includes most of the New Testament references to Exodus. Can you find more?
- “a new king … knew not Joseph” (1:8) Acts 7:18
- Moses’ parents (2:1–3) Acts 7, Heb 11:23
- Moses killed the Egyptian (2:11–14) Acts 7:22–28
- Moses at the burning bush (3:2–3) Luke 20:37
- “I am the God of Abraham …” (3:6) Matt 22:32; Acts 7:32
- “serve God upon this mountain” (3:12) Acts 7:7
- God gave Moses a mouth (4:12) Luke 21:14–15
- Egyptian magicians (7:11) 2 Tim 3:8
- “I have raised thee up” (9:16) Rom 9:17
- “Christ our passover” (ch 12) 1 Cor 5:7
- “not a bone broken” (12:46) John 19:36
- firstborn males (13:2) Luke 2:23
- baptised in Red Sea (14:21–22) 1 Cor 10:1–2
- the manna (16:18) 2 Cor 8:15
- “your fathers did eat manna” (ch 16) John 6:49,58
- water from the rock (17:6) 1 Cor 10:4
- “a peculiar people” (19:5) 1 Pet 2:9
- “a kingdom of priests” (19:6) Rev 5:10
- Mt Sinai burned with fire (19:13–19) Heb 12:18–21
- “thou shalt not kill” (20:13) Matt 5:21
- “not commit adultery” (20:14) Matt 5:27; Rom 2:22
- “thou shalt not steal” (20:15) Rom 2:21
- Corban – 5th commandment (20:12) Matt 15:4–6; 19:19; Mark 7:10,11
- commandments (20:2–17) James 2:11; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Rom 13:9
- “an eye for an eye …” (21:24) Matt 5:38
- make the tabernacle as shown (25:40) Heb 8:5
- Passover – memorial Matt 26:26, Luke 22:15
- mercy seat, propitiation Rom 3:25
- tabernacle and furniture Heb 9:1–5 • Pharaoh’s heart hardened (9:16) Rom 9:17–18 • golden calf idolatry (32:6) 1 Cor 10:7