What is Exodus

Review

Salvation

In Genesis we see the beginning of God’s rescue plan to save us from:

The stain of sin (separation from God)

The power of sin (it’s impact on us and others)

The presence of sin (when the time is right God will redeem all of creation)

When we ignore sin we forget why we need to be save.

From Abraham to Egypt

Abraham > Isaac > Jacob> Joseph

Key Facts about Joseph

As the son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, Jacob loved Joseph more than this brothers

Life was marked by a series of ups and downs

Favored child > sold into slavery > favored slave > betrayed and imprisoned > Pharaoh's advisor

All of Jacob’s family moved to Egypt during a famine and lived there

Exodus

Exodus jumps forward 300 years from the time of Joseph.

During this time two things happened:

The 12 children of Jacob had kids and they had kids to the point that this one family became a nation just as God promised.

The new Pharaoh's began to persecute and enslave the people of Israel.

Exodus is the story of God’s rescue plan kicking into gear.

The word Exodus means leaving and is about Israel leaving Egypt and slavery

Moses

The central figure in the story is Moses.

To deal with Israel’s growing population the Pharaoh order all newborn boys to be killed.

But Moses mother didn’t kill him but hid him as long as she could then sent him in a basket down the river when he was three months old.

He was found and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and ended up being nursed by his own mother.

As an adult Moses lashed out at an Egyptian abusing a Hebrew slave and killed the man.

He ended up fleeing into the dessert where he married and lived as a shepherd until God called him through a burning bush and sent Moses back to Egypt to rescue Israel.

Pharoah refused to let them go so God sent 10 plagues.

The final plague, Passover, is a picture of God’s future plan to rescue all of humanity from slavery to sin.

Passover

Exodus chapter 12

God instructed Israel to select an unblemished lamb and kill it.

In verse 7 we see what they should do next.

Exodus 12:7 CSB

7 They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them.

In verse 12-13 we see why they are to do this:

Exodus 12:12–13 CSB

12 “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. 13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

What was the significance of the lamb on this night?

Moved by God’s power, Pharaoh allowed Israel to go free.

God instructed the people of Israel to remember this annually through holding passover meal in remembrance of God’s salvation.

God was not only rescuing Israel, he was showing the world what his future rescue plan would look like.

He was reminding them (and us) that the price of sin is death.

But that God offered a sacrifice to take the place of their sin.

Does this remind you of a story from Genesis?

God providing a ram to take the place of Isaac.

Passover in the New Testament

John the Baptist saw Jesus as a Passover lamb:

John 1:29 ESV

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Paul saw Jesus as a Passover Lamb

1 Corinthians 5:7–8 CSB

7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Paul is addressing sexual immorality and church discipline by reminding the Corinthian believers that Christ has died rescuing them from sin so that they are now able to live new lives in Christ, lives marked by sincerity, and truth because of Jesus’ sacrificial death.

But What about Jesus, did he see himself as a passover lamb?

Mark 14:22–24 ESV

22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Throughout Revelation Jesus is described as “the Lamb of God.” Let’s look to the end of Revelation where we see Christ’s return and ultimate fulfillment of his promise through his second coming and creation of a new heaven and new earth.

Revelation 22:3 CSB

3 and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him.

The rest of the story

This covers the first half of Exodus

God led the people out of Egypt guiding them with a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.

There were multiple examples of Israel grumbling and doubting and God miraculously providing.

They arrived at Mt. Sinai where God gave a new covenant to Israel.

He repeated his promise but added new promises and requirements for Israel.

With Israel he was making a nation, a kingdom here on earth that saw God as King.

In the New Testament we see God making a new kingdom, a spiritual kingdom for all people where God fulfills his rescue plan.

Types of Instructions in Exodus

How to run a kingdom

How to take over the promised land

How to build the tabernacle

Commandments & Laws

When looking at the OT Law we typically see three different types of commands or laws:

Ceremonial Laws: About cleanliness (like what to eat, circumcision, etc.), sacrifices, priests, holidays, etc. We typically don’t have these types of laws in America.

Civil Laws: Laws to govern how to live. Similar in practice our current laws. Designed to punish and restrain sinfulness.

Moral Laws: Laws designed to guide people to living in a holy way more like God has called us to.

Which of these types of Laws are we expected to follow today as Christians?

Ceremonial Laws: We aren’t expected to follow any of them, they are designed to point forward to future fulfillment in Christ. Sacrifices have been fulfilled in Christ, we don’t need priests because Christ is our mediator, we can eat unclean food because Christ makes us clean. All of those were good, but they pointed to a promise that God would fulfill through Jesus. Question: How is this law fulfilled in Jesus?

Civil Laws: We don’t have to follow any exactly, but we should maintain the principles which guide these laws by implementing appropriate civil laws in our context. We may have different interest rates than Israel, different dowry systems or how finances are managed in marriage, but we can see in both cases the importance of laws that protect people people from abusive interest and fair laws for dealing with assets in marriage. This underlying principal of the law can be described as the “general equity.” Question: What is the general equity of this law and how can I apply it today?

Moral Laws: We should follow. These are about avoiding sing: murder, sexual immorality, lying, stealing are all still morally wrong and Christians should avoid these things. These laws are also about doing what is right: like loving God, keeping our promises, treating people fairly etc. We may need to contextualize these morals in settings (for example computer pornography is a new medium for sexual sin but the moral laws on sexual immorality still apply). Often the New Testament spends more time explaining how these moral laws can be lived out within the church and the role of the Holy Spirit in this process. Question: How can I live out this moral principal today?