The Story Through the Bible Exodus

Exodus overview

I want to show you there are some main points I want to stay aware of for the book of Exodus.

First: God in his sovereignty is Active not Passive - He didn’t wind up the world and let it unfold.

Second: God is sovereign in his choice to save a particular people.

Third: God sovereignly displays His own Glory

1 - 2 The Setting for our story.

The people of God have multiplied and grown great but there is a new king and he doesn’t know about Joseph. The people are oppressed and made into slaves. A savior is born and saved from the waters of destruction by an ark.

3-4 God Calls Moses to serve and reveals his covenant Name

Moses has fled and at 80 is called to serve. He wasn’t searching after God but God found him.

5-11 Moses confronts Pharaoh

Moses goes before Pharaoh and is rebuffed. God is active in his work with the plagues in Egypt

12-13 Passover and redemption

God redeems His people through the blood of the lamb. Death passes over Israel, and they are set free by His mighty hand.

14-18 Red sea crossing and Wilderness Journey

The Lord saves His people through the waters, crushing their enemies behind them. He provides bread from heaven and water from the rock, showing that He alone sustains.

19-24 Sinai covenant

God descends in glory to claim His people as His treasured possession. He gives His law so that they would be holy and live in covenant fellowship with Him.

25-31 Dwelling of the Lord

God gives instructions for His tabernacle so that He may dwell in the midst of His people. The holy God will live among a redeemed people.

32-34 Rebellion and redemption

Israel breaks covenant with the golden calf, yet the Lord shows mercy and renews His promises. His glory is revealed to Moses as the God who forgives.

35-40 Fulfilling and filling the tabernacle

The people obey and build all that God commanded. The book closes with His glory filling the tabernacle, showing He is with them.

God in his sovereignty is Active not Passive

God calling Moses (not Moses seeking God):

Exodus 3:2, 4 – “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush… When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”

God declaring the plagues beforehand:

Exodus 7:3–4 – “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.”

God leading His people personally:

Exodus 13:21 – “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.”

God is sovereign in his choice to save a particular people.

Early (deliverance from Egypt):

Exodus 6:6–7 – “Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians… I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.’”

Middle (at Sinai, covenant identity):

Exodus 19:5–6 – “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

Later (presence in the tabernacle):

Exodus 29:45–46 – “I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.”

God sovereignly displays His own Glory

Early (plagues and deliverance):

Exodus 9:16 – “But for this purpose I have allowed you to remain, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Middle (Sinai, covenant and revelation):

Exodus 24:16–17 – “The glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.”

Later (tabernacle, dwelling among His people):

Exodus 40:34–35 – “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”

The Exodus introduction illustrates that God is the true main character sovereign, purposeful, and glorified even when human eyes focus on Moses or Pharaoh. By seeing the same patterns in different books, we recognize a consistent redemptive thread through Scripture: God’s sovereignty, His saving work for a chosen people, and His glory revealed. Meditating on these patterns trains us to read Scripture not just as stories, but as a unified narrative pointing to Christ and God’s unfolding plan. In your series, each book builds on the last, and noticing recurring themes like God raising up unlikely servants, using trials for good, and displaying His glory helps students connect stories to the bigger story. This also reminds us that our meditation and reflection aren’t passive; they shape how we see God’s hand in both Scripture and our lives.

As we see God sovereignly at work in Exodus, raising up Moses, saving His people, and displaying His glory, we are reminded that Scripture is one unfolding story, meditating on its patterns trains us to recognize God’s hand in every chapter and in our own lives.