Exodus Introduction

July 16, 2014

Tonight were going to start a study through the book of Exodus, so Id like to take a
little time discussing how well approach it and maybe give it a little outline. If I had to
summarize it in a single sentence Id say its about how God rescues his people from
slavery, teaches them how to worship him, and begins to dwell with them.

You see, it doesnt stray at all from the message of Genesis. This is just the next phase of
the plan. Its one step closer to Adams promised redeemer. But its important to
recognize that it is only a step. What were about to study is a book of types and shadows.
Youll remember from our study of Hebrews that types and shadows are earthly things
that point to heavenly things. More specifically, types and shadows are things that point
us to Christ.

And so, like the rest of the Bible, Exodus is a book about Christ. I cant stress this enough
because too often its seen as one of those boring Old Testament books just full of
regulations and measurements. Theres a thought that if were going to get anything out
of it at all, then maybe we can find some morals to live by or maybe some principles for
successful living. But Moses wasnt writing about morals and principles; he was writing
about Gods promise to Adam and Eve; he was writing about Gods promise to Abraham to
make a people for himself; He was writing about Christ.

The New Testament makes this clear. Jesus fed the 5,000, and when they followed after
him for more he said:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my
Father giveth you the true bread from heaven (Jn. 6:32).

Bread came from heaven in Exodus, but theres more to it than that. This foreshadowed
the true bread which would later come from heaven and sustain Gods people.

Move forward a little to some of Pauls writing:

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers
were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2
And were all baptized unto
Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3
And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4
And did all
drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed
them: and that Rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:1-4).

Sometimes people have a hard time understanding when we say that Christ is the
fulfillment of the Old Testament, but we learn that its undoubtedly true from verses like
these. That story of water from the rock isnt just there for the sake of interest. Its
pretty far-fetched too, isnt it? I mean, how can you get water from a rock? But Paul
shows us that the drink was spiritual and the purpose was spiritual. Our Rock is Christ.

He later writes another letter to the same group that addresses the same theme. There
he says the vail is done away in Christ (2 Cor. 3:14).

Skip ahead a little further into the New Testament where the writer compares the old,
earthly shadows with their true, spiritual counterparts:

For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire,
nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19
And the sound of a trumpet, and the
voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be
spoken to them any more:
20
(For they could not endure that which was commanded,
And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through
with a dart:
21
And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and
quake:)
22
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23
To the general
assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the
Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24
And to Jesus the mediator of
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that
of Abel.
25
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him
that speaketh from heaven (Heb. 12:18-25).

The New Testament believers were further along in Gods revelation. They could see that
Mount Sinai is fulfilled as Mount Zion. Canaan is fulfilled as the heavenly city. Israel has
no more need for Moses as a judge because God is their judge. In fact, its no longer about
the DNA of Abraham; its the general assembly and church of the firstborn!

Its important that we understand this because, if we fail to see that its about Christ,
then well likely misunderstand everything else. There are people who think that the old
sacrifices and offerings will be reinstituted in the end times. There are people who think
that Jewishness holds a special place in heaven. But the New Testament makes it clear
that the Jews, the Exodus, the tabernacle, the offerings, the sacrifices, the priests, and
everything else are merely types and shadows pointing towards something spiritual and
better.

So, what Id like to do now is outline the book and see how it works on the large scale:

Chapters 1-18 describe how God saves his people.
The book starts out by describing Israels slavery, but then God sends a savior in Moses.
God sends nine devastating plagues on Egypt and demands for his people to be set free,
but Pharaoh's hard heart only gets harder. Finally theres the tenth plague that we know
as Passover. The Angel of the Lord will pass over all the houses of Egypt and kill every
firstborn child and animal unless that family has slaughtered a lamb and applied its blood
to their door; those people will be saved. The next morning Pharaohs hard heart had
broken and allowed the people to leave Egypt, so they were rescued from their slavery.

But later Pharaoh had a change of heart. He chased the people down and caught them
with their backs against the Red Sea. All he had to do was charge forward and mow the
people down in what would be the most lopsided victory in the history of warfare. But
God intervened! He appeared as a pillar of fire between the army and the people, and he
divided the Red Sea so that they could cross over safely. Once they were safely on the
other side the pillar disappeared, the army chased into the divided sea, and were
overcome when God let it collapse again. Every Egyptian died that day, and Israel was
delivered.

So, when we get to chapter 15, we find Moses singing a song about Gods great works;
theyve been set free!

But you know what? Their salvation wasnt complete. First of all, they hadnt yet
inherited all the land God had promised Abraham. But theres more to it than even that.
Chapter 15 starts out with Moses singing about Gods salvation, but look at how it ends:

And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they
were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24
And the people murmured
against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? (Ex 15:23-24).

Isnt it just bizarre that these people could have seen all these miracles, and in such a
short time theyre complaining about what God doesnt do for them. How can that be the
case? Skip ahead to the next chapter:

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and
Aaron in the wilderness [...]
28
And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep
my commandments and my laws? (Ex. 16:2; 28).

Theyve been saved; whats the problem? Why cant they obey? Go to the next chapter:

Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink.
And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
(Ex. 17:2).

And the next:

Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing
is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone (Ex. 18:18).

Jethros advice: Moses, these people cant get along. Theres so much fighting and
bickering amongst Gods people that its going to wear you out trying to fix their
problems. Werent they just saved? Whats the deal with all the bickering?

You see, what we learn about this salvation is that it isnt complete. Its still got
weaknesses and theres a need for something better. And thats why its necessary to find
Christ in the Old Testament. Its not about life-principles; its about how that salvation
finally is made perfect so that Gods people are totally saved. Christ is our Moses, but hes
better.

Now, once God leads them out of Egypt, its time to teach his people spiritual truth:

Chapters 19-40 describe how God is to be worshiped and served.
You see, the Israelites were slaves while in Egypt:

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from
under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will
redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments (Ex. 6:6).

Pay close attention to the word bondage because we find it used again a little later on
in Exodus:

And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you,
according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service (Ex. 12:25).

Take a look at service. Its the same Hebrew word as bondage. The Israelites were
freed from their bondage so that they could become the slaves of God. And that concept
didnt change by New Testament times, did it? Christ is called our Lord and our
(Despotes; Despot). They went from serving the Egyptians to serving God:

Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles wings, and
brought you unto myself.
5
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the
earth is mine:
6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These
are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel (Ex. 19:4-6).

So, thats why we find the Ten Commandments in chapter 20, and then all the
instructions for how the priests will dress, about feasts and offerings and sacrifices, the
Sabbath regulations, and all the other rules for worship. God was making a people for
Himself.

All of this was accomplished because he spoke to them and showed them his glory. He
gave them patterns of the heavenly things and told them how to build those earthly
shadows.

But in chapter 32 the people betrayed God and worshiped two golden calves. Even
though theyd been shown all these things, they ignored God and proved that they were
still in need of the greater thing. Reading the laws and regulations could never be good
enough to bring them to faith and repentance; they needed Christ. His teaching changes
a man from the inside and writes it on his heart.

So, God freed them from slavery in chapters 1-18, and then he taught them how to live
and worship in chapters 19-40.

The end of chapter 40 shows how God settles with his people.
The last few verses of the last chapter are the climax of the book. The Israelites finished
building the tabernacle and got everything set up:

Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the
tabernacle (Ex. 40:34).

Heres perhaps one of the most astounding scenes in all the Bible. God comes to dwell
with man! This is everything they had worked towards; this would be the most
important place on earth because its here that God would meet with men and forgive
their sins. But then we see that its incomplete:

And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud
abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle (Ex. 40:35).

Even though they had followed the directions, that tabernacle was still just an earthly
shadow. There was a veil hanging over the entrance to the holiest place to keep men out
of the presence of God: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all
was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing (Heb. 9:8).

What we need is something better. If we ever hope to stand in the assembly of the
righteous, if we can ever ascend his holy hill, we must look for and cling to Jesus Christ.
He alone will rescue us from our slavery. He alone will teach us about how to live and
worship God. He alone will give us access to the Father, because he has atoned our sin and
gone to prepare us a place where we will live forever.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

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