Transcript - SlideBoom

Exodus
• The English title "Exodus" is a transliteration of the
Greek word exodos from the Septuagint translation
meaning "exit," "way out," or "departure." The
Septuagint translators gave the book this title
because of the major event in it, namely, the
Israelites’ departure from Egypt.
• The bulk of the book (chs. 3—40) deals with only
two of these years, the year before and the year
after the Exodus from Egypt. The Exodus event is
clearly the focus of this book.
Theme of Exodus
• The theme of the book is redemption, God's
activity to rescue and restore man from his sin,
degradation, and depravity.
• "The purpose of the Book of Exodus is to
celebrate God's gracious deliverance of His
chosen people Israel from Egyptian slavery to
the freedom of covenant relationship and
fellowship with Him.” (Merrill, The Old
Testament Explorer, p. 41.)
• It contains many instructive lessons for us,
especially what constitutes redemption in our
own lives. We shall understand what God is
doing with us when we see what He did with
Israel in the book of Exodus.
Outline:
• Exodus divides into two sections: Redemption
and Revelation (some scholars use “adoption”)
• I. Redemption From Egypt (1-18)
• A. In Bondage (Subjection) (1-12)
• B. Out of Bondage (Redemption by blood and
power) (12-14)
• C. Journeying to Sinai (Education) (15-18)
• II. Revelation (or adoption) from God (19-40)
• A. The Giving of the Law (19-24)
• B. The Institution of the Tabernacle (25-31)
C. The Breaking of the Law (32-34)
• D. The Construction of the Tabernacle (35-40)
• The three defining events of Israel’s history
found in Exodus:
A) God’s miraculous deliverance of His people
from slavery
B) The return of the presence of God as
distinguishing mark of His people from all
other people on the earth
C) The gift of the Law as the means of
establishing His covenant with them
Role of Exodus in the Bible
• After nearly four hundreds years of growth in
Egypt, Exodus continues the history of God’s
chosen people, the nation of Israel, and describes
their deliverance out of Egypt and their
development as a nation as a theocracy under God.
• It describes the birth, history, and call of Moses
by God to lead the people out of their Egyptian
bondage and into the promised land, the land of
Canaan. Through the Passover lamb, the sparing of
the firstborn, along with the miracles of the ten
plagues, and the crossing of the Red Sea, God
showed His people that He was not only more
powerful than any Egyptian Pharaoh, but was the
sovereign Lord, Yahweh, the God of redemption and
revelation.
• Once the people had crossed the Red Sea and
arrived in the wilderness or desert, God gave them
His righteous law and declared that they were a
treasured possession to Him and were to be a
kingdom of priests, a holy nation as a testimony to
the nations (Ex. 19:4-7). This holy law, including
the Ten Commandments, demonstrated God’s
holiness, taught them how to love God and one
another, but in the process, it also demonstrated
how all fall short of the holiness of God and need a
way of access to God that provides forgiveness.
This was provided for in the tabernacle, the
sacrifices, and the levitical priesthood.
Remember: all of the Bible is
Christocentric!
So, how is Christ seen in
the book of Exodus??
Christ as Seen in Exodus:
• Moses is a type of Christ. Deuteronomy 18:15 shows
that Moses, as a prophet, anticipates Christ. Both are
kinsman-redeemers who were endangered in infancy,
renounced their power to serve others, and functioned
as mediators, lawgivers, and deliverers.
• The Passover is a very specific type of Christ as the
sinless Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36; 1 Cor. 5:7).
• The Exodus, which Paul connects with baptism,
pictures our identification with Christ in His death,
burial, and resurrection (1 Cor. 10:1-2; Rom. 6:2-3).
• The Tabernacle portrays the Savior in its material,
colors, furniture, arrangement, and the offerings
sacrificed there (Heb. 9:1-10:18).
• The Manna and Water are both portrayed as
pictures of Christ (John 6:31-35, 48-63; 1 Cor. 10:3-4).
• The High Priest foreshadows the person and ministry
of Christ (Heb. 4:14-16; 9:11-12, 24-28).
Scope of Exodus
• Moses wrote Exodus.
• Exodus embraces about 431 years of history,
from the arrival of Jacob and his family in
Egypt to the erection of the tabernacle in the
wilderness of Sinai
• When this family started with five
people back in Haran (Jacob, Rachel,
Leah, Zilphah, and Bilhah), it grew
into a clan of about 70 people in fifty
years. That is a growth rate of just
about 6% per year. At that rate there
would be several million descendants
by the time of Exodus, 430 years
later.
• The fruitfulness of the Israelites in Goshen was due
to God's blessing as He fulfilled His promises to the
patriarchs (v. 7).
• The nation could not grow this way in
Canaan, because they would have found
it impossible to avoid intermarriage with
the pagan and wicked inhabitants of
Canaan. Egypt was so racist and had
such a system of “apartheid” that Israel
could grow there over several centuries
without being assimilated.
• The opening chapter informs us that a new king had arisen
over Egypt who did not know Joseph
• Many scholars believe Exodus opens about 300 years after the
close of Genesis with the beginning of the rule of Ahmose,
who begin the eighteenth dynasty and the New Kingdom,
ruling from 1570 to 1546 B.C.
• Ahmose was the first native Egyptian Pharaoh for many years
since Egypt had been ruled by foreigners called the Hyksos.
• The title "Pharaoh" means "great house." It originally
designated the Egyptian king's residence and household. It
became a title for the king himself for the first time in the
eighteenth dynasty
• The New Kingdom (ca. 1570-1085 B.C.) was the period of
greatest imperial might in Egypt's long history.
• The new Pharaoh greatly feared the power of this
developing nation in Egypt, so he enslaved the
Israelites.
• Israel prospers and grows despite the hard bondage
of the Egyptians.
• Finally, The Pharaoh tries to destroy Israel by
ordering the Hebrew midwives to kill all Hebrew
male babies.
• However, “when man wants to change history he
usually uses a battle or a ballot, but when God wants
to change history He begins with sending a baby.”
(Steadman)
• The midwives bravely obeyed God rather than the
Pharaoh.
• the choice was clear: the civil government was
commanding something that was clearly against
God's command; for the midwives, they did the
only right thing: they obeyed God rather than man.
• This is principle shown by the persecuted apostles
in Acts 4:19, when Peter asked the civil authorities
Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to
you more than to God, you judge.
• Moses’s mother hides him for three months
and then places him in a “basket” in the Nile.
• Notice while some translations have “basket"
in Ex 2:3 (such as the NASB), the KJV reads
"ark." As Noah's ark was God's instrument for
preserving one savior of the human race,
Moses’ ark proved to be His means of
preserving another savior of the Israelites.
• Pharaoh’s daughter rescues Moses from the
Nile and decides to keep him
• Moses was not only saved but Pharaoh hired
Moses' own mother to care for her baby
• As the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, Moses
enjoyed the highest privileges in his education.
• Egypt was one of the most academic and scientific
societies on the earth at that time; Moses would
have been instructed in geography, history,
grammar and writing, literature, philosophy, and
music.
• In commenting on Moses' training, Stephen said
that he became, "a man of power in words and
deeds" (Acts 7:21-22).
• “When Moses was 40 years old" (Acts 7:2325) he decides to fulfill the destiny by his own
power.
• Moses tries to stop unjust treatment of a fellow
Israelite but ends up killing an Egyptian. The
discovery of this crime caused him to flee to
Midian, where he served as a shepherd for the
next 40 years
• Moses encounters God in a burning thorn
bush at Mt. Horeb (the mountain of God).
• Geographical experts tell us that a burning
thorn bush is not uncommon in the Sinai
desert. These bushes sometimes burst into
flame spontaneously. This bush was unusual,
however, because even though it burned it did
not burn up (v. 3).
• God reveals Himself to Moses through
declaring His relationship to the patriarchs
(the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob).
• This reminds Moses that God is the God of the
covenant, and His covenant with Israel is still
valid and important.
• God reveals His name to Moses (Ex 3:14-15).
• Is there a difference between I AM WHO I AM
and I AM and YAHWEH? Not really, each of
these sayings express the same idea.
• Yahweh was not a new name, nor an unknown
name - it appears more than 160 times in the book
of Genesis. Moses' mother's name was Jochabed –
“Yahweh is my glory”; Moses and Israel knew the
name Yahweh. God was not given Moses a "new
and improved" name of God, but the name they
had known before - God was calling them back to
the faith of the patriarchs, not to something "new."
• I AM is a divine title that Jesus took upon Himself
often, clearly identifying Himself with the voice
from the burning bush.
• God gives Moses a commission to go back to Egypt
• Despite a number of excuses by Moses, he
eventually obeys God and faces the Pharaoh
• While there is not a consensus among scholars,
many believe the Pharaoh who Moses faced was
very likely Amenhotep II, who ruled from 1450 to
1425 B.C. He ruled during the very zenith of
Egypt's power, prestige, and glory as a world
government.
• Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh and
demanded in the name of the God of Israel that
Pharaoh let God‘s people go.
• As predicted, Pharaoh defiantly refused, and
actually increased the burden of the people by
requiring that bricks be made of straw which the
people must themselves supply.
• Chapters 5-11 provide the record of Moses and
Aaron's confrontation with a repeatedly obstinate
and stubborn Pharaoh, and God's breaking of his
power by the presentation of nine miraculous
plagues. The tenth plague will finally break Pharaoh
• Pharaoh was not only the king of Egypt, but
the Egyptians regarded him as a divine person;
he was a god
• The essence of the conflict between Pharaoh
and Yahweh was the issue of sovereignty. Were
Egypt's gods or Israel's God sovereign?
• The plagues God brought against Egypt had
a definite strategy and purpose; they each
confront and attack an Egyptian deity.
• Not only did they bring punishment against
Egypt, the plagues also answered Pharaoh's
original question: Who is the Lord, that I
should obey His voice to let Israel go? (Exodus
5:2) The plagues show the Lord God to be
greater than any of the deities of Egypt.
• Thus, the ten 'plagues' were actually judgments
designed to authenticate Moses as God's messenger
and his message as God‘s message. Their ultimate
purpose was to reveal the greatness of the power
and authority of God to the Egyptians (7:10—
12:36) in order to bring Pharaoh and the Egyptians
into subjection to God (ref Num 33:4).
• Thus, as the plague narratives begin, the purpose of
the plagues is clearly stated: 'so that the Egyptians
will know that I am the LORD' (7:5).
• Many scholars note that the plagues appeared in
sets of three. The accounts of the first plague in
each set (the first, fourth, and seventh plagues)
each contain a purpose statement in which God
explained to Moses His reason and aim for that
set of plagues (cf. 7:17; 8:22; 9:14).
• In this structure of threes, the first two plagues
only come after warning and a call to
repentance; the third plague in each set comes
without warning. .
• The first set of three plagues affected both the
Egyptians and the Israelites, whereas the others
touched only the Egyptians.
• It is important to understand that these plagues
were all literal; there is nothing "symbolic" about
them. They really happened.
• Sometimes, it says that God hardened the heart
of Pharaoh (Exodus 4:21), sometimes it says that
Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exodus 8:15),
sometimes it says simply that Pharaoh's heart
was hardened, without saying who did it
(Exodus 7:13).
• When God hardened Pharaoh's heart, He was
allowing Pharaoh's heart to do what Pharaoh
wanted to do - God was giving Pharaoh over to
his sin (Romans 1:18-32).
1st plague: The Nile turns to blood.
• Directed against the numerous Egyptian river
deities
• the Nile itself was worshipped as a god
• The Egyptian god Khnum was said to be the
guardian of the Nile, and this showed he was
unable to protect his territory
• the god Hapi was said to be the spirit of the Nile,
and was dealt a defeat
• Osiris, the god of the underworld, was thought to
have the Nile as his bloodstream—now he was
“bleeding”
• The Egyptian magicians were seemingly able to
duplicate this wonder, but they could not undo its
effects.
• Seemingly, all the waters directly associated with
the Nile had been turned to blood (including its
pools and tributaries, and water in vessels drawn
from the Nile). But water obtained by wells was
not plagued: The magicians turned fresh well
water into blood.
• If the magicians of Egypt really wanted to do a
miracle, why didn't they turn the bloody river
clean and bring all of the fish back alive again?
2nd plague: frogs
• Normally frogs were a welcome site. Egyptians
noticed that, when the Nile reached a certain level
and overflowed, frogs abounded. Their presence
was an omen of bountiful crops and control of the
insect population. A low Nile with few frogs meant
a lack of silt, poor crops and many insects.
• Thus, the frog was one of a number of sacred
animals that could not be intentionally killed, and
even their involuntary slaughter was often
punished with death
Egyptians worshiped the frog in the form of
Heqt, whose statue bore the head of a frog.
Heqt, goddess of the frogs, supposedly
controlled the frog population. She
represented resurrection and was the emblem
of fertility.
Yet, The frogs went everywhere, including the
Pharaoh‘s bedroom, and even jumped on his
bed (v. 3)
• The Egyptian magicians brought up more frogs
(v. 7), which must have made the problem
even worse. They seem to have lacked the
ability to make them go away.
• To show that God was in charge, Moses asked
the king to set the time when the frogs should
depart (v. 9).
3rd plague: lice (gnats)
• Much contention among scholars about meaning of
Hebrew word
• according to Philo and Origen they were a form of gnats,
which cause a painful irritation of the skin. They even
creeped into the eyes and nose, and after the harvest they
rose in great swarms from the inundated rice-fields
• The plague was designed to humiliate the official
priesthood in the land. Egyptian priests were extremely
scrupulous about hygiene and ritual cleansing; an
infestation of lice would make them unable to worship
their gods.
• The plague of lice was also upon every beast; no sacrifices
could be made to the gods of Egypt with lice-infesting
animals.
• The Egyptian magicians had imitated both the
first and second plagues, but when the third
plague struck, with lice/gnats covering the land
on both man and beast, the magicians confessed
their inability to imitate and declared it to be the
“finger of God”.
• However, The magicians gave credit to "God"
(Elohim), not Yahweh. They did not ascribe this
miracle to the God of the Israelites but were only
willing to say it had some supernatural origin.
4th plague: flies
• Swarms of flies filled all the houses except in
the land of Goshen where the people of Israel
dwelt.
• the Ichneuman fly, which deposits its eggs on
other living things upon which its larvae can
feed, was regarded as the manifestation of the
god Uatchit
th
5
plague: Disease on livestock.
• This plague was
directed against the
Egyptian god Hathor,
the goddess of love,
beauty and joy, was
represented in the
form of a cow
Egyptian religions considered large number of
bulls and cattle sacred and the cow was often
a symbol of fertility.
A necropolis of sacred bulls was discovered near
Memphis, which was known for its worship of
both the god Ptah and a sacred Apis bull.
Interesting….
• According to several scholars…Amenhotep II
[the Pharaoh of the plagues] surpassed all his
predecessors in his fanatical devotion to the
worship of animals, and especially of the bull.
In 1906 a statue made of sandstone was
excavated representing a cow and Amenhotep
II leaning his head under its head; he is also
depicted kneeling under a cow, drinking its
divine milk. He is thus seen as child of the cow
goddess.
6th plague: boils
• The idea behind the Hebrew word for boil is
"to burn"; it has the idea of a swelling,
painful, skin inflammation, and as with
some of the previous plagues, this one also
affects people and animals.
• This plague was probably directed against
the Egyptian god Imhotep, who was said to
be the god of medicine
7th plague: hail
• God sent the worst hail storm Egypt had
ever experienced (9:18, 24) and
accompanied it with thunder, fire
(lightning?), and rain (9:23, 34).
• Mercifully, God invites Pharaoh and the
Egyptians to trust Him by recommending
precautions before the plague; some took
God's invitation, but others did not. (9:1921)
• This plague was
probably directed
against several
Egyptian gods;
notable among
them would be as
Nut, the sky
goddess.
8th plague: Locusts
Whatever was not destroyed by hail was
finished off by the locusts
This plague may have targeted Osiris and Isis,
the Egyptian gods of the underworld and of
vegetation. Osiris symbolized the creative
forces of nature and the imperishability of life.
Called the great benefactor of humanity, he
brought to the people knowledge of
agriculture and civilization.
9th plague: darkness
• a terrible darkness throughout the land of
Egypt for three days
• Targeted the Egyptian god Amon-Re (Ra),
the sun god
• In the New Kingdom period [when the
plagues took place] this god was the
Egyptian national god
• In exasperation, Pharaoh orders Moses out telling him to never come back
10th plague: death of the firstborn
• The coming deliverance from Egypt is
such a significant act that God tells the
children of Israel to remake their
calendar - the new year will now start
with the month of their redemption from
Egypt (12:2).
• On the tenth of this first month, each
family - or household - is to take a lamb,
and the lamb is to live with the family for
the four days until Passover.
• The lamb was also to be without blemish;
this sacrifice unto the Lord had to be as
perfect as a lamb could be.
• the Hebrew word for lamb can refer to
either a young sheep or a young goat.
• Passover began on the tenth; on the 14th
they eat the Passover, and is the first day of
unleavened bread; then for the next seven
days, they would eat only unleavened bread.
• Before the Passover lamb could be eaten, its blood
had to be applied to the doorway of the home; and
the top, and upon each side the blood was applied.
The only part of this sacrifice given to God was the
blood; the rest was eaten by each family or
discarded.
• This blood would drip down, and form a figure of a
cross in the doorway.
• For Israel to be spared the judgment on the
firstborn, they had to apply to blood just as God
said they should; the blood of the lamb was
essential to what God required.
• Centuries later when John the Baptist would
meet Jesus of Nazareth at the River Jordan, his
announcement, "Behold, the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29),
would be understood by every Hebrew present.
• The Passover feast is clearly the anticipation of
the cross of Christ where the judgment of God
was vented against all that is of the flesh within
man and only those are saved who rest under the
protecting blood of the Lamb.
• Exodus 12:29-30 (King James Version)
• ”And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD
smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from
the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto
the firstborn of the captive that was in the
dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
• And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his
servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a
great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where
there was not one dead.”
• In Passover, there was a two-fold work: He
struck the Egyptians (an enemy was defeated)
and God delivered our households (God's people
were set free and given a new identity, with new
promises, a new walk, a new life all together).
• God intended the Passover to be a
memorial of His redemptive work for
Israel; in this sense, this is "Calvary" of
the Old Testament.
• Of course, Passover is a significant symbol
to us as Christians: “Purge out therefore the
old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye
are unleavened. For even Christ our
passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let
us keep the feast, not with old leaven,
neither with the leaven of malice and
wickedness; but with the unleavened bread
of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:7-8)
• Yet, it would not have happened if the
Israelites had not “went away, and did as the
LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so
did they.” (12:28)
• As great as God's deliverance was, it
would be denied the people unless
they obeyed!
• This plague was directed against the supposed
deity of Pharaoh himself, because his own
household was touched (the firstborn of Pharaoh
was also considered a god).
• Pharaoh doesn't "let" Israel leave; now, he
commands them! This is just what the Lord told
Moses would happen: “when he shall let you go,
he shall surely thrust you out hence
altogether”.(Exodus 11:1).
• Assembling together at Succoth, about 600,000 men
(besides women and children), the children of Israel
go out of Egypt.
• Word used for “men” usually indicates men of
fighting age (20 years old +) [Ref Num 1:45)
• Thus, it is probable that the 600,000 did not include
the men from the tribe of Levi (ref Num 1:46-47)
• Additionally, “a mixed multitude went up with them”
(12:38) some Egyptians (and perhaps other
foreigners) went with them, because the God of
Israel has shown Himself more powerful that the
gods of the Egyptians.
• Thus, an estimated total population of more than
two million left Egypt for the Promised Land.
• The phrase out of Egypt is repeated 56 times in
the Bible after this point; God always wanted
them to remember His deliverance of Israel from
Egypt.
• As the Israelites began their journey, God went
before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a
pillar of fire by night, to guard them on the way.
When did it happen???
• Scholars have debated hotly about the date of the
Exodus. Many conservatives hold a date very close
to 1446 B.C.
• The preference for this date rests first on 1 Kings
6:1 that states that the Exodus took place 480 years
before the fourth year of Solomon's reign. That year
was quite certainly 967 B.C.
• Second, this view harmonizes with Judges 11:26
that says 300 years elapsed between Israel's
entrance into Canaan and the commencement of
Jephthah's rule as a judge