Over the summer, I led our church through a sermon series in the book of Exodus.
It is a record full of stories many are familiar with but a book many of us don't know as well as we think we do.
I enjoyed it, I think our people did too. I titled the series "Our Deliverer is Coming" with a hat-tip to the Rich Mullins song. I chose that title because of the undeniable correlations the Exodus story has with the life and work of Jesus.
After finishing the book, I put together a message on "Christian Lessons from Exodus" (credit to Tremper Longman's overview commentary for the inspiration. And in this post I'd like to write on that kind of idea but share some lessons that I'm cherishing in a more personal way.
So, here's three takeaways that I learned and grew to appreciate having studied this great book.
1) Monotheism???
One aspect of studying the confrontation between Yahweh/Moses and Pharaoh/Egypt was an alteration of my understanding of the Bible's concept of "Monotheism". God doesn't assert his exclusive divinity in a way I've learned it in systematic theology. No when you read of God confronting Pharaoh through Moses in Exodus 3-12, it is put in almost polytheistic terms.
The 'gods' of Egypt help Pharoah's magicians imitate some of God's plagues in 7:22, 8:7, 8:18-19.
And before the final plague, God declares his coming victory like this:
“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." (Exodus 12:12-13)
Egypt certainly was worshipping supernatural powers of some (evil) sort. The Exodus was about establishing Yahweh's undeniable superiority over anything mankind could label a 'god'.
This theme continues with the first of the Ten Commandments. Read them closely and you may be surprised at how God defines his own monotheism. Now, certainly we can deduce that no other powers deserve the title of "God" and I'm not here advocating for a polytheistic worldview. But I found it interesting how Scripture defines these things in these stories.
2) Sympathy for Israel
The problem with reading Exodus is that we let the rest of the Old Testament skew our perspective. I find myself having a greater sympathy for the ancient people of Israel after going through this book. The Golden Calf abomination of chapter 32 certainly is prescient of what unfolds throughout the rest of Scripture. But they also display corporate commitment and faith at a number of points (4:29-31, 12-13, 19, 24, 39:42-43).
They were a people coming out of centuries of subjugation, abuse, and distress. They saw God powerfully work at numerous points and they follow God's leader - and that's to their credit, even if they were imperfect.
3) The Beauty of Christ
There were so many instances in the Exodus story where we can't help but recognize the foreshadowing and precursors of Christ.
- Moses stands as a deliverer who sets the stage for the Deliverer.
- Israel's path of entering then leaving Egypt is symbolically followed by Christ in his early years (Matt. 2)
- The Law is fulfilled in Christ and he offers his own 'Law' via the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7).
- Jesus "tabernacled" among us, embodying God's presence with humanity in an even greater way than in Exodus (John 1:14 cf. Ex. 35-40)
- Jesus ultimately accomplished what the Law was only alluding to - full forgiveness and fellowship with God (Heb. 10:11-14)
