Breakdown of Books Series: Exodus
Hey guys, sorry I have been MIA the past few weeks. I have been super busy with midterms and haven't had time to sit down at my computer to write another blog post. But I am finally on spring break! Today I am going to breakdown the book of Exodus.
Exodus was written in about 1446 B.C. Just as Genesis was written by Moses, Exodus was also. The book was named "Exodus" because of the Israelites departure from the bondage of Egypt and the word "Exodus" means "exit". Exodus is all about how God saves the Israelites (his chosen nation) from bondage and the covenant established between the two.
The book begins after the multiplying of Joseph's descendants thus the multiplying of the Israelites. (Joseph was one of Jacob's 12 sons and Jacob was called Israel. Jacob's 12 sons formed the 12 tribes of Israel). The new king of Egypt did not know Joseph and only knew his descendants. In fear they might take over Egypt, he enslaved them and attempted to murder all the male sons of Israel. Then Moses was born and he was placed in a wicker basket in the Nile river where the king's daughter found him and raised him. He would later become the leader of Israel and a biblical hero.
Then Moses struck down an Egyptian man who was beating a Hebrew man so he then fled to a different land where he found a wife and had a son. But God still heard the Israelites groanings in Egypt and took notice of them. Then God called out to Moses from the burning bush and gave him the mission of helping save Israel from bondage with God by his side. He was to be rewarded immensely for this mission.
Food for thought: When God called out to Moses from the burning bush He asked him to remove his sandals because he was standing on Holy ground. Have you ever felt like you were standing on Holy ground? Were you talking and praying to God? Consider your surroundings of where you have felt this.
Moses questions whether or not the Israelites will believe that God sent him so God gives him powers. (Turning his staff into a serpent, putting his hand in his bosom to become leprous, turning the water from the Nile to blood.) God then promised to Moses to give him the right words to say to the Israelites but Moses refused to give the verbal message to the Israelites. Therefore, God assigned Aaron to speak to the Israelites and Moses to perform the miracles. When the Israelites saw the miracles they began to worship God. But God hardened the heart of the king so that the faith of the Israelites may grow in the times of trials. The same goes for us: instead of seeing our trials as these big negative things start looking at the positive outcomes of the trials and you will experience true joy.
"I asked God to help me grow and it started raining."
Moses and Aaron continue to try to free the Israelites but the king becomes angry and increases the workload of the Israelites. The Israelites begin to blame Moses and Aaron thinking they had brought more harm on them. So Moses begins to doubt God's plan. The conversations that God has with Moses continues and God encourages him to keep trying so they do. The king's heart is hardened again to multiply the effects of the signs and wonders of God. So Moses begins to strike deals with the king in hopes of releasing the people but the king never holds up his end of the deal bringing plagues of frogs, insects, boils, pestilence on cattle, hail, fire, and locusts. All the plagues were never to kill but only show the wonders of God. Eventually the king drove Moses and Aaron out of Egypt.
The last plague God brought upon Egypt was to kill the first born of all the Egyptians but not the Israelites. Thus the Passover was created for all of God's people and they were to take an unblemished male lamb on the 10th day, keep it to the 14th day, kill it at twilight and put the blood on the doorposts. They were to eat the meat of the lamb with unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and burn the leftovers. Now why all these VERY specific directions? If followed, it shows who is really faithful in God's promises and shows who really follows Him whole heartedly. The angel of the Lord would pass over those houses and spare their first born.
The king finally gave in and set the Israelites free because there was so much death in the land of Egypt. The observance of the Passover was established to celebrate the freedom of bondage from Egypt. The Israelites began traveling through the wilderness with God with them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The Israelites begin to doubt Moses and Aaron in the wilderness when they are pursued by the king. So the Lord made a way for them and gave Moses the power to part the sea to travel through it. Meanwhile, God caused the Egyptians travels to become rough and the sea to collapse on them. Because of all this the Israelites restored their faith in God.
"The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent."- Exodus 14: 14
God hears the grumblings of the Israelites provides for them in the wilderness by providing them water, manna, meat, and heals them. He also provided for them on the 7th day so He commands them to rest and observe the Sabbath because God also rested on the 7th day following creation. Then quarrels begin to arise between the people so Moses chooses God fearing people to help him with the minor quarrels.
So the Israelites camped in the wilderness of Sinai and God called Moses up to the Mountain to speak with him. (This is one of the examples of someone going into nature to speak with God and the reason for the name of my blog :)) God promises Moses to make Israel a Holy nation if he can deliver the message explaining how God was completely behind their deliverance from Egypt. So the Lord appears to the people in the form of fire and smoke. The whole mountain quaked violently and the sound of a trumpet grew loud. How glorious is our God?!?
Image Courtesy of: https://livingpassages.com/real-mount-sinai-forgotten/
So God calls Moses back up to the mountain and gives him the 10 commandments for the people which were to honor your father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet your neighbor's house or any of his belongings, do not take God's name in vain (our culture skims over this a lot), remember the sabbath and keep it holy, serve no other gods or idols. The Israelites watched from the wilderness and were afraid of all the lightning, thunder, smoke, and trumpets of God's presence. Then the ordinances for the people of Israel, property rights, and sundry laws were created (more detail in chapter 21 and 22).
Moses built an alter for God with 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel. Then peace offerings were burned and God called Moses up to the mountain again after 6 days. Aaron, the priests, and the people stayed at the bottom of the mountain while Moses was up talking to God for 40 days and 40 nights. God gave Moses directions to build a sanctuary, the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Showbread, the Golden Lampstand, the curtains of Linen, the curtains of goat's hair, the boards and sockets, the veil and the screen, the bronze alter, the court of the tabernacle, the garments of the priests, the consecrations of priests, the sacrifices, the food of the priests, the alter of incense, the anointing oil, and the skilled craftsman. All of these directions were so specific so that Israel may know who God is and that He brought them out of Egypt. All these directions were written on stone tablets by the finger of God.
When Moses came down from the mountain he saw that Aaron and the Israelites became corrupted and created a golden calf to worship instead. God became very angry with the people of Israel. Then Moses reasoned with God and changed His mind about destroying the people because they were the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But Moses was also very angry with the people and broke the stone tablets. Those who built and worshiped the Golden Calf were killed and the sons of Levi were saved because they did not worship the calf. God was so angry that He would not go near the Israelites symbolizing the divorce from His people.
The people were sad and no longer wore their jewels. So when God's cloud was over the tent of meeting while Moses was inside, the Israelites bowed down to worship. God spoke with Moses as one would talk with a friend! How amazing is that?!
Then Moses wanted to see God's glory so God hid him in the cleft of the rock and covered it with his hand so that Moses would only see God's back as He walked away. So Moses bowed to worship Him because He is merciful, slow to anger, abounding in faithfulness and truth, forgiving, and full of justice. I find a lot of peace in these attributes and hope that you can too.
God comes back to the people of Israel and reestablishes the covenant with them promising miracles. (Just as God divorced Israel for a time and came back so should our marriages with our husbands and wives. We are only meant to have one partner for life. "Till Death Do Us Part").
Finally, Exodus ends with the construction of the things God gave directions to Moses for. GOD'S WILL BE DONE!!
I learned from reading Exodus that: God hears our groanings too He takes notice of us, takes care of us, and loves us, that we need to go through trials to grow, always have hope in God, to keep the 10 commandments, serve no other than God, pray to God as you would talk to a friend, our God is so glorious, God will never leave us, a model for our marriages, and His will be done. I'm sorry this post was so long but I hope you will find some benefit from it and understand Exodus a little better than before. Thank you for reading!
-Abby :)
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