Lesson #01

RETURN TO SYLLABUS

EXODUS
Lesson #01
INTRODUCTION

• The Significance of the Book:
• The first five books of the Bible are called the Pentateuch, which means = five. They contain the Law of Moses.
• Exodus is a marvelous story of deliverance from groaning to glory. It begins in slavery and ends with deliverance.
• The book of Exodus informs us of the beginning of the nation of Israel as the children of Israel left slavery in Egypt to travel to the promised land.
• However, outside of Israel and the Bible, the events in this book were not important. Therefore, there is no evidence in archaeology outside of the Bible concerning these events. Only in Egyptian archaeology can we find a few tiny hints of Israel’s presence in Egypt.
• Even in the written history of Egypt, there is no mention of the exodus or of Moses. Why?
• While the Egyptians wrote profusely of their history, they seldom wrote of their defeats. Their history was kept to impress their ancestors and their gods.
• The Pharaoh was considered a god. Anything that was an embarrassment to the Pharaoh was quickly forgotten and never written about in history.
• Often, embarrassing historical events and names written in stone were erased by succeeding kings.
• As a result of a lack of specific clues in the Bible or in Egyptian history, it leaves room for much speculation regarding the name of the Pharaoh of the exodus and the exact dates of the events in this book.
• The Biblical account of these events is of a unique and supreme importance in that it is all we have of this period in history concerning the people of God. Then, can we believe that these events were factual? Yes.
• We can know that these events really happened because they are part of inspired scripture.
• We can know the factual nature of these events when Jesus Christ quoted from the book of Exodus (Mat 5:21, 27, 38), and affirmed the character of Moses in Mat 17 on the mount of transfiguration.

• Who Wrote the Book?
• The book was written by Moses, who wrote the first five books of the Old Testament.
• There are a few minor additions to the book of Exodus that were obviously written after Moses’ death.
• Because Moses was highly educated in the culture of Egypt, he was very qualified to author this book. (Joh 5:46-47 Joh 7:19 Act 3:22 Rom 10:5)
• Jesus Christ and the authors of the New Testament believed that Moses wrote this book. (Luk 24:44)
• The Miracle of Inspiration in the Pentateuch:

• There is a fabulously inspired miracle in the first five books of the Bible that is not easily observable to those of us who do not read Hebrew.
• The first five books of the Bible are called the Law (torah). In each of these first five books, at 50 letter intervals occurs the Hebrew word, torah. Why every 50 letters? The Law of Moses was given to the Jews on Mt. Sinai 50 days after they left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea.
• The Hebrew language did not have numbers. Therefore, letters of the Hebrew alphabet were used as numbers. For example, the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, was called by the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph). The second book of the Old Testament, Exodus, was called by the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet (beit). Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet had a specific meaning.
• The second letter that represents the book of Exodus, (beit) has the meaning of = duality; good versus evil. This letter (beit) also represents, “house”.
• Therefore, the conflict that we see in the book of Exodus is the “house’ or kingdom of Pharaoh against the “house” or kingdom of God.
• The book of Exodus closes with the victory of God who establishes His “house” or tabernacle on earth in which God’s presence will dwell with His people.
• When Did The Events Occur in the Book of Exodus?
• There is much discussion and many differences of opinion regarding the dates of the events in this book. The problem occurs because the Bible does not give specific statements that enable us to definitely arrive at accurate dates.
• We will use the dates that are consistent with all the other dates given in the Old Testament, and we will disregard all secular archaeological evidence that is used to interpret the dates.
• The reason we will disregard archaeological dating is that archaeology is an incomplete science based on fragments of information and filled with individual speculation and interpretation.
• Therefore, we will use the date for the exodus as the year 1491 BC, which means that Moses was born in the year 1571 BC.
• A secondary interpretation of the date of the exodus that closely follows the Bible is the year 1445 BC, which means that Moses was born in the year 1525 BC.
• Because one of the major sources for this study uses these secondary dates, I include it in our study.
• In reality there are only 46 years difference between these two dates for the exodus which is not much in the broad scheme of history.
• The Name of the Book:
• The Hebrew name of the book is “Now these are the names of”. This title is based on the first words in verse 1. We use the Latinized name that is based on the theme of the book. The word, exodus, means = the way out.
• The name, Exodus, immediately tells us that the focal point of this book is the exodus of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt by blood and by power.
• Every event up to the exodus moves us step by step to that event.
• Every event after the exodus is to prepare God’s liberated people to live as a nation of people free under God.
• The Theme For Our Study:
• The theme for our study is, “freedom in Christ”.
• The freedom of the Israelites is a type of the freedom that believers can have in Jesus Christ.
• Just as the blood on the door post of the first Passover led to the freedom of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, so also the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross frees the believer from the bondage of sin.
• Types in the Book of Exodus:
• We will see many parallels of types in Exodus that speak to us of our freedom in Christ and of Jesus Christ, himself.
• What is a legitimate type?
• A “type” is an illustration that is set in scripture by God to explain a spiritual truth. It can be a person (Rom 5:14), an event (1Cor 10:11), an object (Heb 10:20), an institution (Heb 9:11), or a ceremony (1Cor 5:7).
• However, care must be taken to be sure that the interpretation of “types” is tied by God to New Testament scripture. This means that there is no private interpretation of the meaning of types.
• The major “types” that we see in the book of Exodus are these.

The type in Exodus	The reference in the New Testament	The significance
=1= The Passover lamb (Exo 12:1-28)	Joh 1:29 1Cor 5:6-7 1Pet 1:18-19	Christ our sacrifice and redeemer
=2= The Manna (Exo 16:1-36)	Joh 6:35, 48-51	Christ, the bread of life; the giver of life to the world
=3= The Rock (Exo 17:5-6 )	1Cor 10:1-4	Christ, the rock of salvation, stricken for us
=4= The Tabernacle (Exo 25:1-31:18 Exo 35:1-40:38)	Heb 9 Joh 1:14	Christ, with us, full of glory
=5= Moses (Exo 5:1)	Luk 4:16-21	Christ, our deliverer
=6= Aaron (Exo 4:27 Exo 7:1-2, 19)	Heb 5:4 Heb 9:4, 11-12, 25-26	Christ, our great high priest

• Symbolism in the book of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua
• All through scripture there is a general symbolism that seems to be consistent relating to this book and the rest of the Pentateuch. This symbolism parallels our relationship with Christ.
• =1= Egypt
• Egypt seems to represent the world, worldliness, or Satan’s kingdom.
• =2= The Red Sea crossing
• The crossing of the Red Sea represents the point of salvation for the Christian who is now free from the bondage to sin through the blood of the Passover lamb.
• =3= The wilderness
• The experiences of the Israelites parallel the carnal life of the Christian who is saved from the penalty of sin but not yet taken authority over the power of sin in his life.
• =4= The Jordan River crossing
• The Israelites crossing of the Jordan River into the promised land represents the spirit-filled life of a believer who walks in victory in the promises of God.
• The Spiritual Significance:
• Besides the exodus, no other event is spoken about in scripture more frequently than this event. In fact, the Jews still celebrate the event of the exodus every year with the celebration of the Passover.
• Through the book of Exodus, God gives us the nature of His attributes and sovereignty, the nature and basis of redemption, the significance of the Mosaic law (which is so misunderstood today), and the pattern of worship.
• The holiness of God is a recurring concept through the book of Exodus that seems to escape the notice of many New Testament believers today.
• Some Historical Background:
• In the book of Genesis, Joseph and his family migrated to Egypt at a time when the government was favorable to the Jews. This may have been during the time of the reign of the Hyksos kings. (called The Shepherd Kings) The Hyksos were foreign conquerors of Semitic origin related in some way to Abraham. Finally the Egyptians were successful in getting rid of the Hyksos kings, and that may be why there is the statement in Exo 1:8 that there was a new king that did not know Joseph.
• Pharaoh Thutmose I led campaigns to gain power and territory from Nubia in the south to the Euphrates River. This included the area of the promised land. When he died, there was no son to take his place as Pharaoh. However, there was a legitimate heir, Thutmose III. However, he was too young to rule. Therefore, the daughter of Thutmose I, Hatshepsut, seized the throne and ruled Egypt for 21 years. It is possible that before she became Queen of Egypt, she was the one who cared for the baby Moses. Finally Thutmose III seized the throne from Queen Hatshepsut. He became one of Egypt’s greatest Pharaoh’s. He attempted to erase every written record of Hatshepsut from Egyptian history and ruled with a strict hand. He may have been the Pharaoh of the early oppression of the Israelites in Egypt. It is possible that when Moses killed the Egyptian official, the vengeance against him was not only due to this death but also to his connection with Hatshepsut. Following the death of Thutmose III, his son, Amenhotep II reigned. Amenhotep II may have been the Pharaoh of the exodus. This time period of the exodus was the height of power and prestige in Egypt, and therefore, demonstrates an all-powerful God against a very powerful king, and vast host of pagan gods.
• The Key Figure:
• Moses is the key figure throughout the book of Exodus. His life is divided into three 40-year periods:
• Forty years in Pharaoh’s palace in Egypt
• Forty years in the desert in Midian
• Forty years in the wilderness as a leader of God’s people
• The number 40 has a Biblical significance in that it seems to always take on the meaning of testing according to some standard of God:
• For example, Jesus was tested 40 days in the wilderness.
• The Key Verse:
• The key verse for the book of Exodus is Exo 20:2

• “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

• The Outline of the Book of Exodus:
• Slavery in Egypt (1:1-12:51)
• Years of slavery (1:1-22)
• The birth of the deliverer (2:1-25)
• God calls Moses (3:1-4:17)
• A challenge and a crisis (4:18-5:23)
• Comfort from God (6:1-30)
• The plagues of Egypt (7:1-12:51)
• The journey to Sinai (13:1-14:31)
• The birth of a nation (13:1-14:31)
• Pilgrimage to Mt. Sinai (15:1-18:27)
• A fearful God (19:1-25)
• The Mosaic Covenant (20:1-24:18)
• The Tabernacle (25:1-40:38)
• Sources of Material for our Study:
• Moses and the Gods of Egypt

by John J. Davis

• Through the Bible Commentary: Exodus

by J. Vernon McGee

• Exodus

by Irving Jensen

• Moses and the Messiah

by J. R. Church

• Moses, Moments of Glory…Feet of Clay

by Gene A. Getz

• Chronology of the Old Testament

by Floyd Nolan Jones (the source of primary dates)

• When Critics Ask

by Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe

• The Mystery of the Menorah

by J. R. Church and Gary Stearman

• Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest

by David M. Rohl

• Misc. notes.

HOMEWORK
EXO 1 and EXO 2:1-10
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Preparation for Exo 1 and Exo 2:1-10
• Read Exo 1:1-22 and Exo 2:1-10
• Why did the Israelites make Egypt their home?
• What reason did Pharaoh give for putting the Israelites in bondage?
• Why did God allow His people to be put into slavery?
• Read Rom 13:1 and Pro 12:22
• How could God bless the midwives (Exo 1:20) when they disobeyed authority and lied to them?
• Which events in these chapters remind you of the time when Jesus was born?

• Memory verse: Exodus 1:13