“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2-3, ESV)
God
The Name
The Hebrew name for this book is taken from the opening line, “ēl’·lě(h) šemôṯ”[1] (“These are the names”), which is usually shortened to simply ‘Shemot’. Some ancient Hebrew literature refers to it as “sefer yetsi’at mitsrayim” (“The book of the departure from Egypt”),[2] focusing on the main theme of leaving Egypt, which was later translated into Greek as “Exodos Aigyptou,”[3] later abbreviated to ‘Exodos’ as employed in the Septuagint. While it is true that the central theme of this book is about the exodus of God’s people out of Egypt, it can, as a result, be misleading. It contains a lot more than the saga of the Israelites leaving Egypt. If the book of Genesis can be summarized as the book of beginnings (the beginning of all things, the beginning of sin, the beginning of God’s people through Abraham, the line of the promised Messiah, the beginning of nation of Israel), then the book of Exodus could be summarized as an extension of Genesis, continuing the theme of beginnings, as the beginning of a new religion based on the revelation of God’s law; the regulations that became the founding principles of Judaism. Even though as the result of seeing God’s law written and recognizing that all of mankind is guilty of sin, hope is not lost, God provides the solution. Although the solution presented here in Exodus (and the remaining books of the Torah) would only be considered temporary, it clearly points to the coming Messiah, the permanent solution, that being, Jesus Christ, who has come and is here now. Yes, the book of Exodus contains a lot more than stories about people leaving Egypt.
A Snapshot of Humanity
In the book of Exodus, we come face to face with an ugly reality, mankind is by nature selfish, the direct result of sin. However, even though we will read about complainers and malcontents, we will also read about how one man overcame fear, self-doubt, and ridicule to become one of the Bible’s greatest leaders, his name is Moses. This special and unique man, whose life is considered a model or type of Christ, helps us see clearly that God can use anybody, including us, we just need to be willing.
Redemption
The primary theme of the book of Exodus (as well as the entire Bible) is that of redemption. Since it is impossible for mankind to redeem itself from eternal condemnation due to sin, only God can provide a solution. The book of Exodus introduces us to God’s law and the processes required for atonement, the covering of sin, which, as pointed out above, points its readers to Jesus, the ultimate and permanent redemption.
What if someone were to ask, “What is the greatest thing God has ever done?” Of course, there is no easy answer to that question, however, many might respond with ‘creation’, after all, that is how everything got started. But, when we look at the Scriptures, we see that only a few pages discuss creation (two chapters in Genesis, a few references in the book of Job, Psalms, the books written by prophets, and few in the New Testament.) Dare we ask, “How would God answer that question?” Perhaps the answer can be revealed in the amount of Biblical text devoted to a subject. The bulk of the Bible is about our redemption through Jesus Christ. What is the greatest thing God has ever done? He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us (see John 3:16). The answer is that He loves us. Is there anything greater than God’s love? No!
Outline
I. Israel in Egypt (1:1-12:36)
A. Introduction to a man called Moses (1:1-4:31)
1. Oppression of Israel (1:1-22)
2. Preparing Moses for leadership (2:1-25)
a. Moses’ first forty years (2:1-10)
b. Moses’ second forty years (2:11–25)
3. God calls Moses to deliver His people out of Egypt (3:1-4:31)
a. God reveals Himself to Moses (3:1-22)
b. Moses quibbles and protests (4:1-17)
c. Moses responds to God’s call (4:18-31)
B. God sends Moses back to Egypt to meet with Pharaoh (5:1-7:13)
1. First meeting with Pharaoh (5:1-7:7)
2. Second meeting with Pharaoh (7:8-13)
C. God authenticates Moses as His representative through various plagues (7:14-12:36)
1. First plague: blood (7:14-24)
2. Second plague: frogs (7:25-8:15)
3. Third plague: gnats (8:16-19)
4. Fourth plague: flies (8:20-32)
5. Fifth plague: disease on the livestock (9:1-7)
6. Sixth plague: boils on man and beast (9:8-12)
7. Seventh plague: hail (9:13-35)
8. Eighth plague: locusts (10:1-20)
9. Ninth plague: darkness (10:21-29)
10. Tenth plague: death of firstborn (11:1-12:36)
a. Warning of plague announced (1:1-10)
b. Passover instituted (12:1–36)
II. Israel journeys to Mount Sinai (12:37-18:27)
A. Departure from Egypt (12:37-51)
B. Dedication of the firstborn (13:1-16)
C. Guidance by cloud and Fire (13:17-22)
D. Encountering the Red Sea (14:1-22)
E. Egyptian army destroyed (14:23-31)
F. Israel sings of their deliverance from Egypt (15:1-21)
G. Grumblings begin (15:22-17:7)
1. Complain about bitter water (15:22-27)
2. Complain about hunger and the receiving of bread from heaven (16:1-36)
3. Complain about not having any fresh water (17:1-7)
H. Defeat of Amalekites (17:8-16)
I. Division of responsibility (18:1–27)
III. Israel at Mount Sinai (19:1-40:38)
A. God’s Law (19:1-24:18)
1. Covenant initially proposed and accepted (19:1-25)
2. The Ten Words (also known as the Ten Commandments) (20:1-26)
3. Rules regarding slaves (21:1-11)
4. Rules regarding personal injury (21:12-36)
5. Rules regarding theft (22:1-4)
6. Rules regarding property damage (22:5-6)
7. Rules regarding dishonesty (22:7-15)
8. Rules regarding immorality (22:16-17)
9. Rules regarding civil and religious obligations (22:18-23:9)
10. Rules regarding the Sabbath and feasts (23:10-19)
11. Rules relating to conquest (23:20-33)
12. Covenant ratified (24:1-8)
13. God’s glory revealed (24:9-18)
B. The Tabernacle (25:1-31:18)
1. Building materials (25:1-9)
2. Ark and Mercy Seat (25:10-22)
3. Table (25:23-30)
4. Lampstand (25:31-40)
5. Four layers of coverings (curtains) (26:1-14)
6. Frames (boards) (26:15-30)
7. Veil and screen (door) (26:31-37)
8. Bronze altar (27:1-8)
9. Courtyard (27:9-19)
10. Oil supply (27:20-21)
11. Garments for the priests (28:1-43)
12. Consecration of the priests (29:1-46)
13. Golden altar of incense (30:1-10)
14. Atonement money (30:11-16)
15. Bronze laver (30:17-21)
16. Anointing oil (30:22-33)
17. Fragrant incense (30:34-38)
18. Spiritually gifted builders (31:1-11)
19. Sign of the Sabbath (31:12-18)
C. Violation of God’s Law (32:1-34:35)
1. The golden calf incident (32:1-10)
2. Intercession and wrath of Moses (32:11-35)
3. Repentance of the people (33:1-11)
4. Moses’ prayer (33:12-23)
5. Covenant renewed (34:1-35)
D. Construction of the Tabernacle (35:1-40:38)
1. Instructions to the people (35:1-36:7)
2. Curtains made (36:8-19)
3. Frames made (36:20-34)
4. Veil made (36:35-38)
5. Ark constructed (37:1-9)
6. Table built (37:10-16)
7. Lampstand built (37:17-24)
8. Golden altar of incense constructed (37:25-29)
9. Bronze altar built (38:1-7)
10. Bronze laver built (38:8)
11. Courtyard fence constructed (38:9-20)
12. Tally of construction materials used to build the Tabernacle (38:21-31)
13. Garments for Aaron and his sons made (39:1-31)
14. Construction inspected by Moses (39:32-43)
15. Tabernacle assembled (40:1-33)
16. God’s glory filled the Tabernacle (40:34–38)
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 428 and 8034.
[2] Sarna, N. M. (1991). Exodus (p. xi). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
[3] Strong’s Greek 1841 and 125.