What is Exodus ?

Like a recurring theme in a piece of music, sometimes its presence takes the form of subtle and tantalizing hints, only perceived by the most alert listeners; on other occasions its presence is pronounced and highly developed.

It is an event in which God discloses his identity.
God revealed his covenant identity to his people in the context of the exodus

In the appearance and declaration of the divine name at the burning bush, in the plagues upon Egypt, in the theophany and deliverance of the Law at Sinai, and in his accomplishing of his people’s deliverance, God reveals himself through the events of the exodus

God is disclosed in his actions and the story of the exodus is one in which God is displaying his character and his commitment to his people.

At the burning bush, God declares his divine name to Moses and his commitment to deliver his people. It is as if God began by placing his signature firmly in the corner of the still-blank canvas titled ‘Exodus’

before proceeding to produce a work exceeding anyone’s imagining. Through the exodus, God demonstrates that his power is above all other supposed gods.

Taking on all of the gods of the Egyptians, God proves his superiority in every realm of creation.

1. The deliverance from Egypt is not the first example of the exodus pattern in the Bible.

2. The exodus is a pattern that can be broken down into many stages.

3. It is an event in which God discloses his identity.

4. The exodus is institutionalized and made foundational for the future self-understanding of the people of God.

5. The exodus and the exodus pattern help us to understand the meaning of and connections between events.

6. The exodus is a basis for prophetic expectation.

7. The exodus provides us with a framework within which to understand the work of Christ.

8. The exodus reveals the unity of Scripture and of the work of redemption to which it bears witness.

9. Both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper draw upon an exodus pattern.

10. The exodus gives us a sense of our place in God’s work of redemption.

The presence of the exodus pattern in the New Testament, not least in its teaching concerning Baptism and the Supper, is a means by which we are brought into an understanding of where we stand in relation to God’s purposes.

We are to perceive the ways in which the story of Israel resonates with our own, to see ourselves as bound together in the greater drama of God’s redemption, and to act accordingly. We have been delivered from the dominion of the Pharaoh of this world, Satan. We are pilgrims in the wilderness of this present age, being led to the Promised Land of the new heavens and the new earth by the Spirit. We are being led by Christ, the prophet like Moses and the true Joshua.

We face the temptation of returning to Egypt, and are tested in a great many ways, yet are called to follow our Master, who has overcome the ruler of this age.

When Paul speaks about the Church’s practice of Baptism and the Supper, he relates both to the exodus.

We are baptized into Christ much as Israel was baptized into Moses. Like the Israelites, we are delivered through water and led by the Spirit to the Promised Land.

Our celebration of the Supper is compared to the Israelites eating the manna and drinking from the rock or is compared to the celebration of the feast of the Passover, with Christ being the Lamb sacrificed for us.

The Lord’s Supper was instituted at a Passover meal and draws heavily upon the meaning of the Passover to interpret the death of Christ. The elements of bread and wine are elements taken from the existing ritual of the Passover meal.

The presence of the recurring themes of exodus throughout the biblical text, in both Old and New Testaments, manifests that Scripture is not a collection of detached stories of miscellaneous acts of God in the past, but is a unified drama of redemption. Such patterns should increase our confidence in the Scripture as a divinely inspired and integrated whole.