What is Exodus ?

The exodus pattern appears with varying degrees of prominence on a great many occasions in Scripture. 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.

The pattern of exodus can itself be broken down into a number of connected stages. James Jordan, whose work has, perhaps more than anyone else’s, inspired my attention to this theme, lists some of these in his book Through New Eyes:

A threat drives the people of God from their home.
There is an assault upon the Woman and her seed by the Serpent.
Deception is used to outwit the Serpent.
God’s people are enslaved.

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.

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.

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.

From the life-giving Nile to the sun in the heavens, God displays his power and shows that there is no one above him. By the time that the people arrive at Sinai, they have received a new revelation of the depths of God’s faithfulness and concern for his people, the immensity of his power, the unlimited scope of his sovereignty, and the fearfulness of his majesty. The Law begins with a reminder of God’s work of exodus, constantly reminding Israel of this knowledge.

The exodus isn’t merely an event that occurs in history, then steadily retreats into a distant past. In the midst of the story of the exodus, God instructs Moses and Aaron to establish the month of the exodus as the first month of Israel’s calendar and to celebrate the Passover every year within it, memorializing the deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 12). The memorialization of the exodus in the yearly Passover celebration grounds Israel and its self-understanding in that great deliverance.

In introducing us to the figure of Christ, each of the Gospels employs exodus themes in various ways. Christ is the son called out of Egypt. He is the boy child rescued from the murderous king. He is the man who passes through the water and spends a period of forty days being tested in the wilderness. He is the manifestation of the Father’s glory that eclipses the glory of the Mosaic revelation received at Sinai. He is the one who authoritatively teaches a new ‘law’ from a mountain.

Exodus themes are prominent throughout the ministry of Christ, especially in association with his death and resurrection, which occur in the context of Passover. Christ is the Passover Lamb, the firstborn Son, the prophet like Moses. Once we appreciate the presence of an exodus pattern, the picture can be filled out. For instance, Pentecost is like Sinai, the giving of the Spirit like the giving of the Law. In both cases, the leader of the people ascends to God’s presence then gives a new revelation and establishes a new dwelling of God with his people.

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. The unity of the biblical witness and of the drama of redemption to which it bears witness also underlines the relevance of Old Testament narratives of exodus to the people of God in the twenty-first century.

The story of Christ could be described as a story of three baptisms: his baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan, the ‘baptism’ of his death (see Mark 10:38), and his baptism of the Church at Pentecost. Each one of these baptisms draws upon the pattern of exodus in various ways.

The baptism by John recalls both the crossing of the Red Sea and the crossing of the Jordan, the bookends of the period in the wilderness. It occurs before forty days of testing in the wilderness, akin to Israel’s forty years of testing in the wilderness. It is also the transition from the ministry of John in the wilderness to the ministry of Jesus in the land, much as Joshua (whose name Jesus shares) succeeds from Moses at the banks of the Jordan.

The ‘baptism’ of Christ’s death recalls the events surrounding the Passover, at which time it occurs. Christ tears open the deep of death in his resurrection, allowing the faithful to pass through to the other side, unharmed by the evil one who is pursuing them.

The baptism of the Church with the Spirit at Pentecost recalls the giving of the Law and establishment of the tabernacle at Sinai. It could also remind us of the Pentecost-like event of Numbers 11, where the Spirit of Moses is given to the elders of Israel, or of Joshua’s receiving the Spirit as Moses’ successor.

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.

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 deliverance from Egypt is not the first example of the exodus pattern in the Bible.
The story of the exodus is anticipated in various ways and through several stories in the book of Genesis.

For instance, in Genesis 12-14 there was a famine in the land and Abram went down into Egypt to stay there. Pharaoh took Sarai, threatening the woman and the promised seed. Pharaoh was deceived by the woman, Sarai.

God then plagued Pharaoh on account of her, while Abram received many gifts from Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Discovering that Sarai was Abram’s wife, Pharaoh commanded Abram to leave.

Abram returned to Canaan, where the Promised Land was divided between him and Lot and God instructed him to walk throughout the land, as God would give it to him. Finally,

Abram fought against kings of the land and was victorious. An exodus pattern is also found in the story of the deliverance of Lot from Sodom, or Jacob’s sojourn with Laban

When God delivers Israel from Egypt in the book of Exodus, they are walking in the footsteps of the patriarchs.

From a different perspective, God’s deliverances of the patriarchs are ‘reality-filled promises’ of the greater works that he will accomplish for their descendants.

The exodus is a pattern that can be broken down into many stages.
The exodus pattern appears with varying degrees of prominence on a great many occasions in Scripture.