Emunahאֱמוּנָה · Hebrew : Faith
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Exodus

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Part One: Chapters 1-18 - The Exodus from Egypt

The first part of Exodus primarily focuses on the Israelites in Egypt. It demonstrates the power of God and his ability to protect and fight for his people, using human beings as his mouthpiece. We also get God’s name for the first time in Exodus. This is a privilege as God only says it as a means to reassure the Israelites that it is their God that is going to deliver them from Pharaoh’s (a new Pharaoh) clutches.

Notes:

Moses and the Exodus (Chapters 1-4)

  • Chapters 1-4: New Pharaoh ruling over Egypt. Pharaoh actively tries to destroy the Israelites. Sends out a decree that all Israelite male children that are born must be killed. If they were female, they were permitted to live. The midwives, however, they feared the Lord so they told the Pharaoh that the growing number of newborn males was because the Hebrew women were giving birth so quickly and in quick succession that they were unable to prevent all Hebrew males from being born. One Israelite woman, desperate to save her child, puts him in a basket and send him down the Nile river. Pharaoh’s daughter seems him and adopts him. The baby, eventually named Moses, had a sister that was nearby and witnessed Pharaoh’s daughter choose to spare this child’s life. She offers to get a Hebrew woman to help him in infancy and Pharaoh’s daughter agrees.
  • Chapter 3: The Burning Bush encounter. Following Moses’ murder of an Egyptian, he runs into the wilderness where he spends the majority of his adulthood. He marries a Midianite woman and becomes a shepherd’s apprentice under his father-in-law, Jethro. While tending the flocks, he sees a burning bush and goes out to see what it is. Moses speaks to God. God tells him that he will be the liberator of the Israelites and that he must go to Pharaoh and demand that he let the Israelites go. Moses hesitates to go until God sends Aaron, his brother, to be the mouthpiece while Moses is the conduit of God on Earth.

The Plagues and Passover (Chapters 5-15)

  • Chapters 5-15: The confrontation between God and Pharaoh. Pharaoh, determined to keep the Israelites where they are, hardens his heart against Moses and Aaron. The first five plagues take place. After each plague, Pharaoh begs Moses and Aaron to speak on behalf of Egypt and plead with God to take the plague away and then Pharaoh will let the Israelites go. But Pharaoh only agrees to let them go under certain conditions. Moses and Aaron refute those conditions, but agree to plead with God on Egypt's behalf. When the plague ends, Pharaoh hardens his heart. After the fifth plague, God begins to harden Pharaoh’s heart, telling Moses that he is doing this so that not only will the Israelites understand that God is who he says he is, but also so that Egypt will know. The last five plagues take place. Pharaoh is primed against Israel and continues to be deceitful in his promises to let Israel go and then changing his mind.
  • Chapter 11: The Passover. The last plague was the death of every first born in the land of Egypt. God, desiring to spare the Israelite children, tells them to slaughter a lamb without defect and use the blood to paint the doorposts of their homes. The Angel of Death, when released in the wee hours of the night, would pass over any home that had the lamb’s blood painted on the doorposts. As a result, every Egyptian household lost their first born child, including the palace of Pharaoh. This also results in the Passover festival.
  • Chapters 14-15: The culmination of the escape from Egypt. Israel watches in awe as Moses raises his staff and the Red Sea splits in two and then watches again as the Lord lets the waters fall on Pharaoh and his army after they pursued the Israelites out of Egypt. The first instance of the might of God and his vengeance towards those who oppress his people. The Israelites sing a song of praise for their deliverance.

Wilderness Journey (Chapters 16-18)

  • Chapters 16-18: Israel is grateful for their deliverance until they become angry and tired for wandering for so long. They complain to Moses and Aaron about the heat and the dread of being in the desert. They begin to wish for the “good old days” in Egypt. God, disgusted by this, proves to them once more that he is their provider by sending Quail and Manna from heaven to sustain them. This is the first time God outright gives the ordinance of no working on the sabbath. Israel’s gratefulness doesn’t last long as they complain about a lack of water when they are thirsty. Again, God provides and the people of Israel return to their grateful state. Chapter 18 recounts Moses’s father-in-law giving him sound advice to delegate his responsibilities while still being the mouthpiece for God and this is the first example we get of a hierarchy of leadership.

“But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them? God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors-the God of Abraham, the god of Isaac, and the God of Jacob-has sent me to you This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.” Ex. 3:13-15

Part Two: Chapters 19-40 - The Covenant at Mount Sinai

The second part of Exodus focuses on the Israelites escape from Pharaoh and all of Egypt. It also focuses on the instructions God gives at Mount Sinai about being a separated people as well instructions regarding the Tabernacle and all that comes with it.

Notes:

The Covenant at Sinai (Chapters 19-24)

  • Chapter 19: Israel has left Egypt and are waiting at the bottom of Mount Sinai for Moses and God to finish speaking. God is issuing instructions, declarations, and provisions for the people of Israel to set them apart from the rest of the world.
  • Chapter 20: The ten commandments. This covenant that God is giving the people of Israel is designed in two ways. The first is the first five commandments that focus on the people and their relationship with God. The second is the last five commandments that focus on the relationships they are to have with one another. This is designed to bring them into alignment with God, therefore, having a direct impact on how they conduct themselves with one another.
  • Chapters 21-24: God gives an additional 52 commandments about worship and social justice. Moses writes down all the commands that God gives him for record and then reads them out to Israel. The Israelites agree to the list given to them. After this, God gives out more instructions as to other matters.

The Tabernacle (Chapters 25-31)

  • Chapters 25-31: The blueprint of the Tabernacle. God tells Moses about the details of the Tabernacle and how it must be built. He tells Moses about the types of materials that are to be used in the construction of the Tabernacle. God gives detailed instructions about the Holy of Holies which is the inner room. This is where the Ark of the Covenant will be located. A lot of the instructions and details are a callback to the Garden of Eden. Included in all of this are ordnances for the Altar of burning, the priests, the incense altar, the washbasin and the anointing oil. God appoints two craftsmen that were anointed to do and make all that God outlines.

“ ‘You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives.’ ” Ex. 23:25

The Golden Calf and Restoration (Chapters 32-34)

  • Chapter 32: The Israelites, impatient with the length of time Moses is at the top of the mountain for the second time, decide to make a golden calf to worship and enlist the help of Aaron to do so. God, seeing this from Heaven, tells Moses that because of this, he will wipe out the Israelites and start over. Moses intercedes on behalf of the Israelites and God spares them, but not without consequences. God sends a plague amongst the people. This is the first time God describes himself to any human.
  • Chapters 33-34: The Israelites, repentant of their unfaithfulness, recommits to the covenant. The Lord promises to be with them always, but assures them that if they continue to be rebellious and unfaithful, he will abandon them and make his covenant with someone else. Moses and God continue to speak to face to face. As a result, Moses spends most of his time with his face covered because his face would shine with the Glory of God every time he came out of the Tent of Meeting. God gives us his name.

“The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, ‘Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is perfected - even children in the third and fourth generations.’ ” Ex. 34:6-7

Building the Tabernacle (Chapters 35-40)

  • Chapters 35-40: The construction of the Tabernacle begins and the craftsmanship of all the articles of the Tabernacle begin as well. For a whole year, the Israelites spend their time preparing the materials and following the instructions outlined by God for the construction of the first place of worship that they will have. Additionally, the Ark of the Covenant is designed and built and the tablets of the Ten Commandments are placed inside. The clothing and articles of the priestly order are crafted and Moses inspects all that has taken place. The Israelites set up the Tabernacle and the Glory of the Lord fills the Tabernacle. When Moses attempts to enter, he cannot.

“Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted. The cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.” Ex. 40:36-38

Key Memory Verses

Reflection Questions

Recall

  • Setting

    • Occurred sometime between 1450 and 1250 BC. During Egypt’s 18th Dynasty (1550-1295 BC) when the pharaoh’s built an empire extending from the north through the Canaanite Coast down to the south along the Nile.

  • Author

    • Moses is the likely author of Exodus

  • Meanings/Message

    • God’s character, God’s covenant, the making of and important of the Tabernacle, and God’s rescuing power

Outline

  • 1:1-18:27 - The Exodus Rescue: God’s Power and Provision
  • 19:1-24:18 - The Sinai Covenant: God’s Principles
  • 25:1-40:38 - The Tabernacle: God’s Presence
Chapter Summaries