Overview Of Exodus

Introduction

• Exodus is the second Book in the Pentateuch (the first five Books of the Old Testament). The Book is named "Exodus" ("departure") to describe the "departure" of the Hebrews from Egypt. There are 40 chapters.

• It was written by Moses around 1447-1410 B.C.

• The Book picks up the story of the descendants of Abraham (the Hebrews/Jews) who were in Egypt at the end of the Book of Genesis. It progress through to their time on Mount Sinai.

• It is a reminder to the people of Israel, especially as they are punished in the wilderness for forty years for their continued rebellions.

• The key word seems to be "sign."

Key Verse

• Exodus 12:40-41-40    Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41    And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

Book Overview

• The Period Of Detention (Exodus 1-2)

• The Period Of Deliverance (Exodus 3-14)

• The Period Of Discipline (Exodus 15-19)

• The Period Of Directive (Exodus 20-40)

Chapter Overview

Detention (1-2)

• The Egyptians become afraid of the Hebrews living in their land. They enslave them, and then rise up and kill many of the Hebrew males. Moses is saved by his mother. She floats him down the Nile river where he is rescued by an Egyptian woman who raises him as her son. The name "Moses" is similar to many of the Egyptian ruling families of that day. His name literally means "Pulled Out." His mother, Jochebed, was hired as his nurse and raised him. When he was forty years old, he killed and Egyptian soldier who was mistreating a Hebrew and fled to Midian where he became a shepherd.

Deliverance (3-12)

• The Lord appears to Moses in the burning bush. He sends Moses to confront Pharaoh and demand that the Hebrews be set free.

• When the Pharaoh refuses, God demonstrates to him and to all of Egypt that He is the one true God. In a series of Ten Plagues, God shows that He is superior to Egyptian gods and goddesses.

• Exodus 12:12-For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.

• Exodus 18:11-Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them."

The Ten Plagues

• One: Waters To Blood (7:14-25)

• Two: Frogs (8:1-15)

• Three: Lie (8:16-19)

• Four: Flies (8:20-32)

• Five: Livestock Diseased (9:1-7)

• Six: Boils (9:8-12)

• Seven: Hail (9:13-35)

• Eight: Locusts (10:1-20)

• Nine: Darkness (10:21-29)

• Ten: Death Of Firstborn (11:110; 12:29-30)

Passover Announced

• The Lord passed over Egypt and killed all of the firstborn children.

• The Hebrews were commanded to slaughter a lamb and cover their houses with its' blood. When this happened, The Lord "passed over" the homes where the blood was found.

• This foreshadowed the way that the Lord's blood was applied to His people and the Divine wrath "passes over" them.

• The Passover was celebrated every year in Israel (more attention to the Hebrew calendar will be given to this in future studies).

• Chapters 12-13 contain many other Passover regulations for the Hebrews.

Chapter 14-The Red Sea Crossing

• Exodus 14:19-21-19    And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20    So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. 21    Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.

• "Second, we need not assume that they crossed in some single file line, even though much artwork suggest such. The crossing could have been 1-3 miles wide. Therefore, the Israelites could have crossed in as little as 3-6 hours. We can picture an organized type army march, with no panic, or trampling of people. The Israelites had entered the sea bed and were far into the crossing, when Jehovah moved the cloud that had been blocking them off from the Egyptians, to the front, allowing the Egyptians to see them." (Edward D. Andrews, Bible Difficulties In The Book Of Exodus: Answering The Bible Critics-Bible Book Number Two, 2035-20042 (Kindle Edition); Cambridge, OH; Christian Publishing House)

• The Deliverance of the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery has been attested to in numerous ways archaeologically (see below).

Discipline (15-19)

• On their way to Mount Sinai, the Hebrews continually rebelled against God (Exodus 15:24; 16:2-3; 17:1-2).

• During this period, God provided for their needs and tried to teach them to be grateful and to trust in Him.

• Sadly, they didn't learn.

• As we will notice in more detail in a future lesson, the people were condemned to wander in the wilderness for forty years when they left Sinai and refused to go into Canaan (wanting instead to turn back around and go back to Egypt!)

• Exodus 16:35-And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

The Directions

• The rest of the Book of Exodus contains Divine Directions from God to the Hebrews.

• Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. These are given orally in Exodus 20; but they are not actually recorded as being given on stone until Exodus 32.

• One: No gods before Me.

• Two: No carved images.

• Three: Shall not take God's Name in vain.

• Four: Remember the Sabbath day.

• Five: Honor your father and mother.

• Six: Do not murder.

• Seven: Do not commit adultery.

• Eight: Do Not steal.

• Nine: Do not bear false witness.

• Ten: Do not covet.

• Exodus 32::15--And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.

• Moses makes another set of the Ten Commandments (at the command of God). He also intercedes for the people after they have rebelled against Him by committing ritual fornication (Exodus 32-33).

• In this section, God provides Moses with much direction regarding the worship of Israel (more attention will be given to this in the study of Leviticus). There are also several societal laws put into place here.

Prominent People/Events/Themes

The Hardening Of Pharaoh's Heart

• One of the most often asked questions about Exodus deals with God's declaration that He would harden the heart of Pharaoh.

• Let's notice several things about this hardening.

• Exodus 4:21-And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

Who Was Pharaoh Before God Dealt With Him?

• Please notice that Pharaoh was already a stubborn and rebellious man.

• This has been made clear from several facts. First, we see that the Pharaohs before him were hardened in sin (Exodus 1:8). Second, Pharaoh was clearly in favor of the slavery and mistreatment of the Hebrews (Exodus 2-4).

• Thus, God did not take some indifferent and religiously confused "good man" and harden his heart. He took a man who was already hardened in sin and allowed his heart to be further hardened.

• The question is not, "Does God harden people's hearts?" The question is, "Whom does God harden?" From Pharaoh we see that God hardens the hearts of those who first harden themselves.

Who Does The Hardening?

• Notice that there are several indicators that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34).

• "God did not harden Pharaoh’s heart contrary to Pharaoh’s own free choice. The Scriptures make it very clear that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. They declare that Pharaoh’s heart “grew hard” (Ex. 7:13; cf. 7:14, 22), that Pharaoh “hardened his heart” (Ex. 8:15), and that “Pharaoh’s heart grew hard” the more God worked on it (8:19 NKJV). Again, when God sent the plague of the flies, “Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also” (8:32 NKJV). This same phrase, or like phrases, is repeated over and over (cf. 9:7, 34-35).

• "While it is true that God predicted in advance that it would happen (Ex. 4:21), nonetheless the fact is that Pharaoh hardened his own heart first (7:13; 8:15, etc.), and then God only hardened it later (cf. 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27).101 Further, it was God’s mercy that occasioned the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. For each time he pleaded with Moses to lift the plague, he was further confirmed in his sin by adding to his guilt and by making it easier for him to reject God the next time." (Norman Geisler, Chosen But Free, 90 (Kindle Edition); Minnesota, Minneapolis; Bethany House Publishers)

The Hardening Of The Heart Could Still Allow Repentance

• Exodus 10:1, 7-Now the LORD said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him...Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?"

• So Pharaoh was hardened long before the events of the Exodus: he continued to harden his own heart during the Ten Plagues; and God's hardening of his heart was not such that he could not still repent if he chose to.

Looking At Moses

We Can Serve God At Any Age

• Moses was forty years old when he left Egypt (Acts 7:23) and he was eighty years old when he went and confronted Pharaoh to lead the children of Israel out of slavery (Acts 7:30; Exodus 7:7). He was 120 years old when he died (Deuteronomy 34:7).

• No matter how old we are, we can seek to serve Him and accomplish great things.

Moses' Excuses

"Who Am I?" (Exodus 3:11)

• Exodus 3:12-So He said, "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

"What's Your Name?"(Exodus 3:13)

• Exodus 3:14-And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

"You Are A Liar" (Exodus 4:1)

• Exodus 4:8-9-8    "Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9    And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land."

"I Am Not A Good Speaker" (Exodus 4:10)

• Exodus 4:11-12-11    So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12    Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

"Send Someone Else!!" (Exodus 4:13)

• Exodus 4:14-17-14    So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: "Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15    Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16    So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17    And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs."

Moses' Doubts

• Exodus 5:22-23-22    So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? 23    For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all."

• Moses (like many of God's people through the ages) had a faith that asked questions and sometimes dealt with doubt.

• God did not reprove Moses for asking questions or having doubts; and He will treat us the same (cf. Matthew 11:1-6).

Some Archaeological Evidences Of The

Plagues And The Exodus

"There is no doubt that there was a significant Semitic population throughout Egypt during the New Kingdom (see chap. 3).Because of the preponderance of epigraphic evidence for a Syro-Palestinian presence in Egypt from the mid to late second millennium B.C., even the most skeptical historian cannot dismiss the fact that both the Bible and Egyptian sources agree on this situation.42 Even as far south as Thebes there was a significant number of Semitic-speaking people during the Empire period.43 The names of Semites have even turned up among the workers of Deir el-Medineh in western Thebes.44" (James K. Hoffmeier, Israel In Egypt: The Evidence For The Authenticity Of The Exodus Tradition, 3689-3697 (Kindle Edition); New York, New York; Oxford University Press)

"If the children of Jacob were never slaves in Egypt in the first place, then how comes it that there lies in the Brooklyn Museum a papyrus, conventionally dated to around 1700 BC, which lists a number of Hebrew slaves, slaves who possessed such familiar names as Shiphrah and Menahem? 12 Shiphrah is of considerable interest to us, for that is the name of one of the Hebrew midwives mentioned in Exodus 1:15. Is it one and the same person? Who knows? However, not only the slaves’ names, but their offices and duties are also listed – ‘chief over the house’ (the very same office, that of ‘mer- per’, which Joseph held under Potiphar), ‘house servant’ and so on. Out of 95 slaves listed for this particular household, 37 no less are Hebrew. 13" (Bill Cooper, The Authenticity Of The Book Of Genesis, 2035-2040 (Kindle Edition)).

"Though the evidence for the Exodus has been slow to be gathered, there is good reason to believe that it actually occurred as described in the Bible. This thinking is based on the biblical testimony, Egyptian extrabiblical sources, and archaeological excavation in Egypt and neighboring regions. For example, one of the most well-known known documents in Egyptology is the Ipuwer papyrus (officially known as Papyrus Leiden 344), which records an account remarkably similar to the plagues described in the book of Exodus. The papyrus was obtained b y Swedish diplomat, Giovanni Anastasi, and sold to the Leiden Museum in Holland in 1828. No one realized the exact significance of the contents of the document until the first full translation was done in 1909 by a British Egyptologist, Alan H.Gardiner, under the title The Admonitions of an Egyptian tian Sage from a Hieratic Papyrus in Leiden..

• "In addition, there have been many later full translations made, including an Oxford edition (2009). Currently, the document is stored at the National Museum of Antiquities in the Netherlands. Its contents are widely regarded by Egyptologists as a lamentation over the catastrophic conditions in Egypt written by a high Egyptian official named Ipuwer sometime time prior to the thirteenth century BC (which is consistent with either an early or late chronology for the Exodus) .* Ipuwer was known as one of the great wise sages in Egyptian tian history. His astonishing description of the conditions, to the surprise of Egyptologists, gists, appeared remarkably similar to the biblical account of the ten plagues recorded in the book of Exodus"

"The date of the Ipuwer manuscript approximately fits the Exodus date. The hieratic script style was in use at that time period, the events described are remarkably similar to the plagues, the location of the events (Egypt) matches the setting of the Exodus, and the odds of all these calamities occurring at the same time make them more than coincidental. dental. There is no scientific, linguistic, or historical fact that Egyptologists can point to that would decisively preclude the content of the papyrus being a lament over the Exodus plagues. A simple comparison of the content in both the book of Exodus and the Ipuwer papyrus leaves little doubt to their similarities (see table below)." (Joseph M. Holden & Norman Geisler, The Popular Handbook Of Archaeology And The Bible: Discoveries That Confirm The Reliability of Scripture, 2555-2568 (Kindle Edition); Eugene, Oregon; Harvest House Publishers).

"Evidence for the plague of boils which God brought upon Egypt may have come to light. In 2009, a fellow researcher, Ed Kaspar, wrote an article in which he proposed that the Exodus Pharaoh was Thutmose II. This is based upon recent CAT scans of the pharaoh's mummy as well as quotes from the original archaeologists that examined the mummy back in 1886 and 1912. The examinations and CAT scans revealed that Thutmose II had scarring on his flesh which may have come from a skin disease consistent with that of boils. Other mummies of individuals who were alive at the same time as Thutmose II were also found to have this same scaring. Those mummies included his wife Queen Hatshepsut, her wet nurse Sitre- In, and her stepson Thutmose III. One Biblical timeline when matched up against one commonly used Egyptian Pharaoh timeline also has the Exodus falling on a date very close to the death of Thutmose II. If Thutmose II was in fact the Pharaoh of the Exodus, there are some very interesting coincidences to support this.

"For example one common Egyptian timeline has Thutmose II dying in 1486 B.C., this would therefore be considered the date of the Exodus. According to the Bible, Moses was 80 years old at that time. Adding 80 Biblical years to 1486 B.C. would give the date of his birth. (Note a Biblical year is based upon a 360 day calendar year not 365 days. So 1486 + (80 years x 360/365) = 1565 B.C., the date of Moses birth. The most likely candidate for Pharaoh at this time was a man named Seqenenre Tao. What is interesting about him is that all of his children's names, both sons and daughters, were comprised of the name "mose.” Their names were Ahmose, Kamose, Ahmose- Nefertari, Ahmose- Henuttamehu, Ahmose- Sipair, Ahmose- Henutemipet, Ahmose- Meritamon, Ahmose- Nebetta, and Ahmose- Tumerisy." (John Argubright, Bible Believers Archaeology-Volume 3: Behold The Man!, 606-626 (Kindle Edition); LaSalle, Illinois).

• 1. Papyrus 2:2-”The River Is Blood” (Exodus 7:20) • 2. Papyrus 2:6-”Blood Is Everywhere.” (Exodus

7:21) • 3. Papyrus 2:10-”Gates, Columns, And Walls Are

Consumed By Fire. (Exodus 9:23-24) • 4. Papyrus 4:14-Trees Are Destroyed. (Exodus

9:25) • 5. Papyrus 9:11-"The Land Is Not Light." (Exodus

10:22) • 6. Papyrus 2;13-He who places his brother in the

ground is everywhere. (Exodus 12:30)

The Gods Of The Egyptians

• Every one of the Ten Plagues was an example of Jehovah triumphing over some Egyptian god/goddess within its' own alleged sphere or realm of of power.

• The following quotation provides an in-depth summary of the God of the Bible triumphing over the Egyptian deities.

"It is said that the Egyptians of this time worshipped over eighty different deities. They would have only been rivaled by India in their polytheism. Like the Indian’s, they worshipped a large number of animals and anthropomorphic beings as gods. The animals considered to be sacred included many insects like the scarab and locust; many mammals like the lion, ox, ram, wolf, dog, and cat; many fowls like the falcon, and vulture; many aquatic creatures like fish, frogs, and crocodiles; and very prominently we find the worship of the cobra...The cobra also represents the goddess Wadjet, one of the earliest of Egyptian deities....

• "So here in this pre- plague encounter between Moses and Pharaoh we see that God Almighty, the LORD, Jehovah is showing Pharaoh that his goddess, Wadjet, the cobra, is not a god at all....Why would Pharaoh not even consider this plague? The pre- plague encounter was a challenge to the Egyptian god Wadjet but this first plague against the general population of Egypt was an attack upon multiple gods related to the worship of the Nile River...Khnum was one of the earliest of the Egyptian gods....Hapi is another of the Nile River gods. He was also said to be the god that provided the Nile River and the fish and birds of its marshes to the Egyptian people. He was also a fertility god bringing life to the land through the yearly flooding of the Nile River....

• "Osiris is the god of the underworld who sees to it that the dead are judged. He is considered to be the god of the resurrection and of new life. He is closely associated with the changing of seasons. He was betrayed by friends and placed in a box which was cast into the Nile River. It was commonly believed that it was his blood that flowed in the Nile that brought life to Egypt. In Figure 4, Osiris is seen on a bier with wheat growing from him....Tauret is the goddess who is depicted as a pregnant hippopotamus. She is another fertility goddess symbolizing the rebirth and regeneration associated with the Nile River. In Figure 5, she is seen standing on her hind legs and holding the key of life....Nu is said to be the oldest of the ancient Egyptian gods. He is said to be the father of the sun god, Re...The purpose of this plague is the same as the former encounters between Pharaoh and Moses. This plague was meant to reveal to Pharaoh that the LORD Jehovah is the one true God. All that Pharaoh has been taught and all that he believes is being challenged by the message of the LORD. I believe that the message of the LORD has that same power today....

• "The first plague was against the various gods and goddesses of the Nile River but this plague seems to be against one specific goddess named Heqet. She is depicted as being in the form of a frog or as a woman with a frog head. She is often associated with the god Khnum....She was also a goddess of childbirth. Many women would wear an amulet or bracelet with her depiction to protect them during their pregnancy. It is commonly believed that the midwives in ancient Egypt were called ministers of Heqet. But like the last plague the LORD showed that there is no God but Jehovah...This particular plague is generally thought to be against the Egyptian god of the earth named Geb. He was known as a fertility god and was thought to be in control of everything on, in, or under the earth...The Egyptians worshipped many gods and goddesses and it is commonly reported that one of those goddesses was named Uatchit. She was said to be depicted as a woman with a fly’s head...In Egypt the cattle, especially the bulls, were worshipped. Apis is the bull god (Figure 12, next page). A bull that matched specific markings would be selected from the herd and brought to the temple. This bull was given a harem of cows. When the bull died, it was mourned over as though a Pharaoh had died. These bulls would be buried in elaborate religious ceremonies....

• "As with the other plagues, this plague strikes at the gods of the Egyptians. One of the few gods of the Egyptians that was actually a person was the god Imhotep (Figure 13). It is said that Imhotep was a very educated person that served a Pharaoh of the third dynasty (around 2700 BC). He was reported to be a priest, writer, a doctor, and a founder of the Egyptian studies of astronomy and architecture. Imhotep is associated with another god named Nefertem. This god was believed to help ease pain and suffering through medicine (Figure 14). Yet, as with the other gods of Egypt, Nefertem or Imhotep could not stand before the LORD Jehovah. The LORD has struck against the Nile River, the life line of Egypt. The Nile River’s waters turned to blood, it brought forth a multitude of frogs and the Scriptures say that the land stank. The LORD struck against the soil of Egypt, the fertile fields brought forth plagues of lice and flies, instead of produce. The LORD struck against the wealth of Egypt, killing millions upon millions of cattle, camels, horses, and other livestock. With this plague, the LORD has struck against the physical health of the Egyptians...

• "This plague brings destruction and even death to men, animals, and crops of Egypt. The Egyptians worshipped gods of weather like Tefnut, the goddess of moisture (Figure 15) and Set, the god of weather who had a voice of thunder (Figure 16). The Egyptians also worshipped a god named Ami, who was the god of fire and Maahes, the god of storms. But the LORD God of the Hebrews is the only true and living God...Egypt had several gods and goddesses of agriculture that they believed protected the growing of the crops and the harvesting of the crops. Osiris and Isis (Figure 17) are two examples of these gods and goddesses...Isis is the sister wife of Osiris. She is credited with teaching women skills necessary to be a good wife including growing crops, grinding corn, and making bread. As in the other plagues, these gods and goddesses could not stand before the one true living God, the LORD God of the Hebrews...Perhaps the most powerful god in all of Egyptian mythology is Amen- Ra, the sun god (Figure 18). Amen- Ra represented light, warmth, and growth but for three days the LORD had rendered Amen- Ra to be powerless. There was no light, no warmth, and no growth. Once again, the LORD has demonstrated that He alone is the one true living God....

• "Many of the gods and goddesses of Egypt had some connection to fertility but for this study we will consider just two of them. Bes is probably one of the most unusual of all of the Egyptian gods (Figure 19). His appearance is very much that of something other than an Egyptian. Adding to his uniqueness is that he is almost always depicted from a full front view rather than the normal profile view of most gods. It was believed that during the birth of a child, Bes would dance about the room to protect the child from evil gods. He was also believed to stay nearby the child to entertain them. Egyptians attributed Bes as being the cause of the laughter or smile of a baby. This final plague shows that indeed it is the LORD who is the one true living God. None of the gods or goddesses of Egypt could stand before Him." (Ron Knapp, Jr. When I Smite Egypt: The Ten Plagues Of Egypt, 380-2085 (Kindle Edition))