1. Old Testament Core Seminar Class 4 Exodus 1-19 Old Testament Overview 1

2. Introduction 2 All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players. William Shakespeare When we truly consider this statement, who is the director? This world is Gods theater where He displays His glory! Genesis gave us the introduction: The creation of the cosmos, introduction of sin, and Gods great planto save a people through Abrahams line. At this point, who knew of this plan? In Exodus, God turns on the stage lights on the most powerful nation on earth and delivers His people for His glory. In Exodus we will find themes and patterns that shapes how God will work through the rest of history.

3. Outline 3 This will be a two part study: A historical overview with its place in the redemptive story. Then an exploration of the five main themes in Exodus. Outline Setting: Israel in Egypt (1:1-1:22) Call of Moses (2:1-4:31) Moses and Aaron: initial request (5:1-7:7) Plagues and Exodus (7:8-15:21) Journey to Sinai (15:22-19:25)

4. Overview of Exodus 1-19 4 Gen 3:15 is a key verse that declares that the seed of the woman, a promised Son, will crush Satans head. This seed comes through the line of Abraham. They will become a great nation and possess Canaan and bless the whole world. For now theyre a large family living in Egypt during a famine! Still, Gods plan is in motion read Exodus 1:7. After 300 years, approximately BC 1500, they became Egypts aggravation! They are no longer visitors they are slaves. No longer welcomed they are oppressed. Where is Gods promise? This is the stage setting as the curtains of Exodus opens.

5. 5 Read Exodus 2:24. Had God actually forgotten? Note the timing. Moses was already on the scene, grown, old (by our standards 80) when God began to implement His plan. What does that tell us about how God works? This begins the battle between the God of the universe and the universal gods of Egypt. The last plague is the slaying of every firstborn in the land Gods outpouring of his wrath on Egypt for how they treated His people. In Gods mercy, he provides a plan of salvation through the shedding of the blood of an innocent animal. Pharaoh surrenders, Israel leaves the land only after plundering its riches Gods gift to his people. One last thing God destroys Pharaoh and his army at the miracle at the Red Sea.

6. 6 The people have been redeemed by the LORD; will they continue to trust the LORD? In chapter 15 Moses praises God for his deliverance... 3 days later they complain that theres no water or food. Grumbling and disobedient and maybe not worthy of Gods favor, He who redeemed them leads them through! Read Exodus 19:4-5 (example of conditional covenant) We see the pattern of redemptive history oppression, judgment, and miraculous deliverance. God speaks he speaks to Moses and Aaron, and through them to Pharaoh and to the people of Israel. God is revealing the meaning of the great events hes accomplished on this grand stage. Making Exodus a foundational book for understanding the rest of the Bible.

7. Gods Unique Identity Theme 1 7 Read Exodus 3:13-14 hayah (verb) - to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out He exists and His existence is absolute; He did not derive His existence from anyone or anything else. He is self-existent, self-sufficient. He is eternal. He simply and absolutely is.

8. 8 Prior to this, Moses most often uses God now he most often use The LORD Yahweh which most literally means I AM. Ex 5:2: Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD (Who is Yahweh!) that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? Who is the LORD?! The whole book of Exodus is an answer to that most fundamental of questions.

9. 9 Attributes of the I AM that Exodus reveals to us. 1. The LORD is a covenant-keeping God. Ex 6:5; I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. 2. The LORD is utterly supreme. Ex 8:10: It will be as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. Yahweh is uniquely divine and sovereign. 3. The LORD is the great warrior. Ex 15:2-3: The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my fathers God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior, the LORD is his name. 4. The LORD is the caring provider. Ex 16:11-12: The LORD said to Moses, I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, At twilight you will eat meat,

10. 10 Read John 8:58. Before Abraham was born, I am! Jesus didnt just call himself God. He called himself I AM the unique divine name. (The Jews knew thats what he meant, because they attempted to stone him!) So, in a very real sense, Jesus is who we are reading about here in Exodus when we are reading about I AM performing great miracles to redeem His people. I AM: eimi - to be, to exist, to happen, to be present Struggling or know someone who is use these descriptions of Gods character to inform and to comfort and to strengthen.

11. The Pattern of Redemption Theme 2 11 The way he works Gods pattern of redemption. 1. The problem: the people are oppressed in slavery. Ex 3:7. The exodus is the salvation of Gods people out of something: in this case, out of tyrannical captivity. 2. The solution: the LORDs single-handedly acts to save the people, sparing them from his judgment through a blood sacrifice. Ex 6:6. The concept of redemption, of course, refers to purchasing freedom for a slave. The death of the Passover lamb is the ransom price for the firstborn sons of Israel. God pours out his judgment on Egypt, the ransom is paid, and the people go free.

12. 12 3. The result: the LORD leads his people to the promised land where they can worship him and be in fellowship with him. Ex 3:8: The LORD instructs Moses to give Pharaoh for desiring to leave Egypt is so that the people can worship God. Israel is rescued out of slavery with the intent of taking them into something else: into the land, so they can worship as Gods people in Gods place under Gods rule. Mere liberation from slavery is not the point of Gods deliverance. The point is to create a people who know and worship Him. This is more than a release from physical slavery. The ultimate goal is worship and relationship.

13. 13 These three aspects of Gods redemption the problem of slavery, the solution of salvation through judgment, and the result of restored worship will be major reoccurring themes in the rest of the Bible. Israels later exile into Babylon: They fall out of fellowship with God and become aliens again in foreign lands where they are again mistreated. Then returned from exile is to have fellowship with Him. The greatest example is in Titus 2:14 says that Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us [the solution] from all wickedness [the problem] and to purify for himself a people that are his very own [the result]. Saving us through the death and resurrection of his Son wasnt Gods Plan B it was his plan before the creation of the earth.

14. A Substitutionary Sacrifice Theme 3 14 Read Exodus 12:12-13. Yahweh intends to strike down every firstborn? In most of the plagues, Israel was spared while Egypt suffered. Not this time! Israel isnt Gods people because theyre perfect. They too deserve the punishment of death for their sins. God is sovereign and could kill the firstborn sons of Israel too, and no one could question his goodness and justice. He provides a lamb to die in their place so they might not perish! Its not that punishment is given to Egypt but not to Israel rather, Israels punishment falls on a substitute. The Passover is a monument of Gods grace!

15. 15 Why remember the Passover every year? It was Gods way of pointing to the future Passover Lamb Jesus Christ. Read John 1:29 and 1 Corinthians 5:7. The New Testament writers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, look back at Exodus and interpret the Passover most fundamentally in spiritual terms. As Christians we need to focus on spiritual liberation as Exodus applies to our lives. Many believe the best way for us to apply Exodus is to fight slavery and oppression on earth whether it is human trafficking, systemic injustice, racism, or genocide. As Christians we should oppose these all people are created in the image of God, and we to love our neighbor as ourselves.

16. 16 But this is not the point. The New Testament teaches us that the most desperate need of all people is the spiritual liberation that comes through repentance and faith in Jesus, our Passover lamb! Our exodus! As John Piper has recently said, we Christians care about all suffering especially eternal suffering. Liberation theology* is a political movement in Roman Catholic theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in relation to a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions. It has been described as "an interpretation of Christian faith through the poor's suffering, their struggle and hope, and a critique of society and the Catholic faith and Christianity through the eyes of the poor", and by detractors as Christianized Marxism. * "Liberation Theology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2013.

17. Gods Special People Theme 4 17 Read Exodus 19:5-6. Gods purpose in rescuing Abrahams descendants from Egypt wasnt just to save them from slavery it was to establish them as a nation that belongs to him and that represents him in the world. Read Exodus 4:22-23 Israel is Gods firstborn son a very unique relationship! They are first in Gods affections. They are His covenant people to receive special blessings. They have a special mission to display Gods glory to all and to make him known throughout all generations.

18. 18 So how does Gods son do at representing God? 1. At the end of the Exodus, chapter 14, Israel miraculously passes through the waters of the Red Sea. 2. The march through the desert wilderness begins in 16:2. 3. Six verses later the grumbling starts for food and water. 4. In 17:2, they test God over no water to drink. 5. At Mt. Sinai they receive the 10 commandments and forty days later they make and worship a golden calf as their god. Quite typical behavior as recorded in the Old Testament for Gods son.

19. 19 More than typical it is typical in the sense typology. Compare Jesus to Israel. 1. In his baptism, Jesus passes through waters and is called Gods beloved son; 2. Then, he goes into the desert to be tempted; 3. His first temptation is about not having food to eat; 4. His second temptation is to test God; and 5. His final temptation is to worship someone other than God. Similar experiences - but Jesus succeeded in all the ways that Israel failed. Jesus is the true Son of God, the embodiment and fulfillment of all that Israel was supposed to be. He is the true Israel. Read Matthew 2:15.

20. Gods Glorious Motive Theme 5 20 Read Exodus 6:7. Secular retelling of the Exodus miss this they focus on the tragedy of slavery and the heroism of Moses. Then you will know that I am the LORD occurs 14 times in the first half of the Exodus. Gods purpose is to establish his fame, to exalt his glory! Gods glory is the purpose of the plagues. Gods glory is the purpose of the judgment of Egypt at the Red Sea. Gods glory is the reason why God himself sovereignly hardens. Pharaohs heart so he would resist God and come under judgment. Would God harden our hearts so that He might judge us? Gods self-glorification is the ultimate summary for the first half of Exodus.

21. 21 The curtain opened with Israel spread across the stage. Now God has become the predominate character in this play. He took on the gods of Egypt and prevailed. He has revealed his unique identity. He has established a mighty pattern of redemption. He has provided a substitutionary sacrifice. He has called out his special people. All for His glory! Our lives are more than doing our jobs and taking care of our families it is to bring to God! When you focus on this How might your attitude towards others change? How might your relationships change? How might your money management change? How might your time management change? Read Revelation 1:5-6.