Lesson Recap
EXODUS-An Introduction
Recap: When we finished our study on Genesis Joseph had just died. So we took a few moments and refreshed our memories. Who was Joseph? Why was he in Egypt? What was his highest work status in Egypt? How did his family come to live with him? God allowed Joseph's family to endure over 300 years of slavery in Egypt. We will see through this experience God's deliverance of and covenant with Israel formed the people into a holy nation. What are some New Testament implications with this theme? Who are some of the major characters we will encounter in our study of Exodus? What would you consider to be the major themes of Exodus?
The Authorship
Technically, the book of Exodus is anonymous, for no single person is specified as the author. Nonetheless, there is a lengthy tradition identifying Moses as the author of Exodus as well as the other first four books of the Bible (Pentateuch) But there is biblical support for this long held tradition. See Ex 24:4 and Lev 1:1. Moses would have been the best choice to record His words because he was as educated as any of Pharaoh's sons.
The Occasion
Moses wrote Exodus to remind the Israelites of God's:
-Miraculous deliverance from Egypt
-care for them in the wilderness
-commands for relating to God, their fellow man, and for worship
The Purpose
Exodus is to the Old Testament what the Gospels are to the New Testament. They proclaim the redemptive activity of God towards man.
- Both explain God's covenant relationship with man: Keeping God's Law in Exodus, accepting Jesus as Messiah/Savior in the Gospels.
- Both focus on the activity of a covenant mediator who fulfills his calling by the selfless giving of person: Moses in Exodus, Jesus in the Gospels.
- Both proclaim a message of man's breaking free of bondage:breaking the chains of Egyptian slavery in Exodus, Jesus in the Gospels.
The Name
Of the 40 chapters, only 15 cover the actual exodus from Egypt. Equal emphasis is given to the wilderness and Sinai experience. The Hebrew text refers to the work, "these are the names of", and the following is understood-(of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt). It was the practice of the Hebrew to take the first few words of a work for it's title. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament made in the third century B.C., referred to the work simply as Exodus. The Latin Vulgate, a version of the bible prepared by St. Jerome in the 4th century and accepted as the official biblical text of the Catholic Church, titled the work Liber Exodus. English translations borrowed from all of the above to come up with the title Exodus.
The Role
As majestic as the event was, as large a role as it played in the lives of those that experienced it, as much as it contributed to biblical thought, as powerful a revelation was to the rest of humanity concerning God of the Hebrews, the word exodus as a technical term never appears in the Old Testament, and only one in the New Testament: Heb. 11:22. Though the term was not used, the event was widely referred to throughout the Bible Examples include:
Interpreted as God's redemtive action:
Josh 24: 16-18
Amos 2:10, 3:1, 9:7
Micah 6:4, 7:15
Hosea 2:15, 11:1, 12:9, & 13
Isa 11:16
Jer 2:6, 7:22& 25, 11:4 & 7, 16:14. 23:7, 32:21, 34:13
The writers of Psalms often referred to the event:
18 15-19
44
60
66 6
68
74
75
78
80
81
83
89
95
100
105
106
107 4-7
114
135
136
It's use in preparing Israel for the coming of the Messiah:
Isaiah 40:1-3
New Testament references:
Note the similarities between Mt. 2:16 to Ex. 1:16. The New Testament references to bondage and deliverance caused the original reader and us today to think back to God's wonderful deed to Jacob's extended family in days of old.
Conclusion
The study of Exodus is more than a study of an extraordinary event in days gone by-it is a study of God's interaction with man displayed in self giving love.
5th Annual Fall Festival
Get your scoops ready! As always, we will be hosting the Root Beer Float Booth at this fun annual event. We will have two shifts. 2PM-4PM (includes setting up) and 4-8PM (includes breaking down...the booth, not us!). A sign up sheet will be in the next SPOT folder!
Snacks
- 9/18-Meinhardts
- 9/25-Stubbs
Prayer Requests
- Janice Meinhardt's daughter Claudia's Sjogrens in attacking different areas of her body again.She is going through tests to see what can be done.
- Please pray for Jeff Bradshaw's barber, John, as he deals with mental health issues.
