2006 LU Exodus Notes - Fowler

Notes and Outline on the Book of Exodus

Outline by Terence E. Fretheim

Professor Dr. Donald Fowler

Notes taken by Jesse A. Griffin

Introduction

Authorship
- Moses
- The text claims that Moses is the author
- The historical materials are clearly Mosaic as well
- It may very well have been edited, but there is no possible way
  
  to know
Theme
- The major theme is not the Exodus
- The real title of the book is “These are the Names of”
  - This is steering in a theological direction bigger than just
    
    the Exodus
  - We are going to learn the theology of Exodus, not the
    
    history
  - The Exodus title came from the Septuagint
  - This title reminds us of God’s promises to Abraham
    - Progeny
    - Land
    - They would be a blessing to the nations
  - A main theme of Genesis is God keeping His promises to
    
    Abraham
  - Genesis closes with a reminder that the promise of land is
    
    still distant
  - This original title ties it back to Genesis and God’s
    
    promises
- Major theme: God is present with Israel
- Literary Envelopes
  - God’s presence
  - Revelation of the meaning of the divine name
  - Unique investment of God’s power in Moses
Genesis 17#17:1-8 comprises the whole OT story
- The Abrahamic covenant is fulfilled:
  - The Mosaic covenant fulfills the land promise
  - The Davidic covenant fulfills the progeny promise
  - The New Covenant fulfills the blessing to the nations
    
    covenant
- There must be a system that accepts discontinuity where there
  
  genuinely is differences, but we must highlight continuity
  between the covenants where it exists
- The Old Covenant is with a specific nation, the New Covenant is
  
  not limited to a people, it is for all nations
- There are aspects of the OC that reappear in the NC
- All the covenants work together to create a complete picture, a
  
  plan that God is fulfilling
- They are moving us toward a reunion, the redemption
Wherever there is promise, there is threat to the promise
- End of Genesis – Joseph died and the 70 with him and they are in
  
  the wrong land!
- Beginning of Exodus – Israelites fruitful and multiply
- All throughout the OT this pattern is continued
God conquers all threats
We will be studying Pharaoh’s incarnational evil
When did the Exodus occur?
- 1446
- 1200
- No Exodus

Growth and Bondage in Egypt - Ch. 1-2
1. Chapter 1:7 – brings us back to Genesis creation language
  1. Four of the verbs in this verse come from the Genesis
    
    account
  2. The original command to be fruitful and multiply is applied
    
    directly to the Israelites
  3. God is able to keep His promises
2. Verse 8 – Pharaoh embodies all the chaos and evil because he has
  
  no name
  1. He is the incarnation of the threats to God’s promises
  2. He is the antithesis of God who does not have a specific
    
    name yet – eventually Yahweh
  3. It is hard to believe that there was a Pharaoh who did not
    
    know who Joseph was
    1. The Egyptians kept careful records of all rulers and
      
      leaders
    2. Odds are he did not forget
    3. yadah becomes a covenant word when it does not mean
      
      “to know” in the technical sense
    4. Thus, Pharaoh refused to honor the covenant that was
      
      made with Joseph and his descendents
    5. It is thought that this was one of the early
      
      18^th dynasty Pharaoh’s who expelled the
      Hyksos
      1. hega koswe (Egyptian) – kings of foreign lands
      2. They were of Amorite descent
      3. They ruled in Northern Egypt
      4. They were a powerful opponent of the Egyptians
      5. Egyptians were of Mediterranean descent, short and
        
        sleek
      6. The Hyksos were much larger, stronger, and had
        
        weapons of war – composite bow
    6. This Pharaoh that came to power was probably from the
      
      Egyptians and hated the Hyksos and the Israelites
      (i.e. the Semites)
    7. From Joseph’s death to now is about 3.5 - 4 centuries
3. Verse 9 – Exaggeration
  1. At the most there were 2.5 million Israelites
  2. The Egyptians clearly outnumbered them
  3. Pharaoh needs an excuse to make a large workforce
  4. Fully 90% of Egyptian land was owned by temples
  5. Pharaoh sees this as an opportunity to establish a greater
    
    power by harnessing the Israelites
  6. Akhenaton (a Pharaoh to soon follow) clearly tried to reject
    
    the power of the Priests – he failed however
  7. Pharaoh recognizes that these people are a people, the
    
    Israelites before they recognize themselves as a people
    group
4. Leitwort – leading word
  1. Characteristic of Hebrew narrative
  2. Major vehicles for communicating theological emphasis
  3. Cannot find in most English translations – NASB or ESV are
    
    the best for studying the Bible
  4. yadah – to know; this word almost always carries with it
    
    covenant connotations
5. Verse 10
  1. Wisely/shrewdly – only used here in the whole OT –
    
    significant of the unique theologically situation
  2. Pharaoh’s attempt to be in control of God’s people results
    
    in the loss of the people
  3. noseph – join themselves; rhymes with Joseph
  4. Pharaoh’s shrewdness is the agency for prompting Israel to
    
    go up to the Promise Land
6. Verse 11
  1. “hard labor” – same word Solomon uses to force the
    
    Israelites to serve the royal interests
  2. “Ramses”
    1. Was used much earlier than the 13^th century
    2. The city was being built before the birth of Moses
    3. It is also a storage city not a capital city
    4. Not a reference to Ramses II
7. Verse 12
  1. God’s will is being done in unobtrusive ways
  2. God is doing what He normally does – He uses human beings to
    
    accomplish His will
  3. Pharaoh is assuming the role of “decreator”
  4. God will soon become an interventionists
  5. rabah – “multiplied” – evidence that God is still
    
    fulfilling His promise to Abraham
  6. peats – “spread out”
    1. Birth episode in Genesis 38
    2. Micah 2#2:13 it is used of Christ – foreshadow of the one
      
      who will spread out for them, Christ
  7. Dread of Egyptians
    1. A logical response to their dread would be to send the
      
      Israelites out of the land
    2. This dread is from God
8. Verses 13-14
  1. Sophisticated chiasm around the word “serve”
  2. “Serve” – ‘ebed – leitwort – Chapter 2:11, 13, 17
    1. In forcing the Israelites to serve in this capacity
      
      Pharaoh is acting as the “decreator”
    2. Adam and Eve were created to serve the land
    3. Pharaoh is forcing the Israelites to serve him, not the
      
      land
    4. The ability to work is a gift from God
    5. By Pharaoh forcing them to work nonstop he is violating
      
      the creation order law of resting on the Sabbath
    6. This word has creational overtones
    7. Used over 70 times in Exodus
  3. “Mortar and bricks” – reminiscent of the Tower of Babel
9. Verse 15-22 – passage is dripping with irony
  1. Echoes of Genesis 1–2
    1. The Creator God can assist Hebrew women in birth in
      
      order to foil the decreator’s plan
    2. “Be fruitful and multiply”
  2. Echoes of Genesis 6
    1. Throwing all babies into the Nile similar to the flood
    2. God sent the flood because of violence and polygamy
    3. God decreates in Genesis 6 based on justice
    4. Pharaoh assumes God’s role as decreator based on
      
      injustice
    5. God continues His plan through Hebrew midwives who fear
      
      Him and not Pharaoh
      1. The midwives serve as a model for Israel and all
        
        people
      2. One theme of the Bible is fearing the Lord
      3. Central theme of Proverbs – fear the Creator God
    6. Contrast of males and females may go back to the “sons
      
      of God” having relations with the daughters of Eve
  3. It was a cultural plus to be able to outwit the one who was
    
    in power – i.e. God works through the Hebrew culture and
    uses midwives to “outshrewd” the alleged shrewd Pharaoh
10. Theme of the first chapter
  1. Successful multiplying
  2. Last word – “to keep alive”
  3. Sets the foundation for the book: life will triumphant over
    
    death
11. God’s work in Chapter 1 is thoroughly unobtrusive
12. In chapter 2 God will begin raising up a counterpart to Pharaoh;
  
  Israel’s first king
13. Chapter 2:1-3
  1. “beautiful” – tob
    1. Clearly echoes Genesis 1, 2
    2. Creation is good; very good
  2. There is always a threat, here it is Pharaoh
  3. “wicker basket” – tub
    1. Same word as “ark” in Genesis 6
    2. The mother is acting on behalf of God
    3. The floating ark preserves Noah and his family; the ark
      
      floating on the Nile preserves the Israelite family
    4. In Egyptian thought the Nile is a sacred deity
    5. This deity becomes the agency of saving Israel
14. Verses 2:5-6
  1. Pharaoh is taking away life, but his own daughter is saving
    
    life
  2. In chapter 1 and 2 God uses women to accomplish His plan
  3. Moses’ mother follows Pharaoh’s command to put the child in
    
    the river
  4. Strong irony is found in the fact that God uses the
    
    underdog, those without power to accomplish his plan
  5. The ways of men are to accumulate power and use it; God,
    
    however, makes use of those without power
  6. We are so obsessed with success that God’s sovereign will is
    
    not always reflected in success as we think of it
15. Verses 2:7-10
  1. Moses’ very name reflects God’s ultimate plan for Israel, to
    
    draw them out of the water
  2. Unwittingly, Pharaoh’s daughter is fulfilling God’s plan
  3. Moses’ mother even gets to nurse him for money!
  4. The shrewd Pharaoh is made to look like a fool because he is
    
    outdone by midwives and his own daughter and he raises the
    very one who will lead the Israelites out of slavery
  5. Water is symbolic of chaos; God is drawing his plan out of
    
    chaos
16. Verse 2:11
  1. We know nothing about Moses’ biography; his growth,
    
    education, household experiences, etc. – foreshadow of
    Jesus’ story
  2. God chooses to be unobtrusive in how He uses Moses
  3. God will not become the interventionists until He has fully
    
    prepared Moses
  4. Sets the stage for Moses to be “God on earth;” not because
    
    he is God but because God who cannot be seen will do His
    work through Moses who can be seen
    1. Directly related to Pharaoh’s claim to be incarnate
      
      deity
    2. God is not incarnated; but He will work through His
      
      creation
    3. An anticipation, a type of Jesus
  5. “Goes out,” “sees”
    1. Verbs that are used of God also
    2. Anticipates Moses’ role as deliverer
  6. “One of his brethren” – Clear that Moses is on Israel’s side
  7. Lietwort – “Strike down” – same verb used in verse 12
17. Theme: God accomplishes His will independent of direct divine
  
  intervention
  1. God’s will is effected very powerfully by ordinary means
  2. In Exodus, it is largely through women who fear the Lord
  3. God accomplishes as much through unobtrusive means as he
    
    does through obtrusive means
  4. God, the Creator, is always faced with decreators
  5. God will accomplish His greatest work in America through
    
    common everyday people, not politicians and not
    celebrities
18. The divine choice of Moses is the beginning of the fulfillment
  
  of the promise to Abraham that kings will come forth from his
  seed
19. Verse 2:12
  1. Moses “strikes down” the Egyptian
    1. Just like verse 11 the Egyptian strikes the Hebrew
    2. This verb is used repeatedly in Moses life; often when
      
      he is doing the Lord’s work
    3. This is the verb used when Moses strikes the rock
      
      (Numbers)
    4. Striking for God is good; but independent of God’s will
      
      results in Moses’ death
    5. Moses’ action here is at the core of the Mosaic Law;
      
      lex taliones
    6. This anticipates Moses in his capacity as lawgiver
20. Verse 2:13
  1. “Striking”
    1. Word surfaces again
    2. Anticipates future and past controversies between
      
      tribes
  2. God raises up a deliverer and the first activity Moses must
    
    overcome after deliverance is keeping the people at peace
21. Verse 2:14
  1. Typical that they do not understand that God has raised him
    
    up
  2. Moses probably didn’t understand that God had raised him up
    
    for this either
  3. They don’t understand God’s will because he is working
    
    unobtrusively
  4. God’s people consistently reject the prophets that God sends
  5. Similar to Jesus; Stephen’s speech
22. Verse 2:15
  1. Moses’ experience is exactly the same as Israel will have
    1. Enter into conflict with the Egyptians
    2. Moses becomes the subject of a murderous edict from
      
      Pharaoh
    3. Moses will try to “flee” (same verb as 14:5) for his
      
      life
    4. Goes to Mt. Sinai
    5. Moses testifies to being a ger – sojourner
  2. In order to be God’s acknowledged leader Moses has to
    
    experience the same events as Israel in advance
  3. The same typology occurs in Christ’s life – Jesus relives
    
    the same events as Moses and Egypt experiences
  4. Ironically, Israel rejects Moses and Midian accepts him;
    
    Israel rejects Jesus and Gentiles accept Him
23. Moses “sees, strikes, delivers”
  1. God does the same thing
  2. The verb “see” implies action in the context
  3. Same sequence in Judges
  4. God acting on behalf of Israel as Israel’s king
24. The act of life-giving activity must occur in the context of
  
  justice
  1. Establishing justice is creational activity
  2. Characteristic of Hebrew prayer is for justice
  3. Characteristic of Christian prayer is for mercy
25. Verse 2:15
  1. Moses sits by a well like Jacob
  2. He gets a wife like Jacob!
  3. Concept of the well is a legitimate typology
  4. The well gives water and therefore life
  5. The well gives social contact and therefore a wife
26. Verse 2:16
  1. Priest of Midian has 7 daughters
    1. Implies great abundance
    2. God has supplied plenty on behalf of Moses
  2. Priest of Midian foreshadows Moses and his encounter with
    
    God
27. Verse 2:17
  1. Moses becomes a deliverer once more
  2. Then proceeded to help water them
28. Verse 2:18-19
  1. Moses apparently looked like an Egyptian
  2. He is not recognized as a Hebrew
  3. Probably wore dark eye makeup
  4. Moses drew the water from the well; just like his name means
    
    “drawn from water”
29. Verse 2:20-21
  1. Hospitality is thought of in terms of justice
    1. Moses shows hospitality to Jethro’s daughters
    2. Jethro then shows hospitality to Moses
  2. Moses also receives a wife
30. Verse 2:22
  1. Names the son “Gershom” – sojourner there
  2. The name anticipates the condition of Israel
31. Verse 2:23
  1. Moses has to flee Egypt and receives a child
  2. Pharaoh stays in Egypt and dies
  3. No matter how spectacular the decreators are, they are still
    
    mere men who die
  4. Human fame is always contextualized by the reality that
    
    humans die
  5. Groaning
    1. Reminiscent of Cain and Abel
    2. Cycle of events in Judges
32. God’s will is done at the well, not on the mountain
  1. Make the most of people encounters
  2. This is the primary way in which God moves
  3. There is no such thing as an insignificant conversation
  4. Study Jesus at the well
    1. He repeatedly asks questions that draw the woman out of
      
      herself and toward Him
    2. He nurtures the conversation to something important
    3. Jesus investigates the woman
33. Verse 2:24-25
  1. God remembers in the sense that He chooses to be true to the
    
    covenant that He made
  2. God saw – implies action
  3. “Took notice”
    1. Lietwort – yada
    2. God knows Israel; He will act on their behalf
    3. He will act faithfully to His covenant
34. The text is literature; that is where most of the theology is
  
  contained

Moses and God: Call and Dialogue - 3:1-7:7
1. Longest call narrative in the Bible - 3:1-6:1
  1. Moses objects 8 times to the Divine call
    1. This clearly shows God’s patience
    2. Patience that comes from the fact that a covenant has
      
      been established
    3. God will be true to His covenant, no matter what
  2. Includes all the elements of a typical call
    1. Theophany
    2. Introductory word
    3. Divine commission
    4. Moses’ objection
    5. God’s reassurance
    6. Sign
  3. Dialogue is not very common in narrative
  4. One of the longest dialogues between God and man
    1. Words are agencies that God uses to accomplish His will
    2. Communication is evidence of God
    3. The Trinity is based on communication
    4. Speech is one of the great messages of the Bible; the
      
      violation of speech is one of God’s most sensitive
      ethical issues
    5. This may be a paradigm of how God wants to relate to all
      
      of us
    6. God obviously enjoys dialogue
  5. Verse 3:1
    1. Moses is a shepherd – he doesn’t really have the choice
      
      to be anything else
    2. Mount Horeb
      1. Horeb is Hebrew for “wasteland”
      2. Not certain whether it was called the mountain of
        
        God before this event or because of this event
  6. Verse 3:2-5
    1. Moses is drawn to the bush by curiosity
    2. The name of the bush is a dead rhyme to mount Sinai
      1. The bush becomes a foreshadow of God revealing
        
        Himself to Moses on mount Sinai
      2. God does not let Moses comes near
      3. “Close, but no closer” is a very important point
    3. “Moses, Moses,” similar to 1 Samuel 3
    4. No one in the OT was ever accorded the relational
      
      privileges that Moses had with God – Num. 12:6ff
      1. Begins to set the stage for the incarnation
      2. Moses is the incarnation of God’s will
      3. Yet as close as Moses got to God, he could not see
        
        Him
    5. God speaks to Moses 13 times
    6. God stops him from coming closer; perhaps he could have
      
      contaminated the holy ground
  7. Verse 3:6
    1. God is the same God of Moses’ fathers, the God of the
      
      covenant
    2. Literary and theological envelope – God’s presence
      1. Moses is aware that he is in God’s presence, he
        
        hides his face
      2. In chapter 33 Moses asks “show me Your glory”
  8. Words of sight are used 9 times in this short passage
  9. Verse 3:7-8
    1. Same verbs in 2:24-25
      1. I have seen, heard, know
      2. These words mean that God is eternally true to His
        
        covenant
    2. God will come and deliver the Israelites
    3. God will fulfill His promise of the land
    4. “Land flowing with milk and honey”
      1. Canaanite proverb
      2. Should not be taken literally
      3. It just means that it is good land
    5. God lists the nations He will defeat
      1. List occurs several times
      2. Last people group is always Jebusites
        
        God anticipates that Jerusalem will be important
        
        This city is not very important yet
        
        Ultimately, God has in mind that Jerusalem will
        
        be the resting of the tabernacle
  10. Verse 3:9-11
    1. “Behold”
      1. Should not really be translated as such
      2. This Hebrew particle has two uses:
        
        To introduce vividness
        
        To introduce immediacy
      3. At this very moment God is hearing Israel’s cry
      4. Better translation, “At this very moment,”
    2. Irony between Moses’ first response, “here am I,” but
      
      now that he has heard Pharaoh it changes to “who am
      I?”
      1. It is a measure of Moses that he is conscience of
        
        his limitations
      2. Moses is not infatuated with his own gifts
      3. He has a realistic evaluation of himself
      4. The problem is his evaluation of God
      5. Similar to Isaiah, “I am a man of unclean lips”
      6. We have lost our sense of God’s greatness; we are
        
        more impressed with leadership strength rather
        than the distance between Moses and God
    3. God does not answer Moses with self-help therapy
      1. God answers him with a more completely view of
        
        Himself
      2. God is God and is able to use insignificant people
  11. Verse 3:12
    1. Theme: Presence of God
      1. Hebrew verb – “I will be”
      2. Significant that Jesus also said “I will be with
        
        you”
      3. Envelope with God taking up residence in the
        
        tabernacle
    2. The sign does not help!
      1. It is at the wrong end
      2. The sign occurs after everything else occurs
      3. Reminds us that this is a process
  12. Verse 3:13
    1. Moses needs a personal name
      1. He already knows the name Yahweh
      2. Moses is anticipating that God is going to establish
        
        a covenant
      3. If he is going to the people then the people are
        
        going to ratify a covenant and they need a name to
        make the covenant with
      4. Moses wants to know what is the name for the
        
        covenant
    2. Moses is still traumatized by the mention of Pharaoh
  13. Verse 3:14-15
    1. “I am who I am”
      1. Wordplay between “I will be” and Yahweh
      2. Could be “I will be who I am, I am who I will be”
      3. Not sure of the exact translation
      4. The idea is Divine presence
    2. Name is confirmation of the promise
    3. It is not the revelation of the divine name here, but it
      
      is the revelation of the meaning of the divine name
    4. The divine name envelopes the book – from here to the
      
      revealing of God’s name to Moses in Exodus 34
  14. Verse 3:16
    1. Through the elders Moses can contact and influence the
      
      whole people
    2. God has made an appearance
      1. This is significant because God has been absent for
        
        400 years
      2. This will be actualized when God makes Himself
        
        visible to all Israel
    3. “I am concerned” – actually means “I have visited you”
    4. God is a relational being
  15. The Law is the evidence that there is a relationship and a
    
    blessing
  16. Verse 3:18
    1. “Will listen” – God is speaking about the ultimate
      
      reality, not the short term
    2. God says Moses is supposed to go with the elders
    3. The reality is that the elders never went
    4. Aaron probably replaced the elders
    5. “God of the Hebrews” – double entendre, refers to
      
      Acadian phrase that was known
    6. “3 days journey”
      1. Semitic idiom which means “A long journey”
      2. Probably not technical sense of 3
      3. Like the story of Nineveh
      4. Moses probably has in mind going to Mount Sinai
  17. Verse 3:19-20
    1. “Under compulsion”
      1. I know he will not let you go except by a “mighty
        
        hand”
      2. This “mighty hand” is the power of God in the hand
        
        of Moses
    2. It is the hand of Moses that effects the power of God
    3. The hand of Moses is exemplified specifically in his
      
      staff
    4. God knows exactly what it will take to bring Pharaoh to
      
      the point where he issues the decree “let the people
      go”
  18. Verse 3:21-22
    1. Interesting event that has been confirmed historically
    2. Reminder that God is intent at making the point that He
      
      is just
    3. The Egyptians have unjustly oppressed the Hebrews; they
      
      have taken their wealth and dignity
    4. The Hebrews will eventually take that plunder from God
      
      and turn it into their own god
    5. “Plunder” rhymes with “deliver”
  19. Verse 4:1
    1. There is a reasonability to Moses’ objection but it is
      
      dwarfed by the fact that he is in the very presence of
      Yahweh
    2. The Hebrews actual did question Moses
    3. However, God has the ability to empower Moses to do
      
      whatever He wishes
  20. Verse 4:2
    1. “What is this?” rhymes with “staff”
    2. God immediately fixates on Moses’ hand
    3. The divine purpose in asking questions is to allow for
      
      interaction and relationship; not that He doesn’t know
    4. The staff in Moses’ hand now becomes a motif for the
      
      rest of his life
    5. The staff is the power from God and it is his own
      
      failure that keeps him from entering the Promise Land
  21. Verse 4:3
    1. This snake is clearly poisonous because Moses flees
    2. If it were the Cobra it would virtually be able to
      
      outrun Moses
  22. Verse 4:4
    1. Grabbing snakes by the tail is not a good strategy
    2. No reason for Moses’ courage to pick up the snake
    3. Egyptians were infamous for their ability to do magic;
      
      is this just a magical sign?
      1. The Egyptian cobra goddess was a symbol of Pharaoh’s
        
        power
      2. There is no more powerful symbol of Pharaoh’s power
        
        than the cobra goddess Buto
      3. This is a clear polemic against Pharaoh
    4. Pharaoh has a shepherds crook which is a symbol for king
    5. Moses is becoming God’s king
    6. Pharaoh also has a flail
      1. Once described as a whip
      2. It is now believed to be the instrument used by
        
        early goat herders
    7. Both these instruments take us back to the earliest
      
      instruments of kingship – a shepherd
    8. Moses will be God’s king, even king of Egypt’s king
    9. Moses is now Israel’s divinely appointed king
  23. Verse4: 6-7
    1. In case Moses did not understand the first sign
    2. Moses’ hand is being uniquely isolated as the means by
      
      which God will do His mighty work
    3. The hand can become clean as well as unclean
      1. The hand is so powerful as to overpower Pharaoh
      2. The hand also becomes the downfall of Moses
      3. Will the power in Moses’ hand stay good, or become
        
        unclean?
    4. God is uniquely commissioning Moses as His king
    5. Leadership in this capacity must be accompanied by
      
      obedience to God
    6. Any king of Israel is only king so long as he is willing
      
      to obey God – an evil king will never go unpunished
    7. Anticipates king Uzziah – 2 Chronicles; he sought to
      
      burn incense before God and he was struck with leprosy
  24. Verse 4:8-9
    1. Things appear in threes
    2. Not good evidence for open theism
    3. Nile turns to blood
      1. Obvious polemic against the lifeblood of Egypt, the
        
        Nile
      2. Against the god of the Nile, Nun
      3. 1 – Nun was at the heart of the ancient pantheon
      4. 2 – the Nile was at the heart of their agriculture
        
        system
      5. 3 – Water is the most vital means of effecting
        
        spiritual cleansing – In the Egyptian religion
        water was at the heart of salvation
    4. These signs convince the Israelites but not Pharaoh
    5. It is Moses’ hand that reaches into the Nile and pours
      
      it out
    6. Envelope: unique investment of God’s power in Moses
      1. This is how God relates to Israel in the OT
      2. If God’s appointed leader is faithful then they are
        
        blessed
      3. If God’s appointed leader is faithless then they are
        
        punished
      4. Moses was clearly a king
  25. Verse 4:10
    1. Num. 12:3 – Moses was more humble than anyone else
      1. The biblical word “humble” does not mean what it
        
        does in English
      2. What the Hebrew word really means is “pious”
      3. Thus, Moses is the man who understands his
        
        relationship with God better than anyone else
      4. God is king, Moses is His slave
    2. Egyptian – hom is the word for priest and servant
    3. Two categories of priests in Egyptian religion
      1. Kher-hebet – “servant of the god,” priest who was
        
        responsible to speak
      2. Sem – silent, he carried and presented offerings
    4. Perhaps Moses has in his mind that Aaron could be the
      
      lector priest and he could be the servant in the
      background
    5. His protest, essentially, is a lack of faith
    6. Acts 7#7:22
  26. Verse 4:11-12
    1. Isaiah 45#45:5-7; Psalm 139#139:1-6
      1. God causes calamity
      2. We do not know if He sovereignly causes all calamity
      3. The proper response in any situation is putting
        
        one’s faith in God
    2. Thus, God’s response is that “I have made you”
    3. Each person is uniquely shaped by God
    4. Short command, “Go”
      1. Moses’ protest is wordy
      2. God’s command is plain and simple
    5. God also gives a promise
      1. God promises His presence
      2. He also promises that to teach Moses what to say
    6. Large emphasis on mouth in this short passage
      1. Egyptian religion had a ceremony called The Opening
        
        of the Mouth
      2. If the Egyptians could make a statue alive than how
        
        much more can the God of Heaven make Moses speak
  27. Verse 4:13
    1. Moses’ remark is deferential
    2. He is not saying clearly “don’t send me” but he is
      
      resisting and asking that God would send another
  28. Verse 4:14-17
    1. God is angry
    2. God agrees to the commissioning of Aaron
    3. God creates distinctions
      1. God speaks to Moses, Moses to Aaron
      2. Only Moses can take the staff in his hand
      3. Aaron and Miriam both fall into the leadership trap
        
        and try to elevate themselves
    4. God’s sovereignty works with us, not just above us
      1. There is a real relationship between God and man
      2. God does not turn us into robots
      3. God is not content to just impose His sovereign will
      4. The mystery is that God uses bad choices on our part
        
        to further the relationship
      5. Similar to Christ’s fellowship with Judas knowing
        
        that he will betray Him
      6. Further, Christ chose His three closest friends to
        
        go with Him to the garden of Gethsemane knowing
        that they would fail Him in His hour of greatest
        need
    5. Aaron’s name means “joined together;” it anticipates
      
      Moses and Aaron becoming a team
  29. Verse 4:18
    1. Patriarchal society
    2. Moses needed Jethro’s permission
  30. Verse 4:19-23
    1. Anticipates much of the rest of the story
    2. Pharaoh’s heart hardened
      1. Three different words for “hardened”
      2. Several different references made to this topic
      3. Yahweh hardens Pharaoh’s heart; Pharaoh hardens his
        
        heart; some texts do not mention the agent
      4. There is a mutual hardening of Pharaoh
        
        It is Pharaoh
        
        It is God
        
        Priority (who hardened first) is not the point
      5. Egyptian theology does not allow Pharaoh to repent –
        
        he thinks he is god
      6. One of the ways God makes Himself known is
        
        displaying His sovereignty
      7. Any Pharaoh would have reacted in this same way
      8. Romans 9 – God is free to do what He wants
      9. Pharaoh’s hardening is only in relation to him not
        
        letting the people go
      10. This whole circumstance creates the opportunity for
        
        God to display His power
      11. The salvation message in this book is that nothing
        
        can stop God from fulfilling the divine plan to
        redeem Israel
    3. Prediction of the death of the firstborn
  31. Verse 4:24-26
    1. Perhaps the most difficult passage in this book to make
      
      sense of
    2. Who is he?
      1. Could be Moses; which would be bizarre
      2. Cold be Gershom; Moses’ firstborn son
    3. Zipporah intervenes once again and continues the theme
      
      of female heroines throughout the book
      1. “Foot” – actually means genitals
      2. “Threw” – actually says she “touched”
      3. Thus, she touched her son’s foreskin at Moses’
        
        genitals
      4. This act apparently was how she saved Moses
      5. It is thought that this is a foreshadow of the
        
        Passover where the blood on the door posts saves
        the firstborn
      6. The blood of the first born expiated the sin of
        
        someone – either that Moses wasn’t circumcised or
        his son wasn’t, or both
    4. The angel of the Lord was merely “seeking” his death,
      
      not necessarily decreed his death
    5. There is a clear connection between this passage and vs.
      
      23
    6. For more information on this topic see Word Biblical
      
      Commentary by John Duram
  32. Verse 4:27
    1. met - same verb as in vs. 24
    2. Not sure why the text mentions the kiss though it was
      
      customary
  33. Verse 4:29-31
    1. Aaron speaks
    2. “He” performed the signs
      1. Not sure who this is
      2. Most likely Moses
    3. The text moves a lot faster than what happened in real
      
      life counting the journeying and the gathering of the
      elders
    4. The people believe
    5. The people “bowed low and worshiped”
      1. They are not entirely sure Who they are worshipping
      2. Their belief fulfills God’s statement to Moses
      3. Statement appears again in 12:27
      4. They do this again at Passover
  34. Verse 5:1
    1. Open ended
    2. Moses is not saying that we are all leaving
    3. Not certain how they got an audience with Pharaoh
  35. Verse 5:2
    1. Who is Yahweh?
      1. That answer follows in the rest of the text
      2. Specifically chapter 6
    2. I do not know Yahweh
      1. Reminiscent of the previous Pharaoh’s statement, “I
        
        do not know Joseph”
      2. It is a covenant word that means he refuses to
        
        accept what Yahweh has to say
    3. Besides all this, he will not let the people go
  36. Verse 5:3-9
    1. Pharaoh does not care what God does to Israel
    2. “Labor” appears 7 times – also the word for “serve”
    3. Who will they serve? Creator God, or decreator god?
    4. All of the earth’s tyrants respond to threats with
      
      greater harshness
    5. Joshua 24 – “choose you this day who you will serve”
  37. Verse 5:10-14
    1. “Thus says Pharaoh”
      1. Messenger formula
      2. Antithesis to 5:1
    2. Nothing grows outside of .5 a mile of the Nile
  38. Verse 5:15-20
    1. Characteristic of decreators is to use the enslaved to
      
      abuse the enslaved
    2. The human heart in all its evilness is exposed here in
      
      the lives of the Hebrew foreman
  39. Verse 5:21-23
    1. Everyone blames the Lord
    2. If you are in a position of leadership, this experience
      
      is going to happen you
      1. People see doubt as an opportunity for unbelief
        
        rather than a chance to grow closer to God
      2. The people you are leading will complain
    3. Why would Yahweh move things along so low?
      1. To develop Moses’ character
      2. Reveals God’s character; His patience
      3. Relationship, covenant relationship
        
        God is faithful
        
        The higher the form of communication the more
        
        intimacy
        
        Disappointments are opportunities to make
        
        healthy changes
        
        God gives Israel the opportunity to bond with
        
        Him in a true relationship
        
        Forces Israel (and Moses) to learn dependency
  40. Verse 6:1
    1. Lietwort is “compulsion” – mighty hand
    2. Pharaoh will only act under compulsion
1. Restatement - 6:2-7:7
  1. Verse 6:2-8
    1. Envelope (or chiasm) – “I am Yahweh”
    2. JEDP system
      1. OT is a patchwork of various editors
      2. J – Yahwist – 10-9^th
      3. E – Elohist – 9-8
      4. D – Deuteronomist – 7-6
      5. P – Priestly – Exile
      6. This system was started in 1600’s
      7. This system cannot be made to work “neatly”
      8. Almost no one agrees with how this works across the
        
        whole OT
      9. They “know” it works, but no one can agree on how
    3. C.S. Lewis refers to modern scholars as “Chronological
      
      snobs”
      1. They have a sense of superiority at the expense of
        
        the ancients
      2. Thus, Scribes who are nearly inerrant and incredibly
        
        meticulous are made to look like fools if this
        JEDP system is true
    4. The notion that Israel at one time did not know the
      
      divine name is false
    5. God appearing seems to be related to El Shaddai
      1. This passage is the 7^th mention of God’s
        
        appearance as El Shaddai
      2. God seems to have appeared to the Patriarchs as el
      3. This is probably because Abraham associated this
        
        name with God
      4. Shaddai is most likely an epithet
      5. God is addressing one of His promises to Abraham,
        
        that his descendents will be numerous
    6. Now God is changing his name in order to address
      
      another part of the Abrahamic promise
      1. Yahweh is the name that God is going to use to
        
        fulfill another part of the covenant
      2. Verb root is “to be”
      3. This name has the new significance of one of the
        
        themes; presence of God with Israel
      4. [Insert chart from OT book]
    7. Thus, El Shaddai revolves around descendents; Yahweh
      
      revolves around land
    8. In Exodus 3 God revealed to Moses the contextual meaning
      
      of the divine name Yahweh, “I will be with you”
    9. In this passage God is saying “Because I am with you I
      
      will fulfill my covenant to give you the land”
    10. “I did not make Myself known…” (vs. 3)
      1. Does not mean “know about”
      2. Means that God is now making His covenant with
        
        Israel concerning land (vs. 4)
    11. The gospel message in the OT: “Bring out,” “deliver,”
      
      “redeem”
    12. This Exodus story has frequent allusions to Genesis 6
      1. Here the land is filled with violence upon Israel
      2. Here, just like the ark, God brings out, delivers,
        
        and redeems Israel
      3. Instead of just saving the elect family, it moves to
        
        the elect nation
    13. Formula, “I am Yahweh” means divine presence
    14. John uses this as a revelatory formula all the way
      
      through his gospel
  2. Verse 6:9-13
    1. This is an excuse – “An excuse is just a lie stuck in
      
      the skin of reason”
    2. Anytime our eyes are on ourselves, rather than God, we
      
      subject ourselves to failure
  3. Verse 6:14-27
    1. Genealogy
    2. The purpose is to show the leaders of Israel
    3. Explain who helped to lead Israel out of Egypt
  4. Verse 6:28-30
    1. Even ineffective communication is better than no
      
      communication
    2. Moses uses a substitute excuse, he is clearly afraid
    3. The real issue is “I’m afraid and I’m not convinced we
      
      are going to pull this off”
  5. Verse 7:1
    1. Moses will be God, and Aaron his prophet
    2. This anticipates the incarnation of Christ
    3. Jesus is the one who will truly be God in the flesh and
      
      will bring out, deliver, and redeem His people
    4. Correct understanding of this book is essential for the
      
      proper interpretation of the gospel of John
  6. It doesn’t matter how relationships start out, it matters
    
    how they end up
    1. It’s not how bad things go, its how you continue on
    2. Relationships should not be based on good times only
    3. God does not hold Moses’ objections and hurtful actions
      
      toward Him against Moses
  7. Verse 7:3
    1. God didn’t have to harden Pharaoh’s heart
    2. It is clear that Pharaoh was not going to let the people
      
      go
    3. Lietwort – “Signs and wonders”
      1. Code words throughout Exodus
      2. Also appear in Acts 1-15
      3. Formula that is referring to the miracles that God
        
        will do to demonstrate to the whole world that He
        is the real God, even though He can’t be seen
  8. Verse 7:7
    1. The ages remind us that God is the giver of life
    2. Pharaoh’s didn’t live to be 80

The Plagues - 7:8-11:10
1. Verse 7:9-10
  1. Hebrew: tanin – translated “serpent” unusual Hebrew word
    
    (only appears 12 times)
    1. Often suggests cosmic type of serpent
    2. This is certainly not a normal kind of snake
  2. The imagery here is different than the first time
    1. This serpent is mythical
    2. Not exactly sure, but it is extra-normal
    3. It is also able to eat all the snakes of Pharaoh’s
      
      magicians
2. Verse 7:11-13
  1. It could very well have been demonic arts
  2. Pharaoh’s magicians really did perform miracles – Satan has
    
    the ability to perform miracles
  3. Very important to note that God’s miracles are better and
    
    overpower Satan’s
  4. Pharaoh of course was hardened
3. Verse 7:14
  1. God takes time to tell Moses what Pharaoh is thinking
  2. God is orchestrating the events through Moses
4. Verse 7:15-25
  1. Emphasis on staff of Moses and Aaron
    1. Both are divinely accredited
    2. Both are the agency for turning the Nile to blood
  2. The Nile
    1. Egypt gets maybe 2” of rain each year
    2. The Nile is its life-source
    3. It is the means by which they get drinking water and
      
      farming water
  3. We cannot make sense of why we have the plagues in the order
    
    that we have them – It is significant, however, that the
    first plague strikes the Nile
  4. God strikes more than just the Nile
    1. The Egyptians built reservoirs
    2. These reservoirs filled up when the Nile flooded every
      
      year
    3. God turns every supply of water to blood
    4. This plague is a polemic against Egyptian physical and
      
      theological life
    5. Against the Nile deities
      1. Khnum – guardian of the Nile
      2. Hapi – spirit of the Nile (chief deity)
        
        Both male and female characteristics
        
        The Nile represented fertility
        
        When the Nile is turned to blood God is
        
        attacking the action of Hapi
      3. Osiris – Nile was bloodstream
  5. The text continues to show a sophisticated knowledge of
    
    Egyptian theology
    1. Digging in the ground for water
    2. This sign has not undone the primeval deity Nun
    3. Nun stretched under the earth and was found as water in
      
      the earth
  6. Envelope: the first and the last plagues are marked by blood
  7. Envelope: the first and the last plagues have to do with
    
    water
  8. Echoes of Pharaoh’s edict to throw Hebrew sons into the Nile
    
    The Nile is essential in the functioning of their religion
    1. Ritual cleansing through the water of the Nile was
      
      essential to rebirth
    2. Rebirth is no longer possible in their religion when the
      
      Nile is polluted
  9. Pharaoh was unconcerned
  10. Seven days, loaded number
5. Hebrew: nagaph (technical word)
  1. Verb form occurs 45 times – 18 of which are God delivering a
    
    blow to Egypt
  2. 33 derived forms – 30 of which are God delivering a blow to
    
    Egypt
  3. Yahweh is doing more than just delivering a plague, He is
    
    judging
6. Three words that dominate the plague accounts
  1. Serve
  2. All – over 50 times in these plague accounts
  3. Land – over 50 times in these plague accounts
  4. “All the land”
    1. Echoes Genesis
    2. “Fill all the land…”
    3. “All the land filled with violence…”
    4. Both the people and the land suffer the same fate
7. Verse 8:1-2
  1. Egyptian deity
    1. Heqt – form of frog
    2. God of resurrection
    3. Resurrection was through the Nile
    4. Associated with fertility
    5. Associated specifically with birth
    6. Female deity
    7. Servant of Heqt – means midwives
  2. Not a pleasant happening
  3. Possibly this plague was chosen because of the theological
    
    claims of this deity
    1. Enhances the qualities of God as life-giver
    2. Highlights God’s ability to multiply His people in the
      
      midst of Pharaoh’s attempt to kill them
    3. The land is now teeming with frogs
    4. Counterclaim by God that He is the one who grants
      
      fertility
8. Verse 8:3-8
  1. Once again, if the magicians actually mimic the miracle,
    
    they only make it worse! They could be considered to be
    serving God indirectly
  2. “Entreat”
    1. Not the word “pray”
    2. More similar to “ask” or “make a request”
    3. Pharaoh has not assumed any religiosity
9. The reason for the first two plagues are likely theological
10. The next four plagues are designed to make life miserable for
  
  the Egyptians and Pharaoh
11. The last four involve loss of human life
12. Verse 8:9-11
  1. When would you like to be frogless?
  2. Tomorrow
  3. Shows the sovereignty of God in being able to do whatever He
    
    wants whenever He wants
13. Verse 8:12-15
  1. “Cry out”
    1. Used in chapter 2 when the Israelites cried out to the
      
      Lord
    2. Not normally a prayer word
    3. A subtle way in which Moses is interceding on behalf of
      
      Israel
  2. The death of the frogs would have caused disgusting smells
    
    and clean up
  3. Pharaoh still refuses to let them go
    1. He hardened his own heart
    2. Yahweh and Pharaoh work together to hardened his heart
14. Verse 8:16-19
  1. Not sure what they were
    1. Could be gnats
    2. Could be mosquitoes, maggots
    3. Could just be translated swarms
  2. Magicians are not capable of replicating
    1. Each time the magicians loose power
    2. “This is the finger of God”
      1. Deut. 9:10 – ten commandments written by God’s
        
        finger
      2. Luke 11#11:20 – Jesus casting out demons by the finger
        
        of God
      3. Could be a reference to Aaron’s staff
      4. It is not sure that they are referring to Yahweh God
15. The primary theological theme that is going on is that Yahweh is
  
  present
16. By the 18^th dynasty 90% of the land was owned by
  
  temples
  1. Pharaoh was the most powerful single man but their religious
    
    temples and priests held the majority of the power as a
    group
  2. It could be that Pharaoh hardens his heart because he has no
    
    choice
  3. Pharaoh may not have all the power necessary to let the
    
    Hebrews go
  4. Thus, when the priests/magicians report that “this is the
    
    finger of God” they may be reporting the status of what
    they think
17. Verse 8:20-21
  1. Not sure why Pharaoh went down to the water
    1. Wasn’t for cleaning because its dangerous
    2. Could have been something religious
  2. Language similar to the frog plague, only insects
  3. Purpose is obviously just to make life miserable
18. Verse 8:22-24
  1. Purpose is to show that God is in their midst
  2. Israel set apart
  3. “Division between My people…”
    1. Hebrew root: padah
      1. Means redemption
      2. NASB – set apart
      3. There is no semantic domain for “distinction,” or
        
        “division”
    2. The word padad has the division idea
  4. Hebrew: sahat
    1. “Laid waste”
    2. Echoes Genesis 6 – land laid waste via the flood
    3. This word reappears three times in chapter 12
    4. Echoes God’s determination to be true to the covenant He
      
      has made with Israel
19. Verse 8:25-26
  1. Not sure, but it seems like Pharaoh is avoiding the name
    
    Yahweh
  2. This is a movement in the right direction
  3. “Abomination”
    1. Gen. 43:32, 46:34
    2. Moses is echoing the words of Joseph’s story when the
      
      Egyptians would not eat with the Semites or shepherds
    3. To the Egyptians, Semites are an abomination
    4. To the Egyptians, animal sacrifice is an abomination
20. Throughout the plagues Aaron has a discernable decline in the
  
  role he plays
21. Verse 8:27-32
  1. None left – shows the power of God
  2. Jeremiah 38
    1. Zedekiah king of Judah, so he arrests Jeremiah and
      
      tortures him and then releases him
    2. Then Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to come talk to him by night
    3. Zedekiah feels like he can’t surrender to the king of
      
      Babylon because he thinks the people around him will
      assassinate him
    4. To some degree we wonder if Pharaoh was encountering the
      
      same problems
22. Verse 9:1-3
  1. For the first time these people are referred to as Hebrews
  2. Catastrophic consequences if Pharaoh refuses
  3. Over 200 times the phrase “hand of the Lord” is used and
    
    followed by judgment
23. Verse 9:4-7
  1. Nothing will happen to Israel
  2. Tomorrow – repeat from when Pharaoh said remove the plague
    
    tomorrow
  3. Loss of livestock means loss of work, food, status
  4. Hebrew: shalach “Send”
    1. Pharaoh sends messengers to check on Israel
    2. But he will not send Israel away
24. Verse 9:8-12
  1. Last time Aaron plays an active role
  2. The boils that God sends on the Egyptians are the same boils
    
    that God threatens to give to Israel in Deuteronomy
  3. Also the boils in Job’s experience
  4. “Could not stand” – may be literal
  5. The previous plague may have killed all the animals that
    
    were penned up, and this one may affect those in the
    fields
25. Verse 9:13-17
  1. Hebrew napah
    1. Blows or strike
    2. This is the only time in the OT where this word is used
      
      in the plural
    3. Used for the judgment of God
  2. God wants His name to be known
    1. As present
    2. As Creator God
    3. Both for Egypt and Israel
26. The whole story shows God’s grace
  1. He is true to His covenant
  2. These plagues show God’s grace and compassion on Israel’s
    
    part
  3. Shows the triumphant of God’s grace
  4. There is a sense in which we are all Egyptians – or worse
    
    than them because we are not ignorant
27. Verse 9:18-26
  1. Egypt rarely if ever gets hail
  2. Moses’ staff is used to effect God’s will
  3. Echoes of
    1. Flood
    2. Language of Theophany
    3. Another artful way to show that God is present
    4. These words reappear (except the hail) in chapter 19
    5. Sodom and Gomorrah
  4. “Every plant,” “every tree”
    1. All never means all
    2. For emphasis
    3. Wholesale destruction
  5. Land of Goshen is protected once again
28. Verse 9:27-30
  1. What is Pharaoh saying?
    1. Is he truly repenting of a sin?
    2. Main Hebrew word for sin means “to miss the mark”
      1. Not necessarily moral
      2. Pharaoh was saying that he made a mistake, made a
        
        bad judgment
    3. Not claiming that Yahweh is righteous but rather just
      
      that He was right in this situation
    4. Foxhole repenter!
  2. Creational language
29. Verse 9:31-35
  1. Side note describing what was ruined
  2. There was still vegetation left for the locusts
  3. Pharaoh hardens his heart again
  4. Similar to the Canaanites who do not relent
30. Verse 10:1-6
  1. Obviously the hail did not destroy everything
  2. God is the Creator of all land and all people
  3. The locusts will destroy anything that was left
31. Verse 10:7-11
  1. Pharaoh’s servants
    1. Interesting that the servants of Pharaoh are reasonable
    2. They suggest that the men go
    3. Don’t you know that Egypt is destroyed
      1. Ironic word
      2. Alludes to Pharaoh’s statement, “I do not know
        
        Yahweh”
  2. Pharaoh does not understand what Yahweh has done
  3. “The Lord will certainly need to be with you if you take
    
    your little ones along” - NLT
    1. Pharaoh is making a wordplay on Yahweh
    2. He understands that Yahweh means God’s presence
    3. Pharaoh has made a mockery of Yahweh
32. Verse 10:12-15
  1. Locusts
    1. Life threatening
    2. Completely destroy the land
    3. They are used primarily for divine judgment in the Old
      
      Testament
    4. Used for divine judgment in the great Day of the Lord
    5. Revelation
      1. Iron jaws – metaphorical
      2. Most of John’s Day of the Lord language is taken
        
        from the Old Testament prophets
  2. Devastating event
  3. In any normal country this would destroy the population
    1. Because of Egypt’s climate it can replant everything in
      
      a couple months and at least survive
    2. The temple complex’s had vast storage bins
  4. Egyptian theology
    1. Isis, the god of life
    2. Seth, protector the crops
    3. Reminder that Yahweh is present
    4. If Pharaoh is truly a god he should be able to provide
      
      life for his people
33. Verse 10:15-20
  1. Refers to the plague as a death
  2. It really just prefigures the final plague which is truly
    
    death
  3. yom suph
    1. Literally “Sea of Reeds”
    2. Not actually the Red Sea
    3. The locusts were sent into just like Pharaoh’s army will
      
      be sent into the Sea of Reeds
    4. Not completely sure where the Sea of Reeds is
34. Verse 10:21-23
  1. Egyptian theology
    1. Osiris, giver of life – Pharaoh’s deity
    2. The sun shone virtually everyday
  2. Darkness
    1. Thick darkness
    2. Could be felt
    3. Goshen is not affected
    4. Moses asks for a three-day journey into the wilderness
  3. Amos 5
    1. First of the prophets to mention darkness in the Day of
      
      the Lord
    2. Egypt’s darkness foreshadows the Day of the Lord
  4. This anticipates the last of the plagues
    1. The death of the first born occurs in the night
    2. This plague makes death itself tangible
  5. Echoes creation – return to the chaotic darkness before
    
    light
35. Verse 10:24-29
  1. Pharaoh’s hard heart once again
  2. Envelope: “see my face”
    1. Moses says Pharaoh will never see his face again because
      
      he will die
    2. Yahweh tells Moses that he cannot see His face and live
    3. Irony
      1. Pharaoh, who claims to be god and can be seen, will
        
        no longer be seen
      2. Yahweh, who cannot be seen, will reveal to Moses
        
        what can be seen
  3. The Israelites don’t believe any more than the Egyptians
36. Verse 11:1-10
  1. Hebrew: naga
    1. Means “to touch”
    2. In this case it means to touch negatively
    3. Connects this plague with the Israelites who are
      
      supposed to “touch” the blood to the doorpost
  2. Mentions the two social extremes, from Pharaoh to slave
  3. Hebrew: tsach
    1. Means “cry” or “outcry”
    2. Root that appeared all the way through chapters 1-2 when
      
      the Israelites were crying out
37. The narrative is now interrupted
  1. The style changes to liturgy
  2. Takes a whole chapter to explain the founding of Passover
  3. There seems to be a sequence in which liturgy encloses the
    
    stories and liturgy encloses the entire sequence
  4. Very well may be that liturgy was regarded as some sort of
    
    exalted language
  5. This technique has the ability of heightening the tension
From Passover to Praise - 12:1-15:21
1. Verse 12:1-14
  1. Ezekiel 45#45:18-20
    1. The only other place in the Bible where blood is placed
      
      on the door
    2. Blood smeared on the doorway of the temple
  2. Hebrew: pesach
    1. Passover
    2. One of the more important theological words
    3. Not mentioned very much in the OT
    4. Hezekiah, Josiah
    5. One of the three great holy days of the year
  3. Pesachim
    1. This is a document in the Mishna
    2. Devoted to explaining how Passover was done
    3. Dates around 300 A.D.
    4. Not exactly sure how accurate it is in explaining the OT
      
      observance of it
    5. Good reason to think that it is largely reliable
  4. Passover (a.k.a. Feast of Unleavened Bread)
    1. All the people would gather in the outer temple
    2. They would gather together in companies, family oriented
    3. The priests would stand in two rows
      1. In one row each priest had a silver basin which
        
        caught the blood
      2. In the other row each priest had a gold basin which
        
        caught the blood
    4. After the blood was collected it was passed from hand to
      
      hand all the way to the end of the line
    5. At the end of the line the last priest took hyssop and
      
      dipped it in the blood and sprinkled it in ritual
      manner on the alter
    6. All the while everyone was singing the Hallel (Psalm
      
      113-118)
    7. Hebrews 11#11:28 alludes to some of this
    8. Hyssop
      1. Mentioned only a few other times in the Bible
      2. Numbers 19#19:1-10, Psalm 51#51:7
    9. Jesus is clearly identified as the Passover Lamb in
      
      Christian theology
    10. It is some what confusing in trying to merge Deuteronomy
      
      16 and this passage
      1. Should be viewed in similar manner as the Synoptic
        
        problem
      2. There are clear differences, but they are not
        
        extreme
    11. Feast of Unleavened Bread
      1. Causes problems because the Israelites were supposed
        
        to eat hurriedly and be ready to leave for the
        Passover
      2. Many commentators argue that Moses picked up this
        
        tradition and merge it with the Passover event
      3. It is surprising to have a 7 day feast climaxed by
        
        an urgent meal, but that is the clearest reading
      4. Perhaps 7 is just a number that evokes the creation
        
        week that describes a new act that God will do
2. Verse 12:21-28
  1. Hebrew: ebed
    1. Means “serve”
    2. Brings up the struggle between Yahweh and Pharaoh in who
      
      Israel will serve
    3. “observe this servitude forever”
  2. Lex taliones
    1. The punishment must fit the crime
    2. The smiting of the firstborn is justice for the massacre
      
      of the Hebrew babies earlier
    3. The point of the first 6 chapters is establishing the
      
      ethic of why God will send the plagues on the
      Egyptians
    4. Because God is present, justice is done
    5. Exodus 34#34:6-7
    6. Christians identify with God through His mercy
    7. Jews identifies with God through His justice
      1. Both traditions are biblical
      2. Both need to be combined to get an accurate view of
        
        who God is
      3. New Testament justice occurs primarily in the end
        
        times (“in that day”)
    8. Unfortunately, we read about Israel’s suffering as if it
      
      didn’t matter because we know the end of the story
3. Verse 12:29-32
  1. Hebrew: ebed
    1. Really “serve”
    2. Pharaoh consents to their serving God
  2. Pharaoh is not as urgent and adamant that they leave as he
    
    was that they stay earlier on
  3. “Take everything with you”
  4. “Bless me also”
    1. Pharaoh is the quintessential decreator
    2. He cares about no one but himself
  5. Clearest modern example is Soddam Husain
4. Verse 12:33-36
  1. Lex taliones
    1. The Egyptians had plundered the Israelites for centuries
    2. Now the Israelites have the chance to plunder Egypt
  2. Getting out of Egypt isn’t really changing anything
    
    spiritually
5. The Exodus is not the climatic event, but only the beginning of
  
  a journey to deal personally and relationally with Yahweh
6. Verse 12:37-41
  1. Not sure where Succoth was at
  2. House of Rameses
  3. 600,000 men
    1. This means that there are over 2 million people
    2. On top of this there is cattle and other livestock
    3. This is a difficult number to understand
    4. There have not been any legitimate attempts to discount
      
      this number, however
    5. Hebrew: bene yisrael
      1. Children of Israel
      2. The consonantal number is 603, 551
      3. This number is only 1 digit removed from the exact
        
        account in Numbers
      4. Are the numbers intended to be mathematical units or
        
        not?
      5. We can’t be sure
    6. Apparently there are several people in this group that
      
      are not biological Israelites
  4. 430 years
    1. In Genesis it says 400 years
    2. In Galatians it says 250 years
    3. Several differing numbers
    4. 1 Kings 6#6:1 – 480=1446 as the mathematical number for
      
      the exodus
      1. 12x40=480: could argue for symbolic interpretation
      2. However, Judges 11#11:26 – 300 years, that puts us in
        
        the vicinity of 1446
  5. It is important to note that the biblical text, Exodus, is
    
    not concerned with the who, what, when, where… what is
    important is the theology
  6. If the Bible is quick to emphasize the theology then we
    
    ought to do the same
  7. Emphasize what occurred rather then when it occurred
7. Verse 12:42-51
  1. Hebrew: shimmurim – “keeper”
    1. NASB – “to be observed”
    2. This word occurs only in this verse out of the whole
      
      Bible
    3. It has a brilliant rhetorical effect
    4. “It is a night for keeping by Yahweh, it is night for
      
      keeping by the Israelites”
    5. The writer is enhancing the notion that this night will
      
      be celebrated forever
    6. This ties Israel and Yahweh into a relationship that is
      
      renewed annually at Passover
  2. Ordinance of the Passover
    1. No foreigners
    2. Must be circumcised
    3. No servants
    4. Must be inside – if it is taken outside or a bone is
      
      broken then it is possible that it could be found by
      non-Israelites
  3. The Israelites had been preparing for this moment
  4. Marched in formation, probably by clans, so that they could
    
    protect their families
  5. Incredibly difficult to maneuver that many people
  6. We are told more about how the Passover is supposed to be
    
    kept and not very much about the actual exodus
    1. Likewise, several chapters are devoted to the plagues
    2. Theology
8. Verse 13:1-2
  1. Yahweh seems to be saying, “On the basis of the fact that I
    
    killed the firstborn of Egypt you are to return the
    firstborn to me”
  2. Israel has already been called Yahweh’s firstborn
  3. There must be a sacrifice to the Lord on the basis of the
    
    fact that the firstborn belongs to God – redemption
    (pada)
  4. This stands for all the firstborn: sons, daughters, slaves,
    
    animals
9. Verse 13:3-4
  1. Very important concept: Remember
    1. Signs on the hand, forehead, etc.
    2. This was later taken literally in Judaism
  2. What does it mean to remember?
    1. Part of it is ritual (i.e. Passover)
    2. Surely more than pure static ritual is requested
    3. The Jewish tradition was that you relive it
    4. Passover was done in such a way that encourages the
      
      believer to relive the exodus moment
  3. In the ritual of the Christian calendar how can we relive
    
    the event, rather than just memorializing it?
    1. Two events in particular: The Lords Supper and Easter
    2. The challenge is creating a situation where this can be
      
      experienced thousands of years later
  4. Abib is the month
10. Verse 13:5
  1. List of the nations
    1. Almost always ends with the Jebusites
    2. They are the inhabitants of Jerusalem
    3. Interesting, because Jerusalem does not become the
      
      centerpiece of the war until the time of David
  2. Conquest
    1. Joshua fights three major battles
    2. The first is in the area of Jerusalem and he defeats the
      
      Jebusites in battle, but does not take over the city
    3. Priority of Judah in the text, Jerusalem was in their
      
      territory
  3. Hittites were far to the north
  4. Amorites were in the area of chazor
  5. Hivites
    1. Not sure who or where they are
    2. Could be a mistake and might be the Horites
  6. Milk and honey
    1. Canaanite proverb
    2. Should not be taken literally
    3. The land was much more luscious than it is now
11. Verse 13:6-10
  1. Absolutely no leaven
  2. Tell your son
    1. In almost all the perpetuating of the ceremonies it is
      
      the father telling the son
    2. This is God’s way of continuing His relationship with
      
      Israel
    3. Deut. 6:7 – “teach” means “repeat”
  3. Our culture is different, we hire out everything
    1. We expect the schools to teach our kids
    2. We expect youth pastors to teach our kids
    3. However, the clearly stated means of teaching God’s plan
      
      in the Bible is fathers telling sons (or mothers
      telling daughters)
    4. The methodology is repeating
  4. God’s plan has always been through the family
    1. This teaching must be pervasive
    2. It cannot be a 20 minute family devotional
12. Verse 13:11-16
  1. Firstborn theology
  2. The donkey is not supposed to be sacrificed, but because it
    
    is the firstborn it must be redeemed
  3. Verse 14-16 is the Old Testament Kerygma
    1. Those facts demand a faith response
    2. The Law hasn’t been given yet but when it is then that
      
      becomes the way a Hebrew responds in faith
13. Verse 13:17-18
  1. “The way of the Philistines”
    1. Anachronism – phrase from a later time imposed back onto
      
      the text
    2. The Philistines were not there in Moses’ time
    3. This path was heavily guarded by the Egyptians
  2. God doesn’t send them down this path because He knows that
    
    they are not ready to fight
  3. It is very easy for us to look at these events as a flight
    
    from Egypt to Israel
    1. In reality, it is a journey toward something, not
      
      necessarily Canaan
    2. This is a journey toward establishing the fact that
      
      Yahweh is present
      1. This means a full and final defeat of Pharaoh and
        
        his armies
      2. This is why they meander and take their time
      3. Yahweh is drawing Pharaoh into a battle
    3. If Israel had gone three days straight into the
      
      wilderness then Pharaoh couldn’t have followed
14. Verse 13:19-22
  1. Since God gave this land to Israel it is imperative that
    
    they all be buried in the land
  2. Furthermore, it is important to be buried with your family,
    
    in the same cave
  3. The Israelites carried false deities with them in the
    
    wilderness according to Amos
  4. Yahweh is demonstrating that He is the divine warrior
15. Verse 14:1-4
  1. They turn around so that the water is to the east of the
    
    Israelites
  2. This provokes Pharaoh to come after them
  3. Hebrew wordplay: kabod
    1. Same root for harden his heart
    2. Same root for I will receive honor
16. Verse 14:5-9
  1. Each Egyptian chariot had 3 soldiers in it
    1. 1 soldier drove
    2. 1 soldier protected with a shield
    3. 1 soldier fought
  2. Pharaoh’s 600 chariots are the main striking force
  3. The other chariots are used for enveloping purposes
  4. Could have upwards of 1200-1500 chariots
  5. Used in this passage
    1. 14 times every chariot
    2. 12 times every horseman
    3. The entire army
  6. The Hebrews don’t have hardly any weapons
17. Verse 14:10-12
  1. The Israelites are scared to death
  2. Sarcastic response
  3. Pharaoh had no intention of killing them, he wanted his
    
    slaves back
  4. We convince ourselves that if we see miracles that they will
    
    somehow fix everything
  5. Exodus points out that miracles do not solve the human
    
    problem
  6. The Israelites attack Moses just like in 5:21, 6:9, 15:24
  7. The greatest challenge that we will have in our whole life
    
    is relational
  8. Echoes Adam and Eve, blaming pattern – Gen. 3
    1. This sets the pattern for the human relationship
    2. This is why divorce is so rampant
    3. God shows His love by sustaining relationship with us
      
      despite or childish actions
18. Verse 14:13
  1. Moses doesn’t take it personally
  2. It seems that never seeing Egyptians again will solve all
    
    the problems!
  3. The reality is that after the Egyptians drown there are new
    
    avenues and new people for our selfishness and our fear
  4. We live our lives subservient to the philosophy of *“if
    
    only…”*
    1. This is the way we think
    2. If only
    3. Philippians 4#4:13 – I have learned the secret of success,
      
      to be content in all things
19. Verse 14:14-18
  1. This whole story reverberates the language and ideas of
    
    Genesis
    1. “Dry land” – same word as in Genesis
    2. The Creation God is reminded them that He can create dry
      
      land for them, as their backs are to the sea
    3. Genesis 6-9; God drowns the wicked and the dry land is
      
      the evidence of God’s grace
  2. The word “to harden” and “to honor” come from the same
    
    Hebrew root
20. Verse 14:19-22
  1. God has led the Israelites to a position where their back is
    
    to the sea
  2. The only thing separating them from destruction is the Lord
    
    as He moves the cloud in between the Israelites and the
    Egyptians
  3. Moses lifts his staff and the Lord creates dry land
  4. God is going to great extremes to perpetuate His
    
    relationship with them – for God to be true to the
    covenant
21. Verse 14:23-25
  1. Pharaoh acts as if the plagues never happened!
  2. He makes a very poor military decision by putting his whole
    
    army in the sea
  3. The chariots may have struggled from the mud or sandy ground
22. Verse 14:26-28
  1. The divine symbol, Moses’ staff, raises once more and the
    
    sea engulfs the Egyptians
  2. The Creator God is stronger than the decreator god
  3. No survivors
23. Verse 14:29-31
  1. This is not the way that normal relationships work
  2. In all the OT Yahweh only drowns the Egyptians once
  3. This is an act to demonstrate that Yahweh is present
  4. True relationships are those that occur and function on more
    
    realistic levels like: obedience, faith, and trust
  5. It is no accident that Yahweh calls for the above 3 things
    
    when the waters settle
  6. Real relationships have to have law, they cannot be
    
    sustained on modern western weddings
  7. It is indeed an incredible demonstration of God’s power –
    
    but if we say this everyday it wouldn’t change a single
    thing in our lives
  8. Clearly, as will be seen, this event does not solve the
    
    relational problems of faith and trust
  9. Oscar Wildes – “If the gods wished to punish us they would
    
    simply answer our prayers”
  10. Unfortunately our prayers are based on our “if only’s”
  11. If we believe in Him we will obey Him; if we don’t we will
    
    believe in ourselves
24. Verse 15:1-18
  1. The victory is celebrated with poetry
  2. Poetry is very hard to translate but it is beautiful in the
    
    Hebrew
  3. Verse 8 likens the east wind to God’s nostrils
  4. Verse 9 gives 6 first person references
  5. Yahweh will reign forever – that’s the heart of the story
  6. This has evidence that parts of the poem was reworked at a
    
    later date
  7. Demonstrates that in the Jewish tradition historical events
    
    are memorialized in song
25. Verse 15:19-22
  1. The story of Moses begins with women and the act of
    
    deliverance is closed with women
  2. The faithful activity of women creates an envelope from
    
    Exodus 1-15
  3. Similar to when David succeeds in battle against the
    
    Philistines
  4. Women are named in chapter 1-2 when Pharaoh isn’t!
26. Summary
  1. Pattern
    1. It is inevitable that we will cry out – that’s apart of
      
      life outside of the garden
    2. Yahweh then gives us a word and a deed
    3. That word and deed results in deliverance
    4. The deliverance results in songs of praise
  2. When Adam and Eve sinned were they cursed?
    1. NO!
    2. Adam and Eve were punished
    3. Satan was cursed
  3. In a fallen world there will always be thorns and thistles
    1. Life will never be like it was in the garden
    2. There is eternally adversity in real-world living
    3. Without pain we wouldn’t know our need for relationship
      
      with God
    4. We would never desire a relationship with God without
      
      thorns and thistles
  4. The people who are highlighted in Revelation were over
    
    comers
  5. It was significant for the Israel to go through a difficult
    
    time for them to understand their need for a relationship
    with God
  6. God who is the author of all historical events uses those
    
    events consistently to force us back into a relationship
    with Him
  7. Psalms
    1. The person in the Psalms experiences orientation
      1. Orientation means life is good, life is smooth
        
        nothing is going wrong
    2. God then brings about disorientation
      1. Disorientation is when our lives are interrupted we
        
        are now in pain and we don’t like it
      2. This can come from God Himself, Satan, life
        
        experience, ourselves, wherever
    3. It is precisely in that mode of disorientation that we
      
      have a pure form of lament
      1. This is where God finds us
    4. God then brings out new orientation
      1. Without disorientation there will be no change,
        
        there will be no new orientation
    5. The consistent result of new orientation is praise
  8. This Psalms pattern is a microcosm of what happens in the
    
    book of Exodus
  9. This pattern is how our personal relationships work as well
    1. Most of us are content to live in orientation
    2. But the true life is found in new orientation which
      
      comes through disorientation
  10. Marriage
    1. One of the most important words in marriage is change
    2. If you don’t do it, you won’t make it
    3. You have to adapt to the different seasons of life
  11. When the hard times come are we going to demand that we need
    
    to go back to the old or will we press on to the new?
  12. Curiously, even if where we are at is miserable we want to
    
    stay; we do not want to change
  13. All of God’s saving acts in the OT refer back to this Sea of
    
    Reeds story
  14. Why is there so little text given to such a major event?
    1. This story is another event in the story that shows that
      
      God is present
    2. The major event in the NT (Jesus’ death and
      
      resurrection) is told in just a few verses also
    3. They were thinking theologically whereas we think
      
      historically

The Wilderness Wanderings - 15:22-18:27
1. Verse 15:22-27
  1. Yahweh is celebrated as a warrior
    1. He uses no weapons
    2. He uses His creation
    3. Military might in the Scriptures is almost always
      
      pictured negatively
    4. The church is in the same capacity as the Remnant was in
      
      OT Israel
  2. Yahweh is healer
    1. God is not interested in answering every complaint with
      
      a positive response
    2. God is using these events to teach them how to function
      
      in a relationship with Him
    3. Relationships
      1. Communication
      2. Commitment
      3. How does belief occur?
        
        Conflict
        
        Without conflict you are not exposing the weak
        
        points in your relationship
    4. The result of the first plague is that they cannot drink
      
      the water
      1. Now the same problem occurs again
      2. Why would God juxtapose the trial and the plague?
        
        God’s saving acts are consistently anchored in
        
        history
        
        By putting the Israelites in the same position
        
        as the Egyptians God is reminding them that He
        has the power to plague and the power to
        reward
        
        God is establishing the theology of His presence
  3. Not sure where Elim is at
2. Verse 16:1-4
  1. Wilderness of Sin
    1. This is the name of the moon god
    2. The move on the 15^th day also, which means
      
      there was a full moon
    3. Perhaps reminiscent of Genesis 1 creation
  2. Miracle after miracle and yet complaints still arise
  3. “Grumbling”
    1. Dominant characteristic of this chapter
    2. Appears 7 times in this chapter
    3. Grumbling is a form of relating
      1. Most likely destructive but still relating
      2. Counterproductive
    4. God is committed to deepening and continuing His
      
      relationship with Israel
    5. Sharing negative thoughts in a constructive manner is
      
      essential to a relationship
    6. By in large, rarely is the fight about what the problem
      
      is
      1. There is usually an underlying cause
      2. What is the real occasion for the grumbling?
      3. It’s really lack of faith not lack of water
      4. It is our nature to use a substitute rather than
        
        what we are really concerned about
    7. The way in which grumbling/disagreement are approached
      
      is most important
    8. God embraces our doubts and concerns in the Psalms – the
      
      idea of new orientation mentioned above
3. Verse 16:5
  1. Same verb used for raining hail on the Egyptians
  2. Here bread is giving by means of “rain”
  3. The 8^th plague – locust come up and cover the
    
    land
  4. Here quail come up and cover the land
  5. “My law”
    1. Ironic because the Law hasn’t been given yet
    2. The most dominant theological point in this chapter is
      
      the emphasis on the 7^th day
      1. This is a law that has been in place since the
        
        beginning of time
      2. This is a creation order law
      3. We are not under any of the Law
      4. However, this law precedes the giving of the Law and
        
        should indeed have some consequence for us
      5. Adam and Eve most likely followed intuitively if not
        
        specifically the Sabbath law
      6. We are not under Sabbath laws (the ones contained in
        
        the Mosaic Law and Jewish traditions) but we are
        under the Sabbath concept and as believers we
        should in some way sanctify a Sabbath day
      7. This does not necessarily have to be Saturday but it
        
        really does need to be done
4. Verse 16:7
  1. The primary thing that God wants is for the Israelites to
    
    see His glory
  2. God knows that providing food will not solve the problem
  3. Intersects with Moses in Exodus 32 about “show me Your
    
    glory”
  4. The bread and the quail are not the answer to their
    
    problems, seeing the glory of the Lord is the final answer
    (John 1#1:14)
5. Verse 16:8-30
  1. Image of God
    1. Being made in the image of God means more than a statue
    2. It includes that we can do what no other part of the
      
      creation can do, talk
    3. This is a unique gift to humans
    4. Too often the gifts that He gives are the ones that we
      
      abuse
  2. When we are grumbling we are in a decreator role
  3. Communication is the single most important thing in life
  4. They called it Manna which means “what is it?”
  5. God speaks a lot about gathering it
  6. God says only take what you can use
  7. “Gather” appears 9 times in this short unit
  8. Gather 6 days and gather twice as much as you need so you
    
    can rest on the Sabbath
  9. Gathering commands
    1. Gather
    2. Gather in a precise way
    3. Don’t gather on the 7 day
  10. This story is repeated in John 6
  11. The gather story goes directly back to Genesis
    1. Adam and Eve were provided with free food but they had
      
      to gather it
    2. They were given similar instructions
    3. Don’t gather from the tree of knowledge of good and evil
  12. Primary point is that God is King
    1. As King God provides for His people
    2. Just as in Genesis 1-2 God works through a vice-regent
      
      (Adam and Eve)
    3. Here the vice-regent is Moses
  13. 1 Thessalonians – If you do not work you do not eat
  14. God the King provides for us but our responsibility is to
    
    gather/work
    1. When human beings receive without working something
      
      bizarre happens
    2. Something bad happens to our thinking when we do not
      
      work and yet receive
    3. Work is spiritually nurturing
    4. Work is God’s gift to us
    5. We are made in His image – God works, we work; God
      
      rests, we rest
    6. There are also specific ways to work (cf. all the
      
      gathering rules)
    7. The climax is you must rest
  15. The Sabbath law is given authority long before the Mosaic
    
    Law
    1. It is based on creation order
    2. We might be missing out on the blessing of God by not
      
      being true to His Sabbath model
    3. It is equally important for your spiritual well being to
      
      rest
    4. It is spiritually nurturing to rest
    5. God has instituted the rhythm of life in Genesis 1-2
    6. There are consequences for choosing to live our lives
      
      outside of His rhythm
  16. Rest means strengthening our relationships
    1. With God
    2. With others
    3. The commandment to love God and love others comes into
      
      play
6. Verse 16:31-36
  1. Joshua 5#5:12 says when the Manna stopped
  2. Even in that situation they are still in a gathering
    
    position
7. Verse 17:1-4
  1. They were in a tough situation, you can only go 3-4 days
    
    without water
  2. They insist on putting God to the test
  3. Instead of using communication whereby they might have a
    
    healthy way of relating they choose to attack their leader
  4. They are ready to kill Moses
  5. God is trying to get the Israelites to learn how to follow a
    
    leader
  6. [Moses and Monarchy]
8. Verse 17:5-7
  1. This is the third time out of 4 complaints that Moses is
    
    afraid for his life
  2. Serious lessons need to be learned about how they relate to
    
    God
  3. “Strike”
    1. Same staff Moses used to strike the Nile
    2. Now he uses it to strike the rock and bring forth good
      
      water
    3. Water symbolizes life
    4. God consistently requires that His work be done through
      
      Moses
    5. Moses uses his staff which is clearly a symbol of
      
      kingship
  4. For the next 4 centuries the Israelites will not follow
    
    their leaders
  5. Foreshadow that Israel will not follow Christ
  6. Furthermore, foreshadows the church
  7. God is trying to prepare Israel to accept and follow a king
  8. If God raises up a leader then he is god to the people
  9. When we try to manipulate God to fit us that is testing God
    1. Testing is demanding that God meat us on our terms
    2. Trusting is the exact opposite of testing
9. Verse 17:8-16
  1. The Amalekites may have attacked because there is water at
    
    that place now
  2. There has never been water there before but there is now
  3. The Amalekites are one of the most hated of ancient peoples
  4. God has just created water and now Amalek is acting as a
    
    decreator by trying to take it away
  5. God does not fight the battle for them this time but uses
    
    Joshua
    1. This is the first mention of Joshua as a military leader
    2. He was somehow at the status of a major general over
      
      Israel
  6. Moses (and his staff) is still the medium which God uses to
    
    win the battle
  7. God centralizes His personal power and authority in Moses
    1. Not one king in Israel ever had the power that Moses had
    2. God intended to relate to Israel through a king
    3. This is a God’s model for Israel
    4. God’s number one plan (which goes back to Gen. 49) was
      
      to raise up royal leaders
    5. The problem is not kingship; it is not good or bad
      1. If it functions according to God’s rules then it is
        
        good
      2. If it functions according to man’s rules then it is
        
        bad
    6. Kingship that revolves strictly around authority is
      
      wrong
    7. God’s model was to invest Himself fully in one man and
      
      use him as he is in a proper subservient relationship
      with God
    8. Moses is the kind of man God wants to use
      1. Utterly obedient
      2. Humble – pious
      3. Speaks to God face to face
    9. The way Moses led Israel is the way that God’s wants
      
      successive leaders to lead Israel
  8. The Amalekites continue to remain throughout the OT as an
    
    enemy of God’s people
    1. They “kind of” replace Pharaoh
    2. They become decreators
10. Chapter 18:1-16
  1. This chapter tells far more about the transfer of authority
    
    than the actual Exodus itself
  2. Moses’ father-in-law plays a large role and then disappears
  3. There is more happening here than a family reunion
  4. It is possible that the text is reflecting Jethro’s
    
    commitment to becoming a follower of Israel’s God
    1. There is sort of a conversion sequence
    2. Jethro hears, speaks with Moses, is convinced, they go
      
      into a tent (a predecessor of the tabernacle?), Yahweh
      is greater than all other gods (faith affirmation),
      had a meal with all elders of Israel
    3. This order of events very well may be a covenant being
      
      made here
    4. If so, it is a covenant made in light of God’s saving
      
      acts of humanity through Israel
11. Chapter 18:17-27
  1. Moses is judging before Sinai
    1. There are already laws
    2. Echoes chapter 2 – when there is a dispute between two
      
      Hebrews
  2. Some say this is the foundation of the institution of the
    
    judicial system of Israel
  3. There is probably more to it than that
  4. What does this establish about kingship?
    1. In the ancient near east the king in all cultures was
      
      specially franchised with keeping the law – justice
      1. This is one of the most important tasks of a king
      2. Moses is king
      3. Moses, as a king, has a prime responsibility to
        
        establish justice
      4. Everyone must enjoy justice
      5. David is not attending to the affairs of his kingdom
        
        in 2 Samuel 15, Absalom is doing it
      6. Kingship must be established around laws
    2. Administrative issue that is to the benefit of everyone
    3. Delegation
    4. Moses is not on an ego trip
  5. They are probably following customary law at this time
  6. Deuteronomy 17#17:14-20
  7. Passage may be similar to Numbers 11#11:17
  8. Two main points of this passage
    1. Conversion of Jethro to a follower of the Lord
    2. Establish Moses’ kingship and how it functions

Law and Covenant - 19:1-24:18
1. Chapter 19:1-6
  1. Climax of the entire book is right here, chapters 19-20
  2. Arrived at Sinai at the exact day of the new moon
  3. They will stay here for 11 months
  4. “I bore you on eagles’ wings”
    1. Deut. 32:11
    2. Terminology is redemptive
    3. Creation account (Gen. 1:2) is related through bird
      
      terminology
      1. “Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the
        
        waters”
      2. Same verb that means “nesting”
  5. More than just a covenant is going on
  6. God is calling a unique people for Himself
    1. My own Possession (special)
    2. Kingdom of Priests
      1. Missionary imperative
      2. All Israel is assigned a task of ministering to
        
        other nations
      3. Their task is to obey the law to save the world
      4. God is saving Israel in order to save all the
        
        nations of the earth
    3. Holy nation
2. Chapter 19:7-17
  1. “All that the Lord has asked we will do” – reminiscent of
    
    Joshua 24
  2. Perhaps this is not a making of a new covenant
    1. It is an extension of the Abrahamic covenant
    2. There is something new, but perhaps not a whole new
      
      covenant
    3. If it is not a brand new covenant than perhaps it is
      
      Israel agreeing to keep the laws of the land
  3. Covenant (cf. on “The Whole Law as Ethical”)
    1. There is no such thing as an unconditional covenant
    2. They are all unending
    3. Because they are divinely ordained they continue for all
      
      time
    4. All covenant’s are organized under the Abrahamic
      
      covenant
  4. Only place in the OT where all the people are said to have
    
    heard
  5. Only place in the OT where God is heard without an
    
    intermediary
  6. This also happens so that the people will believe Moses
  7. Forever does not mean forever
  8. God will work powerfully through Moses and they are expected
    
    to follow
  9. Symbolizes their cleansing
  10. Anticipates Leviticus
  11. An individual must prepare himself/herself to come into the
    
    presence of God
  12. God has graciously come down in their midst and shows
    
    Himself to all Israel
    1. God says come close, but no closer than this
    2. There is a contrast here with the NT
    3. Jesus Christ has removed the border between God and us
  13. Sex is forbidden because of the possibility of blood which
    
    would make one unclean
3. Chapter 19:18-25
  1. These events and this Theophany must be interpreted in
    
    relational terms
  2. One of the best developed Theophanies in the Bible
  3. Theophany – God of light
    1. God on a mountain top
    2. Distance between God and people
    3. People must wash and get ready
    4. Thunder and lightning
      1. Same word as in Gen. 3:8
      2. Before the fall it was not as frightening
    5. Thick cloud
    6. Trumpet sound – supernatural ram’s horn
  4. If God is relational, why is He scarring the living day
    
    lights out of them?
    1. Puts the relationship in the proper perspective
    2. It is explaining that they have to understand how to
      
      relate to God
    3. Shows the high price of sin
    4. Before the fall it was not this way
    5. After fall it has to be this way
  5. God has come down
    1. This is a certain revisit from before the fall
    2. It is as if God has rescued the human race by coming
      
      down to dwell permanently
    3. This is the first time from before the fall that He
      
      comes down for residency
    4. God only takes His presence away at the end of the OT in
      
      order to send Christ down
  6. It would be easy to interpret these events in the OT terms
    
    of clean and unclean
  7. However, it is more accurate to recognize that God is
    
    choosing to relate to them through the person of Moses
    1. This is the mediator concept
    2. This is a model of what Christ will do
    3. The people were clean, they had sanctified themselves
    4. God has chosen to speak through His divinely chosen
      
      mediator(s)
  8. Priests
    1. There was some sort of organization before the
      
      organization
    2. Not sure how they came to be or why, but they were there
    3. There was animal sacrifice before the Law
  9. This is not the beginning of a new distinct covenant, but
    
    the edge of fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant
  10. The primary reason for the giving of the law revolves around
    
    the concept of land
    1. Most of the Mosaic laws revolve around how people live
      
      with one another in the land
    2. Also how they live with God in the land
  11. Perhaps it is more accurate to think about this in terms of
    
    fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant
4. Chapter 20:1-2 and Background
  1. God proceeds to give them the ten commandments
  2. In Jewish thought, these are referred as “the ten words”
  3. The ten words are introduced by the preamble in verse 2
    1. The reason for obeying the law is the identity and
      
      activity of the One giving them
    2. This is not mere legalism
    3. These are laws given in the context of relationship
    4. Keeping law for the sake of law keeping is useless; but
      
      keeping law for the sake of relationship is what it is
      about
  4. The ten are not magical
    1. This list is only reduplicated in Deut. 5
    2. The other 6 or so times they are mentioned they are not
      
      exactly the same
    3. The point is the concept of these, not the exact word
      
      for word laws
  5. The ten revolve around four concepts (from Survey of OT by
    
    Hill and Walton)
    1. Authority – 1, 5
    2. Dignity – 2, 6, 7, 8
    3. Commitment – 3, 9
    4. Rights and Privileges – 4, 10
  6. A surer foundation:
    1. The first four are how we are to relate to God
    2. The last six are how we relate to other people
    3. This is in accordance with Jesus in Matthew 22#22:37-29
  7. Ironically, law is situated permanently in the context of
    
    relationship
  8. Love is related directly to doing
  9. Most important theological word in the OT: hesed
    1. Steadfast love
    2. The kind of love that you show precisely because you are
      
      in a covenant relationship
  10. The relationship comes first, then the law
    1. The laws exist to show us how we relate
    2. Important to remember that Israel was God’s people
      
      before the law
    3. The law was given in order further the relationship
      
      between the two
    4. Jesus, “If you love Me, obey”
  11. Matthew 5 – “Not one jot or tittle will pass away”
    1. Whatever Christ was saying, he was confirming the Law
    2. He came to fulfill the Law
    3. How can Christ say that when by this time there are
      
      already laws that cannot be kept
    4. The Law of Moses was given to a specific people for a
      
      specific time in a specific place
    5. In what sense is the Law eternal?
      1. All Scripture becomes useful because all Scripture
        
        is applicable
      2. The secret: the Law is eternal in the sense that
        
        every law ever given has a truth behind it that
        does not fade
      3. Every law has timeless truth to it
      4. Essentially, everybody has rights
      5. It would be ludicrous to take Paul’s commands
        
        literally
        
        i.e. to Timothy “take a little wine for your
        
        stomach” literally
        
        It really means, go to the doctor for us
  12. It is law for relationship’s sake, not law for law’s sake
  13. Wherever there is relationship there has to be law
    1. The more intimate the relationship the more laws
    2. Law has no life apart from relationship
  14. The fact that God wanted everyone to hear seems to suggest
    
    that He wanted everyone to feel that personal relationship
    with Him
  15. We are not legally under the law; if so then we are also
    
    under the punishments
  16. But truthfully we are under the law
5. Chapter 20:3-17 – Ten Words
  1. The first law excludes all others, relationally specific;
    
    like marriage
  2. What is so wrong with image making?
    1. We assume the role of creator when we make an image
    2. We become pseudo-creators
    3. We bear the image and likeness of God
      1. God created us
      2. “Image and likeness” usually refers to statues
      3. God created us as statues in that we are like Him
        
        because we are alive
  3. Third or fourth generations
    1. God is teaching that nationally God’s judgment can fall
      
      on subsequent generations
    2. Shows His justice
  4. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
    1. We usually think of this in obscenities or using it in
      
      vulgarity
      1. Not True
      2. This is just bad taste
    2. It means choosing to be part of this covenant and then
      
      not being true it
    3. All covenants were concluded with the employment of the
      
      divine name to seal it, so to break the covenant would
      be to violate the name
    4. This is a major reason why divorce is such an atrocity,
      
      marriage is taking an oath under the divine name
    5. Jesus said specifically, “Let your yes be yes, and your
      
      no, no”
  5. Remember the Sabbath
    1. Already discussed in the context of creation (cf. above)
    2. The law is as much an act of worship as it is avoidance
      
      of work
    3. Wherever there is a law there is danger of legalism
    4. This is a part of creation-keeping
    5. Sabbath keeping must result in worship
    6. It is the presence of worship as much as the absence of
      
      work that is the point of the command
  6. Honor your father and mother
    1. This seems to be more of a command for grown children in
      
      light of elderly parents
    2. Jesus was infuriated with the Pharisees concerning their
      
      practices about this
      1. Qorban – claiming that their work and money were
        
        dedicated to God
      2. The reality is that they need to care for their
        
        parents
    3. Nursing homes are very questionable in light of this
      
      command
    4. “That your days may be prolonged”
      1. Model for creation order
      2. Not so much an absolute command
    5. In situations where a choice must be made Jesus said
      
      that we are to choose Him first – “hate father and
      mother”
  7. You shall not murder
    1. We don’t have the right to murder because human beings
      
      are made in God’s image
    2. Murdering with your speech is every bit as culpable as
      
      literally (James, Proverbs)
    3. This command is addressing individuals in a relational
      
      format
    4. What effect does this have on capital punishment? War?
      1. Does the state have the right to exercise these
        
        functions?
      2. Clearly in the OT God sanctioned capital punishment,
        
        but that does not mean that that is God’s desire
        for all nations for all times
      3. Paul sanctions state authority in Romans 13 (the
        
        same authority that ultimately executed him)
    5. This is also a creational order law, not just a part of
      
      the Law of Moses
  8. You shall not commit adultery
    1. Simply a violation of creation order
    2. Violation of covenant keeping
    3. Reminds us of the primacy of the family unit
    4. The perpetuation of the family is sacred
    5. God often times works through the sin itself
      1. In David’s case his multiple wives caused a lot of
        
        problems
      2. His children went against each other and against
        
        David and caused a lot of problems in his family
        later in his life
  9. You shall not steal
    1. A violation of a person, not just taking there stuff
    2. What makes this a crime is that the person is violated
    3. Possessions are not as important as persons
    4. Stealing is a relational crime, not just wealth
    5. It is the act of violation of the community that makes
      
      it a crime
  10. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
    1. This is a great deal more than just testifying in a
      
      court room
    2. It includes anything that undermines someone else’s
      
      reputation
    3. Anytime one’s speech tears someone else down
    4. This is very destructive in a local church context
  11. You shall not covet your neighbor…
    1. The problem here is more than just illicit desires
    2. In Hebrew thought it is inevitable desires that lead to
      
      actions
    3. Must not covet anything that belongs to another person
    4. Huge problem in our culture
    5. Paul gave the anecdote – “I have learned to be content
      
      in whatever state I am in”
  12. Summary
    1. These commands establish relational principles
    2. These ten words form the basis of all law as we know it
    3. We need to recognize that all the laws are based on
      
      relationship to God and to one another
    4. It is not adequate to avoid breaking these ten
    5. The real goal is deepening the relationship of the
      
      community
    6. Our success is measured by our ability to deepen
      
      community relationships
    7. Our obedience to God should flow from the right heart
      
      attitude
6. Chapter 20:18-26
  1. Giving of the law was punctuated with a Theophany
    1. people in right frame of mind: fearful
    2. Elevates Moses to a unique position regarding the people
  2. The alter you are making must not be a permanent alter
    1. Perhaps this is anticipating the day when they will come
      
      into the promised land
    2. At that time there will be a permanent alter in the
      
      temple
  3. Nakedness not exposed echoes Noah
7. How do we think about law?
  1. We tend to read law as if each law is sacred and eternal
    1. The reality is most of these are time-bound
    2. In other words, the slave laws no longer are useful
      
      because we do not have slaves
  2. At least ten times there are laws about oxen – we don’t have
    
    oxen!
  3. Every law has a principle behind it that is eternal
    1. The whole Mosaic Law needs to be thought of like this
    2. In Judaism the law took on a specific nature – 613 laws
    3. That is not the correct way to think about it
    4. It is the truths that originated the laws in the first
      
      place
    5. We should not have a static concept of the law, but
      
      dynamic
    6. The 613 laws might be emblematic of the fact that we
      
      need law
    7. We seem to have codified the law, rather than seeing
      
      that these Ten Words need to be applied in every case
  4. Jesus – “Not one jot or tittle will pass away”
    1. Jesus consistently uses hyperbole
    2. Perhaps this is related
    3. Jesus reserves the right to himself to apply law as he
      
      saw fit
    4. Law needs to be fluid because times change and
      
      situations are unique
  5. 21:7-11
    1. About selling women into slavery
    2. This law cannot continue today
    3. The principle is equal rights
  6. Paul’s entire ethic is based on the Torah in light of Jesus
    1. Paul said that the Law must take a subordinate role to
      
      Christianity
    2. In the OT the Law was the organizing principle
    3. In the NT Christianity is the organizing principle and
      
      the law is subordinate
    4. All law is current for Israel in so far as it does not
      
      interfere with a Christian mandate, i.e., that all
      people come to Christ
  7. All law must be administered under the twin heading of “love
    
    God and love one another”
  8. There is a huge difference between law-keeping and legalism
    1. Legalism is commitment to an enshrined code
    2. Law-keeping comes from a commitment to a relationship
  9. Have we codified law when it was not intended to be
    
    codified?
  10. The Ten Words are largely creational
    1. Recognition of equality of all persons under the law
      1. In God’s perfect plan there is no hierarchy
      2. In the garden there was perfect union
    2. Valuing of human life over property
      1. Human life is far more sacred than any form of
        
        property
      2. This is a unique principle in the Ancient Near East
    3. Mixture of the secular and spiritual
      1. Divisions in law between secular and sacred are
        
        superficial
      2. All of life is in one category
    4. Philosophy of Hebrew law is lex taliones
      1. There must be a just punishment for the crime
      2. “Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”
    5. Hebrew law is built around the concept of retribution
      1. The criminal must make restitution to the victim
      2. Restitution is necessary for justice
8. Chapters 21-24
  1. Widely referred to as the book of the covenant
  2. In every case, these are simply an expansion of laws from
    
    the Ten Words
  3. This was not designed to be a “law code” but rather an
    
    expansion on the Ten Words
  4. In essence, these are examples of how the Ten Words apply
  5. When you start with “idea commandments” like the Ten Words
    
    it expands exponentially in order to suffice for all the
    different situations
  6. A lot of the laws in these chapters may very well be
    
    specific decisions that judges made in individual
    situations
  7. We consistently underestimate the fact that God inspired the
    
    judges to make truthful decisions
9. Chapter 23
  1. Immediately juxtaposed to the commandments is a land
    
    statement
  2. The first commandment is repeated at the end
10. Chapter 24
  1. Every last component of covenant making is in this chapter
  2. Whether a new covenant is being made or whether it is an
    
    extension of the Abrahamic Covenant, it is covenant
    language
  3. Echoes Joshua 24
  4. Echoes New Testament Upper Room
    1. “This is the blood of my covenant”
    2. Covenant meal
  5. This is a covenant meal that is supposed to be repeated at
    
    least once per generation
  6. Echoes the love feast at the end of the ages
  7. Meal sharing (in Ancient Near East) is always in the context
    
    of covenant relationship
  8. Communion
    1. We should look at communion as if we are taking a
      
      covenant, not a memorial
    2. The meal should be a renewal of the covenant
    3. Pledging ourselves to be true to the covenant once again
    4. If this is true than we have equated the New Covenant
      
      with law
    5. “If you love Me, you will obey My commandments”
  9. Law is the written evidence of grace
  10. 1 Corinthians 11
    1. Violating koinonia
    2. This is violating covenant
  11. Verse 9-11
    1. We know that they could not have seen God
    2. Several passages state that humans cannot see God
    3. What it has to mean is that they saw a Theophany
    4. They saw some form of God that he wanted make visible
    5. Why does he say that they “beheld God” when everyone
      
      knew they didn’t?
      1. Divine presence = relationship
      2. God is enhancing their relationship
      3. This is the establishment of the relationship
    6. God does work in a hierarchical relationship
  12. Verse 12-18
    1. Joshua is only mentioned 3 times in Exodus, chapter 17,
      
      24, 32
    2. For Moses and Joshua to be absent for 40 days is
      
      certainly a risky thing
    3. The number 40 is used 85 times in the Scriptures
    4. Shakespearean foreshadow – we know something bad is
      
      going to happen
11. Summary
  1. Chapter 19-20
    1. Establish Moses as Mediator – 19:16-35
    2. The purpose for the Theophany is to center reverence and
      
      attention of the people on God who is giving them Law
    3. That they may be “tested” (15:25; 16:4) in light of Law
      
      keeping
    4. The 10 Words: only Dt. 5:5-21 is exactly parallel.
      
      10^th Law first appears in 34:28 and the
      division into two tablets is first stated in 34:1.
      Notes difference from Dt. 5 in 20:9-11
  2. Chapters 20:22-23:33 – The Book of the Covenant. This is
    
    clearly an expansion of the Ten Words. How should the
    expansion be viewd?
    1. 23:20-33 – Law and promise (characteristic of
      
      relationship)
  3. Chapter 24:1-18 – Covenant formation
  4. Chapter 25-31 – Tabernacle (forms of worship because of
    
    Divine Presence on Journey)
    1. To describe in detail an idea of something that is not
      
      yet
    2. To create a concept in the minds of those who have no
      
      concept
    3. To anticipate apostasy and indifference by emphasizing
      
      detail
      1. Apostasy is begun by ignoring the details of God’s
        
        commands
      2. This turns into something bigger and bigger
    4. To emphasize consequence and character of Divine
      
      Presence
  5. Chapter 32 is an exact contrast with 25-31
    1. God initiated People initiated
    2. Willing offering requested Golden Calf
    3. Painstaking preparations Aaron commands gold
    4. Lengthy building process Hastily constructed
    5. Safeguard holy, present God God is accessible to all
    6. Invisible God Visible god
    7. Personal active God Impersonal statue god
    8. Moses Aaron
      1. Leadership motif
      2. When Moses is on the mountain there is chaos in the
        
        camp
      3. This sets the stage for Israelites history
      4. When Israel is without a leader for 4 centuries
        
        after Joshua dies the results are the same as
        chapter 32
      5. The model given is that God interacts through a
        
        mediator leader like Moses
The Plan for the Tabernacle - 25:1-31:18
1. God consistently uses known constructs to reveal new truths
  1. In the vast majority of cases God uses things already known
    
    to reveal himself
  2. Ancient Near East
    1. All deities had place of residence
    2. Every major deity had a city that he/she was king of
    3. The deity had a dwelling place
    4. Every temple faced east
    5. Every temple had sacrificial areas
  3. Using known constructs is inherently given to problems
    
    because the people may import the religious ideas of the
    known construct on to God’s use of the construct
2. Differences between the Tabernacle and other temples
  1. Portable sanctuary
  2. Purpose of the temple is for relationship vs. being fed in
    
    the pagan gods
  3. That God might be with his people and his people might learn
    
    how to be with their God
  4. God seems to have in his plan from the beginning that
    
    Jerusalem would be the resting place of the tabernacle
  5. Tabernacle words
    1. ohel - tent
      1. Tent of the Lord
      2. House of the tent
      3. Tent of the house of God
    2. moed – tent of meeting (over 125 times)
    3. mishcen – dwelling place
    4. mikdosh – holy place, sanctuary
    5. What really stands out is that this is the *meeting
      
      place*
    6. Tent of meeting should be the primary reference to it
3. Symbol of all creation
  1. Garden 25-31
    1. The tabernacle is presented in perfection
    2. And also all of the other religious things
  2. Fall 32
    1. The fall of Israel
    2. Sin occurs when Adam is gone, here Moses is gone and sin
      
      occurs
  3. Redemption 33-40
    1. God restores the relationship
    2. Exactly like in Genesis 3
    3. God reaffirms his presence with Israel by restating all
      
      the tabernacle and religious laws and regulations
    4. Moses becomes the divine mediator
    5. Moses is the prototype for all redemption
4. Matthew’s Gospel has two primary motifs
  1. Moses
  2. Tabernacle
5. One third of the book of Exodus is about the tabernacle
6. Three important aspects
  1. God didn’t have a specific place to reveal himself until the
    
    tabernacle
  2. The tabernacle clearly accomplishes a greater intimacy than
    
    what was occurring in the garden
    1. In the garden God is a voice, like a wind
    2. Here, God is much more visible
  3. The tabernacle now provides a fixed place for God’s presence
7. Importance of obedience to divine command
8. Chapters 25-31 has at least 7 speeches
9. The Sabbath is a major motif in the tabernacle construction
10. Shift from mountain to the tabernacle is important spatially and
  
  theologically
  1. Leaves the typical dwelling place of the gods and lives with
    
    the people
  2. It is remarkable that a being such as God would choose to be
    
    present with Israel
  3. The NT uses this model for its own Christological theology
    1. Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, like Moses
    2. They both gave a law
    3. Both interceded and rescued their people
    4. John’s gospel is built around these two ideas
      1. Jesus is the divine logos
      2. The tabernacle is now present in the person of Jesus
  4. God entered into history in space, not merely time
    1. Is there such a thing as a holy place?
      1. Only because of God’s presence
      2. A site can be sanctified (set apart) but it is not
        
        holy
      3. If God is not present than places are not holy
    2. Because of Christ places are not holy, people are
      
      sanctified and holy because Christ is present in the
      Christian
    3. Important concepts that come from a specific place
      1. Brings order to the worship of God
      2. Provides a tangible aspect for divine presence
      3. Provides stability in the midst of chaos
  5. Portability of the tabernacle
    1. It’s built in such a way that it can move easily
    2. The portability of the tabernacle is to get them to the
      
      land of promise
    3. It is not superior or inferior to the temple
    4. Any place is holy where the tabernacle rests
    5. Jerusalem is not an inherently holy spot
    6. Jerusalem is only holy because the tabernacle is there
11. The problem is not that we can’t see God or that we can’t see
  
  miracles or that we are so sinful; the key is we need to
  enhance our relationship with God. This comes through loving
  God and loving others.

The Fall and Restoration of Israel - 32:1-34:35
1. Chapter 32:1-6
  1. Calves
    1. Aaron did not think that he is worshipping another God
    2. They are most normally associated with Baal
    3. They were creating an image of Yahweh
    4. Yet God made it clear that there is to be no concrete
      
      images made of him
    5. The Israelites were looking for a confirmation of a
      
      practice in the Ancient Near East
      1. When an army was moving they had the image of their
        
        god in the front
      2. The Israelites wanted this calf to serve that
        
        purpose
  2. “Eat and drink, and rose up to play”
    1. Hints of Canaanite religious practices
    2. Basically an orgy
    3. Ironic echo of Exodus 24 when they first made the
      
      covenant
    4. “Play” is from the Hebrew word for laughter (Isaac)
  3. There is no such thing as an act without a consequence
    1. Moses insisted that he was not qualified for the role
    2. This event now takes place as a consequence of Moses’
      
      objections to God
  4. There is one enemy that rivals God’s power: fear
    1. The Israelites are scared to death
    2. They are stuck in the wilderness with no idea of what to
      
      do or where to go
    3. They are pleading for a presence, they ask that the calf
      
      might “go before them”
    4. They manufacture a substitute for a real relationship
    5. Fear is the worst thief alive
    6. What is fear?
      1. It is rooted in self-preservation
      2. We think that we must remove ourselves from danger
        
        and threat
      3. Fear is usually involuntary but we must have a faith
        
        response to it
      4. Faith will not come when you are focusing on danger
        
        and insecurity
      5. We are afraid of all the wrong things, we should
        
        fear God (Matt. 10:28)
    7. What is the solution to fear?
      1. Knowledge helps some
      2. Anecdote for fear: 1 John – “perfect love casts out
        
        all fear”
      3. If we focus on love than we conquer fear
        
        We love God
        
        We love others
      4. It is impossible to not experience fear but it is
        
        critical that we do not make decisions out of fear
        but rather out of love
    8. We are in the wilderness for all of life – we were built
      
      for a garden but we won’t ever see it until after this
      life
    9. You can’t have a closer relationship with one another
      
      than you have with God
2. Chapter 32:7-10
  1. At least 15 verbs
  2. God is undoubtedly angry
    1. He calls Israel “your people”
    2. He is truly hurt by their bad decision
  3. Violated relationships is one of the most hurtful things
  4. Echoes Abrahamic covenant
3. Chapter 32:11-14
  1. Moses avoids a power struggle with God and communicates 3
    
    good reasons he shouldn’t do this
    1. Appeal to reasonableness
    2. Appeal to Reputation
    3. Appeal to Promise
  2. This is not a model for open theism; God is modeling how to
    
    relate to him
  3. God is showing the human side of his being in order that
    
    human beings might know how to relate to him
4. Chapter 32:15-18
  1. “cry, cry, singing” is all the same word
  2. May echo Genesis, the same word is used for “voice”
5. Chapter 32:19-20
  1. The broken tablets
    1. Represent the broken covenant
    2. Moses was angry!
    3. God did not tell Moses to break them
  2. God did not threaten to break the covenant
  3. For all of God’s justice, he never said that he would break
    
    the covenant
  4. Relationships for God are not conditional
  5. Why would Moses make them drink the gold?
    1. Could be contrasted with the covenant meal they just had
    2. They are taking complete ownership of their guilt
    3. They ingest their violation, the guilt becomes part of
      
      you
6. Chapter 32:21-29
  1. Aaron is afraid to take ownership of what he has done
    1. Echoes Genesis 3, the loss of the garden
    2. He does not show himself to be the leader he was
      
      expected to be
    3. Every relationship we are in coexists with the reality
      
      that we are not truthful, that we are the image
      bearers that we should be, we are defensive
  2. Moses is speaking on behalf of the Lord
  3. The Levites are fully aware of the instigators in this
    
    situation
    1. Why didn’t Aaron die?
      1. He was the instigator
      2. He was just passive and responded to the pressure
      3. This doesn’t explain it
    2. Over 3,000 men die
    3. Clearly, these are those who caused this and God is
      
      executing judgment on them
7. Chapter 32:30-35
  1. Not sure at all how many were smitten by God
  2. Not very many because the census that is taken a little
    
    later reveals about the same number
  3. Somewhat of a disturbing justice
    1. God ordering the destruction of men is quite disturbing
    2. Justice is done however
    3. We force God into our sense of justice
    4. We do not understand how God works all the time
    5. He is way more consistent in what he does than we are in
      
      what we do
8. Chapter 33:1-6
  1. If we interpret this account in light of Genesis then this
    
    is part of their punishment, to leave
  2. In Genesis 3 they leave the garden, here they leave so that
    
    God can take them to the alternate place of the promise
    land
  3. Three commonly held views for the identity of the angel (in
    
    Hebrew the word for “angel” is also that for “messenger”)
    1. Moses
    2. The angel of the Lord (malach Yahweh)
    3. An angel
    4. Whatever is happening with the angel, we can say for
      
      sure that it is a relationship that is not desirable
    5. Exodus 4#4:19 the “pillar of God” is called the angel of
      
      God so it could be talking about his visible presence
  4. Moses immediately confronts God
  5. “Sad word”
    1. Hebrew: ra
    2. Evil or calamity
  6. These are the same kinds of ornaments that they used to make
    
    the golden calf
  7. As a sign of their repentance they are asked to rid
    
    themselves of these ornaments
  8. The ornaments represent normalcy
    1. God is saying to them that they should have a period of
      
      morning
    2. They have done a bad thing and by stripping themselves
      
      of normalcy it reminds them daily of what they had
      done
    3. Perhaps there is something spiritually healthy about
      
      revisiting our failures
    4. It reinforces our abilities to never go there again
9. Chapter 33:7-11
  1. Switches to more of a model sort of language
  2. This is sort of a parenthesis describing how God would
    
    function with them
  3. God’s presence is clearly highlighted; especially in light
    
    of verses 1-6
  4. Without the ornaments of normalcy you are more aware of
    
    God’s presence and your relationship to him
  5. It is remarkable to see the focus on Moses
  6. Joshua is being mentioned because he is going to be the new
    
    Moses
  7. There is a Christology here
    1. Clearly the gospels use this as a type of Jesus (and
      
      Hebrews)
    2. No one went into the presence of the Lord except Moses
    3. Christ becomes the tent of meeting
10. Chapter 33:12-16
  1. In this passage 5 times favor has mentioned
  2. “Known you by name” is emphasized
  3. “Your people” is emphasized
  4. Moses recognizes the importance of God’s presence in the
    
    journey
  5. Ongoing repetition of the divine promise, “I will be with
    
    you”
  6. No matter whether we feel it or not; or conscious or not,
    
    God has made a life long promise, he is present
  7. When they are traveling in the wilderness that is a scary
    
    feeling. They want that comfort of seeing God’s visible
    presence. They are asking to see God moving out in front
    of us. This is the point of John 1. Like the Israelites we
    don’t physically see him which causes us much frustration.
11. Chapter 33:17-23
  1. “Known you by name” is covenant language
    1. This can’t be a new covenant
    2. What promise is God making here?
      1. That Moses will permanently be the man whom God has
        
        appointed to lead the people
      2. God will work through Moses
  2. This affirmation elicits a surprising response
  3. It seems like Moses is asking for some kind of sign to
    
    confirm this
  4. Hasn’t Moses already seen God’s glory?
  5. Moses has clearly moved from
  6. What is looking for?
    1. Moses could just be asking for something more
      1. “Glory” actually means “heavy, numerous, rich”
      2. So if this is the case what is it that he hasn’t
        
        seen yet
      3. Moses hasn’t seen God’s face
      4. “Show me your face, show me your personhood”
    2. Moses could be asking for a confirmation of this new
      
      relationship
      1. Give me another Theophany to confirm this
      2. Give me another manifestation of yourself to
        
        demonstrate this
    3. Clearly, no matter the specific exegesis, he is asking
      
      for a closer and deeper relationship
    4. Hebrew word “face” can also just mean presence
  7. Ultimately, it is in the incarnation that we see God
  8. Envelope: Burning bush to this revelation
  9. We tend to make more of this than we ought to
    1. The OT makes Moses’ relationship to God very unique and
      
      unprecedented
    2. God can’t be seen; neither his back or face
    3. The Hebrew word probably means “residue”
    4. Whatever this is it is a Theophany because God doesn’t
      
      have a back to be seen
12. Chapter 34:1-9
  1. The Theophany
    1. Moses is actually being shown God’s attributes
    2. In Exodus 3 the divine name had the emphasis of God’s
      
      presence
    3. Here there is an emphasis on the attributes of the
      
      divine name
    4. Emphasizes two major things
      1. God is a covenant God
      2. God is just
  2. Because of this Moses intercedes again asking that Yahweh go
    
    with them
  3. This model continues right into the NT
    1. Jesus is as faithful to perpetuating the covenant as
      
      Yahweh
    2. Jesus is every bit as just as Yahweh
  4. This is a definitive moment in the OT
  5. God has approved the continuation of the covenant
  6. God has most clearly given a self-identification
  7. In the whole OT this is the most unique revelatory moment
    
    concerning Yahweh
  8. This is also a unique accreditation of the divinely chosen
    
    mediator, Moses
  9. It is God’s model to work through a divinely chosen and
    
    anointed mediator
  10. There is a remarkable tension between the God in the bush
    
    where Moses falls flat on the ground and the God who
    wishes to stand besides us (vs. 5)
13. Chapter 34:10-35
  1. God seals the covenant by proclaiming that he will do
    
    miracles – typology for Christ
  2. Reminds them of several laws
  3. God is orchestrating a perpetual relationship
  4. Christology
    1. 40 days and 40 nights
    2. Moses was transfigured and his face shone
  5. Verses 29, 30, 35
    1. Moses’ face is said to have shone 3 times
    2. The veil is mentioned 3 times
    3. Moses spoke with God 3 times
    4. God spoke with the Israelites 3 times
    5. If you add that Yahweh spoke to Moses one time (earlier)
      
      we come up with 7
    6. There is no further speech in Exodus, this is the end of
      
      God speaking
  6. NT
    1. 2 Corinthians 3
    2. Paul is using the veil event typologically
    3. Hebrews also uses this commonly
    4. Only the NT itself can determine a type
    5. The NT normally only uses analogy
    6. The Gospels are the basis for the NT
    7. The biggest problem we have in reading the Gospels is
      
      that we read them as Christians
    8. We constantly miss the OT analogies and connections
  7. The covenant was made in Chapter 19-20
    1. What we have here is the reaffirmation
    2. The reason for the reaffirmation is that Israel violated
      
      the covenant
    3. The Lord’s Supper is at its core a covenant renewal
      
      ceremony
      1. We all need to cleanse ourselves and ask forgiveness
        
        of our sins as we enter into the Lord’s Supper

God Fills the Tabernacle - 35:1-40:38
1. Building of the tabernacle
2. The means by which the tabernacle was built was by God’s Spirit
  
  filling men and women to make their contributions to
  construct the tabernacle
3. The filling of the Spirit is almost always related to a task
  
  (not emotional)
4. Echoes of Eden: There was more than enough materials and
  
  supplies
5. They have to be ordered to stop giving!
6. The biblical model (even in the OT) is giving to meet the need
7. Creation order is giving to meet the need
8. “Thus Moses finished the work”
  1. The Israelites constructed the components
  2. But only Moses put them together
  3. Demonstrates the centrality of God’s anointed figure
9. Conclusion
  1. The story ends with the tabernacle being filled with the
    
    glory of God
  2. “Through all their journeys” are the last words in Exodus
  3. This anticipates the book of Numbers, where all these
    
    journeys are recorded

Analysis of typology
1. There is clear comparison between Moses and Jesus in Matthew
2. John’s Gospel
  1. The Prologue identifies Jesus as Yahweh
  2. In the creation Jesus precedes Moses
  3. The pericope climaxes in the middle, probably vs. 12
  4. Clear identification between Jesus and Moses
  5. Clarification of the divine name; logos
  6. In the person of Christ the glory is incarnate and we all
    
    can see what Moses asked for
  7. The greatest revelatory moment in the OT is poignantly
    
    paused with the reality that Moses cannot see God
  8. However, we can see the glory of God!
  9. Clear connection between Jesus and the tabernacle
  10. “Full of grace and truth”
    1. Exodus 34#34:6 again
    2. Same concepts
  11. This is the only time that grace appears in all of John’s
    
    Gospel
  12. Grace is really hesed, steadfast love
  13. Comparison with the notion that in the OT God revealed to
    
    Moses law (which is true) and in the NT we are now able to
    see hesed and grace, we can now see in the incarnate
    Christ
  14. Jesus is the answer to Moses’ request
  15. The point is not that Moses was inferior or Christ was
    
    superior; the point is revelatory
  16. Relationship reaches a new level because God is incarnate
  17. Intimacy comes to a new level that has not been possible in
    
    the past
  18. The rest of the Gospel explains this
    1. Sevenfold use of “I am”
      1. The idea is established in the prologue
      2. Climax is in Chapter 18:5 – “I am”
      3. Peter’s denial is intensified when in his fear he
        
        says “I am not”
    2. Glory of God
      1. Clearly seen in Chapter 12:27-29
      2. Will be actualized in the physical death and
        
        resurrection
  19. Miracles (chiasm)
    1. Water to wine – wedding
      1. Resurrecting son
        
        Healing of the lame man
        
        Feeding of the 5000 *(Response is
        
        Rejection)*
        
        Healing of the blind man (Jesus as shepherd
        
        in 10)
      2. Raising of Lazarus
    2. Piercing of Jesus’ side with water and blood
    3. The book of John is enveloped around water and blood and
      
      the institution of the covenant in marriage
    4. The centerpiece is the feeding of the 5000 (John 6)
      1. The language is overtly out of Exodus
      2. Jesus himself makes the connection to manna
      3. They reject him
      4. Like the grumblings of Israel
  20. The revelatory features that were happening in Exodus are
    
    happening with Christ
  21. This is not about the church, it is about Israel
  22. John was trying to convince his Jewish audience that Jesus
    
    is the Messiah