The Theme of Exodus Part 2
The primary topic and meaning of Exodus is redemption. In Genesis we see that man is a sinner in need of saving and we see that God is willing to save. Many times in Genesis we see pictures and types of salvation. The covering that God made Adam and Eve is just one example and the book of Genesis ends with Joseph portraying with his life a type of Christ.
A picture of the Saviour to come.
300 years pass from the death of Joseph to the birth of Moses. God is silent for 300 years. No new revelations from God, no new types or pictures given. During this time God is letting the children of Israel multiply.
They go from 70 souls to having 600,000 men. This is mathematically reasonable if you double your population every 25 years. And God arranged it so that even though they would be in slavery after Joseph died and that they were in Goshen. They were given the best most fruitful part of Egypt. They had the resources to multiply.
During this silent period the people who are in the Promised Land are filling up their cup of wickedness. During those centuries the people in the Promised Land are sowing evil so that it is fitting that they will reap getting kicked out.
The date of Exodus is around 1447 B.C. They get that date from 1 Kings 6:1 which gives how many years it was from the time they left Egypt to the 4th year of Solomon’s reign. They do the math and come up with 1447 B.C.
God waited until His timing was right to show forth His mighty power to redeem. Egypt was not very powerful when Israel went down there. When God’s timing was right Egypt was incredibly powerful with a large army.
When Israel went to Egypt the people in the Promised Land were not terribly horrifically wicked.
And when Israel went into Egypt there were only 70 of them. If God delivered them in 50 years it would not show forth the picture of His power. But when God’s timing was right God delivers a couple of million people from a very powerful hard taskmaster. The most powerful that the world had ever seen up until that point.
Exo_9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Exo_15:6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
The first book (Genesis) God declared man a sinner who needs saving. And in Exodus God shows forth His power to save. The theme of Exodus is redemption.
There are many types in Exodus. Some of them are:
Moses is a Type of Christ
Egypt is a Type of the World
Pharaoh is a Type of Satan
Israel is a Type of Man in need of salvation
Passover is a Type of the Crucifixion
The Red Sea is a type of Baptism.
The Israelites are in a hopeless situation. It is actually so bad that it is impossible for them to deliver themselves. And it is impossible for one man to deliver them by his own efforts.
Moses actually tried this and failed.
Act 7:22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
Moses was taken in by Pharaoh’s daughter and was in line for the throne. He was trained in all the ways of Egypt and had some power. He was mighty in words and deeds. Used to accomplishing things by his hands, his words, his authority.
We know from Exodus that Moses was not a good speaker. So the mighty in words is not talking about great speaking ability. Instead it is talking about his words being mighty in authority. Moses commanded and people moved. He spake and things happened.
Act 7:23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
Act 7:24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
Act 7:25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
The book of Acts sheds important light on Exodus. The Bible is one book made up of 66 smaller ones. It all goes together and all works together. This is an example of why it is wrong to teach a small section of scripture and ignore the rest of the Bible when you do it.
O’ it is ok to teach a small section of scripture in a lesson or sermon, but you need to keep aware of the rest of the Bible when you do it.
Moses had the desire in his heart to deliver Israel and he understood that God would use him to deliver them. But Moses wrongly thought that it would be by Moses’ hand that it would happen. Moses did not understand the depth of this truth. God actually does it all.
All of Moses’ mighty words and deeds of Egypt mean nothing in God’s work. In fact God cannot use any of that. Moses has it in his heart to deliver Israel but at this point in his life Moses is actually unusable for this task.
God will not share His glory with another. Salvation is by grace and not works. It is all on Him.
Act 7:26 And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
Act 7:27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
Act 7:28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
Act 7:29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
Moses’ attempt at delivering Israel by the hand of Moses was a total failure. He had to make a run for it to the wilderness. Moses spent 40 years in Egypt learning that he was powerful and something special.
Then Moses spends 40 years in the desert learning that he has no power and is nothing special.
Exo 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
Exo 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
Exo 3:3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
Exo 3:4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Exo 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Exo 3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Exo 3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
Exo 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Who did God say was going to deliver them? He said I am come down to deliver them.
Exo 3:9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
Exo 3:10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
God is going to do it. All the power is His. Moses could in no way cause one plague to happen. Moses himself could do nothing. God will do it all. However, God has ordained it so that His work of redemption will be accomplished by using men.
So God is going to send Moses as His mouth piece. All Moses has to do; all Moses can do is just do what God says and say what God tells him to say. God takes care of the rest.
Exo 3:11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Moses balks at going. He uses the excuse who am I. I am nobody. That is correct but that is the type of person that God uses.
Exo 3:12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
God reminds Moses that He will be with Him. It is God who has the power and does the work.
Exo 3:13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
Moses is afraid that the children of Israel would not listen to him. I can understand that, they did not accept Moses 40 years ago.
Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exo 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Exo 3:16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
Exo 3:17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
God told Moses just go and say what I tell you and they will listen.
Exo 3:18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
God tells Moses that the people will listen but Pharoah will not listen.
Exo 3:19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
Exo 3:20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
But after I work and because of my power (not Moses’ but God’s) Because of what God does and only because of that the people will be delivered.
We see several truths here that apply to us today.
- It is God’s Work. It is His power that does it. He will do it in His perfect timing.
- He has ordained that man will be involved. That He will use men as a tool in His work of Him redeeming men.
Moses could not make the locusts come, or the lice, or the boils, or the hail, or the darkness. Moses could not make the death angel come or make the death angel pass over when the blood was applied. That was all 100 percent God.
But Moses had to be there. Moses had to hold the Rod, Moses had to give the speeches to Pharaoh. Moses had to tell what plagues were coming and Moses had to pray for some of the plagues to end.
Moses had to tell the children of Israel what God told him to say. Moses had to say thus saith the Lord.
If Moses did not go, someone else would have had to go. Because in the work of redemption God has ordained that some man gets used. God has all the power. God does all the work. But some man must say and do what God wants him to do.
That is the way it worked in Moses’ day and that is the way it worked all thru the Bible, and that is the way it worked in the Middle Ages, and that is the way it works today.
God does not need our power. God does not need our powers of persuasive speech.
God only requires someone to say what He wants and do what He wants.
He does all the drawing, convicting, dropping scales from eyes. All of it. He does all of the saving. The work of redemption is His.
Some people out there might think, but don’t you need a church building. Don’t you need a lot of money? Don’t you need a bunch of support first? Don’t you need a special charismatic personality? Don’t you need a room full of people?
No. God does not need any of that. In His work of redemption all He needs is someone who will say what He wants said and do what He wants done.
And for our little group it is simply get His word out to the thousands of people all around the world. If you think about it, it really is a privilege. What He does with it is His business. How much it is used is His business. Whatever comes of it will not come because of me.
I have no real talents. I have no power to make anything happen.
I only know and am absolutely convinced that He simply wants His Word to go out.
See more Themes of Old Testament Books