Exodus
The Story of Deliverance
Published References
Lawrence Richards, Bible Teacher’s Commentary, 1987, 2004
NIV Study Bible, NKJ Study Bible
Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Delivered, 1998
Brian Habour, Bob Campbell, Ron Lyles, Exodus: Freed to Follow God, 2004
Disciples Study Group
East Lake Fellowship
May 2008
Dear Fellow Disciples,
My first exposure to the Book of Exodus came early in my childhood. My third grade teacher, Miss Campbell, read a chapter of the Bible to us each day. I recall how each chapter of this book made an exciting although sometimes frustrating impression on me as she read of the daring escape of the Hebrews from Egypt and their many experiences as they traversed the desert in their journey to the Promised Land.
I recall, later in life, how I finally put together the analogy of how God had rescued them from slavery for a purpose. He did not just save them from their oppressors but he had given them freedom so they could be His special people on a special mission for Him. So, is our life as disciples: we have been rescued from sin for a higher purpose. Not only did God love us so much to make this possible but he did so with the desire that we would be a blessing to others in our own lives.
We plan to spend several sessions in study and discussion of this remarkable book and will address four main topics. After a background and introduction session, the first unit covers “Preparation for Deliverance” where we will see why the Hebrews were in Egypt, the oppression they suffered and God’s response to their suffering. Unit 2, “God’s Power to Deliver”, will have Moses and his brother, Aaron, confronting Pharaoh to let the people go and his final agreement to do so. Unit 3, Guidance for Covenant Living” deals with God’s contract with His people and the Ten Commandments. We will conclude with Unit 4, “Delivered to Worship Only God”, tells of the exciting time of constructing the Tabernacle, a place for God to dwell with His people, and His promise to always remain close by us in all of our circumstances.
You can benefit from reading the Book of Exodus and doing advance reading each week. This is a challenging study and one which will pay us great dividends as we recapture this amazing period of God’s people in history.
I hope you are looking forward to this study as much as I am and I ask for you to pray for me as I prepare each week for our sessions together. Being your study leader is blessing for me and I encourage you to be disciple-minded and seek to learn, know and do in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Yours in Christ,
Table of Contents
Unit 1: Preparation for Deliverance
1. Just When Things Were Going So . . . . . . .
(Exodus 1-2) (Page 2)
2. Excuses, Excuses
(Exodus 3:-4) (Page 5)
Unit 2: God’s Power to Deliver
3. The Futility of Resisting God
(Exodus 7-10) (Page 8)
4. A Night Not To Be Forgotten
(Exodus 11-12) (Page 10)
5. Sing to the Lord for Freedom
(Exodus 14-15) (Page 12)
6. No Longer but Not Yet
(Exodus 15-17) (Page 14)
7. The Lord of Hosts is With Us
(Exodus 17-18) (Page 18)
Unit 3: Guidance for Covenant Living
8. Wonderful Offer, Serious Demand
(Exodus 19) (Page 21)
9. Treat God Like This, Treat People Like This
(Exodus 20) (Page 23)
10. The Nitty Gritty
(Exodus 21-22) (Page 26)
11. The Covenant is Confirmed
(Exodus 24) (Page 29)
Unit 4: Delivered to Worship God
12. New Stone Tablets
(Exodus 34) (Page 32)
13. The Tabernacle (Page 34)
(Exodus 25, 26, 27, 30, 31)
14. The Priesthood (Page 37)
(Exodus 28, 29,)
Final Thoughts (Page 39)
Tabernacle Schematic (Page 34A)
About the Book of Exodus
Title. “Exodus” is a Latin word from the Greek word Exodos, the name given to the book by those who translated it into the Greek language. The word basically means exit or departure. There is another name associated with the book denoting its place among the five books of what is called the “Pentateuch”, which means “five books of law.” This is the name most used among Jewish scholars who stress that Exodus is not a stand-alone writing but must be taken in context with the other four books. We often hear the term, “Torah”, associated with these writings and the meaning is the same as Pentateuch.
Author. Several statements in Exodus indicate Moses wrote sections of the book. Other references in the Bible also attribute Moses as the author. Moses is usually credited as being the principal author of all five books of the Pentateuch although there is evidence that some editing took place in later times.
Chronology. According to the statement in 1 Kings 6:1, the Exodus took place 480 years before the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel. Since that year was 966 B.C., it has been traditionally held that the exodus occurred around 1446 B.C. While there is some disagreement, recent research seems to indicate that two of Egypt’s pharaohs, Thutmose III and his son, Amunhotep II, were the pharaohs during the periods of oppression and exodus.
Route of the Exodus. There has been scholarly debate for centuries as to the actual route taken by the Hebrews from Egypt to Canaan. One group favors a northern route through the land of Philistines. A second group favors a more central route leading across the Sinai Desert to Beersheba. A third group favors a more southerly route along the west coast of the Sinai to the southern extremity of the peninsula and then northerly to Canaan. The southern route seems to be the most likely as several sites mentioned in the scriptures have been identified by archeological discoveries in the area. The exact site of the Red Sea crossing has not been conclusively identified although some sites have been researched that could possibly be the one used.
Dominant Themes. Exodus lays a foundational theology in which God reveals his name, his attributes, his redemption, his law and how he is to be worshiped. It reports the appointment, work of the first covenant mediator (Moses), describes the beginning of priesthood, defines the role of the prophet and relates the ancient covenant relationship between God and his people.