October 1, 2002, Vol.2, No.19.
Two new articles every two weeks.
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us.
THIS ISSUE: "Introduction
to Exodus" (see below)
and "Introduction to Genesis"
Overview of the Bible:
Introduction to Exodus
by Keith Sharp
Author
Moses is the author of the book of Exodus (17:14; 34:27) as
well as the rest of the Pentateuch.
Name
The name "Exodus" is from the Greek word meaning
"way out" or "departure." Thus, it is the
story of Israel's "going out" of Egyptian bondage.
Themes
Exodus has two intertwining themes. The first eighteen chapters
of the book are a narrative, the story of the great Exodus of
Israel from Egyptian bondage. This narrative continues the story
of the book of Genesis. The word "Now," the very first
word in Exodus, ties the events of Exodus to the story of Joseph,
the last event chronicled in Genesis. In fact. Exodus 1:1-8 specifically
refers to Joseph and his generation as the background for the
story of Exodus.
But chapters nineteen through forty of the book are a completely
different type of writing. This marks the first great division
of the Pentateuch, so far as type of literature. Now, rather
than historical narrative, the text becomes law, legislation.
This legislation was given in order to organize Israel as a nation,
a theocracy, a nation in which civil and religious law are combined.
Thus, the second great theme of Exodus is the establishment of
Israel as a nation.
God's great promise to Abraham is the key to the entire Old
Testament, and that is especially obvious in Exodus. At the beginning
of the events recorded in Exodus, none of the three parts of
the promise had been fulfilled. But the Lord delivered Israel
out of bondage in Egypt to begin the fulfillment of the land
promise. At Mt. Sinai he fashioned them into a nation (19:5-6).
Thus, at the end of Exodus, the nation promise, the first part
of God's promise to Abraham, had been fulfilled (cf. Deuteronomy
26:5).
The two themes of Exodus are Exodus from Egypt and
Israel Becomes a Nation. Old Testament Israel was God's
own, special people. But Israel as a nation was cast off for
rejecting Christ (Matthew 21:33-46). Now the church is God's
special people (1 Peter 2:9).
Divisions
The two major divisions of Exodus, corresponding with its
twin themes, are Deliverance from Egyptian Bondage (chapters
1 - 18) and The Covenant at Mt. Sinai (chapters 19 - 40).
E. Legislation On three different occasions God gave Israel
legislation to prepare them to be a nation in the land of Canaan:
first, at Mt Sinai, recorded in Exodus and Leviticus; second,
in the wilderness, recorded in Numbers; and third, in the plains
of Moab, recorded in Deuteronomy.
Simplified Outline of Exodus
1. Deliverance from Egyptian Bondage - chapters 1 - 18
a. Egyptian Bondage - 1:1 - 7:7
b. The Lord's Wonders in Egypt - 7:8 - 12:36
c. Exodus from Egypt - 12:37 - 18:27
2. The Covenant at Mt Sinai - chapters 19 - 40
a. The Law at Mt. Sinai - 19:1 - 24:18
b. The Divine Plan for the Tabernacle and the Priesthood - 25:1
- 31:18
c. The Covenant Broken and Renewed - 32:1 - 35:3
d. The Building of the Tabernacle - 35:4 - 40:38
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