project poster tCitT (download here)

Summary of Exodus

Exodus (Exo.) continues where Genesis left off: The 12 tribes of Israel which had migrated to Egypt to escape a famine had now stayed for about four hundred years and multiplied greatly. The new Pharaoh in power who did not know about the good deeds of Joseph perceived the population increase of the Israelites as a threat. When measures to contain their growth rate (→ hard enforced labor) failed to yield the desired results he got drastic: By decree every new born male of the Israelites was supposed to be killed right after birth. God saw this wickedness and intervened: Through his servant Moses he liberated Israel out of slavery in Egypt with ten mighty signs and wonders.

After the Exodus (Greek for “exit”) out of Egypt the Israelites wandered to Mount Sinai where they met God and entered into a covenant with him. While Moses was up on the mountain to receive God’s commandments for the covenant they had just entered into, the Israelites sinned against God by making an idol, a Golden Calf. Moses interceded for them before God who considered wiping them out. Persuaded by Moses God held to the covenant which the Israelites had one-sidedly broken. Since God wanted to dwell right in the midst of his people, he told Moses to build the tabernacle, a tent of meeting between God and man. Once the construction was completed, God’s presence filled the tabernacle.

Summary of Exodus by the Bible Project [video] 07min.
Summary of Exodus by David Pawson [video] 40min.

Storyline of Exodus (cha. 11-14)

God summoned Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. However the Pharaoh did not want to let go of the Israelites since they were engaged in slave labor. Even after nine devastating plagues which God laid upon Egypt the Pharaoh did not want to let them go. In Exo. 11 God told Moses that one final plague was about to hit Egypt, plague number ten: God would send an angel through Egypt by night killing the first-born male of every household. Even the Israelites would not be spared unless they obeyed exactly what God instructed them to do: The people of Israel would be covered by the blood of spotless, unblemished lambs applied on the doorposts of their houses. The angel of the Lord would see the blood on the doorposts and pass over it sparing the life of the first-born male in that house. The Israelites should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice which would mark the beginning of their Exodus from slavery into the Promised Land. The annual celebration called Passover of the Jewish people is based on the events of that night.

And it came to pass what God had told Moses: The angel of the Lord went through the land of Egypt killing every first-born male in every house while the Israelites were spared by the blood of unblemished lambs. Finally the Pharaoh told the Israelites to go. However he changed his mind after a while and chased after them. At the Red Sea his chariots caught up with the people of Israel. While God parted the Red Sea and led his people safely through it to the other side, he drowned the Egyptian army which chased after them into the sea. The Israelites were finally free, liberated from slavery in Egypt once and for all.

Interception: Being Consistent

Interception, noun
the action of stopping and catching something or someone before that thing or person is able to reach a particular place

(Cambridge Dictionary)

A typical response to this story are comments like this: “You say that your God is a loving God, that he is just and righteous … and then this God kills people, first-borns, even babies in their sleep? How can you reconcile this story with your beliefs?” This kind of objection might not only come from atheists but also from liberal Christians who prefer to cut uncomfortable passages out of the Bible. Before we look at how this story in Exodus foreshadows Jesus and the Cross, let us “intercept” this thought, this objection. The goal is to see whether or not this objection to the God of the Bible is rational and consistent. Two logical conclusions have to be kept in mind as the basis from which we ask those questions:

If there is a God who created the universe, who creates and sustains life, then he

  • is sovereign … which means that he does not owe any explanation to anyone
  • has the right to define for himself and his creation the absolute standard for what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong

Question

  • If there is such a God wouldn’t he have the right to take life which he created in the first place if he deems it to be justified?
  • If there is such a God claiming to be righteous and just and loving (God of the Bible), would it be righteous, would it be just, would it be loving for him to just ignore the killing of every male born child of the Israelites by the Egyptians without intervening?
  • If there is such a God would you say that he does not have the right to take life in the face of evil but we, created beings by this God, do have it in the face of innocence?

In the light of the evil conducted and tolerated by the Egyptian population: Would you on a Friday night criticize God for intervening the way he did in Exo. 11-14, and then take part in a “Pro Choice” march on Saturday morning to demonstrate for the “right” of a women to kill unborn, helpless, innocent life in the womb without realizing this double standard? If that is you maybe the following videos will change your mind:

  • Frank Turek, Morality: Should It Be Legislated? [YouTube] @02min.
  • Abby Johnson, Description of a 1st Trimester Abortion [YouTube] 10min.
  • Anthony Levatino, Description of a Late-Term Abortion [YouTube] 06min.
  • Ben Shapiro, Arguments against Abortion [YouTube] 08min.
  • Movie Trailer, “Unplanned” [YouTube] 02min.
  • Living Waters, “180” Movie [YouTube] 33min.

In the light of what is happening today on a day to day basis, thousands upon thousands of abortions: If there is a God and this God is the one described in the Bible, then societies tolerating those practices without confronting them should be terrified since this evil which is equal to or even greater than the one the Egyptians did to the Israelites in the past will not be left without consequences.

That being said: This chapter is not meant to condemn anyone who had an abortion. God not only can but he even wants to forgive sin as grave as murder. The purpose of this chapter is to call out abortion for what it really is: It is murder, not a human right! The fact that it is labeled as a human right today just shows how far societies have fallen and God who is just and righteous and who has shown grace for such a long time will deal with it.

Rounding off this interception, a brief message to liberal Christians who like to cut out certain passages from the Bible or who try to explain them away: Be careful not to make the same mistake as the nation of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai (see Exo. 32). The Israelites wanted to substitute a God whom they could not see and touch without being scared by his majesty, so they made a Golden Calf. In denying attributes of God which you are uncomfortable with you are in danger of committing idolatry: Maybe for you it is the fact that God is not only love but that he also hates, that he punishes, and that he even dares to pour out his wrath against certain people or groups or entire nations. The word of God (Jesus and the Bible) is the foundation of the Christian faith: There is no other and a hollowed out foundation does not carry. God does not change and he still hates idolatry. You do not want to be found by God at the end of your life doing the same thing which the Israelites did and for which they had to pay a heavy price. God is holy, God is righteous, God is a consuming fire. He is also merciful and he is good. He is light and in him there is no darkness at all. God is worthy to be praised just the way he is!

the Foreshadowing of the Cross

The New Testament (NT) states that through one man (Adam) sin entered into the world and death by sin (Romans 5:9-12). Ever since all mankind has become enslaved to the law of sin and death (Romans 6:16). The same way as the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt thousands of years ago, we are enslaved by sin which leads to death today. Our rebellious human heart by its very nature is opposed to the nature of God which is goodness, holiness, and righteousness. The reason for that is the free will which God has given to us so that we would be capable of voluntarily engaging in a relationship with him.

In the process of liberation from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites were spared, passed over by the angel of the Lord through the blood of innocent, unblemished lambs which was applied on/which ran on a wooden frame. The same way we today are spared, passed over by the judgement of God through the blood of Jesus, the innocent and unblemished Lamb of God (1. Peter 1:18-19). His blood ran on a wooden frame as well: The Cross.

The Bible tells us in Exo. 12:6 that the lambs which would provide the saving blood for the Israelites had to be slain “at twilight”. A great strength of the Bible is that many details of biblical accounts are corroborated by so called “extra-biblical” sources. And on some occasions extra-biblical sources even add to a clearer picture for us to see:

“On the feast called Passover … they [the Jews] sacrifice from the ninth [1] to the eleventh hour”

Josephus, Jewish War 6.423–428, in Josephus III, The Jewish War, Book IV–VII, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1979

Confirming this account of Josephus (a contemporary historian), Philo (a contemporary philosopher) stated that the victims were sacrificed “from noon till eventide” (Special Laws 2.148) and that the sacrifices began at the ninth hour (Questions on Exodus 1.11). Interestingly enough Matthew in cha. 27:46-50 of his account of the gospel used the same terminology “the ninth hour” writing about the death of Jesus: At the same time when the first lambs were slaughtered during the Passover in Egypt to provide blood to spare the lives of the first-born males, Jesus died on the Cross as well. He shed his blood as a ransom, not only for one nation but for all mankind so that our lives could be spared as well.

Furthermore God forbade the Israelites in Exo. 12:43-46 to break the bones of the Passover lambs. The same way as no bones of the Passover lambs were broken, no bones of Jesus were broken (John 19:32-37). This detail is worth mentioning in the light of three facts:

  1. Back in Jesus’ days the breaking of the victim’s legs was common practice in order to hasten their deaths. The two criminals crucified alongside with Jesus had their legs broken (John 19:32-33). However, when the soldiers found Jesus already dead after only six hours on the Cross (very unusual) they did not break his legs.
  2. In Numbers cha. 9 the instructions for the Passover were repeated for the people of Israel. Again verse 12 specifically forbids them to “break any of its [lamb’s] bones”.
  3. King David wrote not only about history but also Psalms, some of them prophetic. In Psalm 34:18-20 he wrote hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth that the bones of “the righteous person” would not be broken.

Finally we read on in Exo. 14 that the Pharaoh chased after the Israelites in order to get them back into slavery. But God stood with Israel and while he was guarding their back to the Pharaoh he opened up a path in front of them through the Red Sea. After the Israelites had safely passed through the sea, God gave way to the Egyptians so that they could chase after them. While the Egyptian chariots were making their way through the sea God stepped in and drowned the Egyptian army. Finally Israel was free, liberated from slavery to Pharaoh and Egypt once and for all. Not by their own strength but by God who made a way. The same way God liberated mankind from slavery to sin and death by resurrecting Christ from the dead three days after his blood was shed on the Cross. Again God was the one who made a way: He conquered the grave.

the Shadow at one Glance

Exodus 11-14

  • the Israelites were enslaved to the Pharaoh in Egypt
  • the Israelites were passed over, saved by the blood of unblemished lambs
  • the blood of the lambs ran on wooden frames (doorposts)
  • the first lambs were slain (died) at about 3pm in the afternoon
  • no bones of the lambs were allowed to be broken (forbidden by God)
  • after the death of the lambs God drowned the chariots of Egypt in the Red Sea and liberated the Israelites from slavery [2]

the Gospel

  • humanity is enslaved to sin which leads to death
  • followers of Jesus are saved by his blood, the unblemished Lamb of God
  • the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, ran on a wooden frame (Cross)
  • Jesus died on the Cross at about 3pm in the afternoon
  • no bones of Jesus, the Lamb of God, were broken (as prophesied)
  • 3 days after his death Jesus rose from the grave and liberated us from slavery to sin and death

______
References
[1] „the ninth hour“ in ancient time referred to 3pm in the afternoon/evening
[2] Some commentators even make the case for the Israelites also being liberated 3 days after the Passover when the blood of the lambs saved their first-born males. For example:
David Pawson, Unlocking the Old Testament Part 8 & 9 – Exodus 1 & 2 [YouTube] 40min.

Navigation

  1. tCitT – Introduction
  2. tCitT – Is the Bible reliable?
  3. tCitT – Genesis 
  4. tCitT – Exodus 
  5. tCitT – Leviticus 
  6. tCitT – Numbers
  7. tCitT – Deuteronomy 
  8. tCitT – Bottom line
  9. tCitT – download