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It is impossible to understand the book of Exodus without noting its place in the Pentateuch. It follows the account of the patriarchs in Genesis, but instead of there being a very limited number of Israelites in Egypt (Gen. 46:26–27), by the time of Moses’ birth they had proliferated (Ex. 1:7). The relationship with the Egyptians had also changed, in that the friendliness between the Egyptians and the Israelite incomers had been replaced by hostility.

The record in Exodus highlights the redemptive activity of God. The Israelites, suffering cruel oppression from the Egyptians, needed God to intervene. He alone could, by His almighty power, bring His people out by means of His stretched-out arm. Moses had to learn that any human activity, such as his killing the Egyptian (2:12), could never succeed in freeing an enslaved people. This pattern of redemption became basic for the theology of the Old and New Testaments. The return from exile in Babylon became a second exodus, while Jesus, on the Mount of Transfiguration, talked with Moses and Elijah of the “departure” (Greek exodos) that He was going to accomplish by His death (Luke 9:31).

The book of Exodus points to the central place of covenant in God’s redemptive purposes. Not only was the exodus going to be freedom for the Israelites, but God was going to take them to be His people, a “treasured possession” (Ex. 19:5). The Hebrew word segullah here denotes something highly esteemed in God’s sight. How God was going to do this was by means of a covenant relationship. This had been promised to Abraham (Gen.15:13–14), a message that was repeated as Moses became the leader of his people (Ex. 6:6–8). Though the language of redemption is used, there is no suggestion of God’s making an actual payment to the Egyptians. Freedom from slavery in Egypt was part of the redemption, but the biblical text clearly sets out that it is inseparably linked with the new secure bond that tied God and His people together. He adopted Israel as His own people, and they acknowledged Him as their God.

God’s redemption must come first, and then the stipulations for life in the covenant follow.

To convince Pharaoh to release the children of Israel, “signs and wonders” (the plagues) were given by God. They were signs in that they pointed to the fact that God’s mighty hand was at work in the deliverance of His people. They also indicated that there was a marked difference between the Israelites and their oppressors, the Egyptians (8:23). The plagues were “wonders” in that they were events brought about solely by the power of God, achieving what human effort could not initiate. When the Lord Jesus came to fulfill all that was prefigured in the events surrounding the exodus from Egypt, similar signs and wonders were present. On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter reminded his listeners that Jesus of Nazareth was “a man attested . . . by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst” (Acts 2:22). The miraculous events during Jesus’ life and ministry were intended to draw attention to the mighty redemptive acts that were to take place at Calvary.

The account of the actual exodus comes in two forms. In Exodus 14:26–31, there is a straightforward prose account. Then in chapter 15, there is a wonderful song of deliverance. The people respond to God’s grace and power by singing of their deliverance, though it is put in a personal form: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” (15:1–2). God’s saving power brings forth heartfelt praise. This is exhibited again later in the Old Testament in response to the return from exile (see Ps. 126), while in the New Testament there is frequent praise for the redemptive deliverance of believers saved by the Lord Jesus (for example, see Eph. 1:3–6).

The reality of being God’s people was made plain in God’s messages to Pharaoh. He wanted release for them so that they could worship (or serve) Him in the wilderness (Ex. 7:16; 8:1). When God entered into a formal covenant with Israel at Sinai (ch. 19), He gave them “ten words” that define in a prescriptive way how their service was to be directed. These words begin with a declaration of the Redeemer’s lordship over a redeemed people before proceeding to specify central features of a life lived in subjection to Him. The accompanying signs (thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, the smoking mountain; 20:18) confirmed that God was indeed present, and so the people were constrained from approaching too near (19:21–25). Such appearances of God (often called theophanies) occurred later when Elijah went to Mount Sinai (1 Kings 19:11–12). The darkness and the earthquake at Jesus’ death at Calvary are further examples (Matt. 27:45–54).


The “ten words” (Ex. 20:1–17) are God’s prescriptive law for His people. The place in which they come in the order of events is important. They do not precede the actual departure from Egypt. There is no suggestion that obedience to them could bring about redemption for Israel. Rather, God’s redemption must come first, and then the stipulations for life in the covenant follow. Even though Moses thought that God could use him as the redeemer of His people (Acts 7:25), God made it plain that He loved them and saved them by His power. Redemption was by grace, not works.

A transition comes in the book of Exodus with the beginning of chapter 21. The “ten words,” the Decalogue, have the form “Do/do not . . .” They set out the constitutional law for God’s people. Obedience to them was to be an expression of the people’s love for their Redeemer and their loyalty to His kingship over them. What follows from chapter 21 onward is that another term is used to describe God’s requirements: “laws” (Hebrew mispatim). This section also uses a particular word to introduce many sections: “If.” That is, a given section will describe a variety of situations and show the way that the law can be applied in differing circumstances. While the “ten words” set out the basic prescriptions, what follows are case laws in which the prescriptions are applied to various situations that could arise. They are the framework of understanding how the principles could be applied in a variety of settings.

The New Testament carries over the concept of the exodus. Jew and gentile alike are condemned by their inability to meet the demands of God’s law (Rom. 3:19–23). They need release not from literal slavery but from spiritual bondage to sin and Satan. The law, as our schoolmaster, points us to Christ (Gal. 3:24).

Finally, the New Testament adopts Old Testament language from the time of the exodus when it speaks of the nature of the people of God. In 1 Peter 2:9, the Apostle writes: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” What was taught in the exodus experience came to its ultimate fulfillment in the salvation procured by the Lord Jesus Christ.

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From the February 2025 Issue
Feb 2025 Issue