Believing in the Lord and in His Servant Moses

Today we begin our study of the book of Exodus. As is our custom, we want to start by discerning the purpose for which the book was written. In one sense, of course, the purpose of Exodus is no different from that of any other book of Scripture, because all Scripture is given “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” so that we will be “equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17). However, the specific way each biblical book performs this task is related to its original historical context. The human authors of Scripture, under divine inspiration, had specific goals when they wrote, seeking to instruct their original audiences in particular truths to prepare them for service to God in their setting. To avoid misunderstanding and misapplying God’s Word, we must know as best we can the reasons a book was written.

For millennia, the consensus among both Christians and Jews has been that Moses wrote the book of Exodus. We find evidence for this belief in Exodus itself, which tells us that Moses was raised in the court of the Egyptian pharaoh and thus would have received the education needed to compose such a work (Ex. 2:1–10). Furthermore, Exodus 24:4 says that Moses “wrote down all the words of the LORD.” This verse refers specifically to the Book of the Covenant, recorded in chapters 21–23, but other passages in the Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy) make it clear that Moses recorded other things as well (Num. 33:2; Deut. 31:9). Additionally, we have the words of Jesus Himself, who refers to Exodus as “the book of Moses” (Mark 12:26), thereby endorsing the traditional Jewish belief that Moses wrote Exodus and, indeed, the entire Pentateuch. There may be some other human authors who made minor contributions or updates, but Exodus comes to us substantially from the pen of Moses.

Exodus records actual history. Yet, its purpose is not merely to record history but to motivate people to faith in the one true God. Today’s passage, which notes the response of the Israelites to the crossing of the Red Sea, gives us a nice summary of the purpose of the whole book of Exodus—namely, to show us that we should believe the Lord and the words of His servant Moses (Ex. 14:31). Moreover, in light of the whole canon of Scripture, we are called to believe the words of Moses not as ends in themselves but because Moses tells us of One greater than he, the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe Moses rightly is to trust in Christ alone for salvation (John 5:46).