Covenant History - The Origins Of God's PeopleMuestra

  

The Book Of Exodus

What is the Book of Exodus About?

In the book of Exodus, the second chronicle in the Covenant History begins, and this one continues through the books of Leviticus and Numbers too. This chronicle is based not on a list of people, as we saw in Genesis, but on a list of places, or travel notices, such as, “The Israelites journeyed from Ramses to Sukkoth.” What happened at each place they stopped is described after each notice. One location, Mount Sinai, is given far more attention than the others; the second half of Exodus, all of Leviticus, and the beginning of Numbers take place there.

Here's What to Look for When Reading Exodus:

This book is rich with foreshadowing of Jesus our Savior. Look for clues about the Messiah in the person of Moses, in the Passover, the meaning of the seven feasts, the Exodus, the provision of manna and water, the tabernacle, and the institution of high priest.

A Recommended Key Reading: Exodus 12:21-32

Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the door frame. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that door way, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

At midnight the Lord struck down all the first born in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.”

Journal Prompt:   What is something you noticed for the first time?

Excerpted from The Books of the Bible: Covenant History.