Exodus

Themes and Insights from Exodus

Theme 1 : God watches over and directs the lives of those who obey him and prepares them to do his work. The midwives who protect the Hebrew babies are saved and blessed with families of their own. God protects and blesses Moses after he defends the Hebrew slave. God blessed Moses with a wife after he defends the daughters of Jethro. In encountering the Lord in the burning bush Moses is given 2 signs to show the people of Israel and Pharaoh , the causing and curing of leprosy and the turning his staff into a snake. The Lord addresses Moses speaking problem by sending his brother Aaron to act as his spokesman.

Theme 2 : God is in control of everything and will use people , places, nature and circumstances to accomplish his purposes. He used Pharaoh’s stubbornness to allow his people to rely on him. Exodus 6 reminds me that I am to act in boldness as Moses and Aaron did when they represented the Lord. In the stories of the Nile turning into blood and the plague of flies , the Israelites are given water to drink and land without flies to show the Egyptians that the Lord alone was in control.

Theme 3: Despite the hardships and unpleasant circumstances around us the Lord will use all events in history to work out his plan of salvation. In going through the plagues of diseased and dead livestock , hail and darkness , the people of the Lord are protected and spared so that the Israelites and Egyptians will know that the nation of Israel is his chosen people who will be a witness to the world. God also causes the Egyptians to respect the Israelites and abundantly provide for their needs by giving them their wealth. The story of the Passover reminds me of the new covenant fulfilled by the Passover Lamb of God in which we are saved from death through Christ death and resurrection.

Theme 4: Our lives must be focused on God and lived out in thanksgiving to him as we worship and praise him for what he has done. Exodus 13 describes how Israel gave thanks to God and remembered his promise of salvation by celebrating the Passover. Exodus 14 tells of the need to obediently trust God and follow him. Miriam’s song of praise in Exodus 15 tells of the need to thank God for his bountiful provision and to remember his acts in our lives. The story of the Manna being provided for the people reminds me of the need to be grateful for what the Lord has done.

Theme 5: God is holy and must be approached with reverence. The people of Israel are rebuked by Moses for dishonoring the Lord by grumbling and complaining. They are told of the need to revere the Holy and Almighty God. Exodus 17 tells of Jethro coming to see Moses his son in law and coming to worship God after he realizes that God is sovereign. Exodus 19 tells of the people being consecrated and prepared to meet God and how they must not treat God lightly by minimizing the importance of his commands. Exodus 20 tells of the 10 commandments of which the first 4 deal with God being honored and revered.

Theme 6: God is holy and to be worshiped and he will accomplish his salvation in history. God gave the Israelites ceremonial rules about worship and life behavior as well as instructions about his objects of worship : Tabernacle , Tent of Meeting and Ark of the Covenant to remind them of his holiness and as a metaphor of what the Messiah Jesus Christ would do as the High Priest in bringing people to the Lord.