John Mark Hicks

“They made a calf at Horeb and worshiped a cast image.
They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass” (Psalm 106.19-20)

Texts to Know

Deuteronomy 9.1-29
Psalms 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, The Mini-Bible
1 Kings 12.25-33
Nehemiah 9.1-37 (note vv.16-25)

Exodus 32-33 Disaster, Catastrophic Failure – the Hebrew Bible talks more about the Golden Calf than it does eating the “apple” in Genesis 3! The ink is not even dry on the marriage license.

The Shocking Adultery on the Honeymoon (32.1-6)

Aaron and Hur have been left “in charge” (24.14) while Moses entered into the Cloud. Moses will be on the mountain getting the plans for the “Honeymoon Suite” (tabernacle) and arrangements for divine habitation with the people for forty days. Between Exodus 25 and 31 there are seven divine speeches that correspond to the seven days of creation in Genesis 1.  They culminate in day seven with the Sabbath as a “sign” of the marriage (i.e. covenant) between Israel and Yahweh. God is remaking the world in and through Israel.  

When God finished speaking “he gave him the two tablets of the covenant … written with the finger of God” (31.18).

All is Joy until suddenly …

To grasp just how shocking Exodus 32 is for the biblical writers, we need to grasp that the people perform the “act of adultery” literally as God is handing the ornamental marriage certificate to Moses to put in the treasure chest of the relationship, the Ark of the Covenant.

This is the “fall of Israel” and as much as Genesis 3, it sets up the storyline of the rest of the biblical narrative. There are six verses that describe the fall of humankind in Genesis 3 and there are six verse that describe the “fall” of Israel, God’s first-born son/wife. Will God keep his wife or will God toss her aside for being an adulteress (like all humanity)? Will Yahweh disinherit his child?

Verse 1, “gathered around Aaron.” “Make for us gods.” The Hebrew text suggests this was not a friendly encounter. The same terms are used to describe the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16.3. So, Aaron is feeling pressure and caves.

Verse 4, Aaron “these [plural] are your gods … who brought you up out of Egypt.” This is a bull not a baby calf.  Bulls were frequently used to depict various deities in the ANE as symbols of power and fertility.   

1) a denial of Yahweh’s salvation (“I am Yahweh, delivered you, 19.4; 20.2)
2) they made an image. The creator God, the “maker of heaven and earth” cannot be “made.”
3) Idolatry – shattered the covenant. Imagine cheating on your spouse and then claiming he/she was the “image” of your mate.  This is insult to injury.

Verse 6, “revel” (NRSV). Two things are going on simultaneously. First, this revelry seems to parody the fellowship meals with God in 24.4-5, 11.  Its like Israel is throwing another wedding feast.  But also the term here goes beyond with explicit sexual overtones.  Biblical scholar Thomas Dozeman comments that “the well-being sacrifice evolves into an orgy” (Dozeman, Exodus: Eerdmans Critical Commentary, p. 705) mimicking some of pagan worship.  This is adultery on the honeymoon all around.

Spurned Love: Pain & Agony of Betrayal (32.7-11)

“What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a mourning cloud, like the dew that goes away early” (Hosea 6.4; cf. 11.8)

There is no pain in the universe, that is the pain that love can cause!

A personal “exegetical” note. I do not think it is possible to accurately understand our text apart from grasping the reality that the God of Israel is a person. Yahweh is not human, but Yahweh is not an abstraction. Yahweh is a person. Yahweh is depicted as in agony and even enraged. Yahweh “reacts” in stunned disbelief.  It was the experience of betrayal that cast this passage in an entirely different light.  In fact, one who has experienced such pain knows full well what Yahweh is “going through.”  Yahweh “hollers.”  Yahweh reacts in pain. The pain of spurned love.  It is anger and pain mixed into one awful experience.  It is this pain that will, as the story of God goes, reveal Yahweh is “God and not human” as the prophet Hosea will quote our God as declaring.

Follow the whole narrative/story. Episodes do not exist in isolation in the text nor in “historical reality.” 

Verses 7-10 “Go down … YOUR people … YOU brought up …” Yahweh’s initial reaction to Adultery with the Bell Hop on the honeymoon is absolutely “normal!” Was the whole relationship a sham from the get-go? They are not really mine at all.

“Stiff necked” a good old fashioned animal metaphor. Like a mule that stiffens its neck to resist the direction of the farmer.

“leave me alone! LET me be angry … LET me wipe them out!” “I will make YOU a great nation.” (cf. John the Baptist, Mt 3.9).

This too is “normal” talk of one in the throes of emotional “hell.” But there is something interesting here. The Hebrew here seems to indicate both the anger, the desire to be alone has an implicit plea. The language is “jussive” and “cohortative” as if God “knows” and wants input or intervention from Moses. Yahweh takes the relationship seriously. It is almost as if Yahweh is seeking approval or agreement.  This is a remarkable window into the character of Yahweh. Get out of my way … But I don’t want you to really do that lest pain get the better of me!

Moses Intercession for the Bride (32.11-14)

Moses did not do as Yahweh told him. Moses gets in Yahweh’s face!

“Moses sought the favor of the LORD” (NIV)
“Moses implored the LORD” (NRSV)

But Moses “pleaded the face of Yahweh his God.”  Moses inserted himself into the Presence of God. He boldly intervenes on behalf of the guilty.  Moses becomes what Israel as a whole is supposed to be, a priest (cf. 19.6).  Indeed, the story pictures Moses doing for Israel what Abraham has done for Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18.16-33). When the Sermonator tells us to enter boldly into the throne room, remember the boldness of Moses getting in Yahweh’s face (cf. Hebrews 4.16).

Moses’s intercession consists of three moves.

1) He points God back to the Story.  These are your people, you brought out (v.11).  Moses might have said, “I didn’t even want to be part of this adventure if you recall!” So, he points to the whole sweep of the Book of Exodus. This is your Story, not mine.  Yahweh knew the people were fickle from the beginning. Recall even at the Red Sea, they wanted to go back. Perhaps it is like Moses saying to Yahweh, “you knew what kind of person she was before you married her!” She is yours.  It is this kind of “theology” that lies behind the epic prophet Hosea. 

2) Moses appeals to Yahweh’s reputation. “What will the Egyptians think?” (v.12). At first sight this makes no sense.  Who cares what the Egyptians (mere pagans) think about Yahweh.  Well, it turns out that Yahweh cares a great deal about his reputation. A basic purpose of the Exodus was the glorification of God’s name. And as the story will develop in Exodus 34, Yahweh’s name means Hesed, Steadfast love/grace/mercy/I will never give you up.  But that is still, in the narrative, yet to be seen. 

3) Moses appeals to the covenantal promise to the Patriarchs (v.14). Yahweh has already shown he can be faithful to that promise through Moses (v.10). But Moses pushes back to Abraham, Isaac and “Israel.” Note that Moses does not say “Jacob” but “Israel.” The Story of the Patriarchs is itself one of God’s Hesed to people who are undeserving and who waver between faithfulness and unfaithfulness.  But Yahweh swore by himself not by Israel’s faithfulness to keep his covenant of love.

This is the very move of Paul himself, who has this Story and text in view, when discussing the destiny of “Israel.” They are loved on account of the Patriarchs (Romans 11.28; see 9.13-14; 11.1; 15.7-10; etc)

Divine Grace (v.14)

Yahweh “changed his mind.” What will be the nature of the relationship is still in question.  But Yahweh has listened to the pleas of Moses’s prayer.  And just as God did not take away Adam and Eve’s life so Israel is not destroyed for the grotesque “great sin” (32.31) of cheating with the bellhop on the honeymoon.

We will see just how deep the covenant of love (hesed) runs in chapters 33 and 34. 

Texts to Know

Zechariah 9.9-11
Matthew 26.28/Mark 14.24
Hebrews 9.19-22
1 Peter 1.1-2; 2.9, 12

God’s Space: Cosmic Temple Geography of Exodus 24

HEAVEN (Realm of God)

The real temple of God


Sinai, the Mt of God
The glory of Yahweh “descends” in the cloud and dwells on
the mountain as a “copy” of the heavenly temple within creation space

(Moses mediates between the realms–he ascends and descends)

Base of Mt Sinai
(The People of God, Liberated Israel)
Yahweh’s kingdom of priests

The vertical dimensions of holiness on the cosmic mountain will be mirrored in the horizontal graded holiness in the tabernacle.  The tabernacle is essentially a “portable” Mt. Sinai, the replica of the heavenly temple of God (cf. Ps 78.69). 
(Outline based and modified from Thomas B. Dozeman, God on the Mountain: A Study of Redaction, Theology and Canon in Exodus 19-24, p.128).

Come to the Lord (24.1-2)

What we encounter in Exodus 24 is one of the most extraordinary events in the Story of God. Within the Story, Exodus 24 likely ranks higher than the burning bush (Ex 3). Everything has pointed to this moment.

The passage opens with the invitation to the Bride and ends with the astonishing experience of the Presence of God, the Groom. The word of God is spoken, then written. The altar and the table are prominent. In short, Exodus 24 we have the answer to the words of Yahweh in chapter 3 that the people would worship God on this mountain.  They have transferred allegiance from Pharoah (they were serving him in the death of slavery) to Yahweh (where they will experience divine life and bless the world). Not only is Exodus 24 just glorious it is one of the best places to grasp biblical theology of worship.  (See for example, John Mark Hicks, Johnny Melton, Bobby Valentine, A Gathered People: Revisioning the Assembly as Transforming Encounter, pp. 37-43).

Yahweh promised “I will come and bless you” (20.28)

The Ceremony (24.4-8)

Israel has already said “yes” to Yahweh’s invitation to covenantal relationship (19.8). Verses 4-8 pick up where the Story of Love left off in 19.1-8, these verses “ratify” Israel’s vocation (kingdom of priests) while sealing her identity (treasured possession).  Recalling is important.

V.4, Moses “told the people the words of the LORD …” This is most likely what we read in chapter 20, the Ten Words, and chapters 21-23, often called “the Book of the Covenant.” The word will be read again in v.8.

Moses reads the words again. Unlike the false god Pharoah, Israel is saved, then invited, and will then freely choose to be in covenant with her Saving Redeemer. Israel, God’s son, in a real sense here prefigures Jesus, God’s Son, could have said “No.” But Israel said yes, literally “at the altar” (v.4). (Recall the metaphors of “wife” and “son” are both operative and equally essential in conveying the nature of the covenant of hesed).

V.5, “Moses built an altar … twelve pillars.” Concretely representing Yahweh and the people. 

“burnt offerings” seem to have two main functions according later ordinances in Leviticus. They consecrate or sanctify the whole person to God and as atonement (cf. Lev 1.4).

“well-being” (NRSV) or “fellowship offering” (NIV) follows quite naturally from the burnt offering. If one is “consecrated/holified” that is “set aside” and healed through atonement then relationship is both restored and thrives. So, the NRSV renders “well-being” what could literally be rendered a “peace-offering.” Everything is now sort of the way it is supposed to be. Sweet fellowship.  The contrast between the burnt offering and the fellowship offering is that the שֶׁלֶם is functionally a feast, an Israelite barbecue!

v.8 sprinkled with the blood. Israel is sealed into a covenant, God’s covenant of love, by God himself. Blood was critical in the Passover and blood is critical in sealing the covenant that binds Israel to Yahweh but also Yahweh to Israel.  Being “sprinkled” formalizes what was noted in 19.1-8. 

The Unforgettable Meal (24.9-11)

Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders as representatives of all Israel. They ascend to a space between Heaven and Earth so to speak. What happens is astonishing. It is a text I never heard of in my growing up years but is in the biblical story one of those pinnacle peak texts.

“they saw the God of Israel … they beheld God” The Hebrew uses two different verbs though the NIV renders them both “saw” while the NRSV has “saw” and “beheld.” The text emphasizes an unimaginable miracle of earth shattering grace. Tantalizing. Even mesmerizing.

How did this happen since 33.20 says no one can see God’s face and live.  But the text stresses the miracle of grace, Yahweh “did not raise his hand against them.”  God was sharing the experience of the fellowship offering.  God wants to be WITH his people, WITH his bride. God made the way for them to be in union, in fellowship. 

The text deftly but every so wondrously savors the divine Presence. This is what it was and is all about. Humans in fellowship with God as in the Garden of Eden.  They were like “naked and not afraid.”  The narrator does not even attempt to describe God. What happened was beyond human words. We need to understand this since Nadab and Abihu are in the story. 

“They ate and they drank” from this moment forward the “mountain” of God and the Presence of God will be associated with joyous fellowship in feasting. The messianic age will be associated with great meals on God’s mountain, See Isaiah 25.6-8. The temple in Jerusalem will be a place of eating with God (see Psalm 23, a table prepared for me …).

This is Our Story

– Jesus explicitly roots what we call the Lord’s Supper in Exodus 24.8. And is it possible that as Moses and company saw God at the table is related to the fact that Jesus is also recognized (i.e. saw) in the breaking of the bread (aka, at the table) in Luke 24.28-31.

– 1 Peter, sprinkled gentiles, 1.1-2; 2.9; 2.12 (see also 1.15). 

Texts to Know

Exodus 34.1-28 (esp. 8-28)
Deuteronomy 5.1-22
Matthew 19.16-24
Luke 18.18-29
Romans 13.8-10

The Book of Exodus continues to follow the narrative logic of the Exodus event. The mighty wonders of Yahweh are related. The enslaved Israelites are set free/saved. Israel is led through the water by God’s Presence in the Cloud. God’s Presence brings them to the mountain. Redeemed Israel is graciously invited into a covenant of love (i.e. marriage). Now we have covenantal guidelines after both the saving and “marrying” event. Truly Exodus comes before Sinai; Grace comes before Faith; It always has; It always will.

– Israel is a ‘microcosm’ or ‘bill board’ to the world (cf. Deut 4.5-8)
– Commands are not about the “commands” they are about the Story of Hesed (cf. Deut 6.20-25).

“Words” Not “Laws”: Walking in Covenantal Freedom

“I shall walk in liberty” (Psalm 119.45).

The Decalogue is never called “the Ten Commandments.” They are, in scripture, the “ten words” (Exodus 34.28; Deuteronomy 4.13). The Ten Words do have a “special” place in the biblical story and are viewed differently than the rest of the “Law.” The rest of the “Law” seems to be clarification, application and amplification of the Ten Words.  They alone are placed in the Ark of the Covenant (with other items). Yahweh speaks these directly to the people. 

The “Words” function within the narrative of the Book of Exodus (and within the larger unified narrative of the Torah) as something akin to a “Bill of Rights” for the former enslaved people now living in covenantal freedom (so Christopher Wright, Exodus, pp.357-358). They envision a way of life that cultivates shalom.

The “Bill of Rights” contrasts with the life of oppression in the context of Egyptian slavery. A few examples:

– In Egypt, enslaved aliens were victim of unrelenting labor imposed by the powers that be (Exodus 1 & 5). The Sabbath was a unique gift to the slave, the nobody. It guaranteed a day of freedom for all.  The Word is explicitly aimed at the power brokers on behalf of the working population (Exodus 23.12; Deut. 5.14).

– In Egypt, Israel had been victim of legalized, state-sponsored, terrorism, including murder of the children. The Ten Words protect all life from unlawful abuse of power against the vulnerable. Life is guaranteed; it is not in the balance.

The First Word is always God’s Grace

There are three traditional ways of numbering the Ten “Commandments:” 1) Jewish view; 2) Reformed/Orthodox view; 3) Catholic/Lutheran view. The numbering is affected by what we consider to be the first “word.” If we think the first word from Yahweh is what humans do rather than the proclamation of Yahweh has done, then the whole section changes drastically.

But Yahweh’s first word is that of grace/Hesed. The first word is “I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

This is a statement of identity, “your God.”  Why is Yahweh “your God?” Because in the phrase “who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” we have the entire Story of gracious redemption – of setting the captives free from Exodus 1 to Exodus 19.  It is the “Gospel.” The first Word is what Yahweh has already done. 

Yahweh’s name is tied to the liberation of slaves. The “your” in “your God” is the mistreated enslaved aliens in a land denominated “the house of slavery.”  It is a kingdom of death and the absence of life.

This first word is the foundation of everything in Israel’s covenant of love (hesed) with Yahweh.  Everything in the Ten Words is a response to the prior cosmic, historical, act of a particular god – Yahweh.

Exclusive Covenant of Loe

– No other gods (i.e. husbands)
– No images
– No misuse of the divine name

Yahweh is not into polygamous relationships! Yahweh has delivered people who would otherwise be slaves or literally dead. Then Yahweh invited them into a relationship. The covenant is gracious and it is monogamous. Yahweh, unlike the gods of Egypt, does not share either himself or his bride/family with others.

Psalm 115 “where is your God” likely rooted in the ancient surprise that there is no “image” of Yahweh. We could argue that the Creator God placed his own image in his “temple,” … human beings.  But the Bible is filled with poetic pictures or images of Yahweh that powerfully connect with the mind: Yahweh is a Rock; a Shield; a Strong Tower; a Lion; a Shepherd; a Warrior; a Husband; a Father. 

Images of deities are forbidden (as well as of Yahweh). Imagine, as an analogy, what you might think if your spouse carried around and displayed photos of potential rivals in his/her wallet or phone wallpaper. It would be indicative of something amiss. Thus Yahweh is “jealous” (Exodus 20.5; 34.14; Deuteronomy 4.24; 5.9; 6.15).

“children to the third and fourth generation.” In the Hebrew Bible, as in the Ancient Near East, “children” are more often than not, adults. In Israel, as in the ANE, a family or household, would consist of not a nuclear family (mom/dad/kids in their own house doing their own thing). A household would consist of three or four generations living under the grandfather or great-grandfather. This is reflected in verse 12 as well of honoring our mothers and fathers.  A single household can and often does reap the “reward” of the foolishness of a previous generation.  When those generations all live together this is even more likely. And the household is central to the maintenance of the covenant of love in Israel. “Being an individual and living an individual life like many of us do today [in the western world, BV] was a foreign concept to the Israelites” (Elizabeth Backfish & Cynthia Shafer-Elliott, Grounded Theology in the Hebrew Bible: Exploring the Cultural Context that Formed Ancient Israel, p. 4). The Hebrew Bible makes it clear that children do not suffer for the crimes of others.

The point of the text is actually missed when we focus on the children (adult or otherwise). The contrast in the text is between Hesed to a thousand generations and one house being held accountable. Note the photo of Salesforce Tower in San Francisco which I took.  Salesforce Tower is 1070 feet tall. Imagine a foot is a “generation” thus the Tower is 1000 generations tall. Now imagine you are five feet and 10 inches or be generous, a full six feet.  You are five and half or six generations.  Now stand next to Salesforce Tower … now we get the image.  It literally “towers” over everything on the west coast and is visible for miles and miles from downtown but you would never see the six-foot person standing by it.

Shabbat: Divine Time Regulating Chaotic Time

Texts: Exodus 32.12-18; Isaiah 56

Sabbath is a bulwark against idolatry. It reminds us that all that is comes from the Creator (this includes the creatures that are often depicted, as in Egypt, deities). Sabbath also proclaims Yahweh is the redeeming God.  And Sabbath protects the images of God from abuse.  It is “God’s Time” within the creation order of life. It also points to what shall be.  It is a “sign” of the covenant (Ex 31.12-18).

The longest word. A rabbinic parable:

“At one time when God was giving the Torah to Israel, He said to them:
‘My Children! If you accept the Torah and observe my mitvot [i.e. commands] I will give you for all eternity a thing most precious that I have in my possession.’
‘And what,’ asked Israel, ‘is that precious thing which Thou wilt give us if we obey Thy Torah?’
‘The world to come!’
‘Show us in this world an example of the world to come,’ asked Israel.
‘The Sabbath,’ said the LORD, ‘is the example of the world to come.’”
(Quoted in Abraham Heschel, The Sabbath, p. 73).

The Sabbath is unique in the ancient world.  There are parallels for most of Israel’s laws but there is, as of current scholarship, nothing like the Sabbath in the ancient world.  Sabbath is a remarkably gracious word. It specifically protects the least of these from the power of the haves. It is egalitarian: men and women; slaves; animals; and aliens living in the land.

Coveting

Those who slander the Hebrew Bible (i.e. “Old Testament”) as “carnal” and “external” never concerned about the spiritual/heart have a hard time dealing with the pinnacle word from Yahweh. Coveting is the heart of the matter of the rest of the Ten Words.

We have noted that the Ten Words are not “laws” as we often think of such things. What the Ten Words aim at is a reformed love on the part of God’s covenantal partners.  Coveting another human’s house, material blessings, wife/husband, stuff is misdirected love. It is a love that puts humans and things in the place reserved for Yahweh.  This is precisely why scripture calls coveting or greed “idolatry” (Ephesians 5.5; Colossians 3.5; see Jesus’s Parable of the Rich Fool, Luke 12.13-21).

Helpful Resource
An excellent resource on the Ten Words is David L. Baker’s, The Decalogue. It is suitable for deeper study as well as devotions.   

Texts to Know

Deuteronomy 4.32-40
Deuteronomy 7.7-9, 12 (NIV)
Psalm 67
Isaiah 61.1-6
Hebrews 12.18-24
1 Peter 2.9-10

(Structural Note: We need to remember that the Book of Exodus is itself part of a larger Story of the Torah: Genesis to Deuteronomy.  When the freed slaves arrive at Mt. Sinai the narrative slows down. Israel will remain camped at the foot of Sinain from Exodus 19 to Numbers 10.11. All the material from Exodus 19 to Number 10 takes place at Sinai.) 

This is Holy Ground – Mt. Sinai/Horeb – the Mountain of God (Setting)

The liberated by Hesed slaves from Egypt have journeyed under the guidance of the Pillar of Cloud/Fire to the very spot we find Moses when he received his call. God said to Moses, on this mountain, “I will be with you, and this shall be a sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain” (Exodus 3.12).

Recalling the Story thus far sheds much needed light on the events of Exodus 19-24. Liberated slaves will as a collective whole have a “Burning Bush” incident.  Where God is there is “sacred/holy space.” Moses could not profane the soil with his dirty shoes, so the Israelites cannot approach the Mountain until they are consecrated (by grace). As Moses received a unique calling in his encounter with God on the mountain, so Israel will also receive a unique status and vocation according to the infinite grace/Hesed of Yahweh.

Exodus comes before Sinai, this is the structure of the Book of Exodus, but it is also the structure of the theology of the Exodus event. But Israel did not become God’s people at Sinai.  Israel has repeatedly been termed “my son” “my firstborn” or “my people” 13 or 14x prior to chapter 19 (Exodus 3.7, 10; 5.1; 7.4, 16; 8.1, 20-22; 9.1, 13, 17; 10.3-4).

Mt. Sinai continues the Story that began with Abraham and his descendants in Genesis. There is a kind of wedding ceremony in Exodus 19 so we might construe Israel’s relationship as moving from a betrothal to marriage. We must understand though that a betrothal was a legal, binding relationship making a “couple” a husband and wife as they wait to “live together.”  The “moving in” takes place in what follows in Exodus 19 to 40. 

Carrying the Bride to Himself (19.1-8)

“The people I made for myself that they may proclaim my praise” (Isaiah 43.21)

Exodus 19 is, like the salvation by the Red Sea in chapter 14, of prime importance not only for the Book of Exodus but biblical theology as a whole. Its themes and images show up throughout the biblical canon to the very end in the Revelation of John.

“On the third new moon” (v.1), or what will become termed “Shavuot” or “Pentecost” these events become part of the life of every generation of believers through worship. 

Verses 4-6 are the “meat” of the ceremony. They are the voice of God and proclaim three epic words of grace. They look to the past; they look to the future; and they look at the present.

1) “You have seen” the freed Israelite slaves are witnesses. This recalls the past. They were in a state of torment and death. Harsh labor. Slaughter of innocents. They saw – experienced – the God of the Exodus do unheard of things. This God kept a promise (2.24); acted out of compassion for creation’s suffering (2.25; 3.7-9) and they saw God’s saving righteousness, his justice in action (6.6). They saw how this played out in the “wonders” of defeating Pharoah, his army and the Egyptians.  They saw the “gods of Egypt” destroyed and themselves led by the Pillar through the Sea. 

2) “I bore you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself”

This is not only a powerful image, but it is moving in its beauty. Yahweh is invested in this relationship with the liberated nobodies of Israel. 

The wording describes divine work and grace. “I bore you.”  The verb “bore”
( נָשָׂא) meaning to “lift” or “carry” in the imperfect means Yahweh continues to do the carrying.  Imagine a mother getting her infant child out of a crib, lifting the child to herself and walking around with her.

And “brought you.” Here again Moses stresses the action of God.  This is in fact a very beautiful way of describing the Exodus itself. This is all Yahweh. I בּוֹא you to myself. Here the English of “brought you” fails greatly to catch the force of the Hebrew verb. The Hiph’il has the force of “I caused you to come to me.” As when in Amos Yahweh says “I will cause the sun to go down” (8.9).

“To myself.”  The text does not say “I brought you here” or “I brought you to a holy place” or the like. This is highly personal, “I brought you to myself.” Yahweh wants and keeps the ones that no one else in all creation wanted (see Psalm 121 and Psalm 124).

3) “My treasured possession” Future reality. Israel confessed in the Song by Ike & Tina that Yahweh reigns (15.18). Yahweh is King. He OWNS EVERYTHING. Yahweh looking down on Sinai is the ruler and owner of all creation and every nation.  But Israel, the rejected slaves, will be what they never were, treasured.  Like Yahweh promised Abram that his name will be great (Gen 12.1-3) so Israel by grace is God “prized possession.” 

This has nothing whatsoever to do with Israel’s righteousness.  In fact, nothing in the Hebrew Bible has to do with Israel’s righteousness. It is the goodness, the grace, the Hesed of Yahweh pure and simple. Moses reminds Israel they have no righteousness, they don’t even have “integrity” but Yahweh simply LOVED them and kept his promise (Deuteronomy 9.4-6).

This is a covenant, a covenant of love that Israel has been granted and bound to by Yahweh at Sinai.

A Kingdom of Priests (cf. Psalm 67; Isaiah 61.6)

The “prized possession” of Yahweh is created to be a kingdom of priests. On the holy mountain where Moses received his special calling, Israel the liberated slaves have also received the calling. As God’s prized possession they will be a kingdom of priests. 

Israel as a whole will function in regard to all creation in a way analogous to the tribe of Levi will function in regard to Israel herself. Levi is “set aside.” Israel is “set aside.” They are “holy” and dedicated to a purpose. They were created to be priests.   

1) Priests, according to the Torah, were called to be instructors of God’s word. They are “to teach the people of Israel all the statutes of Yahweh” (Lev 10.11; Deuteronomy 33.10; etc). In this way priests represent God to the people.  So Israel will function as a beacon of justice, righteousness and shalom within God’s world among the nations. They represent Yahweh to the nations.  Ezekiel will make much of their failure and God’s name being profaned among the nations.

2) Priests lead God’s people in worship. They bring sacrifices, lead songs, hymns and spiritual songs (heading of Psalm 67) from the people to God.  So Israel as a whole is to be instrument of drawing the nations, the gentiles, into the orbit of the God of Israel. 

A Story Gentiles are Part (1 Peter 2.8)

Peter, much like Paul, a Messianic Jew embraces the vocation of Exodus 19.  In that vocation gentiles are now called to be part of God’s Israel to share in the same mission of bearing witness to God’s mighty acts of Hesed. 

Quotable Quote

“Slavery contradicts God; it is a denial of God’s will” (James Cone, The Spirituals and the Blues).

“God has spoken; twice I have this:
that power belongs to God,
and that steadfast love [hesed] belongs to you, O Lord.”
(Psalm 62.11-12)

I. Texts to Know

– Psalm 68, Note the interesting parallels with Exodus 15 including Yahweh as the Warrior for the “nobodies,” the role of women in v.11&25, and God’s Presence.
– Psalm 135
– Psalm 124, 133-134, Selections of the Songs of Ascents emphasis on the deliverance, Keeping of Israel and the blessedness of dwelling with Yahweh. A world of shalom.
– Revelation 15.1-4

II. What Kind of Warrior? Four Key Statements

“Through all of the sorrow of the Sorrow Songs there breathes a hope – a faith in the ultimate justice of things.” (Cone, The Spirituals and The Blues)

         1) v.2 Yahweh is “my strength” “my might” my salvation”
         2) v.13 Yahweh’s Hesed is the core and how Israel is “led”
         3) v.17 Yahweh will “plant” Israel on the mountain; they will live in
              Yahweh’s “abode.”
         4) v.18 Yahweh is King, Pharoah (Ceasar/President) is not. First
               announcement of the kingdom of God in the Bible.
Yahweh is a Warrior not for his own ego nor even for a monarch as is frequently the case in the ANE. Yahweh is Shepherd of those who have no one to defend them, have no resources, the “nobodies.” He becomes their strength, his Hesed leads them, he gives them a place to live and he becomes their king. 

III. Beginning with Tina (Miriam)  

“I … redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam” (Micah 6.4)
“I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” (Joel 2.28)

The Book of Exodus begins with an unusually strong emphasis on the participation of women in the redemption of God’s people. The midwives. Moses’s mother. Daughter of Pharoah. Zipporah. And Miriam.

Miriam is designated as “THE prophet.”  Our lection concludes with the notification of the people of God being led in worship of Yahweh through the ministry of the prophet Miriam “and all the women.” 

A number of scholars have argued that this placement actually suggests that Miriam was the composer of the hymn.  Verse 21 begins with a summons, imperative, to sing – worship. As Christopher Wright noted,

“The fact that verse 21 is so short does not imply that Miriam only got to sing a tiny fragment, but rather, since the opening line is a summons … she was in fact leading the singing of the whole song known by that title or refrain” (Wright, Exodus, p.292; Victor Hamilton expresses the same opinion, Exodus, p.235). Note Psalm 68. 

I share this opinion.  It is Ike and Tina, not just Ike. 😉

IV. Yahweh is My Salvation (15.1-3)
         Israel now serves – worships – Yahweh rather than serving/worshiping Pharoah. It is a serving into life and liberty rather than slavery and death. So worship, praise, thanksgiving, is at one and the same time the result and goal of salvation.

The phrase “Yahweh is a Warrior; Yahweh is his name” is praise. It is exaltation of the “my father’s God” and “my God.” 

Note that while Moses has a role in chapter 14, he has no role in the description of salvation in chapter 15. Moses and Miriam praise Yahweh, not Moses.  Salvation belongs to God.

The whole point of this metaphor (Yahweh is a Man of War/Warrior) must be understood. The point is Israel did not fight. Only Yahweh brought the victory/salvation. It is his and his alone.  A nice and extremely accessible discussion of a discussion of Yahweh is a Warrior and the Wars of God as a locus of “hesed/grace” is Ronald M. Hals, Grace and Faith in the Old Testament, chapter 2.

V. Pharoah, and Egypt’s Gods, Destroyed (15.4-10)

Poetic metaphors. Some things can only be said in poetry and lyrics.  Think of Johnny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans,”

“Old Hickory said, ‘We could take’em by surprise if we didn’t fire our muskets til we look’em in the eye … They ran through the briers and they ran through the brambles And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn’t go … They ran so fast the hounds couldn’t catch’em on down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.”

Moses and Miram (or Miriam and Moses) sing poetry.  They describe the complete victory (salvation) of God on behalf of slaves.  Like Horton, their song quotes Pharoah, “the enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils …”

But all Yahweh did was “you blew with your wind/spirit ( בְרוּחֲךָ֖) …” and that’s all she wrote as the saying goes!

VI. Yahweh’s Incomparability (15.11-16)

         – majestic in holiness
         – doing wonders
         – Hesed redemption
         – “the peoples” heard

VII. Dwelling and Kingdom (15.17-18)
         – Planted on a Mountain common ANE idea of place where a deity resides. The point here is that where Yahweh is bringing Israel, Yahweh already owns, a “garden” (like Eden). God’s people are, as Yahweh says in Exodus 19, carried “to myself on eagles wings.” God will dwell in the tabernacle and the temple and in King Jesus, and with us (Revelation 21-22).

         – Kingdom of God The whole redemption by Yahweh’s Hesed/Grace is framed by the grateful celebrative worship of the redeemed slaves.  Beginning in chapter 12, Israel learns to worship in a meal that tells the story.  At the “cross event” (Exodus) the people explode with praise. What can you do when you have been raised from certain death but say thank you.

Exodus “Event” Texts to Know
– Deuteronomy 5.12-15, Shabbat rehearses the Hesed story
– Psalm 66
– Psalm 68
– Psalm 114, part of the Egyptian Hallel
– Psalm 136.10-26,
– Isaiah 63.7-14
– 1 Corinthians 10.1-5

Exodus Comes before Sinai,
Calvary Comes before Pentecost,
Grace Comes before Faith,
It always has, it always will.

Deliverance, Rescue, Salvation by Hesed

“According to the abundance of his Hesed … It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old … his holy spirit … who led them through the depths … the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest” (Isaiah 63.7c, 9, 12, 14, NRSV)

I. Get Out/Motley Crew (12.31, 38)

         The Son of Amun-Ra tells Israelites to leave and Go worship. 
         Who could be the “motley crew” in v.34.  Egyptians, other slaves
         the text recognizes the aliens among them (v.49). 
         Note on “first born” – does not mean “infants” especially in reference to the 
          Egyptians.  Pharoah’s “first born” is an adult.  It is only Isael’s infants that
          have been systematically murdered as a threat … they are after all “aliens.”

II. “God led the people” (13.17-22)

The Story picks back up after the “interruption” of the directions on worship.

As Isaiah noted centuries later, Yahweh is personally “taking charge,” planning and leading “the people” (63.7-14). 

III. Pharoah Changes his Mind in the Night (14.4-5)/Yahweh’s Glory
 
         “the heart (לְבַ֨ב) of Pharaoh and his servants” (v.5); the Lord hardened    
           Pharaoh’s heart (לֵ֤ב)

         Bring “glory” or “honor” (vv. 4,17,18) … what does this mean? It is Yahweh’s means to demonstrate 1) his majestic superiority in sovereignty but 2) also his justice in the face of gross injustice against the least of these. The Psalms state explicitly that Yahweh’s very throne is established on justice, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before You” (Psalm 89.14)

“I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for in these things I delight” (Jer 9.24)

IV. Salvation in the Face of Fear (14.10-14)

         The Sermonator declared that the Israelites went through the Sea “by faith”
         (Hebrews 11.29). But read, vv.11-12.  Lack of faith.  We have terror. 
         Grounded in generations of reality.

         Moses gives five three commands based on one Gospel truth. Moses proclaims Grace in the face of a lack of faith, lack of trust, full orbed fear.

         1) Do not fear
         2) Stand firm
         3) See Salvation (v.13, 31)
         Because … Yahweh will fight. Yahweh is the Savior.
         4) Keep still … quiet … “let go”

V. God Gets Between (14.19-25)

         The “angel of God” … “Yahweh in the pillar of fire” (vv.19, 24). Yahweh created an impassable barrier between Pharoah’s massive military and the fleeing slaves. The mystery of darkness and light (v.20).

         Israel stepped into the divided sea (vv. 16, 21). Imagery that comes from the creation account in Genesis 1 where the Creator God divided the sea to form dry land (Gen 1.9-10).

VI. Pharoah, Egypt, Hubris brought into Judgment (14.26-31)

         The arrogance of the oppressor is on full display in Exodus 14. The Egyptians refused to let the object of their hate as well as the source of their posh life go. 

Trapped by their own arrogance they finally confess (an ironic “praise”!) they cry out “Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt” (14.25). Now Egypt knows who Yahweh is. 

Yahweh destroys the demonic forces in Egypt that is personified in Pharoah and his military might. “The LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea” (v.27).

But Israel walked through on “dry ground” (v.29).

Climactic Declaration, “Yahweh saved Israel that day!” (14.30).

Texts to Know

Deuteronomy 16.1-8
Deuteronomy 26.1-15
Joshua 5.1-12
Psalms 113-118
2 Chronicles 30
1 Corinthians 5.7-8
Matthew 26.17-39

                                                      Outline of Section

12.1-27            12.29-39    12.43-49       13.1-16         13.17-14.29         15.1-21
Passover/            Story       Passover        Firstborn/       Story                 Worship/
Unleavened                                              Unleavened                     Moses & Miriam
(Learning to Worship)                                                                              (Ike & Tina)

                    Liturgy Encloses the Event of the Exodus in the Book of Exodus
               (Outline adapted and modified from Terence Fretheim, Exodus, p. 134)

The Book of Exodus was not written the night of the Exodus.  The Book, as part of the Torah, is written for future generations. Thus there is a break in the narration of the story of the signs/wonders with the warning of number ten (11.1-10). 

Suddenly the text reveals Yahweh addressing Moses and Aaron and through them the “congregation of Israel” (12.3,6,19,47). Yahweh gives directions on how this event is to become worship forever. This event becomes paradigmatic for the identity of Israel through worship centered on a meal. There is an analogy here with the Last Supper of Jesus. There are specific details that may change in our observance and what took place on that fateful night in Egypt and before the Cross. But in a nutshell, this is our Story. It is the story of the Gospel. It is an event not just for them but a redemptive act that flows forward into history of the future people of God. Israel truly is “the people I formed for myself to declare my praise” (Isaiah 43.21). 

The Passover 12.2 New time reckoning. Month (Nisan/Abib, Deut 16.1, one a Canaanite name and the other a Babylonian name). It is the first or chief of months (most important). It is in a very real sense the “birthday” of Israel which shows up in the word “congregation” (used first here in Exodus 12).

12.3, Lamb/goat (“the sacrifices that we offer to Yahweh, our God are offensive to the Egyptians,” 8.26; “I will exercise judgment on all the gods of Egypt,” 12.12). Lambs/goats/rams were linked to Amun and Khnum is iconographically depicted as a goat/ram and was a sacred symbol of Amun-Ra.

Jewish traditions on the lamb and Egyptian gods can be found in such places as Shemot Rabbah 16:2; Talmud (Shabbat 87b); etc.

Note that either a lamb or goat could be used in the Passover.

12.4 “join with your neighbor.”  The Passover is a “memorial” (older translations) or “day of remembrance” (NRSV) and a “celebration.”  Passover is not somber. You have been set free from death! Saved from annihilation.   And it is also communal.  Passover cannot be celebrated by oneself.  The very minimum is the a family.  And if your family is to small to eat everything in a single night, get the nearest neighbor and celebrate. You eat in haste but you feast in that haste.

12.6 the lambs in the land of Egypt are not slaughtered at the temple (of course).  The whole “congregation of Israel” in a synchronized moment slaughter their lambs at the same time “at twilight” or “between the two evenings.” Israel is both diverse and one at the same time over geographical distance (and through time at the table). 

12.12 “I will strike down …” Somber words.  Death has hovered over the Book of Exodus from the beginning. Pharoah claims the authority and the right to steal the life of powerless people. The Egyptians participate in this horror in the Story. 

– Israel does not lift a finger against Pharoah nor any Egyptian
– The Passover remembers God’s deliverance by grace and his gracious judgment on the gods of Egypt. BUT it makes no provision for relishing the punishment of Egypt. Jewish tradition testifies to the sorrow of God in exercising judgment. In the tradition Yahweh tells the angels to cease their praise by God himself as he weeps, “The work of my hands has drown in the sea and shall you chant songs” (Talmud, Megillah 10b and Sanhedrin 39b). See Ezekiel 18.23; 33.11.

– “a sign for you.” The blook on the door posts and lintels are a sign, for you. This functions very much like the “sign” that God placed in the clouds after the flood in Genesis (9.13).  It is a visible mark of the promise of God to Israel (again almost like circumcision too). 

12.26 “when the children ask, what does this mean …” Israel’s worship is remarkably inclusive and egalitarian.  Children are the future of the people of God.  They do not need to know just WHAT is done but why it matters. What is the meaning (see Deut 6.20-25).  The meal is a vehicle – sacrament – to proclaim the mighty acts of the Hesed of Yahweh. The meal baptizes the children into the story, all future children are now Israel, part of those set free on that fateful night.
And they bowed their heads and worshiped (v.27).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzSb7HnLTMQ

I. Who You Going to Serve: Pharoah or Yahweh?
         – 3.12, “you shall worship God on this mountain”
         – 4.23, “Let my SON go that he may worship/serve me”
         – 5.17 [oppressors] “You say, let us go so we may sacrifice”
         – 7.16, “so that they may worship/serve me”
         – 8.1, “so that they may worship/serve me”
         – 8.20, “so that they may worship/serve me”
         – 9.1, “so that they may worship/serve me”
         – 9.13, “so that they may worship/serve me”
         – 10.3, “so that they may worship/serve me”
         – 10.7-8, [Pharoah] ‘Let the people go, so they may worship/serve …
                  Go worship …”
         – 10.24, “[Pharoah], “Go worship Yahweh”
         – ch. 12-13 Directions for worship
         – ch 14, Exodus Event
         – Worship, chapter 15, Ike & Tina (Moses & Miriam)
         – Exodus 19-24, Worship on the Mountain

Worship/service to Pharoah, a god, is slavery and death.
Worship/service to Yahweh is freedom and life. 

II. Yahweh is a Warrior (Ex 15.1-2): Signs & Wonders

A. Texts to Know
   – Psalm 78
   – Psalm 105.26-36
   – Psalm 145.4-7, One generation to another declares the mighty acts

“[I]t is important not to take away the force of the oppression with a ‘pie in the sky by and by’ point of view. Or with this view: the oppression is all part of a larger divine plan. No. God enters in on the side of the disadvantaged because God  does not want this situation at all” (Terence Fretheim, Exodus, p. 84, his emphasis).

         B. The Divine Combat

Note: Pharaoh was the incarnation of Horus (Sky God); upon dying the Pharoah transformed into Osiris (God of the dead and underworld). Starting with the Fifth Dynasty (2498-2345 BC) Pharaoh’s took on the title “Son of Ra” … the Solar Disk or god.  “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey his voice” (5.2).

Israel does not liberate/rescue/save herself. Israel gets saved by Yahweh who has chosen sides between Oppressor and Oppressed. They are already Yahweh’s people (3.7, 10; 7.14).

“It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that Yahweh set his heart on you and chose you – for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because Yahweh love you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, that Yahweh brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God, who maintains his covenant of HESED” (Deuteronomy 7.7-9)

– Nile turns to blood (7.14-25)
– Frogs overwhelm Egypt (8.1-15)
– Flies/Gnats (8.16-32, note v.18) Writing on the Wall! (cf. 10.7) Impotent gods, cf. Ps 115.4-8. Insects undo imperial hubris!
– Livestock (9.1-7)
– Boils (9.8-12)
– Storms or Thunder & Hail (9.13-35)
– Locusts (10.1-20)
– Where’s the Sun/Darkness (10.21-29) Darkness is on the face of the deep, Gen 1.2
– Firstborn (11:1-10; 12:29-30)

In these “signs & wonders” Yahweh demonstrates he is not only the God of the enslaved aliens but the Master of the Universe, God of Creation.  The gods of Egypt, including Pharoah, are no match. He has brought “judgment upon all the gods of Egypt” (12.12; cf. 15.11; 18.11).

Creation is both the servant (like Israel is called to be) of Yahweh and instrument of deliverance and punishment simultaneously.  Water is no longer water. Light and darkness no longer separated. Disease among humans and creatures is out of control. It is as if the land of Egypt has returned to the condition of Day One of Creation where chaos reigned (Genesis 1.1-2).

Scripture is quite aware of how creation itself suffers because of human arrogance and sin. 
         – Genesis 3
         – Joel the whole book but see 1.8-12; 17-20; 2.21-22, 25
         – Hosea 4.1-6; see also 2.14-20, note v.18
         – Romans 8.18-24

Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayim — Hebrew for “the suffering of living creatures” including and especially animals.

START AT 3:00 MINUTE MARK

Exodus 3: The Numinous
Woodmont Hills Church
September 9, 2026

“Numinous, arousing spiritual or religious emotion; mysterious or awe-inspiring”

I. Exodus 1-2, the Crises of Refugees & Aliens (The Egypt First Policy)

– Irrational fear (1.12)
– Shiphrah & Puah (1.15) break the law but “feared God” (v.21)
– State Sponsored terror (1.21)

II. The Cry that Pierced the Heavens (2.23) “My God My God why have you forsaken Me!”

– Cry is just a cry of pain, misery, terror. It is not directed to Yahweh: “After a long time … the   Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God Looked upon the Israelites and God took notice of them” (2.23-24).

– Paradigmatic experience (cf. Deuteronomy 26.1-11, esp. 5-6)
– Deuteronomy 1012-22, esp. 19
– Psalm 9.12 “For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted”
– Psalm 34.17; Psalm 107.6, 13, 19, 28; Mark 10.47; Luke 18.1-8
– “The poor of this world were the chosen vessels of mercy, the especially honored and blessed of God. They as a class, constitute his elect.” (David Lipscomb, “Who are to Blame?” GA 11 (6 May 1869), 422.

God’s Frightful Promise to Oppressors – Don’t be like Pharoah

“You shall not wrong or oppress a alien (foreigner, NIV), for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me. I will surely heed their cry, my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword … You shall not oppress the alien you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exodus22.21-22; 23.9)

– The Exodus is the result of the cry of the suffering alien.  “God” had had enough!

– Scholars have noted that the structure of Exodus that follows mirrors the structure of laments in the Psalms: l) a lament; 2) a cry/petition; 3) word of assurance of salvation; and 4) thanksgiving.  The Book of Exodus follows this,

 The Lament and Cry (ch’s 1-2)
The Word of Assurance of Salvation (ch’s 3-6)
This deliverance is “detailed” (ch’s 7-14)
The outburst of thanksgiving and praise (ch. 15)

III. “Numinous” Enters History on the side of the Refugee Aliens (Exodus 3)

– Yahweh (Yahweh is a Warrior, 15.3) shows up. First appearance of the Name (v.2) will 347x in the rest of the Book of Exodus

– Flame of Fire out of the bush but it does not burn (v.2). Fire is mysterious, even today. Clearly see it. Feel heat from it. What is it? Light passes through it.  It’s there but not really there either.

– Divine Presence (the narrator is also anticipating ‘the rest of the story’). God appears “in fire” at Sinai (19.18). God spoke “out of the midst of the fire” (Dt 4.12). God leads the people in a pillar of fire (13.21; Num 14.14; Dt 1.33; etc)

– I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob” (3.6,15,16).

           + Luke 1.52-55
           + Luke 20.37-38
           + Acts 3.13

God of Rescue, God of Hesed
           = “come down to deliver” “out of the misery of Egypt” (3.8, 17)
           = to a good land flowing with milk & honey (3.8, 17) Salvation is not simply being removed from oppression. It also is the gift of land, a place for live and blessing … Deliverance for God is finally not only FROM something but TO something. 
           = “I will be with you” (3.10) Not just Moses but with all the people (Tabernacle)

IV. Moses will not stand in God’s way

           1. Who am I? / I will be with you (3.11-12)
           2. What is the divine name?/ I AM (3.13-22)
           3) They do not believe me” / two divine signs (4.1-9)
           4) I am not eloquent / I will be with your mouth (4.10-12)
           5) Send someone else / Aaron indeed will speak for you [but never does!](4.13-17)
           (cf. Walter Brueggemann, Delivered Out of Empire, p. 8)

V. Favor/Plunder (3.22)

           – Exodus 11.2-3; 12.35-36

“I will look with favor upon you and make you fruitful and multiply you; and I will maintain my covenant with you. You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make way for the new. I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more. I have broken the bars of your yoke and make you walk erect [stand tall].” (Leviticus 26.9-13)

Bobby Valentine
THESE ARE THE NAMES
The Book of Exodus
Woodmont Hills Church
Outline

“Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks down
on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the need from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.”
(Psalm 113.5-7)

“When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel his dominion”
(Psalm 114.1)

“the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.” (Isaiah 43.21)

I. Exodus, the Event

The Exodus is the paradigmatic moment of salvation by grace (Hesed/steadfast love) in the Bible. The “Event” refers to Yahweh’s mighty acts in delivering a band of enslaved aliens from state sponsored genocide at the hands of Pharoah.

The Exodus in one sense covers all the material from Exodus to Deuteronomy (the Book of Exodus is part of this larger narrative). Like the Gospel is not just “Six Hours One Friday” but Cross-Burial-Resurrection (and more broadly the Story of Jesus including the Ascension). What we call “Exodus” is part of that overall story from Genesis to Deuteronomy, aka The Torah Story.

In another way Exodus is the event – the Salvation of God. The calling of Moses, the taking on the deities of Egypt (Pharoah is the rep of the gods), the crossing the Red Sea, exuberant worship by the Sea, entering the wilderness, the Marriage at Sinai. The Fall of Israel, “cheating with the bell hop” on the honeymoon (Golden Calf). The supreme declaration/revelation of Yahweh’s identity AT THAT MOMENT. The renewal of the covenant and the building of the honeymoon suit … and the Dwelling of God.

It is hard to find a greater narration of the Grace (Hesed) of God in the Bible than in the Book of Exodus.  This includes anything in the New Testament. Israel is redeemed by Hesed – Grace – alone People can balk at that, but it is nonetheless a biblical fact.

The salvation of God in the Exodus becomes “the pattern” of all patterns in the Bible. It is the Grace pattern that all are measured by. The life of Jesus is laid over this pattern. The death of Jesus is laid over this pattern. The promised redemption is forever measured by “the Exodus.” It is in the Psalms, the Prophets, the Gospels, Romans, Hebrews, the Revelation of John.

Exodus is from liberation out of death to God living with his redeemed rejects. The Exodus does not end at crossing of the Sea but with IMMANUEL. God Living with Us! What was lost in Genesis 3 was restored in Exodus 40 … even the Golden Calf did not stop that.

The greater story of the Exodus was inculcated in Israelites through the liturgical calendar which revolves around the Exodus events. 

– The Sabbath (celebrates deliverance from Egypt)
– The Passover points to all Yahweh has done to deliver enslaved aliens
– Shavuot (Pentecost) recalls giving of the covenant & Torah at the beginning of harvest
– Sukkot (Tabernacles) recalls the wilderness wanderings and the end of harvest

Exodus is the story of Steadfast Love that never ends (Hesed). It is the story of Hesed that overcomes any and all barriers to reestablish his fellowship – communion – with the creation he loves.

A king claiming to be a god will not stand in his way.
Moses will not stand in his way.
The People themselves will not stand in his way.
The Sea will not stand in his way.
The Amalekites will not stand in his way.
People themselves wanting to go back to Egypt will not stand in his way.

And even the supreme insult to Yahweh – adultery on the “honeymoon” – as the Psalms would later describe it, Israel “exchanged the glory of God for an image of an ox that eats grass” (106.20) … this will not stand in his way.

Hesed Will Triumph. And Yahweh does triumph through his Hesed over all … Just like Psalm 136 declares.

The Exodus Pattern (I encourage you to read these texts)

The Exodus Event is the pattern in both Testaments for God’s redemptive acts of Hesed.  It shows up all over the place.

Psalm 18
Psalm 66
Psalm 68
Psalm 78
Psalm 80
Psalm 95
Psalm 99 (Pillars of Cloud & Fire God’s divine Presence guiding Israel)
Psalms 103, 104, 105, 106 and 107 for the “Mini-Bible.” They retell the “Story” beginning with the God Creed of Exodus 34.6 in Psalm 103 as the “cover” of the entire narrative. 
Psalms 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118 are called the Egyptian Hallel and poetically retell the glorious redemption of the Exodus and are incorporated into the Pilgrim Feasts (Jesus sang these at his own Exodus moment)
Psalms 135 and Psalm 136 are the Great Hallel. Again retell the Gospel of the Exodus, Ps 136 punctuates everything with the refrain “his Hesed endures forever” (26x).
Psalm 145 camps on the God Creed

In Hosea, Amos & Micah (to name only three) paint Israel’s adultery with images taken from Egypt or from the wanderings in Sinai while casting Yahweh as the faithful liberating lover who would redeem Israel.
Isaiah 40-66 takes the pattern of Exodus as the source for new hope for Israel.

The Exodus Event is just as ubiquitous in the New Testament writings. The events of Jesus’s own passion are shaped by the Exodus. The Last Supper is the Passover supper.  Pentecost is the day the covenant is renewed.  The Gospel of Matthew uses the Exodus event as the template for telling the story of Jesus.  The Exodus looms large in the Gospel of John.  Paul places his Gentile or former Gentile converts in the Exodus Wilderness narrative (1 Cor 10).  The Sermonator of Hebrews places his congregation with the same wilderness group (Hebrews 3-4).  Jude the Lord’s brother does the same (Jude 1.5). The story of the Exodus plagues shapes the Revelation of John.

Just a few examples of the Exodus Pattern

II. The Book of Exodus Contains Some of the Richest Texts of the Bible (in Summary form)

Since we only have 12 weeks it is impossible to cover everything in the Book of Exodus. Our class will focus on the following texts. Some will cover extended material. 

-Exodus 3, Numinous in the Bush & Dirt  
-Exodus 7-11 Divine Combat for the Endangered Aliens
-Exodus 12, How to celebrate salvation before it even happens
-Exodus 14, The “cross” moment
-Exodus 15, Worship led by Ike & Tina 😉
-Exodus 19, Invitation to a wedding, a covenant of love (Hesed)
-Exodus 20, Covenantal guidelines for the already saved by Hesed people
-Exodus 24, The Ceremony! And the Revelation of the “Bride Groom!” (YAHWEH!!) Humans experience God in a way they have not since the Garden. They “saw the God of Israel!” One of the most stunning texts of the Bible – Jesus grounds his work on that fateful night in this text.

-Exodus 25-31 Moses is shown the Honeymoon suite

-Exodus 32-33 Disaster, Catastrophic Failure – the Hebrew Bible talks more about the Golden Calf than it does eating the “apple” in Genesis 3! The ink is not even dry on the marriage license.

-Exodus 34 – the revelation of God – the God Creed – When Israel was the worst Yahweh is at the greatest. The God Creed (Ex 34.6) is quoted, paraphrased or alluded to dozens of times throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible and in the Prologue of John (1.14). This is the Mt. Everest text of the Bible.

-Exodus 34-39 Yahweh renews his covenant by divine fiat of Hesed and even though the covenant is shattered – Yahweh keeps his bride.

-Exodus 40, God Moves In … Exodus 40 anticipates Revelation 21-22 when the “dwelling of God is with humanity.” We reach the GOAL of the salvation of God. Yahweh created the world, filled it with marvelous wonders of creatures and his image bearers because he wanted to LIVE with us.

 Helpful Reading

Walter Brueggemann, Delivered Out of Empire: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus
Walter Brueggemann, Delivered Into Covenant: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus
Terrence Fretheim, Exodus: Interpretation
Ralph Hawkins, Discovering Exodus: Content, Interpretation, Reception
Carmen Joy Imes, Bearing God’s Name, Why Sinai Still Matters
Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative