The Book of Exodus, Chapter by Chapter

We want to take you through the book of Exodus chapter by chapter. This is the second study in our series on the books of Moses. If you have not read our study on Genesis we suggest you start there. Because Exodus picks up right where Genesis leaves off. Genesis ended with Joseph in a coffin in Egypt. Exodus starts with his family in Egypt and a king who did not know him. We will tell you what each chapter is about and how it fits into the message of the book. And how it points us to the one God that is revealed in Jesus Christ.

We believe Exodus is what it claims to be. A history of real people and real events. The Bible tells us that “Moses wrote all the words of the LORD” (24:4). And Jesus called it “the book of Moses” (Mark 12:26). There is a lot of debate over when the exodus happened. Some date it around 1446 BC based on 1 Kings 6:1. Others date it to the 13th century BC. We will not go into that here.¹

There are three things we want you to take away from this study. Exodus is about the name of God. Pharaoh asks “Who is the LORD?” (5:2) and the rest of the book answers him. Exodus is about redemption. God saves his people first and then he gives them his law. And Exodus is about God dwelling with his people. The book starts with Israel building cities for Pharaoh. It ends with the glory of the LORD filling the tabernacle. We will explain these points as we go through the book. But we want you to keep them in mind as we begin.

Exodus does not have the toledot structure we saw in Genesis. But it does tie itself to Genesis from the very first verse. “Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt” (1:1). This is almost word for word what Genesis 46:8 says. Moses wants us to know that this is the same story. In Hebrew the first words are we’elleh shemot (“and these are the names”). The Jews named the book Shemot (“names”) from this line.² Which fits. Because this is a book about the name of God.

The easiest way to break up Exodus is by where Israel is. First they are in Egypt (1:1–13:16). Then they are in the wilderness on the way to Sinai (13:17–18:27). Then they are camped at Mount Sinai (19–40). We will break it down a little further than that. Israel in Egypt (1–6). The plagues (7–11). Passover and the Red Sea (12:1–15:21). The wilderness journey (15:22–18:27). The covenant at Sinai (19–24). Instructions for the tabernacle (25–31). The golden calf (32–34). And building the tabernacle (35–40).³ We will follow this outline as we go through each chapter.

Just like in our Genesis study we will be using the KJV for our scripture quotations. When we use Hebrew words we will transliterate them and give a brief explanation. We will also let you know where you can find the work of the scholars we reference. If they disagree with what we believe we will tell you what they think and why we disagree.

Exodus 1: A New King Over Egypt

Exodus 1 shows us that God kept his word. Seventy souls came down to Egypt (v.5). And now “the land was filled with them” (v.7). Fruitful. Increased. Multiplied. This is the language of Genesis 1:28 and the promise to Abraham. But “there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph” (v.8). He was afraid of Israel so he made them slaves. They built the treasure cities of Pithom and Raamses for him (v.11). When that did not work he told the Hebrew midwives to kill the baby boys. “But the midwives feared God” (v.17). So he told all his people to throw the boys into the river (v.22).

Notice that Pharaoh is fighting against the promise. Just like the serpent in Genesis 3. God said Abraham’s seed would be a great nation. Pharaoh is trying to stop it. He will not succeed.

Exodus 2: Moses Is Born

A man and woman from the tribe of Levi had a son. His mother hid him for 3 months. Then she put him in an ark of bulrushes and set it by the river (v.3). The Hebrew word for ark here is tevah. It is the same word used for Noah’s ark. Those are the only two places it is used in the Bible.⁴ God saved Noah through the water in an ark. And now he saves Moses through the water in an ark. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and named him Moses. “Because I drew him out of the water” (v.10). The river Pharaoh used to kill the boys of Israel was used to save the one who would deliver them.

Moses grew up and killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew. Stephen tells us that Moses thought his brothers would understand “how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not” (Acts 7:25). Moses fled to Midian. He married Zipporah and had a son. The chapter ends with Israel crying out. “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (v.24). We saw in Genesis 8 that when God remembers he acts. That is what happens next.

Exodus 3: The Burning Bush

Moses was keeping sheep at Horeb “the mountain of God” (v.1). “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (v.2). Then “God called unto him out of the midst of the bush” (v.4). And the one speaking said “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (v.6). This is what we saw in Genesis 16, 22 and 32. The angel of the LORD is the LORD himself appearing in a visible form. Not a second person. The one God.

God told Moses that he had seen the affliction of his people and had “come down to deliver them” (v.8). Moses asked what he should say when the people ask “What is his name?” (v.13).

In Hebrew “I AM THAT I AM” is ’ehyeh ’asher ’ehyeh. It comes from the verb hayah (“to be”). It can also be translated “I will be what I will be.” The name YHWH (the LORD) comes from the same verb.⁵ It tells us that God does not depend on anything. He just is. And it tells us that he will be with his people. In verse 12 God said “Certainly I will be with thee.” The words “I will be” are the same word ’ehyeh. Then God says “this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations” (v.15).

Jesus used this name about himself. “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The Jews knew what he meant because they took up stones to throw at him (v.59). Jesus is not a second person who shares the name. He is the I AM who spoke from the bush come in the flesh.⁶

Exodus 4: Moses Makes Excuses

Moses gave God excuse after excuse. First he said the people would not believe him. So God gave him three signs. His rod became a serpent. His hand became leprous. And water from the river would become blood. Then Moses said he was not eloquent. God answered “Who hath made man’s mouth?” (v.11). Then Moses asked God to send someone else and “the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses” (v.14). God gave him Aaron to speak for him.

Notice what God told Moses to say to Pharaoh. “Israel is my son, even my firstborn” (v.22). If Pharaoh will not let God’s firstborn go then God will kill Pharaoh’s firstborn (v.23). Everything in the plagues is building up to this.

On the way to Egypt “the LORD met him, and sought to kill him” (v.24). This is a hard passage. But it seems that Moses had not circumcised his son. Zipporah did it and the LORD let him go. Moses could not lead God’s covenant people if his own house was not in the covenant. We saw in Genesis 17:14 that the uncircumcised man “shall be cut off.”⁷ Then Moses and Aaron met with the elders of Israel and the people believed (v.31).

Exodus 5: Bricks Without Straw

Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go” (v.1). Pharaoh answered “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD” (v.2). That question gets answered in the rest of the book. Pharaoh made things harder. The people would get no straw but they had to make the same number of bricks. The officers of Israel blamed Moses. And Moses went to God and asked “wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people?” (v.22). Things got worse before they got better.

Exodus 6: I Am the LORD

God answered Moses with who he is. “I am the LORD” is repeated over and over in this chapter (vv.2, 6, 7, 8, 29). Then God says something that many have stumbled over.

Critics will say that this contradicts Genesis. Because Abram “called upon the name of the LORD” (Gen 12:8). But the word know here means to know by experience. The fathers had the name. But they had not seen God do what the name means. Keeping his promise and redeeming his people “with a stretched out arm” (v.6). Israel was about to know the LORD in a way the fathers never did.⁸

Notice how many times God says “I will” in verses 6–8. I will bring you out. I will rid you out of their bondage. I will redeem you. I will take you to me for a people. I will be to you a God. I will bring you in unto the land. I will give it you. Seven times. God does all of it. This is grace before law. But the people did not listen to Moses “for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage” (v.9). The chapter ends with the family line of Moses and Aaron (vv.14–27). They are real men from the tribe of Levi.

Before we go through the plagues there are three things we want to point out. First is the purpose. God says “the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD” (7:5). And later “against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment” (12:12). The plagues were not random. They were God judging the gods of Egypt. The river. The land. The cattle. The sun. Numbers 33:4 says “upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.” Second is the order. The first 9 plagues come in three sets of three. For the first plague in each set Moses meets Pharaoh in the morning (7:15; 8:20; 9:13). For the second Moses goes in to Pharaoh (8:1; 9:1; 10:1). And the third comes with no warning at all (8:16; 9:8; 10:21). Then comes the 10th.⁹

The third thing is Pharaoh’s heart. Sometimes we are told that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (8:15, 32). And sometimes we are told that the LORD hardened his heart (9:12; 10:20). God told Moses it would happen before it did (4:21). Pharaoh chose. And God gave him over to what he chose. Paul uses Pharaoh as an example of this in Romans 9:17–18.

Exodus 7: Water Into Blood

“See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet” (v.1). The word for god here is elohim. The same word used for God in Genesis 1. Here it is used for one man. So the word elohim does not mean there is more than one person. Moses was one person and he was elohim to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s rod became a serpent and the magicians of Egypt did the same. “But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods” (v.12). Then came the first plague. Aaron struck the river and the water turned to blood. The Nile was the life of Egypt. And it is the same river where Pharaoh had the Hebrew babies thrown. The magicians copied the sign and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened (v.22).

Exodus 8: Frogs, Lice and Flies

Frogs came up out of the river and covered the land. Pharaoh asked Moses to pray for him. “Intreat the LORD” (v.8). Moses let Pharaoh pick the time “that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God” (v.10). But when the frogs died Pharaoh hardened his heart (v.15). Then Aaron struck the dust and it became lice. The magicians could not do it this time. “This is the finger of God” (v.19). We will see the finger of God again in chapter 31.

Then came the flies. This time God put a line between Egypt and the land of Goshen where Israel lived. “I will sever in that day the land of Goshen … to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth” (v.22). Pharaoh said they could sacrifice in the land. Moses said no. Pharaoh agreed to let them go and then went back on his word (v.32).

Exodus 9: Cattle, Boils and Hail

The cattle of Egypt died but “of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one” (v.6). Then boils broke out on man and beast. The magicians could not even stand before Moses (v.11). Then God sent Moses to Pharaoh with this message. “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth” (v.16). There it is again. The name. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 9:17.

The hail was so bad that God gave a warning first. Some of Pharaoh’s servants “feared the word of the LORD” and brought their servants and cattle inside (v.20). Even in Egypt there were people who listened. Pharaoh said “I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked” (v.27). But when the hail stopped “he sinned yet more” (v.34).

Exodus 10: Locusts and Darkness

Pharaoh’s own servants begged him. “Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?” (v.7). He would let the men go but not the children. So the locusts came and ate everything the hail left. Then came 3 days of thick darkness. “But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (v.23). The Egyptians worshiped the sun as the god Ra. The LORD showed that he rules the sun. Pharaoh told Moses “see my face no more” (v.28). And Moses said “I will see thy face again no more” (v.29).

Exodus 11: One Plague More

“Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh” (v.1). All the firstborn in Egypt would die. From the firstborn of Pharaoh on his throne to the firstborn of the maidservant (v.5). But not a dog would move his tongue against Israel. “That ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (v.7). This is what God warned about in 4:23. Pharaoh had killed the sons of Israel. Now he would lose his own.

Exodus 12: The Passover

God told Israel that this month would be “the beginning of months” (v.2). Their calendar starts over with redemption. Each house would take a lamb “without blemish, a male of the first year” (v.5). They would kill it in the evening and put the blood on the two side posts and the upper door post. Then eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Dressed and ready to leave. “It is the LORD’s passover” (v.11). The Hebrew word for passover is pesach. It comes from the verb that means to pass over or to spare.¹⁰

Notice that the blood had to be applied. It was not enough for the lamb to die. The blood had to be put on the door like God said. Every house that obeyed was spared. At midnight the LORD struck the firstborn of Egypt “and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead” (v.30). Pharaoh finally let them go. Israel left with the silver and gold of Egypt (vv.35–36). After 430 years (v.41). And “a mixed multitude went up also with them” (v.38).

The Passover lamb points to Jesus. Not a bone of the lamb could be broken (v.46). And John tells us that the soldiers did not break the legs of Jesus “that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken” (John 19:36). Paul says it plainly. “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Exodus 13: The Firstborn and the Pillar

Because God spared the firstborn of Israel every firstborn now belonged to him (v.2). They were to be redeemed. And when their children asked why they were to say “By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt” (v.14). The feast of unleavened bread would be kept every year as a memorial. God led them the long way around so they would not see war with the Philistines and turn back (v.17). And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him (v.19). Just like Joseph asked in Genesis 50:25.

“And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire” (v.21). In the next chapter the same pillar moves with “the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel” (14:19). The LORD and the angel of God are spoken of the same way. Same as before.

Exodus 14: Crossing the Red Sea

God led Israel to a dead end on purpose. “And I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD” (v.4). Pharaoh chased them with 600 chosen chariots. The people panicked. “Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?” (v.11). Then Moses told them to stand still.

The pillar moved behind Israel. It was darkness to the Egyptians and gave light to Israel (v.20). Moses stretched out his hand and “the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind” (v.21). The word for wind is ruach. The same word we saw in Genesis 1:2 and 8:1. And Israel walked on “dry ground” (v.22). The Hebrew word is yabbashah. The same word used for the “dry land” of Genesis 1:9.¹¹ God is doing a new creation again. The waters came back on the Egyptians and “there remained not so much as one of them” (v.28).

“And the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses” (v.31). Paul tells us that Israel “were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:2). They came out of Egypt through the blood of the lamb and through the water. We have dealt with baptism in depth in our baptism series. But basically God saved Israel out of Egypt through the water. And Peter tells us that baptism “doth also now save us” (1 Peter 3:21).

Exodus 15:1–21: The Song of the Sea

Moses and Israel sang this song after they crossed. Notice the words “he is become my salvation.” The word for salvation is yeshuah. The name Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua. Which means the LORD is salvation. The angel told Joseph “thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The LORD did not send someone else to be our salvation. He became our salvation.¹² Also notice “I will prepare him an habitation.” This points ahead to the tabernacle.

“The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name” (v.3). “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?” (v.11). The song also looks forward. God will bring them in and plant them in “the mountain of thine inheritance” (v.17). “The LORD shall reign for ever and ever” (v.18). Then Miriam and the women sang and danced (vv.20–21). Revelation 15:3 tells us the saints will sing “the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.”

Exodus 15:22–27: Bitter Water

Three days into the wilderness there was no water. At Marah the water was bitter and the people murmured. God showed Moses a tree. He threw it into the water and it became sweet. Then God told them “I am the LORD that healeth thee” (v.26). But the healing was tied to obedience. “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God” (v.26). Then they came to Elim where there were 12 wells and 70 palm trees.

Exodus 16: Bread From Heaven

A month after they left Egypt the food ran out. The people said “Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt” (v.3). They forgot the slavery. God answered “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you” (v.4). It was a test. “That I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no” (v.4). Quails came in the evening. And in the morning there was something small on the ground. “They said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was” (v.15). In Hebrew man hu. Meaning “what is it?”¹³

They were to gather enough for each day. If they kept it overnight “it bred worms, and stank” (v.20). But on the 6th day they gathered twice as much. Because the 7th day was a sabbath (vv.22–23). This is the first time Israel is told to keep the sabbath. Before the law at Sinai. Some went out on the 7th day anyway and found nothing (v.27). A pot of manna was kept as a reminder (v.33). Jesus said “Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32). And “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35).

Exodus 17: Water From the Rock

At Rephidim there was no water again. The people were “almost ready to stone” Moses (v.4). God told Moses to strike the rock in Horeb. “Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock” (v.6). Water came out. Moses called the place Massah and Meribah. Because they tempted the LORD saying “Is the LORD among us, or not?” (v.7). Paul tells us “they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). God stood on the rock. The rock was struck. And the people drank.

Then Amalek attacked. Joshua led the fight and Moses stood on a hill with the rod of God. When his hands were up Israel won. When his hands were down Amalek won. Aaron and Hur held up his hands until the sun went down (v.12). Moses built an altar and called it Jehovahnissi (“the LORD is my banner”) (v.15).

Exodus 18: Jethro Visits Moses

Jethro the priest of Midian brought Moses his wife and two sons. Moses told him everything the LORD had done. And Jethro said “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods” (v.11). This is what the plagues were for. A man from outside of Israel knew who the LORD was. Then Jethro saw Moses judging the people from morning until evening. “The thing that thou doest is not good” (v.17). He told Moses to pick able men who fear God to judge the small matters. And Moses listened. Even a man of God needs counsel.

Exodus 19: Arriving at Sinai

In the third month Israel came to Sinai. Before God gave them any law he reminded them what he did. “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself” (v.4). He saved them first. Then he called them to obey. The word for peculiar treasure is segullah. Meaning a king’s own special possession. Peter uses this same language for the church (1 Peter 2:9). The people answered “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do” (v.8).

The people had to sanctify themselves and wash their clothes. A boundary was set around the mountain. On the 3rd day there was thunder and lightning and a thick cloud and a very loud trumpet. “And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire” (v.18). Hebrews 12:18–24 tells us we have not come to that mountain. We have come to mount Sion and “to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.”

Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments

Notice that God does not start with a command. He starts with who he is and what he did. Then the commands follow. This is also how covenants between a king and his people were written in the ancient world. The king’s name. What he did for them. Then what they must do.¹⁴ We saw this in Genesis with Noah. Grace leads to obedience.

The commandments are spoken by one God in the first person. “I am the LORD thy God.” “Before me.” “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God” (v.5). Over and over. Singular. The first four commands are about God. No other gods. No graven images. Do not take his name in vain. And remember the sabbath. The reason for the sabbath goes right back to Genesis. “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth” (v.11). The last six are about our neighbor. Jesus summed up the whole law with love for God and love for neighbor (Matthew 22:37–40).

The people were afraid. They told Moses “Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (v.19). Moses told them God came to prove them “that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not” (v.20).

Exodus 21: Laws About Servants and Injury

Chapters 21–23 are called “the book of the covenant” (24:7). They apply the Ten Commandments to everyday life. Chapter 21 starts with servants. A Hebrew servant had to go free in the 7th year (v.2). Then come laws about violence and injury. “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (v.24). This was given to the judges to limit punishment. Not to tell people to take revenge.¹⁵ Jesus addressed how people were using it in Matthew 5:38–39.

Exodus 22: Laws About Property and People

Chapter 22 deals with stealing and paying back. If a man stole an ox and killed it or sold it he paid back five oxen (v.1). It also protects the weak. “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (v.21). “Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child” (v.22). God says he will hear the cry of the poor “for I am gracious” (v.27). The law shows us the heart of the God who gave it.

Exodus 23: The Angel With God’s Name

Chapter 23 calls for justice for the poor and the stranger. It gives the sabbath year for the land (vv.10–11). And it gives the three feasts Israel would keep every year (vv.14–17). Unleavened bread. Harvest. And ingathering. Then God makes a promise.

Trinitarians will say that this angel is a second person of the Godhead. But notice what makes this angel different. “My name is in him.” And he is the one who will or will not pardon sin. Which only God can do. This is God’s own presence going with them. In 33:14 God says “My presence shall go with thee.” And Isaiah 63:9 says “the angel of his presence saved them.” The name of God being in him is what we see in Jesus. Who said “I am come in my Father’s name” (John 5:43).¹⁶

Exodus 24: The Blood of the Covenant

Moses wrote down the words of the LORD and built an altar with 12 pillars. He read the book of the covenant to the people. And they said “All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient” (v.7). Then Moses sprinkled the blood on the people. “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words” (v.8). Jesus said “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). And Hebrews 9:18–20 tells us that the first testament was not dedicated without blood.

Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 elders went up the mountain. “And they saw the God of Israel” (v.10). And they ate and drank (v.11). But in 33:20 God says no man can see his face and live. So we need to look at what they saw. They saw what God let them see. A visible appearance of his glory. Not the fullness of God. John tells us “No man hath seen God at any time” (John 1:18).¹⁷ Then Moses went up into the cloud and was there 40 days and 40 nights (v.18).

The next seven chapters are about a tent. That might seem strange. But God tells us why in 25:8. “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” This is what God wanted since the garden. To live with his people. The word for tabernacle is mishkan. Which comes from shakan (“to dwell”). When John tells us “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) the Greek word for dwelt means to pitch a tent.¹⁸ The tabernacle was a shadow. Jesus is the real thing (Hebrews 8:5). Also notice that God speaks to Moses 7 separate times in these chapters. And the 7th time is about the sabbath.¹⁹

Exodus 25: The Ark and the Mercy Seat

God asked for an offering from “every man that giveth it willingly with his heart” (v.2). Then he described the ark. A box of shittim wood covered in gold. The tables of the testimony would go inside. On top was the mercy seat with two cherubim facing each other. “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat” (v.22). The Hebrew word for mercy seat is kapporet. Which is related to the word for atonement. The Greek Old Testament translates it hilasterion. Paul uses that same word for Jesus when he says God set him forth “to be a propitiation through faith in his blood” (Romans 3:25).²⁰ The chapter also describes the table of shewbread and the golden candlestick. Everything was to be made “after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount” (v.40).

Exodus 26: The Tabernacle and the Veil

Chapter 26 describes the curtains and coverings and boards of the tabernacle. Inside there was a veil that divided “the holy place and the most holy” (v.33). Only the high priest could go behind it and only once a year (Hebrews 9:7). When Jesus died “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Matthew 27:51). Hebrews 10:19–20 tells us we can now enter “by a new and living way … through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.”

Exodus 27: The Altar and the Court

The altar of burnt offering was made of shittim wood covered with brass. It stood in the court outside the tent. You could not get to the presence of God without first passing the altar. The court was closed in with linen hangings. And the lamp inside was to burn “always” (v.20).

Exodus 28: The Garments of the High Priest

Aaron and his sons were set apart to be priests. Aaron wore an ephod with two onyx stones on the shoulders with the names of the 12 tribes (v.12). And a breastplate with 12 stones with the names of the tribes over his heart (v.29). He carried the people on his shoulders and on his heart into the presence of God. On his forehead was a gold plate that said “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” (v.36). Hebrews tells us that Jesus is a high priest who can “be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15).

Exodus 29: Consecrating the Priests

The priests were washed and clothed and anointed. Sacrifices were offered for 7 days. Then God gave the daily offering of two lambs. One in the morning and one in the evening (vv.38–39). Then God tells us why he brought Israel out of Egypt in the first place.

God did not just bring them out of Egypt to set them free. He brought them out so he could live among them.

Exodus 30: Incense, Ransom and the Laver

The altar of incense stood in front of the veil. Every man 20 years and older gave half a shekel as a ransom “to make an atonement for your souls” (v.15). Rich and poor gave the same. Because everyone needs the same atonement. A brass laver was set between the tent and the altar. The priests had to wash before they went in “that they die not” (v.20). Then God gave the recipe for the holy anointing oil and the incense. They were not to be copied for common use (vv.32, 37).

Exodus 31: The Spirit and the Finger of God

God called Bezaleel to do the work. “I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship” (v.3). Then the sabbath was given as a sign between God and Israel for ever (vv.13–17). And God gave Moses “two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God” (v.18).

Notice the finger of God here and in 8:19. When Jesus cast out devils he said he did it “with the finger of God” (Luke 11:20). Matthew says “by the Spirit of God” (Matthew 12:28). The Spirit of God is God himself working. Not another person. Just like we saw in Genesis 1:2.

Exodus 32: The Golden Calf

Moses was gone for 40 days and the people got tired of waiting. They told Aaron “Up, make us gods, which shall go before us” (v.1). Aaron took their gold earrings and made a calf.

Aaron built an altar and said “To morrow is a feast to the LORD” (v.5). They called the calf by the name of the LORD. They did not think they were leaving God. They were making him into what they wanted.

Notice something about the grammar. There is only one calf. But the people call it “gods” (elohim). And the verb “brought thee up” is plural in Hebrew. So is the verb “go” in verse 1. When Nehemiah tells this story he says “This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt” (Nehemiah 9:18). Singular. So Hebrew can put a plural verb with elohim when it is talking about false gods. But the verbs we saw with the true God in Genesis 1 and in the commandments are singular. One God.²¹

God told Moses to let him alone so he could destroy them and make a great nation out of Moses (v.10). Moses prayed for them. He reminded God of his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Israel (v.13). “And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people” (v.14). Moses came down and broke the tables. He burned the calf and ground it to powder and made them drink it. Aaron’s excuse was that he threw the gold in the fire “and there came out this calf” (v.24). Moses said “Who is on the LORD’s side? let him come unto me” (v.26). The Levites came. And about 3000 men died that day (v.28). It is interesting that on the day of Pentecost about 3000 were saved (Acts 2:41). The letter kills. The Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Moses went back up to God and asked him to forgive their sin. “And if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (v.32). He was willing to give himself for the people. God said that whoever sinned against him would be blotted out of his book (v.33).

Exodus 33: Show Me Thy Glory

God said he would send an angel before them but he would not go up with them. “Lest I consume thee in the way” (v.3). The people mourned. Moses pitched a tent outside the camp and the cloud would come down to the door. “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (v.11). God said “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” (v.14). And Moses would not go without him. “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence” (v.15).

Critics will say that this contradicts verse 11. But face to face means that God spoke to Moses directly and personally. As a friend. Numbers 12:8 calls it “mouth to mouth.” It does not mean Moses saw the full glory of God.²² God put Moses in a cleft of the rock and covered him with his hand. And Moses saw his back parts (vv.22–23). Notice that when Moses asked to see God’s glory God said he would proclaim his name. The glory and the name go together.

Moses could not see the face of God and live. But Paul tells us that God has given us “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). And Jesus said “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). What Moses could not see we see in Jesus.

Exodus 34: The Name Proclaimed

Moses cut two new tables of stone and went back up the mountain. And God kept his word from 33:19. He proclaimed his name. Merciful. Gracious. Longsuffering. Abundant in goodness and truth. Forgiving iniquity. But by no means clearing the guilty (v.7). This description of God is repeated all through the Old Testament. By Moses and David and Nehemiah and Joel and Jonah.²³ When God tells us his name he tells us what he is like. And John tells us that Jesus was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

God renewed the covenant and warned them not to make covenants with the people of the land. “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (v.14). Moses was on the mountain another 40 days and nights (v.28). When he came down his face shone and he did not know it (v.29). He put a veil over his face. Paul tells us this glory was fading away. But the glory of the new covenant remains (2 Corinthians 3:7–18).

Exodus 35: A Willing Heart

Moses gathered the people and started with the sabbath (vv.2–3). Then he asked for an offering from “whosoever is of a willing heart” (v.5). And they came. Men and women. “Every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing” (v.21). Bezaleel and Aholiab were filled with wisdom to do the work and to teach others (vv.30–35). The same people who gave gold for a calf now gave it for the house of God.

Exodus 36–38: The Work Is Done

We will cover these chapters together. Because they repeat what God said in chapters 25–27 almost word for word. But now it is not what they will make. It is what they made. The people gave so much that the workers told Moses “The people bring much more than enough” (36:5). Moses had to tell them to stop. The curtains and boards were made (36). The ark and table and candlestick and altar of incense (37). The altar of burnt offering and the laver and the court (38). Chapter 38 ends with an account of all the gold and silver and brass that was used. The silver came from the half shekel of 603,550 men (38:26). The repeating is not wasted space. Moses wants us to see that they did exactly what God said.

Exodus 39: As the LORD Commanded Moses

The garments of the priests were made. In this chapter we are told 7 times that it was done “as the LORD commanded Moses” (vv.1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31). Then all the work was brought to Moses. “And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded … and Moses blessed them” (v.43). This sounds like Genesis 1:31 when God saw everything he made “and, behold, it was very good.”²⁴ Creation was made at God’s word. And so was the tabernacle.

Exodus 40: The Glory Fills the Tabernacle

On the first day of the first month of the second year the tabernacle was set up (v.17). Almost one year after they left Egypt. Moses put everything in its place. Again 7 times we are told he did it “as the LORD commanded Moses” (vv.19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 32). “So Moses finished the work” (v.33). Just like Genesis 2:2 where “God ended his work.”

The book that started with Israel in slavery ends with God living in the middle of his people. What God wanted since the garden is happening. But notice that Moses could not go in. God was there. But man still could not come near. The book ends with the cloud leading Israel on all their journeys (vv.36–38). How sinful man can come near a holy God is what the next book is about. “And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle” (Leviticus 1:1).

We have gone through Exodus chapter by chapter. Here is what we can conclude. First Exodus is about the name of God. Pharaoh asked “Who is the LORD?” (5:2). By the end Egypt knew (14:18). Jethro knew (18:11). And Israel knew. God told Moses his name at the bush (3:14–15). He told Pharaoh that he raised him up so that his name would be declared in all the earth (9:16). And he proclaimed his name on the mountain (34:5–7). That name is fully revealed in Jesus. Who said “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me” (John 17:6).

Second Exodus is monotheistic. God speaks as “I” and “me” from the bush to the mountain. The angel of the LORD in the bush is God (3:2–6). The angel in the pillar is spoken of as the LORD (13:21; 14:19). The angel that goes before Israel has God’s name in him (23:21). The word elohim is used for one man (7:1) and for one calf (32:4). And the finger of God and the Spirit of God are God himself at work (8:19; 31:3, 18). Nothing in Exodus requires more than one person in the Godhead. The God of Exodus is the one God who would come in the flesh. “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

Third Exodus teaches us that God saves first and then calls us to obey. The blood had to be applied (12:13). Israel passed through the water (14:22; 1 Corinthians 10:2). And then God gave them his law (20:2). Grace leads to obedience. Lastly Exodus teaches us that God wants to dwell with his people. He told them he brought them out of Egypt “that I may dwell among them” (29:46). And the book ends with his glory filling the tabernacle.

Exodus starts with Israel building cities for Pharaoh. It ends with Israel building a house for God. Slaves became worshipers. And God came down to live with them. One day the Word would be made flesh and dwell among us (John 1:14). But first Israel had to learn how to come near. That is where Leviticus begins.