I love books. Many of you who know me know that, but what you might not know is that there’s one part of every book that I enjoy a lot, and that is the introduction. Whether it’s called an introduction, a preface, a prologue, or a foreword, it is in this section where we the reader find out what’s coming in the pages ahead. Consider the introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. The prologue is called Concerning Hobbits and in these pages we’re introduced to the fanciful little creatures present in the entire tale. We learn about their history, about their culture and customs, about what excites them, what strikes fear into them, what frustrates them, and more. If you skip this prologue you’ll still read the same story, but it’ll take you more time to understand the hobbits and get acclimated to all characters in it. But, if you read the prologue you’ll be primed and ready to enjoy the epic tale that follows.
The moral of the story is this…don’t skip the introductions!!
Now, I begin with this because today we’re beginning a new sermon series through the book of Exodus, and since we’re beginning a new book today, introductory matters are in order. If we’re going to begin Exodus well, we need to understand some things about it, like who wrote it, who first read it, what its purpose is, and why it’s in our Bibles to begin with at all.
So today is all about introductory matters! If you look at the bookmark you were given on your way in this morning you’ll see what we’re doing today. I’ll begin with basic information about Exodus, and then finish by looking at the first passage of Exodus, 1:1-7 which shows us more about this grand book we’re beginning today.
The Basics of Exodus
The Title
Many just assume the title of this second book in the Bible is Exodus, and it is, but it’s not quite that simple. In the original Hebrew the title of this book is just the first few words of the book, Va’ Elleh Sem “וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת” or in English, “And these are the names…” This begs the question, where did the name Exodus come from? Answer: it came from the Greek translation of this book.[1] The Greek word for departure is exodos, so they chose this word as the title to highlight the plot and storyline of the book, Israel’s departure from Egypt.
The Author
Simply put, we believe Moses wrote Exodus.[2] There are a few reasons we believe this. First, all throughout Genesis-Deuteronomy we find it’s Moses in view. Moses being with God, Moses being told to write down what God told him, and Moses instructing the people of God. So we believe that to be the case, that what God told him to write down is what we have here in these first five books. Second, the rest of the OT believes Moses wrote these first five books. Every OT author after Moses points back to Law of God given through Moses as the rule and guide for all of life. And fourteen other OT authors refer to Moses by name and what he wrote down, and how Israel as a nation should turn back to his writing. Third, almost every NT author refers to Moses and what he wrote, with Jesus Himself being the primary example of this. Lastly, a case from history. That Moses wrote Genesis-Deuteronomy was a given until the dawn of the enlightenment when all sorts of things longed believed started to be doubted. All and all, we believe Moses is the author of Exodus.
The Structure
The book of Exodus is big, containing 40 chapters. Throughout these chapters we see many familiar and important events like the revelation of God’s name at the burning bush, the plagues God sends to Egypt along with the signs and wonders accompanying, the Exodus itself, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, the parting of the Red Sea, the manna from heaven, the giving of the Law, the golden calf, Moses’ shining face, and the creation of the Tabernacle. There is certainly much to see here.
But these 40 chapters contains two large sections, that are easy to spot. Exodus 1-18 presents God’s gracious redemption in Israel’s rescue out of Egypt. And Exodus 19-40 presents God’s gracious covenant with Israel at Sinai. These two large sections really do contain to two main events in this book as a whole: the Exodus and the giving of the Law.
The View of God
The book of Exodus is foundational for creating a proper view of God. What I mean when I say that is that the book of Exodus shows us foundational realities about who God is and what knowing and obeying God looks like. In all that happens throughout this book, “…we discover that the real hero of Exodus is God….so to read this book is to encounter God”[3] as a God who reveals Himself to His people. There are many moments to choose from where this is clearly displayed. First of all we see this in chapter 3 at the burning bush, that God is the I AM, that He has aseity, that He is fully and gloriously independent, that He doesn’t have to reveal Himself to us, but He does, and as He reveals Himself we learn about Him. About His nature and about His character.
We see God reveal Himself in the plagues He brings against Egypt. Not merely that He is attacking Pharaoh in these plagues trying to get him to let Israel go. But that in each of the plagues God is contending with and crushing the gods of Egypt, showing all how He is far greater, far truer, and far stronger than all that the Egyptians place their hope in.
We see God reveal Himself in His Law that He gives to Israel at Mt. Sinai. His character shines forth from His Law in wondrous ways, such that we see in the Law what God has done to save His people and give them an identity, what God values, what God desires, how God is pleased, and how God graciously orders the chaotic lives of all His people.
One last example, we see God reveal Himself in the lofty statement about Himself in chapter 34, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Simply put, in Exodus we learn that God is a God who reveals Himself to His people. This is good news for us. That God would be so kind to continue to shape and refine our view of Him, is a gift of grace. That is why I say the book of Exodus does much to create a proper view of God.
The Purpose
When we look into the purpose of a book, what we’re really asking is why was this book written? Asking that question of Exodus gives us two answers.
The first purpose of Exodus is to tell the story of Israel’s salvation and rescue from slavery in Egypt. This is the immediate context. In this immediate context we’ll see many things and learn many lessons. We’ll see Israel in despair, in agony, and in suffering, crying out to God for rescue. In these moments we’ll learn much about what to do in our own despair, agony, and suffering, and how we ought to cry out to God as well. We’ll also see Israel sin, grumble, and complain about their circumstances and trials again and again. In these moments we’ll see much of our own sin, grumbling, and complaining. We’ll see Israel’s enemies come against them, and in these moments we’ll learn much about how the world often comes against us. We’ll see Moses lead Israel, sometimes out of joy and other times out of anguish and anger at other times. In Moses we’ll see much of ourselves too, as well as what life is like as a leader of God’s people. All this and more, is given to us in the immediate context.
Second, there is another purpose of Exodus. There’s the immediate context of the book, we’ve already seen that, but we cannot stop with that. We look at Exodus to see the immediate context, yes, but when we look through Exodus at the rest of the Bible and we see the Christological context of the book. What I mean is this. Exodus gives us a preview of the gospel. As sinful and enslaved Israel is saved by God from Pharaoh only to plunder Egypt as they walk out in freedom, we see a great foreshadowing of our greater redemption. Our redemption is from a greater slavery in sin, from a greater Pharaoh in the Devil, and our redemption leads to a greater freedom in the defeat of all evil.
We must embrace both of these contexts of Exodus. The immediate context shows us much about this moment in Israel’s history, while the Christological context shows us much about what this moment means in the whole story of the Bible. To focus only on the immediate context would be neglecting the whole Bible context, and to focus only on the Christological context would be neglecting the OT context. So we must see both.
Know this. The Bible is a big book, and it is about a lot of things. But there is a central plotline. The big idea in all of Scripture is not that the cosmos is going to be renewed (though it will) or that God must be obeyed (though He should). The big idea in all Scripture is not that the Bible contains mysteries to be explored or a journey to be experienced. The central plotline in Scripture is about how God glorifies Himself in sinners being saved. Thus, salvation is the central theme of our reading of the Bible, preaching of the Bible, and the mission of the Church.[4]
That is where I’ll end our introductory matters for Exodus. If you’d like more than what I’ve given you here, come and ask me, I can give you certainly a lot more to explore the book of Exodus. For now see our second heading today…
The Beginning of Exodus
Now we begin the text. Follow along as I read Exodus 1:1-7.
“These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.”
There are two big ideas to see in these verses. The first is that the story continues on. This initial passage here serves as a bridge between Genesis and Exodus, reminding us that the story God began in Genesis is still developing in Exodus. So v1-7 connects the two books, reminding us of what has been, while also bringing us up to speed with the current moment. Specifically, while Genesis ended with an extended look at Joseph and his brothers and how they got to Egypt…now we learn it’s longer just the sons of Abraham in view, but a strong a numerous people.[5] In other words, what we’re being told here is that the story no longer is just about a family, but about a nation.[6]
The second big idea to see in these verses is the immense growth of the Hebrew people. This really stands out in v7. “But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.” All the main words and verbs in v7 bring us back to the early chapters of Genesis. To Genesis 1:28 where God blesses Adam and Eve, and instructs them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Note that in Genesis this was a command, and that here in Exodus we find these same words not as a command but as a description of what was happening. This means the Hebrews were being faithful to God, doing what they were supposed to be doing.
But not only so. Yes they were being obedient to God’s original call, but this highlights more than just their obedience, it highlights God’s faithfulness to His promises made to Abraham. Moses desires we see more than a hint of miraculous growth, he wants us to recall a promise![7] In Gen. 1 Adam received the command to be fruitful and multiply. In Gen. 9 Noah received the command as well. But in Gen. 12-17 Abraham receives, not a command but a promise…that God would multiply his descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore. v7 shows us that God has kept this promise. Even though it was centuries later the family of Abraham has become a vast people.
What a lesson there is for us in this, Church. God made a promise and kept His promise, yes. But it was years and years and years before His faithfulness was evident and visible. Lesson? God has made us many promises in the gospel. The gospel itself is a promise of a coming redeemer to crush the snake and save us from our sins. He made this promise long ago in the Garden and has kept in Christ the Son. In Christ, God has now made more promises to us. To keep us, grow us, sanctify us, be with us, and one day return for us. Though the cruelness and severity of life can truly make it seem like God is distant, or does not care, or has abandoned us, we must remember v7. God might seem slow to keep His promises, but He always does. Thus, we can always trust Him.
Conclusion:
So what have we seen today? We’ve seen that Exodus is not a self-contained story on its own but is the continuation of the story that began in the beginning of the book of Genesis.[8] And now it’s a story God is moving into its next chapter.
And yet, as we’ve said, Exodus shows us much about the gospel. So much that Luke picks up the very word exodus itself to describe the work Jesus came to do. In his own description of the transfiguration, Luke says this in 9:30-31, “And behold, two men were talking with Him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” Did you hear it? When Luke wants to describe the work of Jesus in dying for, rising for, and redeeming sinners…the word Luke uses is exodus! So in the book of Exodus as we see God rescue Israel, we get a preview of the work of Christ.
But there is even more of Christ to see in Exodus. There is one verse that just might change our whole view of the Exodus event. In the small letter of Jude, near the end of the NT, he refers to the Exodus in v5 and speaks of “Jesus who saved a people out of Egypt.” So in Exodus we not only get a preview of the work of Christ, according to Jude 5 the Exodus itself is the work of Christ!
All in all, Church, we live in a culture that often forgets its history. Why should we care about a 3,000-year-old book about a bunch of slaves being rescued? Because the God of Exodus is still writing stories of rescue today, with you and with me.
We aren’t in bondage to Pharaoh, but all of us are oppressed by sins of all kinds. Exodus tells us: God is a God who saves, rescues, and brings chaos into beauty. Exodus invites us to rediscover not only ourselves as sinners, but God as Savior, the One who moves heaven and earth to rescue His people. So as we journey through Exodus, let’s expect God to move in power, expect Him to speak, expect Him to work in marvelous ways.
Prayer:
Lord, bless our time in Exodus, beyond what we can ask or imagine, we pray in Jesus name, amen.
[1] Matthew R. Newkirk, Exodus – A 12 Week Study (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015) 7.
[2] John D. Currid, Genesis 1:1-25:18 - EP Study Commentary (Holywell, UK: Evangelical Press, 2015) 28–31.
[3] Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory – Preaching the Word Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015) 20.
[4] Kevin DeYoung, Daily Doctrine (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024) 236.
[5] Currid, 35.
[6] Currid, 38.
[7] John I. Durham, Exodus - WBC (Waco TX: Word Books, 1987) 5.
[8] Brevard S. Childs, The Book of Exodus (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004) 2.
