📖 EXODUS - Shemot -
Author: Attributed to Moses *
* In Exodus 34:27, God tells Moses,
“Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
Date - Mid 1400s BC, give or take...
💪The HERO: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
😈 The Villain: Pharaoh - (stubbornness level: 10/10)
⭐ Summary ⭐
The Passover Lamb (Ex. 12):
The Red Sea Crossing (Ex. 14):
The Golden Calf (Ex. 32):
Exodus has action and adventure; you’d think someone would have made a movie about it by now. 😉 and yes, I know about the movie The Ten Commandments. I was trying to make a joke.
Moses, chosen by God, begins an incredible journey that leads him to Mount Sinai, where he receives God’s law. Along the way, God establishes an everlasting covenant: they would be His people, and He would be their God.
This story includes a dramatic escape from Egypt, the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, and even a heartbreaking moment when the people turn to worship a golden calf. It’s a powerful story of faith, failure, and resilience.
As Genesis closes, the Israelites are thriving in Egypt, having settled there through Joseph - Abraham’s great-grandson, who rose from slavery to become second-in-command (see Genesis 37:12–36). But after Joseph’s death, a new Pharaoh rises who sees the Israelites as a major threat and enslaves them.
God hears their cries and remembers His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He raises up Moses as their deliverer.
Moses is such an intriguing figure. To understand his story more fully, take a moment to read about his early life in Exodus 2:1–23.
There’s intense drama between Moses and Pharaoh as Moses repeatedly demands, “Let my people go.” (Exodus 8–11). What follows are the ten plagues, each one displaying God’s power:
✔ Water turned to blood
✔ Frogs covering the land
✔ Gnats from the dust
✔ Swarms of flies
✔ Death of livestock
✔ Painful boils
✔ Devastating hail
✔ Locusts consuming crops
✔ Darkness for three days
✔ Death of the firstborn*
*After the last plague, Pharaoh’s firstborn son sadly passes away, and this finally convinces Pharaoh to let the people go, marking the beginning of the Exodus! But not long after, he changes his mind and decides to chase after them. In an incredible moment, God performs a breathtaking miracle, parting the Red Sea and allowing the people to escape safely.
What a journey. From freedom to fear, the people quickly forget, turning to a golden calf when Moses delays on the mountain. Not cool! Yet God remains faithful, and the Israelites begin a long, often difficult journey through the wilderness.
🌿 Why the Wilderness Matters
The trip from Egypt to the Promised Land should have taken about eleven days, but it lasted forty years.
Why?
Unbelief. Fear. Disobedience.
Yet through it all, God never left them. He provided manna from heaven, quail for food, water from a rock, and even their Birkinstocks lasted for 40 years without wearing out.
Every.
Single.
Day.
In many ways, the wilderness mirrors our own walk with God. Sometimes the journey feels longer and harder than expected. We struggle, doubt, and complain just like the Israelites.
Still, God remains faithful.
The wilderness is often where He teaches us to trust Him most. As Deuteronomy 8:2 reminds us, God used that time to humble and test His people, revealing what was in their hearts.
His purpose was always the same: to bring them into the land He promised.
💡 What Stands Out to Me
God said to Moses:
“I AM WHO I AM… Say this to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14)
When Jesus speaks in the book of John, He echoes this divine name—something His Jewish audience would have immediately recognized:
John 8:58 — “Before Abraham was born, I am!”
John 6:48 — I AM the Bread of Life
John 8:12 — I AM the Light of the World
John 10:11 — I AM the Good Shepherd
John 11:25 — I AM the Resurrection and the Life
John 14:6 — I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life
John 15:5 — I AM the Vine
What Exodus Teaches Us About God
Exodus reveals a God who hears, remembers, rescues, and leads.
“God heard their groaning and remembered His covenant…” (Exodus 2:24)
He had not forgotten them, not for a moment.
Throughout Exodus, we see that God is:
- Faithful to His promises
- Powerful over kings and nations
- Patient with His people
- Holy - setting His people apart
- Present, led by cloud and fire
Isn't it lovely that He wants to be close to us? That's the beautiful purpose of the Tabernacle!
Key takeaway: It’s not about how great the leader is, but how faithful the Promise-Keeper is.
✝️ How It Points to Christ
God established the Passover as a lasting remembrance, marked by the blood of a lamb.
But Exodus doesn’t just tell a story; it points forward.
From “I AM” to the Passover lamb, the thread of redemption is already being woven.
Just as God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, Jesus rescues us from slavery to sin and death.
Just for Fun 😁
After the exodus through the Red Sea, Moses's staff could no longer perform miracles, and yet he kept it beside him the rest of his life...
My Exodus Rating gets a perfect 10.
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I like your 'book review' approach.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteUh, The Ten Commandments was a movie about the Exodus, Moses, etc., in 1956! It is a thrilling story. I'd love to watch the movie again. I do love to read the book in the Bible too...it's all about God's love for His people in spite of their disobedience. He still loves His people Israel today, and all of us who are His children as well. Great post. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYes, Pamela I was making a joke which didn't land. Oh well. We watch the Ten Commandments every Passover.
DeleteI thought your little emoji looked like it was "winking", but I wasn't exactly sure. I figured you knew about the movie, even if you are a little younger than I am! LOL. I honestly can't read Exodus without picturing Charlton Heston as Moses! It was a great teaching/learning experience for a very young child when I first saw it, and it stuck with me all these years! Where do you see the movie every Passover? Is it on YouTube? Or do you know where I can find it? I would love to watch it again.
DeleteThanks for this succinct and informative summation of Exodus, Debby! I do so love reading the OT and discovering again how so many elements point to the coming of Jesus. And we often do learn the most from God when we struggle in that wilderness of our own making. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteI'm using Homiletics to shrink it all all without shrinking the key points.
DeleteExodus 14:14 has been sound instruction and a huge comfort to me for the last 6 months or so, "The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent."
ReplyDeleteThe cartoon is so cute! This was a ton of work; you are such a dedicated and effective teacher!
ReplyDeleteI love Exodus, and there are some very interesting and special moments that go along with the story. There is a movie about Exodus with Christian Bale. I think I've seen in a dozen times. Not sure if you're familiar with it, but it's out there. You do so much research in these reviews, wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI love the book of Exodus, heck pretty much the whole Bible truth be told. Action, love, mercy, you name it the book of Exodus has it.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Loved this, do more!
ReplyDeleteThis was wonderful, Debby! Yes, please do more.
ReplyDeleteThis is really awesome the way you have written the "Book Review". It says it all.
ReplyDeleteWhen 2 women and myself went to Uzbekistan for 2 weeks to put on a VBS for the underground missionary kids while the adults had their "retreat" we did the story of Moses. It was an acceptable thing to talk about since it was old testament prophets and "stories". (since we were in the Muslim world) The kids loved the stories and all the plays and crafts we did with them. Being a missionary child in that world was a lonely place to be and they loved being with the middle schoolers from all over the area. We were blessed and had such a rare experience, especially being women in that "world". I may have to do a blog post about the adventures again sometime.
Sue
This is yet another wonderful review. Well-written and instructive. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I AGREE, with all the comments, and when I saw the man in the tub I saw that movie scene that is forever in my mind of the waters parting. back then the movies stuck to what the Bible says now they make up things that I wonder where they come from.
ReplyDelete