Remembering that the laws were situated in a narrative framework, the narrative continues with the story of the ordination setting apart Aaron and his sons as priests. But these three chapters are set apart because while the rest of Leviticus has a narrative framework it is mostly legal material whereas these chapters are mostly narrative. As Wenham says, "The history provides a setting for the laws, not vice versa" (129).

Lev 8 spells out in more detail what Exodus ended saying shall happen (Exo 40:12-16). Those verses in Exodus lay out the parts of the ordination service that set apart Aaron and his sons as priests. There is a ceremonial washing element, they receive the priestly garments resembling the tabernacle (as Meredith Kline notes), and they are anointed with oil. Tremper Longman argues that it is possible that the narrative may not be in chronological order because Exodus 19:22-24 mentions priests (123). But such harmonization seems unnecessary since the author wanted it to be clear that no one in this kingdom of priests (Exo 19:6) would be permitted. Priests and people in Exo 19:24 then is simply two parts for the whole nation appropriate in the context like heavens and earth are two parts for the whole of creation.

The English chapter and verse numberings of Lev 8-10 are helpful to see the three-fold structure of this section. The sacrifices of Lev 1-3 also followed a three-fold arrangement. In Lev 8-10 the narrative approach can be seen by looking at key words and the order of events. In this approach to writing, not everything shows up in each panel. Take for example, chapter 8 begins "YHWH spoke to Moses" (Lev 8:1) and chapter 9 begins "Moses called Aaron" (Lev 9:1) but chapter ten is missing this element (and thus the problem that unfolds). It is not an accident that the verb in Lev 9:1 is "called" given this text is about ministry as priests. You can see a table of these chapters compared to each other in Wenham (133) and I have made a table based on it that you can download here.

Book One of Genesis also had a three-fold arrangement, ordination is a new creation event taking seven days (Lev 8), this time Aaron does not recapitulate the fall (Lev 9), but his two disobedient sons go the way of Cain (Lev 10). On day 8, Aaron's sacrifices are accepted (Lev 9) but the following chapter (10) shows us the rejection of his sons' offerings. Adam was the priest of the garden of Eden until driven out and Lev 10 even thematically resembles Gen 4 because Cain's offerings were rejected.

Wenham notes that there is a chiastic arrangement in chapter eight as to the commandments and their fulfillment. The first command was about Aaron's clothes (Lev 8:2) and the second about assembling the people (Lev 8:3), but the fulfillment sees the congregation assembled (Lev 8:4-5) before Aaron's clothes (Lev 8:6-9). I have mentioned before that Aaron's clothes are important because they represent the glory of the image of God (parallel to Moses having a shining face). So here again we have a creation allusion and thankfully Aaron does not lose the renewed image (Lev 10:6).

As in Exodus, Moses stands in for God. When Moses is satisfied you assume that God is too (Lev 10:20, which uses a verb meaning 'to be good'), when Moses speaks it is the word of God (even when not explicitly said, cf. Lev 10:4, 6-7 as Wenham notes). And Moses acts as the priest until the ordination of Aaron and his sons is complete, while Aaron and his sons perform the role of the common worshiper. We should never overlook that the priests in this system were themselves needing forgiveness.

Then the death of two of Aaron's sons near the end of this narrative is yet another reminder (after the Exodus golden-calf incident) that the priests needed to follow God's worship regulations precisely. This is a theme we have highlighted repeatedly. In particular, the common phrase "as YHWH commanded Moses" is very prevalent in these chapters. Wenham mentions that chapter 8 closely quotes Exo 29 in order to stress their strict obedience to the commandments. Chapter 9 paraphrases Lev 1-7. The problem opening chapter 10 is that two of Aaron's sons did something that was not commanded by God (Lev 10:1), but later in the chapter the participants do precisely what is right. This is further demonstration of the regulative principle of worship (as it has come to be known in Reformed theology). The regulative principle is that we not only forbid in worship what Scripture forbids but the only elements allowed in worship are commanded in Scripture.

We can see then how Moses points to Jesus Christ. Moses is the mediator who acts as priest until the priests are ordained. Jesus is the prophet greater than Moses who continues to ordain leaders in His church and He is a priest forever and is interceding on our behalf in the heavenly tabernacle. Jesus is the prophet like Moses whose words are the very word of God. Jesus is the priest greater than the priesthood of Aaron and his sons. Jesus is the very glory-image of the invisible God and He is the way to worship God. Jesus, the God-man, is the mediator that Moses and the priesthood foreshadowed between God and people. The main difference is that Jesus is without sin and the sacrifice of His death is once-for-all.

It is no accident that ordination services today remember our baptisms (a ceremonial washing), often include the giving of symbols of ministry (often garment related), and laying on of hands (something we have seen with the sacrifices in Leviticus). Today we have the priesthood of all believers (as well as the prophethood of all believers) but Christ still sets some apart by ordination to serve in particular ways, especially to regulate worship according to the word of God and to teach the word of God.

Labels: Aaron, Aaron's robe, exodus, Genesis, image of God, leviticus, moses, ordination, priest, priesthood of all believers, sacrifice

In preparing this post I am selectively looking at commentaries by Gordon Wenham (1979) NICOT and S.H. Kellogg (1891). I would also recommend Tremper Longman III's Immanuel in Our Place: Seeing Christ in Israel's Worship in The Gospel according to the Old Testament series and Vern Poythress' The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses.

Of the Old Testament Gospels, Leviticus is the most neglected book. The Torah are Old Testament Gospels and give us at least two different perspectives on the teaching ministry of Moses (Gen-Num compared to Deuteronomy, which means 'second law') just as the NT gives us four perspectives on the teaching ministry of Jesus. We have seen that the structure of the Pentateuch follows a narrative, poetry, epilogue pattern. Genesis does this. Exodus through Numbers, read together, do this. And Deuteronomy follows this pattern (with an additional poem and epilogue telling us about the death of Moses). But the point for Leviticus is that these laws are part of the narrative begun in Exodus and finished in Numbers (where a poem and epilogue follow). Therefore, the laws of Leviticus are set within a narrative framework.

Specifically, the narrative continues the story of Exodus because at the end of Exodus (Exo 40:34-38) we are told that the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of YHWH filled the tabernacle. Lev 1:1 begins with the same setting saying, YHWH called Moses from the tent of meeting. It is important that the word is "called" rather than "said" or something similar. The book is about the calling of Israel to be set apart as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exo 19:6). And the laws set forth in the book set Israel apart as different from the world so that they might fulfill their calling to reach the world.

It is also worth noting that the order of the priest's section in Lev 6-7 (in the Hebrew verse numbering, in English Bibles this begins with Lev 6:8) reflects the order of the offerings done in Exo 29. Moreover, Lev 1-5 was revealed in the tabernacle, Exo 29 and Lev 6-7 are revealed on Sinai. We will see that Lev 1-5 is arranged theologically and thematically, but Lev 6-7 is arranged by order of frequency. In any case, the whole of Lev 1-7 continues to show us that God is very concerned with the way we worship and we know that the way is ultimately Jesus Christ who fulfills these sacrifices and is our priest.

I think that the reason reading Leviticus is so difficult is that we do not try to outline it. Lev 1-7 is about sacrifice laws with Lev 1-5 (Eng. 6:7) giving instructions for common worshipers and Lev 6-7 (Eng 6:8ff) giving instructions for the priests. Using English verse numbers: the order of the offerings in Lev 1-6:7 is the burnt offering (1), the cereal offering (2), the peace offering (3), the purification offering (4:1-5:13), and the reparation offering (5:14-6:7). The order of the offerings in the instructions for the priests is the burnt offering (Lev 6:8-13), the cereal offering (Lev 6:14-18), the priest's cereal offering (Lev 6:19-23), the purification offering (Lev 6:24-30), the reparation offering (Lev 7:1-10), and the peace offering (Lev 7:11-36). This is followed in Wenham's outline, which this paragraph borrows, by two verses of summary (Lev 7:37-38). The order of the priest's instructions is by frequency performed with the peace offering last because it was an optional sacrifice done least often.

Looking at the common worshiper's instructions, it also makes sense to begin with the burnt offering because it was the most common offering, even if it was not first when you are doing more than one kind of offering. For example, you would do a purification offering before the burnt offering (Lev 9). It appears that the order of these offerings is to make them easier to learn/teach and it keeps Moses from being too repetitive because earlier portions are assumed later. The cereal and peace offerings were also food offerings with a pleasing aroma to YHWH, which is why these three are next to each other.

In the first chapter, after two introductory verses, each section on the burnt offering ends "a food offering with a pleasing aroma to YHWH" (Lev 1:9, 13, 17): the first section (Lev 1:3-9) deals with burnt offerings of cattle, the second (Lev 1:10-13) with burnt offerings of sheep or goats and the third section (Lev 1:14-17) with burnt offerings of birds. Cattle are more valuable than sheep or goats, and those herd animals more than birds. This is the reason for the order. For the sake of brevity, the second and third situations assume material included in the first (the longest description).

Burnt offerings had been offered at key times already in the Torah including right after the flood and the Ram instead of Isaac. And Jesus' death, as the new Isaac, was likened to the burnt offering (Eph 5:2, 1 Pet 1:18-19), though once for all (Heb 7:27). All of these offerings under the laity section are those brought by the people. For the burnt offering of cattle or sheep or goats the text required a male without blemish. The laying on of hands (Lev 1:4) conveyed a transfer from the worshipper to that animal being sacrificed. And the burnt offering "shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him" (Lev 1:4). The offering up of the one with whom the Father was "well pleased" was thus the fulfillment of the burnt offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD (Lev 1:9, 13, 17).

The second chapter of Leviticus covers the grain offerings. The first two sections end saying that the priest shall burn some of the food offering as its memorial portion on the altar, "a food offering with a pleasing aroma to YHWH. But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of YHWH's food offerings" (Lev 2:2-3, 9-10). The first section deals with raw grain offerings and the second section with unleavened baked grain offerings. The third section deals with general rules about grain offerings and allows for those that are not for a pleasing aroma to YHWH (Lev 2:12) and other firstfruits grain offerings. The common theme in the third section is that they are firstfruits offerings and the section ends "it is a food offering to YHWH" (Lev 2:16). Usually it would follow the burnt offering. Therefore, the priest having pronounced your sins forgiven you would respond with a cereal offering of the produce of your land. The priests relied on these offerings for food and burned a portion as their offering to God.

The third chapter of Leviticus covers the peace offerings. Here again we have three sections. The first ends "it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to YHWH" (Lev 3:5) and the second ends "a food offering to YHWH" (Lev 3:11) and the third has a longer ending (Lev 3:16-17). The first section covers cattle, the second sheep, and the third goats. Here the offering can be male or female but must still be without blemish. There is again a laying on of hands. Many of the things we said about the burnt offerings apply here, but the peace offering is less important than the burnt offering. One difference not noted here is that the worshiper could enjoy a portion of the offering so that it is a feast for YHWH, the priests, and the worshipers. This is implied because only certain parts of the animal are mentioned for burning on top of the burnt offering. We discover in the priest's section on this offering that it could be for confession, vows, or free-will.

Leviticus 4 and 5, on the purification offering (4:1-5:13) and the reparation offering (5:14-6:7) have a similar structure to each other. Here the value of the animal offered is not important. As Wenham puts it, "Here the most important distinction is between inadvertent sins and sins of omission or deliberate sins. The status of the sinners who bring the offerings is also important" (87). This yields the following table: purification offerings for unintentional sins (Lev 4:1-35), purification offerings for sins of omission (Lev 5:1-13), reparation offerings for unintentional sins (Lev 5:14-19), reparation offerings for intentional sins (Lev 6:1-7). Each section begins, "If anyone sins..." and ends "And the priest shall make atonement for him...and he shall be forgiven...." These sections can be divided further by noting the "if" or in the case of Lev 4:22 "when" clauses. For unintentional sin, blood can be sprinkled in the holy place for the high priest and for the whole congregation, smeared on the main altar for the tribal leader, a worshiper offering a goat, a worshiper offering a lamb. For sins of omission, the offering can be a lamb or goat, birds, or flour. These offerings were less valuable and done less often than the burnt offering. Nevertheless, these offerings show us (1) the problem of unintentional sin, (2) that our sin (intentional or not) makes it impossible for God to be with us without confession of sin, restitution where appropriate (the NT gospels give examples), and a sacrifice, and (3) that the sins of leaders are more serious than the rest of the congregation.

Some notes on the priest's instructions: the fire that they needed to keep going for the burnt offerings (Lev 6:13) was lit by God from heaven (Lev 9:24, cf. 2 Chronicles 7:1); these instructions are detailed as to what portions the priest could eat, if any, and what portions they tithed to God; detailed about how long they had to eat it; and most of this section (by contrast to Lev 1-6:7) is to be spoken to Aaron and his sons except the two asides about the peace offerings starting with Lev 7:22 and 7:28. Remember that portions of the peace offerings could be eaten by the common worshiper bringing it.

Kellogg reflects,

Of what use can the book of Leviticus be to believers now? We answer, first, that it is to us, just as much as to ancient Israel, a revelation of the character of God. It is even a clearer revelation of God's character to us than to them ; for Christ has come as the Fulfiller, and thus the Interpreter, of the law. And God has not changed. He is still exactly what He was when He called to Moses out of the tent of meeting or spoke to him at Mount Sinai. He is just as holy as then ; just as intolerant of sin as then ; just as merciful to the penitent sinner who presents in faith the appointed blood of atonement, as He was then (24-25).

Labels: burnt offering, cereal offering, exodus, gospel genre, grain offering, law, leviticus, peace offering, priest, purification offering, reparation offering, sacrifice

The Second Commandment is the focus of the ark, tabernacle, golden calf, tabernacle ark narrative in Exodus. Note the chiasm puts the text on the golden calf (Exo 32-34) at the center, which is why we are addressing it separately for emphasis. That the building of the tabernacle and ark begins after this false worship is a demonstration of God's grace and mercy. These central chapters tell us of Israel's rebellion against the authority of God, the mediation of Moses for the people, and the restoration of the people.

The Heidelberg Catechism says regarding the second commandment: "That we should not represent him or worship him in any other manner than he has commanded in his word" (96). All of our confessions that address the second commandment agree (cf. the Scots Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Second Helvetic Confession, and the Westminster Standards). Making such images and worshiping using those images are the two things addressed by the commandment. This reflects the wording of the second commandment (as numbered by Reformed theologians): "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not worship [bow down to] them or serve them" (Exo 20:4-5, NASB).

Keep in mind that this is a summary of a whole category of sins. The underlying issue is whether Israel will worship God the way that He has revealed. And ultimately this points us to Jesus, whom we worship, as the revealed image of God. This is only possible because humanity was made in the image of God -- this is why Jesus could be fully human and fully divine. Nevertheless, the first has more to do with whom we worship and the second with the way we worship. And Jesus is the way.

The people of Israel represented God with a golden calf and worshiped God using that calf. While this distinction may not apply to the masses, the more sophisticated among them might argue (keeping with the culture of the Ancient Near East (ANE)) that the golden calf was not meant to be God but a footstool or throne for God. In other words, God rides the golden calf. Even so, making the golden calf was a sinful act breaking the second commandment. And this was compounded when they used the golden calf in worship. This is a recurring sin in Israel. For example, see the Gideon narrative (Judges 8:22-27). In both situations the people were not attempting to worship a false god. They were attempting to worship the true God in a way he had not revealed.

Translations communicate the serious failure in their effort to worship the true God by calling what they worship "gods" (Exo 32:1, 4, 8, 23, and 31). The word "gods" and the word "God" in the Hebrew are the exact same form. We translate this gods, even though there is only one calf, because of the plural form of other words in the Hebrew clause. However, it is safe to say that the people think they are worshiping YHWH just using this calf instead of waiting for the ark that has not yet been built. Aaron even says, "Tomorrow will be a feast to YHWH" (Exo 32:5). The God who brought them up out of the land of Egypt (Exo 32:4) is now being represented with this calf. In fact, this allusion to the prologue of the Ten Commandments (Exo 20:2) shows us that they are starting their own religion.

It is helpful to compare and contrast true and false religion in Exodus. Instead of the ark, in Exo 32 we have the golden calf. Both were made of gold and both were designed to be the footstool or throne of YHWH God. The difference is that God revealed the pattern for the construction of the ark, whereas the golden calf was man's religion. Instead of the festival to YHWH (Exo 10:9, 12:14, 13:6) the people would be doing after the Exodus event (that is, Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread and also in contrast to the meal with the elders on Mount Sinai), there is a new festival to YHWH initiated by Aaron. Both true and false worship in Exodus shared the same high priest. But when it is true worship Aaron would do what God has revealed, when it is false worship Aaron would act on his own. Instead of the Song of Moses and Miriam there is new singing. In many respects the festival is a parody of the victory celebration after the Exodus event. But the most fundamental difference is the law. Both have the prologue to the Ten Commandments (Exo 20:2, 32:4) but the false religion does not have the commandments. Thus Moses breaks the tablets of the Ten Commandments as a prophetic statement that they are not worthy to have them.

Note that when talking with Moses, God calls the people of Israel "your people" (cf. Exo 32:7). This is similar to Ezekiel 33 (see the sermon blog). And God proposes to make Moses a new Abraham by starting over with Moses (Exo 32:10). But Moses, as a prophet, intercedes for the people by reminding God of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (an interesting choice since usually Scripture says, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) (Exo 32:13) and by reminding God that they are not only Moses' people but they are "your people" (Exo 32:11ff). The reminder refers also to the reputation/name of YHWH (Exo 32:12). And God relented -- He changed His mind. Prayer changes things. Moses is finally excelling as a mediator, but still shows us our need for Jesus who is the perfect mediator.

And Moses comes down and gets Joshua, who is unaware of what is going on in the camp, and they went into the camp and destroyed the idol and made the people of Israel drink the powder left over from it. Moses confronted Aaron about it. Aaron had been confronted by an angry mob to begin the chapter (Exo 32:1) and now he appeals to that (Exo 32:21ff). His answer about throwing the gold into the fire and out came the golden calf directly contradicts what the text earlier said Aaron did (Exo 32: 4, 24). But nonetheless the Levites were the only ones who sided with Moses and YHWH (Exo 32:26) and slaughtered three thousand of the men of Israel.

And Moses went back up on the mountain and continued his intercession even wishing to be blotted out of the book of life in their place (Exo 32:32ff). And YHWH sent a plague on the people (Exo 32:35). Exodus 33 continues the intercession. The issue is whether Israel would be heaven on earth -- whether God be in their midst (see the previous post). The problem is that God is holy and would consume His people for their sins. But Moses insists that God must go with His people.

The restoration of Israel as the kingdom of priests and a holy nation then begins. Moses gets to see the glory of God (Exo 33:22). Moses gets another two tablets of the Ten Commandments. The covenant is renewed. A couple observations: note Exo 34:17 on the Second Commandment (only mentioning that they "shall not make" and not the other half "shall not worship") and the next verse mentions the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exo 34:18) and another mentions the Feast of Weeks (Exo 34:22). He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words (Exo 34:28). Here again we see the forty days and nights. The point in all of this is to say that things are back on track in contrast with the golden calf worship episode. And Moses' face shined (Exo 34:29ff). This is part of the image-glory of God. He is being renewed in the image of God (the theme of the image of God therefore covers the entire section of Exo 32-34). Paul would refer to this in 2 Cor 3:7-18.

Thus together with the section we looked at last time we come to the end of Exodus, but structurally we have not yet come to an end to the book. The laws of Leviticus will continue the narrative from here. We have not yet seen the poetry and epilogue.

Labels: ark, exodus, golden calf, idolatry, tabernacle, ten commandments

The content of chapters 25-31 is essentially the same as 35-40 except the order is chiastic. The instructions are for the ark first and then the tabernacle second. But when they are built the tabernacle is first and the ark is second. In any case, it is incredibly important that 35-40 reflects 25-31 because of what happens in Exo 32-34 -- the Golden Calf episode. We should note in the next post how the Golden Calf contrasts with the tabernacle and ark. But for now the basic point is that this section of Scripture is concerned with the Second Commandment. The Second Commandment forbids worship that is not according to the pattern God has revealed in His word and commands that we worship according to the pattern God has revealed in His word. It is very important that Moses has it built exactly right (Exo 25:8-9).

This sanctuary, one of the reasons it is inappropriate to call the place where you worship a church sanctuary (the people are the church sanctuary), is to be a reflection of the heavenly sanctuary (cf. Heb 8:5). The pattern is very important. God initiated the building project and provided the materials, which came from the plunder of Egypt.

The tabernacle has a three part structure for different levels of holiness. The same pattern can be found back in Exo 24:1-18 when we were looking at Mount Sinai. Sinai and the Tabernacle are earthly replicas of the heavenly sanctuary of God. As things get closer to the ark they are more holy and the materials are more expensive (bronze, to silver, to gold, then to fine gold). Also, fewer and fewer people are permitted to enter as you get closer to the ark: any and all can be outside the camp, inside the camp only ritually clean Israelites can come, in the courtyard the laypeople could come to bring ritually clean animals for sacrifice, in the tabernacle only priest and Levites could come, and the high priest could only enter the holy of holies (a superlative -- the holiest place) once a year on the Day of Atonement. Creation itself is a temple/tabernacle: the earth is the footstool of God's cosmic temple/tabernacle. The three fold division is earth, visible heavens, invisible heaven of heavens (thus we are back to seeing connections with Gen 1).

The tabernacle is God's sanctuary on earth. The ark is His throne (cf. Jer 3:16-17) or the footstool of His throne (1 Chron 28:2). In the ark were the stone tablets of the covenant. It was common in the ancient near east (ANE) to have two copies of a covenant. The copies would be deposited in the temple of the gods of the greater king (the suzerain) and the lesser king (his vassal). Since there is only one God and the covenant is between Him and His people, the two copies of the covenant (the Ten Commandments tablets) are put in the tabernacle. The tabernacle (a tent) is at the center of the camp where ordinarily in the ANE the king would put his tent. Therefore, you are meant to connect the role of the Tabernacle with God's rule as King over Israel. It is a picture of heaven on earth -- the world as it should be -- God with us.

The creation of the tabernacle is therefore a re-creation event -- a new creation event. The Spirit is involved in both as creation in Gen 1 is the work of the Spirit of God (Gen 1:2) and those who work on the tabernacle are given the Spirit (Exo 35:31). Also the phrase "YHWH said to Moses" occurs seven times during the instructions (the first six: Exo 25:1, 30:11, 17, 22, 34, 31:1), the last time (Exo 31:12) introducing the instructions for the Sabbath. Moreover, (cf. Exo 39:32, 43) when the work is finished, Moses blesses the people and he inspects the work like God does when God declares the creation good (Exo 39:43). And the tabernacle is set up "on the first day of the first month in the second year" (Exo 40:17, NIV). Remember the first month was changed to reflect the Exodus event (Exo 12:2).

The first microcosmic picture of heaven on earth we have is the Garden of Eden. We should associate the menorah with Eden as its description resembles a tree. It is on fire, which may also mean to remind us of the burning bush. The references to images of cherubim should remind us that they guard the way to the tree of life in the epilogue of Gen 3. The tabernacle is a microcosm of heaven on earth.

As the tabernacle represented God's presence with his people on earth, the incarnation fulfills this Immanuel (God with us) principle. As John 1:14 should be best translated, "And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we looked at his glory, glory as the only one from the Father, full of grace and truth." And now Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father in the heavenly tabernacle. The OT priests ministered in the earthy shadow and copy of the tabernacle of heaven, but Jesus intercedes for us from the seat of power.

And our bodies are tabernacles for the Spirit. We are being clothed with a heavenly sanctuary (2 Cor 5:1-4). This means that our actions should flow out of our identity as holy ground. Our bodies were originally made to replicate the heavenly tabernacle (being made in the image of God). And we see a hint of this recovery of the image glory when Moses transfigured face shines and from the description of Aaron's robes. (The division of the office of mediator into prophet (Moses) and priest (Aaron) was a division of glory. This office, never meant to be separated, is reunited in Jesus). If you want to explore the significance of Aaron's robe, compare it with the tabernacle and recall those things we said about the tabernacle (there are even seven day patterns).

The book of Exodus is about New Creation. It is a creation where the rule of God (the kingdom of Heaven/God) is reestablished -- heaven on earth -- a creation where God and his people can live in harmony forevermore. This is why the book says so much about the building of the tabernacle.

I have simply retyped and reworded an earlier lecture I gave on this material that is not sourced but the teaching here is a combination of Meredith Kline and Peter Enns.

Labels: Aaron's robe, ark, exodus, Genesis 1, glory, God with us, heaven, image of God, mediator, new creation, sabbath, tabernacle, ten commandments

First and foremost it is important to observe that the giving of the law comes after the Exodus salvation event. Thus under the Old and New Covenants a major reason for the law is to know how to display an attitude of gratitude for salvation. The people are not given the law in order to earn salvation. They were saved by what God did for them. Thus the theme: "You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians" (Exo 19:4). Their response is to obey his law so that they may be used to the end God desires. That is, as a kingdom of priests to intercede for the nations the way that Moses intercedes for Israel (Exo 19:5, cf. 1 Peter 2:4-10). Chapter 19 is the prelude to and preparation for the giving of the Ten Commandments.

The people are being set apart as the treasured possession of God among the nations upon the condition of obedience (Exo 19:5). Here we are to see similarity with the conditional covenant with Abraham (see discussion on Book Six). This is a conditional covenant they ultimately would not keep, but the unconditional covenant with Abraham would continue. Like they would later when ratifying the covenant (i.e. Josh 24:18), the people here (Exo 19:8) and later in this section (Exo 24:3, 7) say that they will do all the words of the LORD.

Note the context of the giving of the Ten Commandments. God is coming down in a thick cloud onto the mountain. The people hear the Ten Commandments from God speaking from heaven. Therefore, the people had to prepare spiritually -- ritually for his coming. Anyone who touches the mountain without authorization from God will die (Exo 19:12). The people stand at the foot of the mountain to meet God and hear the Ten Commandments (Exo 19:17). The sound of the LORD is thunder -- the sound of a huge army. This reminds us of the terror of The Day back in Genesis 3 when God came down on Mount Eden. Only Moses and Aaron are able to go up on the mountain at this point. And God spoke. The people will respond by noting their need for a mediator (Exo 20:19).

And God establishes the covenant -- a treaty with his vassal nation. It follows the normal ancient near eastern treaty format. God introduces himself and gives a historical prologue (Exo 20:2). And then lays out the ten stipulations of the covenant. This is a summary of the law. The Reformed understanding of how to number the commandments highlights idolatry (Exo 20:4-6) as a separate commandment from the first (Exo 20:3). Thus the commandment concerning idolatry deals with how we worship whereas the first commandment concerns who we worship. As a summary of the laws regarding how we worship, this is the most serious example. But it represents all of the regulations of worship in Scripture. This shows why Reformed theology is concerned that we only worship God as He has revealed that He desires to be worshiped in His word. Other traditions have to divide up the commandment on coveting to count to ten and are more open to including man-made traditions in worship. It is significant that there are TEN -- the number of fullness.

These commandments point us back to the salvation from Egypt and to creation. These commandments are a summary of the moral law of the covenant of creation. That the first commandment (Exo 20:3) was in force at the time of creation is beyond dispute. The Westminster Standards note that "before me" (Exo 20:3) means in the presence of the true God. The plagues and Exodus event showed that the LORD was greater than all other gods. The LORD is the God who created the heavens and the earth (Gen 2:4). The second commandment (Exo 20:4-6) points us to creation because humankind is made in the image of God (Gen 1:27). This is why the LORD could come as a person -- Jesus. This is why we are not to make images of God. Note the contrast of generations under curse (three and four) with those showing loyal-love (thousands) (Exo 20:5-6).

I will not demonstrate each commandment in this manner, but know that all of them point us back to creation. The Ten Commandments, as related here in Exodus, does this explicitly with the Sabbath ("for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea..." Exo 20:11). The next commandment points us forward to the Promised Land (Exo 20:12). These are the conditional covenant stipulations for remaining in the land as a kingdom of priests. We have shown elsewhere that the commandment regarding adultery arises from creation. The commandment regarding murder points us to the same issues as the second commandment -- we are made in the image of God.

The Book of the Covenant (Exo 20:22-23:19) follows the Ten Commandments. And the theme is that the people have seen that the LORD spoke to them from heaven (Exo 20:22). Enns notes in his commentary (pp.440-441) that the Book follows a pattern beginning with worship (Exo 20:22-26), then social responsibility (Exo 21:1-22:17), then worship and social responsibility (Exo 22:18-23:19). These laws are not exhaustive but representative of the legal code of Israel. They cover such things as (worship) idols and altars, (social responsibility) slavery, injuring others, injuries from animals, and personal property. And the final section with both alternates worship, social responsibility, worship, social responsibility, worship (note that it begins and ends with worship). Loving God and loving your neighbor are thus shown to be intricately related. The last social responsibility section ends with the law about not oppressing a sojourner because you were sojourners in Egypt (Exo 23:9).

Then the text changes focus to the conquest of the Promised Land (Exo 23:20-33). The primary reason for destroying the people in the land is so that they will not cause Israel to sin and thus keep Israel from being a blessing to the nations. Sending terror before Israel and hornets before Israel are parallel ideas (Exo 23:27-28). These are not literal hornets -- the idea is that the people will stand in dread of invading Israel.

And this section ends with the seventy (ten times seven) elders of Israel hearing the Book of the Covenant and seeing God on the mountain (Exo 24:10) and having a covenant meal together (Exo 24:11). Almost makes one think of Passover as the unconditional covenant meal and this meal on the mountain as the conditional covenant meal. And Moses went up on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments in written form. There is a Sabbath pattern (Exo 24:16) and Moses was on the mountain for a highly significant forty days and forty nights (Exo 24:18). Temptation time.

Labels: book of the covenant, exodus, idolatry, moses, promised land, salvation, ten commandments, thanksgiving, worship

The trip to Sinai starts off with the complaining continuing. We saw the theme of grumbling before the salvation in the Sea of Reeds/Extinction and here we see it again. It is important that it is directed at God and His anointed (Moses) because you will see the same thing happened to His anointed one (Jesus). It all began back when Moses killed the Egyptian and tried to break up a fight amongst the Hebrews. But that grumbling response of the Hebrews was in stark contrast to the reception that Moses had from Jethro's daughters when he saved them (Exodus 2:11-20). In this section we will see Jethro again. This time his reception is in contrast to the grumbling nation of Israel but even more in contrast to the Amalekites. Amalek was the son of Esau's concubine (see our discussion of Genesis 36:12).

The verse after the Song of Miriam mentions that Israel had gone for three days without water in the desert (Exo 15:22). When they finally found water it was bitter (Exo 15:23). So the people grumbled against Moses (Exo 15:24). God turned the bitter water into sweet water. God had Moses throw a log into the water and then the water became sweet (Exo 15:25). This is a picture of the gospel movement from death to life. It is the movement from diseased to healed. The LORD tested them (Exo 15:25). He tells them that if they listen to Him (literally 'listen to the voice of,' which is an idiom for obey) then he will not visit them with the diseases he brought on Egypt (Exo 15:26). Thus if they disobey the plagues will fall upon Israel. This eventually happened and ultimately happened for Christ.

To summarize -- grumbling about water, God tested them.

Then theme of grumbling continues as the word tells us, "And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness" and they accused Moses and Aaron of bringing them into the wilderness to starve when they were full back in Egypt (Exo 16:2-3). They have a selective memory.

And the LORD tested them to see "if they will walk in [His] law or not" with "bread from heaven" (Exo 16:4). On the sixth day they got a double portion but the first five days of the week they would get a day's portion. Since they have accused Moses and Aaron of brining them into the wilderness to starve, Moses tells them that this bread from heaven will show that the LORD brought them out of Egypt and into the wilderness. Moses tells them that they have been grumbling against the LORD. He says, "For what are we, that you grumble against us?" (Exo 16:7). Meat in the evening and bread in the morning will show them that grumbling against Moses and Aaron is really grumbling against the LORD (Exo 16:8). And they got quail in the evening and bread from heaven in the morning. They called the bread from heaven "manna" meaning, "What is it?" because they did not know what it was (Exo 16:15).

The manna was a test because when they tried to keep some left overs they bred worms and stank (Exo 16:20). God was training them to trust Him for their daily bread. And the double portion on the sixth day did keep for the seventh day without going bad so that they could keep Sabbath. It is instructive that they were required to keep Sabbath before the giving of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments was a summary of the law from creation. But that first Sabbath after the Exodus Event they went and tried to gather manna and the LORD said, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?" (Exo 16:28). It is significant that the manna tasted sweet like wafers made with honey because the Promised Land was a land flowing with milk and honey. Thus the manna was a reminder to them of where they were going and of God turning the bitter water sweet. And they kept some manna as a reminder to all generations.

To summarize -- grumbling about food (complaint that they were brought into the wilderness to starve), God tested them.

The next chapter begins with the same grumbling: "the people quarreled with Moses" about water to drink (Exo 17:2). And they again accused him of bringing them into the wilderness to kill them -- this time with thirst. Moses asks them "Why do you test the LORD?" (Exo 17:2). Here Moses brings water from the rock by striking the rock where the LORD was standing.

To summarize -- grumbling about water again (complaint that they were brought into the wilderness to die of thirst), Israel tested God (Exo 17:2 and 17:7).

This is something we see in the gospels as Satan and then the elders and chief priests, etc., all tested Jesus. It is instructive that Moses notes that the people are ready to stone him (Exo 17:4). And because the wilderness wandering began and ended with water coming from a rock (see Numbers) the tradition arose that the rock followed them in the wilderness. Paul tells us, "the Rock was Christ" (1 Cor 10:4). This is not a stretch since we call God our Rock all of the time. Paul says that these examples were written down for us "for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come" (1 Cor 10:11). The lesson is that we should not grumble in our wilderness wandering but know "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13). And this Paul ties into idolatry and the Lord's Supper. We are in the wilderness with one big difference -- we are not under God's wrath (compare Psalm 95 and the quote of Psalm 95:7ff in Hebrews 3:7ff).

The other part of this section shows us the contrast between the Amalekites and Jethro. In Exo 17:8, the Amalekites came and attacked but in Exo 18:5-7 Jethro comes and greets. In both Exo 17:9 and 18:25 men are chosen for a specific task. In Exo 17:12, Moses sits on a stone and in Exo 18:13 he sits to judge. Both activities are said to commence on the next day and last all day until evening (Exo 17:12; 18:13-14). And in both Exo 17:12 and 18:18 Moses is said to be tired, with help provided in each instance. See Enns commentary, 367).

The judgment of the LORD on the Amalekites is a total ban -- "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven" (Exo 17:14). See our comments on Genesis 36:12. Jethro blessed the LORD and showed that he had learned the lesson of the plagues and Exodus event saying, "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods" (Exo 18:11).

At this point Moses had to tell the people the law of God and how it applied to particular situations, he was deciding every case brought before him and Jethro saw that he would get burnt out quickly. So Jethro wisely suggested this: "warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do" and then appoint judges (who "hate a bribe") to decide the easier cases (Exo 18:20-21). This is the climax of the transition to the giving of the law before they arrive at Sinai. The theme of testing Israel has carried the idea throughout this section.

Labels: amalekites, exodus, grumbling, jethro, law, manna, plagues, salvation

The plagues and the Exodus Event demonstrate the omnipotence of the true God over the people, livestock, and gods of Egypt. The LORD says, "For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD" (Exo 12:12). And God establishes a statute or ordinance -- the Passover meal. It will be one of the ordinary means of God's grace and salvation until the Passover lamb is slain on the cross. The Gospel of John even understands the fact that the instruction, "do not break any of the bones" (Exo 12:46) with Psalm 34:20 as the reason Christ did not have any bones broken (cf. John 19:36). It is this Passover lamb, who says, this is my body; this is my blood. Thus the Lord's Supper, derived from the Passover meal, is one of the ordinary means of God's grace and salvation today.

And we have an early example of catechizing children: "And when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the LORD's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses'" (Exo 12:26-27). And concerning the feast of unleavened bread, it says, "You shall tell your son on that day, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt'" (Exo 13:8). This is something that also should continue today as the Lord Christ taught us to teach them to observe everything that he commanded (see Matt 28:20, Great Commission). Baptism being mentioned in the previous verse, what they are to observe especially includes the Lord's Supper. See Flavel's defense of catechizing in my first quotes of Flavel's Exposition of the Assemblies Catechism on this page.

We also see a glimpse of language that will be elaborated in the Shema (Deut 6:4-9) "And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt" (Exo 13:9). The catechizing continues, "And when in time to come your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' you shall say to him, 'By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem'" (Exo 13:14-15). And the next verse continues the Shema-like language (Exo 13:16).

This Exodus account is very much a continuation of the narrative of Genesis and we see this in the comments fulfilling prophecies of Genesis. In particular, Genesis 15:13-16 says that the people will be "in a land that is not theirs and will be servants [we could say slaves] there" 400 years and come out with great possessions. Then we see Israel plunder Egypt (Exo 12:36) and it is noted that they had lived in Egypt for 430 years (Exo 12:40). And, as in Genesis 1:2, the Spirit hovered over them like He did the waters at creation in the form of the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Exo 13:21-22, 14:24). And then we have the parting of the waters by the wind/Spirit to give way to dry land, also just as in Genesis 1:7-9. Israel is born (they even change their calendar to reflect this new creation (Exo 12:2). And thus how beautiful is the description, "Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses" (Exo 14:31).

And then we see the Song of Moses, which then Miriam takes up (the repetition of the first line implying that she led the people in singing the whole song too). She led the song, played the tambourine, and all the women danced. This is an interesting example of a prophetess leading worship and proclaiming the good news of salvation in the LORD. Anything that can be said, can be sung, and vice versa. This song was a type of proclamation -- a sermon in verse. And the lesson, fitting what we have said of the purpose of the plagues and the exodus event, is "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" (Exo 15:11). And the song foreshadows what will come to pass in the days (and unfortunately years) ahead, as it talks of the inhabitants of Canaan having melted away when they heard.

The principle of the firstborn in the exodus event is most critical in understanding how Jesus' death can cover our sins. It is worth saying that faith in God the Father and in his servant the Lord Christ is the Spirit wrought response of the one who is born again and that this application of salvation depends on the accomplishment of salvation in the death and resurrection of Christ as the firstborn of his people. And that given this accomplishment and application of salvation we too should have our tongues loosed (not because we are drunk, but because of the Spirit) to sing many new songs.

Though things end well, it is ominous that right before the Exodus event the people expressed such unbelief and grumbling saying, "It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness" (Exo 14:12). And Moses tells the people, to best translate the verse, to "Shut up" (Exo 14:14). This foreshadows the rest of the story of the Torah, beginning with the verses immediately following this section (Exo 15:22ff). And is in stark contrast to Jesus who remained silent when accused by the chief priests and elders of Israel rather than complaining.

Labels: catechizing, exodus, feast of unleavened bread, Genesis 1, grumbling, Lord's Supper, miriam, moses, new songs, ordinary means of grace, passover, women

What we want to do here is to begin to observe some of the patterns and to see how the plagues point us back to creation (and thus forward to the new creation), point us forward to the final plague and the Exodus event, and also thus point us forward to the work of Jesus Christ who died the curse of the final plague and began the new creation of the new heavens and earth with His resurrection. You can do the work of seeing Jesus in all of this easily. Pete Enns' commentary and class discussion at WTS is the source for most if not all of these observations.

The snake incident shares some of the characteristics of the plagues and thus we will discuss it here, but the first nine plagues are each a series of three plagues. You know that this is intentional because they follow a pattern. In each series of three plagues the first two have a warning beforehand and the third comes without warning. Moreover, the first warning is always in the morning. And the instructions given to Moses and Aaron follow the pattern of "station yourself" for the first in each series, "go to Pharaoh" for the second in each series, and no formula for the one without warning. And it is also worth observing that you will see that these plagues are comprehensive -- frogs from water, gnats from earth, and flies from the air (for example).

Pharoah's magicians can imitate the plagues through the frogs, close to their strength at the Nile, but they cannot undo any of the plagues. Only God has the power to bring order out of chaos, but at least for the early plagues they are able to imitate these reversals of creation. It is also worth saying that God needs no magician to do these things.

The reason for the plagues is that Israel may know that there is no one like the LORD our God (Exo 8:10) and Israel's protection from their effects is so that they may know that He is the LORD in the midst of the earth (Exo 8:22). And they serve the same purpose for the Egyptians -- so that you may know that there is none like Him in all the earth (Exo 9:14). Other ways this is put include: "so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth" (Exo 9:16), "so that you may know that the earth is the LORD's (Exo 9:29), "that you may know that I am the LORD" (Exo 10:2), and this is the same reason laid out for everything in the book: "the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD" (Exo 14:4) and "you shall know that I am the LORD your God" (Exo 16:12), etc. Thus it is no surprise that the plagues will show us the LORD God as the creator God and show Him defeating the Egyptian pantheon.

While the translation quotes in the paragraph above are from the ESV, for the comments below see the NIV and earlier posts.

The snake incident (Exo 7:8-13) uses a different word for snake or serpent here than it did earlier in Exodus (look back at the instructions). The word here is the same word as "sea monster" from Gen 1:21. The snake was the sign of Egyptian royalty (with their cobra headdress). (As defeats of Pharaoh they were defeats of the one who claimed to be the son of a god.) And it points us forward to the Exodus event because the word "to swallow" is found only here and in Exo 15:12 for the sea swallowing Pharaoh's army.

The plague transforming water into blood (Exo 7:14-25) uses a word sometimes translated reservoirs (Exo 7:19, NIV), which is the same Hebrew word translated "collected mass" in Gen 1:10. It is a rare word. The Nile was a personified deity for Egypt with the name Hapi. Thus the first Egyptian deity is shown to be powerless. The first Pharaoh had used the Nile to try to kill the children of God. All of these water episodes point us to when God will divide the waters again and dry land appear in the Exodus event.

The plague of frogs (Exo 8:1-15) uses the word "to swarm" of Gen 1:28. It is a creation reversal because the animals are ruling instead of man. Heqet, the goddess of childbirth, was drawn with the head of a frog. Thus another false god is exposed as powerless, with the frogs coming from the Nile. And that she is the goddess of childbirth is interesting. It points us to the exodus event because it comes from the Nile and leaves behind the smell of death.

The plague of gnats (Exo 8:16-19) has these insects come from the ground like how man came from the dust (Gen 2:7). The gnats are the princes of Egypt rather than Pharaoh (cf. 1 Sam 2:6-8 and 1 Kings 16:1-3). Man as a result of the curse returns to the dust upon death. Thoughts about death point us to the Exodus event result for Egypt.

The plague of flies (Exo 8:20-32) again shows us the creation reversal motif. The land is left destroyed. There is no known reference to the Egyptian pantheon but the word "destroyed" in Exo 8:24 is the same as the destroyer in Exo 12:23, thus pointing us to the final plague and therefore to the Exodus event.

The plague on the livestock (Exo 9:1-7) again reminds us of Genesis 1 since they were created on the same day as humankind and the latter was to rule over them. Hathor, the mother and sky goddess, was depicted as a cow. Death of these livestock points us to the final plague and thus the Exodus event, which also kills animals (Exo 11:5 and 12:29).

The plague of boils (Exo 9:8-12) is an obvious blight on the creation of man. This was an attack on Pharaoh who made them make bricks. The dust causing the boils is from the kiln. The bricks were kiln-baked bricks. This skin disease would disrupt Egyptian religious practices. This is the first plague damaging human life.

The plague of hail (Exo 9:13-35) affects the plant world. A word for vegetation in Exo 9:22 is in Gen 1:11-12. The god Seth showed himself in wind and storm. The god Min was tied to the harvest schedule. Hail is often a sign of divine judgment and it does kill the humans who are outside.

The plague of locusts (Exo 10:1-20) mentions the rest of the vegetation of Genesis 1. It is a polemic against Isis and Min like the last plague. The locusts come by an east wind, just like the wind that will divide the Sea and the locusts drown in the same sea where "not one survived" (Exo 10:19 and 14:28). It is called a deadly plague and causes darkness foreshadowing the next two plagues.

The plague of darkness (Exo 10:21-29) reverses Genesis 1:3. It is a polemic against Re, the sun god. Pharaoh claimed to be the son of the sun god. Darkness is symbolic of death in Scripture (i.e. Job 17:13, Psa 143:3).

There are ten plagues, thus the tenth plague is the fullness of the plagues. Many of the first nine plagues foreshadowed it. It reverses the creation of man by bringing their death. It is a defeat of the Egyptian god of the dead Osiris. It destroyed the firstborn cattle too. Cattle were venerated in Egyptian religion. Since this is a plague on the firstborn it represents what will happen to all of the Egyptian men who come out after Israel into the Sea of Reeds. It is really part of the Exodus event and foreshadows the rest of what will happen.

Remember that these plagues also ultimately foreshadow the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For example, there was darkness before His death.

Labels: exodus, false gods, Genesis 1, new creation, pharaoh, plagues, serpent

The Hebrew people are the seed of the woman. Pharaoh is the seed of the serpent. This is fitting since you often see the Pharaohs depicted with a serpent's headdress. The new Pharaoh did not have a good relationship with Joseph or his kinsmen (he did not "know" Joseph) but the irony of ironies is that we do not know the name of this Pharaoh. This is surely intentional because Pharaoh defies God and the seed of the woman first by enslaving the Israelites, then by asking the midwives to kill the Hebrew children, and finally by ordering all of the new children to be thrown into the Nile. But it also reveals a tendency of the book to strategically use or leave out names. The threat of drowning in the Nile points us back to creation where the waters separate and dry land comes forth as well as new creation in the Exodus where the waters separate and dry land appears.

Enter Moses (Exodus 2:1ff). We know something special is about to occur because a Levite married a Levite and she conceived and bore him a son (like John the Baptist in Luke 1:5). This child is being depicted as the firstborn son and literally what she sees is new creation language "that it/he was good" (Exo 2:2) like we saw in Genesis 1. And when she could not hide him any longer she put him in an ark (the same word as the ark that Noah built and both have pitch) and placed him among the reeds. This was a traditional way to introduce a hero, like the Legend of King Sargon of Akkad who also was put in a reed basket treated with bitumen and found by a drawer of water who raised him as her own. We know that Moses will do great things. This story points us forward to the Exodus event in the Sea of Reeds. All you have to do to the word reed in Hebrew is move the dot for the vowel and you have the word extinction. This is the threat of the Nile -- extinction for Israel and this is the threat of the Sea of Reeds, the Sea of Extinction, at the Exodus event. But Moses and Israel will come through these waters as new creation.

Then all of the sudden we find out that despite the earlier portrayal Moses has an older sister. He also has an older brother but this information is conveniently left out. In Exodus 7:7, Moses is eighty and Aaron is eighty-three. So there must be a theological reason that Moses is portrayed as the firstborn son (perhaps the same reason that God would call Israel his firstborn son later in this section). And the account does not tell us anyone's names, not Moses' parents, or sister, or the name of Pharaoh's daughter, because it is driving us to the naming of Moses (2:10). And the explanation of the name is "because I drew him out of the water." Moses puts this theological meaning of his name on the lips of Pharaoh's daughter because she unknowingly points to the Exodus event in naming him something that sounds like "draw out" in Hebrew. In reality, the name Moses in Egyptian means "to give birth to" because she was claiming that he was her own son.

Moses through all of this points us forward to Jesus Christ. Jesus was the firstborn son of Mary and Joseph. He was the seed of the woman. And Herod, the new Pharaoh and seed of the serpent, would try to kill the children under two. But Joseph and Mary would flee the new Egypt (literally Israel, see Matthew 2:15). Jesus went through this Exodus from Egypt now as an individual, again at his baptism as an individual, and later would again on behalf of His people. The last time He did so as the ark of salvation for a greater Exodus.

Moses also went through three exodus events. The first was as an individual being drawn out of the water by the daughter of Pharaoh. The last was the Exodus event of his people. But the other time he went through an exodus as an individual was precipitated by a fight between two Hebrew people. First Moses sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and Moses acts as the savior of Israel. This was not murder just as what God would do later was not murder. Moses was acting as God's anointed deliverer ahead of time. And then he saw one of the Hebrews doing the same thing to another one of the Hebrews (the word kill in Exo 2:12, NIV is the same as hit in Exo 2:13, NIV -- see Exo 2:12-13, ESV). And we get a preview of Israel's rebellion and rejection of Moses -- two themes that will continue and will recur for Jesus.

So Moses flees (exodus) to the Midianites (remember it was the Midianites who brought Joseph into Egypt at the start of Book Ten of Genesis). It is not accidental that when Moses delivered Israel by killing the Egpytian they grumbled and when he delivered the daughters of Jethro they sing his praises. Jesus would receive the same kinds of reception from Israel and the Gentiles. And the passage ends with God remembering His covenant, God seeing the people, "and God knew." Pharaoh may not have known Joseph but God knew. This is also an allusion to Sodom (Gen 18:21). God saw and God knew. He was going to come down. And ultimately He did in the person of Jesus Christ.

We have stressed the first two chapters in this post to get you to slow down and see the connections. What follows are some notes on the rest of the section to help you do the same with the other chapters.

First note that the burning bush is a suspension of the normal properties of nature. We are going to see creation reversal and other suspensions of normal properties of nature throughout the book of Exodus.

Second, the name of God, YHWH, was undoubtedly already known to the people of Israel. What is new is the theological explanation of the meaning of the name.

Also, Moses acts as a shepherd, which prepares him to be the shepherd of God's people. The first sign is a snake that Moses must grab in faith -- a snake like Pharaoh. The second sign shows that God can make the unclean Hebrews clean. Moses complains that he is not eloquent. No matter what God does, Moses acts like Israel and grumbles. So as a judgment the office is split in two and Moses shares the glory of God with Aaron. The point of all this is that I Am and not Moses will deliver Israel. And all of these things point us to Jesus.

The genealogy is interesting. It slows down for Levi. Again the names mentioned are significant. The women point us to the focus of the genealogy. Moses is not the focus, Aaron is. This is because Aaron has just been chosen to help Moses. And the genealogy points to Aaron's worthiness by showing his Levitical heritage and that he is the grandfather of Phinehas who would be a hero in Numbers (and later in Joshua).

There is also something significant going on with the age of Moses. Moses was probably forty when he fled Egypt the first time (according to tradition he was), He was eighty when he led the Exodus of Israel (Exo 7:7). Thus Moses spent forty years in the wilderness after his own personal exodus and forty years in the wilderness after the Exodus event. He died at 120 years old (40+40+40).

In any case, this section of Exodus foreshadows the plagues and the Exodus event and therefore also foreshadows the work of Jesus climaxing in His exodus. Thus salvation from the land of Egypt, the house of slavery foreshadows salvation from slavery to sin.

All of my posts on Exodus include things that I originally learned from Dr. Peter Enns about four years ago. I highly suggest that you read his commentary on Exodus in the NIV Application Commentary series. They are more immediately based on my notes on Exodus for a class I taught at Roxborough Presbyterian on how Exodus points us to Jesus. Any mistakes are my own.

Labels: christ, exodus, moses, new creation, pharaoh, seed, serpent

Genesis began with a prologue and then consisted of ten books. The larger structure was one of prologue, narrative, poetry, epilogue. Exodus is not nearly as elaborate in structure. The organizational strategy is best understood thematically: salvation, law, and worship. The section on the salvation of the Israelites from the land of Egypt, the house of slavery is Exodus 1:1-15:21. The section on the law begins with 15:22 and continues through the end of chapter 24. The rest of the book is the section on tabernacle worship.

Exodus begins with a conjunction. The purpose of a conjunction (usually translated "and" in English even when a more specific relationship between the clauses is obvious) is to connect what follows with what came before. Exodus is continuing the story of Book Ten of Genesis. It is not continuing the poetry or the epilogue as much as it is continuing the narrative of Book Ten. Thus the first six Hebrew words of the book are a direct quote from the narrative. More specifically they quote the second telling of the move of Jacob and his family to Egypt in Genesis 46:1-27. The second telling begins with 46:8. "And these are the names of the sons of Israel, the ones who came toward Egypt" (my rough translation). Exodus begins with these identical words and summarizes the rest. Exodus, for example, lists the sons rather than giving the exhaustive list of the sons and their descendants. Both mention that the descendants numbered seventy (seven times ten) and that Joseph was already in Egypt. This is a clear case of recapitulation. Here it serves to tie the entire book of Exodus as a continuation of the narrative of Book Ten of Genesis.

Even though Exodus reports that Joseph and all his brothers and their generation had died, it does not give us another heading like each of the books in Genesis, "These are the generations of..." Instead, the new thing God would do begins with the New Testament Torah: "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matt 1:1). This is the title of the Book of Matthew, not just the genealogy that follows. "The book of the genealogy of" is just another way of translating the Genesis book titles. The gospels are the same kind of genre as the Old Testament Torah books and there are many connections between Exodus and Matthew. Future posts will mention some of them. This difference between the two is very instructive as well. Exodus is highlighting continuity between the story of Genesis and the present circumstances.

Furthermore, the prologue of Genesis (Genesis 1:1-2:3)is the prologue of the entire Torah. So it should not surprise us, especially given how Exodus is a continuation of the Genesis narrative, that there are multiple connections between Exodus and Genesis 1. The first such connection is in Exodus 1:7, which Peter Enns translates, "The Israelites became fruitful and swarmed; they increased in number and became exceedingly strong" (NIVAC on Exodus, 41). The word choice of swarmed is instructive because it can be found in Gen 1:21 and 8:17 for animals to fulfill their creation mandates. The creation mandate for humanity in the image of God (1:28) is being fulfilled by the Israelites. Creation and salvation (new creation) are interrelated in Exodus. Future posts will mention many of these connections to Genesis 1.

Looking backwards to creation points us forwards to the new creation Jesus inaugurates with His resurrection. Looking forward to the Gospel of Matthew, points us forward to the way Jesus brings about a greater salvation than the exodus. It is instructive then that the transfiguration is a discussion with Moses (representing the Torah) and Elijah (representing the prophets). Moses was there at the first exodus. The prophets pointed us forward to a second exodus. And the content of their discussion with Jesus is "his exodus, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31). Thus we will be looking at how the Book of Exodus points to the climax of salvation through Jesus Christ. Once you see how to do this with Exodus you should go back and do this with Genesis too.

Labels: creation, creation mandate, exodus, Genesis, Genesis 1, law, matthew, recapitulation, salvation, tabernacle, torah, worship

My wife always asks me why I watch these biblical history shows on the History Channel. It is refreshing to know that you know a lot more than the so-called experts on an issue and fun to be able to spot the presuppositions made by the History Channel that are demonstrably false. When there is a scholarly consensus on an issue, they ignore the consensus and trot out an expert that espouses views that no reputable scholar would ever defend. No doubt this is because strange theories make for better television, as far as they are concerned, and for more controversy which might increase ratings. Even when they convince reputable scholars to participate, they usually have them articulate the truth and then go about making it look wrong or at least trying to introduce "reasonable doubt."

Having seen a number of these shows, here are some rants about one Biblical Disasters that are representative of the approach of the History Channel:

1. There are a few stated objectives: The first is to find evidence that supports the biblical account. This sounds innocuous enough at first. Another is to "help us cope with catastrophe now." Very interesting. So the History Channel does not simply want to chronicle the past and tell us the brute facts (as if there were such a thing) proving or disproving the Scriptural account, but they actually want to provide answers for dealing with disaster today (the question of relevance). They have moved very quickly into philosophy and quasi-religion. In other words, they are setting forward a world-view that is not the biblical world-view and attempting to make sense of the past and make prescription for the present. They assume this worldview...it is there presupposition with god as chance. Picture a world-view as a circle and the point at the top is the god "chance." At this point we are just two minutes into the program...so let's see if my interpretation of their project holds up (I had earlier watched several minutes, so I do know what is coming).

2. To answer the first objective they examine archeology, the texts of ancient civilizations and Scripture itself. They are asking whether the biblical disaster accounts can be shown to be actual historical events. This skeptical approach is not working with brute facts however. Instead, all facts are created and correctly interpreted by God. So what the history channel will do is to interpret archaeological finds, interpret the texts of ancient civilizations and interpret the Scriptures. And these interpretations are not bound to think God's thoughts after Him. These interpretations are not to describe what God was doing in accord with how He interpreted to His people what He was doing. Instead, they will interpret these three sources from their own worldview. They say that the accounts in the Bible are inseparable from the agenda of Scripture (Christians believe Scripture to be fully the Word of God, so it is God's agenda). Here is the problem - all historical writing does the same. Their project is capable of the same critique that they make of Scripture but they pretend to be objective and have no justification for doing so. To be objective it must be the correct interpretation (which only God can give) so they are setting themselves up as gods and saying that god is chance. They say that the authors of Scripture are consumed with God's role in disasters...the history channel is likewise consumed with the role of chance in disasters. They say that the focus on God as the one who made disasters "may have distracted them from another possibility" - most disasters are the result of people (where they choose to live, for example). Moreover, the problem the History Channel has with the Christian faith is that it is not their faith - they believe and trust in chance (as if chance were trustworthy).

4. Ancient peoples did not have the assistance available during the aftermath of a disaster that we have today. Therefore, the History Channel says, "Only the lucky or the self-reliant survive, left to search for meaning." Hmmm...their god is chance and their philosophy is Darwinian (survival of the fittest). This interpretation of survival is very revealing of the History Channel's theological and philosophical presuppositions. Moreover, the History Channel is on a quest for meaning - they are trying to articulate why things happen and what our purpose is - apart from God's revelation.

5. Looking at the plagues of Exodus: They fail to see the miraculous in the timing of the plagues and in the discrimination of the plagues between Egyptians and the Hebrews. They acknowledge that the tenth plague could only be explained supernaturally (well, actually they put it less strongly than this: "seems to arise from the realm of the supernatural"). Then they go about explaining the first six plagues as a bacteria in the water - anthrax on algae. This makes the water look red (red algae), the anthrax kills the fish, no predator for the frogs (the fish are dead) so they multiply and exhaust the food supply and die in vast numbers, this leads to gnats and flies appearing because of the dead animals, the cattle perish because they have been bitten by anthrax infected insects that cause boils on the skin. Such explanations are nothing new...others have tried to do similar things before. I will not add to the volumes of commentary on this line of reasoning.

6. Looking at the Exodus event the History Channel accurately conveys that though traditionally translated the Red Sea, it is more accurate to translate the Hebrew as "Sea of Reeds." Again they interpret this event as requiring nothing supernatural. The objective is to make the god of chance a plausible alternative to the God of Scripture. It takes a great deal of faith in the god of chance to believe that these conditions they describe would be timed so perfectly for the Hebrew people to escape. As they say, "A moderate wind blowing constantly for ten hours could have caused the sea to recede about a mile and the water level to drop ten feet, this would temporarily create dry land in the sea bed until the winds died down and the water suddenly came flooding back."

7. Sodom and Gomorrah: they ask two questions-"Did it actually occur?" and "If so, what fiery force of nature is responsible?" Again, the worldview of the History Channel does not permit the God of the Scriptures to operate supernaturally. They find two places that might be these towns - both destroyed by fire and dated to the right time frame. The first theory is that an earthquake might have ignited the tar present that would have made a storm of fire. Then they tell us an even more controversial theory - a comet exploded. A third proposal is that perhaps it was a volcano. And a fourth is that it was lightening. The theories are less important than the goal - to make the god of chance plausible. A Christian might do such reflection on Scripture, but they do so from a different worldview where the supernatural is possible, where God is in control, and where the interpretation of the events in Scripture is the right interpretation of what took place. When someone who worships chance does such reflection on Scripture they assume that only the natural is possible, everything happens by chance, and the interpretation of Scripture might not be right (perhaps it was not God punishing Sodom and Gomorrah for its sin (that God does not exist) but simply a natural event).

8. The Flood: Here they note that peoples all over the world have "eerily similar" stories about a universal flood. This account shows the limitations of archeology - trying to interpret very little that survives and wondering if local floods might be the universal flood mentioned in these stories. They do not know enough to make any conclusions whatsoever.

9. They try to explain the plague on the Philistines for taking the ark as the bubonic plague.

10. And etc.

Archaeology and history try to describe what has happened. Science tries to describe what happens. None of these fields of study can avoid interpretation - by definition they are interpreting what God has done. You may have read some of the History Channel's theories and it might have introduced "reasonable doubt" in your mind. But this doubt they are trying to raise is not reasonable. The interpretation of the events is crucial, and here I am not talking about whether it was lightening or tar ignited by an earthquake or something else because these theories cannot prove what they assert, but whether it was a foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Christ (for pre-Christ disasters) and the final judgment for everyone else or it is just something that happened by chance and there will be no final judgment and therefore all that matters is here and now. The lesson that the History Channel would have us to learn from disasters of biblical proportions is that humans are responsible for their own fate - you should not live in certain places and should heed the warnings of earthquakes. Also they say that you should learn to lean on one another from disasters. Certainly Christians should keep these things in mind, but this pales in comparison with the weightier questions.

The lesson that Scripture would have us to learn from disasters of biblical proportions is that the end is coming and we need to be ready at any time. For example, Jesus says, "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matt 24:6-14, ESV). The destruction of Jerusalem was coming in AD 70 and points forward to the final judgment. Likewise, we should be reminded of the end when any catastrophe comes. The one who endures to the end will be saved. The key is faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in chance does not save.

These are just a few thoughts...suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Labels: archaeology, biblical history, exodus, philosophy of history