A brief introduction to the book of Exodus

Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible collectively called the Pentateuch. The book of Exodus is the second of the five books. A strong argument for Moses’ authorship of Exodus was made by the Lord Jesus Himself. In Mark 12:26-27 he alluded to the passage concerning the burning bush from Exodus. He referred to the excerpt as taken from the book of Moses. In that discussion with some Sadducees, he asked them “…have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?” The Lord indirectly attributed the authorship of the book of Exodus to Moses.

The title of this book Exodus was taken from the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The word Exodus (Exodos) is a Greek word. The prefix “Ex (Ex)” means “out” and the word “odos (odos)” means “the way or the route.” Placed together the word Exodus means “the way out.” From this title, we can tell that it’s about the story of how God led His people out of the life of bondage. In essence, it captures the idea of the people of Israel coming out of Egypt, the land of bondage described in the first thirteen chapters of this book. In Exodus, we see a continuation of the story of redemption that began in Genesis. It continues the story of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and his twelve sons. The book describes how they were organized into bondage in Egypt by Pharaoh. But it also tells us how God initiated their deliverance by calling and sending Moses to lead them out of their bondage. Today, God is still leading people out of the crutches of the bondage and sin. His intention is still the same as shown in the book of Exodus. He still wants a people for His own possession, a people who will genuinely worship Him.

In this book, we will see the giving of the Ten Commandments. These are a summary of how God’s drawn people ought to live as a called-out community. They essentially encapsulate two critical instructions. We are to love God with all that we are – spirit, soul, mind, and body. And we are also to love others. In this book, we will also see the instruction on the construction of the Tabernacle, the earthly portable dwelling place of God and all the furnishings for this tent of meeting that points us to God’s redemption plan. The book of Exodus continues into the next three books of Moses, namely Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  

From Exodus, we can see how much God wants us to have a people that would worship Him alone. But sadly, in the book of Exodus, the sinful nature that man inherited from Adam’s fall surfaced again and again. Instead of offering wholehearted worship to the one and only true God, mankind continually gravitates towards their lower nature. Exodus clearly shows us that God wants to deliver us from our sin and bondage. It shows us how much we need to stay on our journey with Him. It reveals how much God yearns for us to be a people of His own possession. Let’s journey together and discover the heart of God and be challenged to love Him as we ought.