When the great sov’reign would his will express,
He gives a perfect rule; what can he less?
And guards it with a sanction as severe
As vengeance can inflict, or sinners fear:
Else his own glorious rights he would disclaim,
And man might safely trifle with his name.
William Cowper, “Truth,” Table Talk and Other Poems, 1782.
“God with us” in this world of sin,
This life of weakness and of woe:
His love, His power and His strength
With us, wherever we may go,
Since Jesus came to earth to dwell
And be for aye Emmanuel.
No weary days, no starless nights,
No sorrow deep, no trial sore,
But we can feel His presence near,
“God with us”, now and evermore;
Since He hath come to earth to dwell
Whose name is still Emmanuel.
Annie Johnson Flint.
What is all righteousness that men devise–
What, but a sordid bargain for the skies?
But Christ as soon would abdicate his own,
As stoop from heav’n to sell the proud a throne.
William Cowper, “Truth,” Table Talk and Other Poems.
In heavenly love abiding,
No change my heart shall fear;
And safe is such confiding,
For nothing changes here:
The storm may roar without me,
My heart may low be laid;
But God is round about me,
And can I be dismayed?
Wherever He may guide me,
No want shall turn me back;
My Shepherd is beside me,
And nothing can I lack:
His wisdom ever waketh,
His sight is never dim;
He knows the way He taketh,
And I will walk with Him.
Green pastures are before me,
Which yet I have not seen;
Bright skies will soon be o’er me,
Where the dark clouds have been:
My hope I cannot measure,
The path to life is free;
My Savior has my treasure,
And He will walk with me.
Anna Waring, The Methodist Hymn-Book, 1904.
A Persian fable says: One day
A wanderer found a lump of clay
So redolent of sweet perfume
Its odors scented all the room.
‘What are thou?’ was his quick demand,
‘Art thou some gem from Samarcand,
Or spikenard in this rude disguise,
Or other costly merchandise?’
‘Nay: I am but a lump of clay.’
‘Then whence this wondrous perfume–say!’
‘Friend, if the secret I disclose,
I have been dwelling with the Rose.’
Sweet parable! and will not those
Who love to dwell with Sharon’s Rose,
Distil sweet odors all around,
Though low and mean themselves are found?
Dear Lord, abide with us that we
May draw our perfume fresh from Thee.
Source: Streams in the Desert, L. B. Cowman, September 15 entry.
Genesis v. 24.
Oh! for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame;
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!
Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus and his word?
What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void,
The world can never fill.
Return, O holy Dove, return!
Sweet the messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made thee mourn
And drove thee from my breast.
The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from thy throne,
And worship only thee.
So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.
William Cowper, Olney Hymns.
He might have reared a palace at a word,
Who sometimes had not where to lay His head.
Time was when He who nourished crowds with bread,
Would not one meal unto Himself afford.
He healed another’s scratch, His own side bled;
Side, hands and feet with cruel piercings gored.
Twelve legions girded with angelic sword
Stood at His beck, the scorned and buffeted.
Oh, wonderful the wonders left undone!
Yet not more wonderful than those He wrought!
Oh, self-restraint, surpassing human thought!
To have all power, yet be as having none!
Oh, self-denying love, that thought alone
For needs of others, never for its own!
Richard Chenevix Trench
JUDGES
is a book about
LEADERSHIP
in which God is
LEADER.
The Leadership Vacuum: Who’s on First?
The first verse of Judges points out a lack of leadership initiative after the deaths of Moses and Joshua: “Who shall go up first?” (1:1) Then the last verse includes the same problem: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (21:25) So Judges is essentially the lament of kingless Israel and its problem of leadership, as well as a celebration of the rare and divine provision of a true leader.
In his diplomatic letter to the king of Ammon, Jephthah appeals to God, saying “the LORD, the Judge, decide this day [between us].” (11:27) Though he no longer guides them by cloud and fire, the LORD is shown to be the true leader of wandering Israel.
The Time of the Judges
The time period of the judges spans from Joshua’s death (2:7-10) to the beginning of Saul’s kingship (1 Samuel 8-10).
There are either 12 judges in the Book, from Othniel to Samson. (Abimelech “ruled” during the same period (9:22), but he is neither called by God, nor is he called a judge.) Technically, the last two judges are Eli and Samuel in the book of 1 Samuel (1 Sam. 4:18, 7:15), bringing the total to 14 judges.
Israel’s deliverers in this time period conspicuously include several women (Jael, 4:21; also 10:53), one of them a judge and a prophetess (Deborah, see 4:4). Ruth’s story is also included in the period of the judges (Ruth 1:1).
The Canaanites Remain (ch. 1)
The saga of Judges begins with the Israelites’ failure to complete their mission of conquest. They lack both initiative and the ability to follow through. The remaining tribes are left in Canaan both as a result of Israel’s disobedience, and as God’s response to their disobedience.
Judges differs from Joshua in its scope and purpose. In the Book of Joshua, we have the crisis of entering Canaan, and its results; in Judges, we have the process, and its difficulties.
The two reasons that God allowed other nations to remain in Canaan was two-fold: “to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD” (2:20-3:1, 3:4); and “to teach war to those who had not known it” (3:2). Defense was a survival skill in the ancient tribal Middle East.
The Structure and Pattern of Judges: Cycles of Deliverance (ch. 2)
After Moses and Joshua, “there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.” (2:10) Sadly, the Jews depended too much on human leadership for their spiritual health (2:19). Every generation needs revival, so it makes sense for Israel’s liberation to be cyclical.
Leonard Ravenhill says, “The Christian life is crisis, process, crisis, process.” The Book of Judges is structured in cycles of deliverance, which is a picture of God’s dealings with Israel in all of history: disobedience, oppression, crying out, compassionate deliverance, and backsliding. This is outlined as the pattern of the book in 2:16-19.
Antiheroes (ch. 3-16)
Every deliverer in Judges is also an “antihero,” redefining what it means to be a hero and overturning our expectations.
The judges follow the Old Testament pattern of God’s calling; but otherwise, their lives are very atypical. Leadership in Judges is a divine provision, not the result of human preparation. God can call who he wants into leadership.
Since God can call anyone that is willing, a central question in the book of Judges is, are the righteous willing?
Are the Righteous Willing?
Jotham’s parable in ch. 9 is central in the story and acts as a summary statementof leadership in the time of the judges:
Many are unwilling to lead. The leaders that do come are sometimes wicked, and always strange. They never come from the expected channels. (See the motif study.)
Governed by Honor and Shame (ch. 17-21)
In the West, we see government as providing moral boundaries, but in the East it is often the community that does this. Judges 18:7 in some translations says, “there were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything.” The concept of honor and shame sets the stage for these last five chapters of Judges.
In ch. 17 and 18, we see Micah paying a Levite to assist in the worship of idols. When the Danites offer better pay, the Levites leaves, robbing Micah pitifully. This shows the sad state of government and religion in the time period.
In ch. 19, in the absence of leadership, the land of Benjamin becomes a scene not only for gang rape and murder, but rape culture. The entire city of Gibeah is complicit in allowing this problem to proliferate.
In ch. 20, we have the only solution to the rape culture in the Middle Eastern view—the Israelites gather troops and avenge the rape, by punishing the whole region of Benjamin’s tribe.
Judges 21 concludes with Israel sadly divided, and Benjamin largely disinherited. All Israel had vowed not to intermarry with Benjamin; after they solve this problem, the shame of Benjamin is covered and the book is over.
See the accompanying study on the motif of the “antihero” in Judges.
Study Recommendations
For material on the biblical heroes in Judges, see A Time for Heroes by Brother Andrew, or applicable chapters in Alexander Whyte’s Bible Characters.
On Micah and the Levite, listen to Paris Reidhead’s convicting sermon, “Ten Shekels and a Shirt.”
For more on the culture of honor and shame, see Honor and Shame by Roland Müller, which is a concise and useful summary of the topic as it relates to Middle Eastern life.
GENESIS
is the story of
CREATION
in which God makes a
COVENANT.
God of Creation
Genesis is the story of how God created us, and we rejected him, but he would not give us up. This book creates an unbroken narrative from Adam to Joseph of how God continued to speak, to promise, and to reveal his purposes.
Genesis takes a childlike view of life in which God’s activity is visible everywhere. His activity is not always explained or accounted for explicitly. His presence is unquestioned. God never seeks to prove himself through argument. He presents himself through activity.
Other holy books present God as a partisan, or only caring for one group of people. In the Bible he cares for all people from the beginning, and the whole earth is always his dominion. He cares for all that he has created.
God in Covenant
The Bible’s narrative is shaped like an hourglass, and Abraham is the pinch point.1A few generations after the Flood, God chooses Abraham for his plan of redemption, a plan which would afterwards involve “all the families of the earth.” (12:3) He narrows his plan down to Abraham, that he may afterwards bless all people in Christ.
Genesis shows God in covenant. Covenant is the continuation of the purpose he had for his Creation. He continues to reach out to the covenant family, that of Abraham, and extend promise after promise that he is advancing his plan and will fulfill his first promise to Abraham (12:1-3) as well as his original intentions expressed in Creation.
Creation and covenant go hand in hand in the Book of Genesis. God creates with intentions; he maintains those intentions and purposes through his covenants. The KJV says “for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)
Creation and Fall (1-5)
Genesis is not really a book of beginnings but a book of the Beginning. The title comes from verse 1:1, and has reference only to a time when God existed without his Creation.2 Since God existed before his Creation, he does not depend on it. The first thing we learn about God is that he is our self-existent Creator (Rom. 1).
Yet God chooses to involve himself in this Creation, so Genesis 1 and 2 comprise two different accounts of Creation. The first account calls God “Elohim” in Hebrew because it shows God in authority; the second account calls God “Yahweh” because it focuses in on God in relationship with mankind. Yahweh (or Jehovah) is his covenant name.
Adam and Eve are called to “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it” (1:28). This is the First Commission, leading up to the call of Abraham, as well as the Great Commission (9:1, 9:7, 12:1-3, 35:11). The First Commission represents man’s call not only to obey God, but to be king of the Earth. God had a job for us to do that has, in one sense, continued in spite of the Fall.
Watchman Nee comments that God’s week began with work: man’s week began with rest. In the Gospel, man must rest before he can work. In this the Sabbath summarizes the whole Gospel: it is the work of God and the only true rest for man. The Sabbath was created so that man would know that it is God who sanctifies (Ex. 31:13, Ez. 20:12). God supplies all our lack in Christ.
“The Fall” is the common name for the first disobedience of God in Genesis 3, a theological event with global implications. But when Eve and Adam disobey God, it is not so much a “fall” or a “slip” as it is a “rebellion,” and every other human has followed in their train. Human rebellion is the basis for all the problems that have followed, and all the injustices of our present world have their root in this “fall.” Paul explains this using the Eastern concept of corporate personality; “as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). We have identified with the rebellion of Adam, but we may partake of the righteousness of Christ through his death and resurrection.
The genealogy in chapter 5 (as well as others) creates a continuous narrative, and provides authority to the story in the Eastern world. But as these genealogies progress, they focus closer and closer on the promised “seed of the woman,” whom we now know as Jesus Christ.
Flood and Babel (6-11)
The Flood is all over a story of mercy. God uses all possible means to save and restore his Creation. Creation is corrupted by man’s choice. Noah was not only “blameless” but, according to Peter, “a preacher of righteousness.” He gave his contemporaries a chance to be saved.
Salvation out of water is a repeated theme in the Old and New Testaments3; Peter uses it as a picture of baptism. Judgment and mercy intersect.
After the Flood, God repeats to Noah the same commission he gave to Adam and Eve (9:1), and Noah is the first person in Scripture to enter into covenant with God.
Noah also represents all humanity in a second covenant in which God promises that he will not destroy the earth by flood again. The confusion of Babel and the Table of Nations explain how all ethnic and linguistic groups are traced back to Noah. This explains why flood traditions are a global phenomenon.
Patriarchs (12-50)
The rest of the book of Genesis focuses on the biographies of just four men: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, known as the patriarchs, and Joseph, who preserves the people of Israel and leads them to Egypt.
All of the patriarchs trust the Lord, but God’s way of dealing with them differs. Abraham has repeated visions and promises and covenants, about ten times in total. Isaac and Jacob have fewer revelations, until we find Jacob saying, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it” (Gen. 28:16).
Abraham (12-24)
We have four personal climaxes in the life of Abraham: 1) Leaving his father’s house; 2) leaving Lot; 3) dismissing Ishmael; and 4) the sacrifice of Isaac.4 All of these involve what Abraham left behind; he was also called to take up the covenant of faith, a new name, the covenant of circumcision, and the election of Isaac. God repeats his promises to Abraham over and over, sealing the promise of the seed of the woman. His life makes us ask, what has God asked us to leave behind? And what is he leading us forward to?
The offering of Isaac and the testing of Abraham (in ch. 22) is an especially important example of Abraham’s obedience, as well as a type of the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ. The writer of Hebrews comments, “[Abraham] considered that God was able even to raise him [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Heb. 11:19). Church fathers have written that the sacrifice of Isaac became for Abraham a revelation of the suffering and resurrection of Christ.5 After the angel stays Abraham’s hand, God confirms his covenant yet again: “in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (28:16).
Abraham’s life includes the beginning of the tithe, the continuation of the lineage of Jesus, as well as the call of God for Abraham to a personal walk of faith. He may be the best example of faith in the entire Bible.
Isaac (24-27)
Isaac is the least known of the patriarchs.
Genesis 24 is the best picture of engagement in the Bible.
Rebekah receives a prophecy of the birth of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25, but she is told that they will not have the same place in God’s plan. These twins are the Bible’s clearest picture of divine initiative, as Paul teaches in Romans 9. The Messiah would not be born by human choice; we do not teach God what his plan for the nations will be. Although we pray and ask by faith that his plan will advance, God holds the initiative, and God creates the plan.
Jacob (25-36)
Jacob struggles with God, and indeed his whole walk with God is a struggle of faith. Throughout his life, Jacob associates God with special places, but has a hard time remembering his constant nearness. Alexander Whyte says, “it is not that God is any more there, or is any more likely to return there; but we are better prepared to meet Him there.”6
Jacob uses betrayal to secure his brother both Esau’s inheritance and Esau’s blessing. In the West this is often condemned as deception; recent theology points out that this is not condemned in the text. The story itself seems to see Jacob’s use of skill as advancing the plan of God.7
However, Jacob’s family life is one of the most dysfunctional in the whole Bible; his parents choose favorites; he has children by four women; his children embarrass him grievously.
Jacob famously wrestles a theophany while waiting to face his twin brother Esau. All of the patriarchs face many fears and fights, but in the end they find they are always face to face with God.
Jacob pronounces a double verdict on his life at the end of the Book of Genesis: First, he says, with an ounce of bitterness, “My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.“ (47:9) He adds later, though, in his prayer for his sons, that “the blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents” (Gen. 49:26).
Joseph (37-50)
Although Jacob is still in the picture as the patriarch until the end of the book, chapters 37 through 50 are mostly concerned with Joseph’s betrayal into slavery, the favor he eventually found in Egypt, and the preservation of life that resulted. Joseph’s biography does not include the same promises that are repeated to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is not part of the lineage of Christ; however, Joseph is a type of the life of Christ in that he is “beloved, hated, and exalted,” to use F. B. Meyer’s words.
Joseph’s story is one of the most complete and beautiful story arcs in Scripture, and in regard to God’s words and promises, Joseph’s life is the ultimate example offulfillment delayed and faith rewarded. Psalm 105 adds, “until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.” He bravely acknowledges that God’s plans for him were all good (Gen. 50:20).
Finally, Joseph’s prophetic request that they would bring up his bones creates continuity with the Book of Exodus (Gen. 50:25). Moses made sure that this request was fulfilled (Ex. 13:19).
Study Recommendations
On the first eleven chapters of Genesis, the writings of Erich Sauer are the best. SeeThe Dawn of World Redemption and The King of the Earth. Sauer has a wealth of theological and devotional input. The theme of all his books is “the history of redemption.”
If you are interested in scientific aspects of the Book of Genesis, I recommend the works of Arthur Custance. He has many books and some are very difficult, but I recommend especially those that deal with Adam and Eve such as The Seed of the Woman and The Virgin Birth and the Incarnation. Custance was a minister, a scientist, and a theologian.
On the patriarchs, I recommend a short devotional by Watchman Nee called Changed into His Likeness.
____
1 John York. Missions in the Age of the Spirit.
2 In Hebrew it is named after the first phrase, In the Beginning, and in Greek this was shortened to simply The Beginning—which is Ἡ γεννησις, Genesis.
3 For example, the salvation of Moses in the Nile (Exodus 1), the story of Jonah, and the figure of baptism all bear resemblance to the Flood story.
4 Erich Sauer. Dawn of World Redemption, p. 100.
5 Chrysostom and Erasmus believed this in reference to John 8:56: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.”
6 Alexander Whyte. Concise Bible Characters, p. 68. AMG Publishers.
7 John E. Anderson. Jacob and the Divine Trickster.
EXODUS
is a book about
SALVATION
in which God is our
SAVIOR.
Themes of the Book
The name of the book, in Greek, means “departure” (i.e., the departure of the Jews from Egypt). The Exodus is the ultimate example of God as Savior in the Old Testament. However, the book also deals with broader themes of how God deals with us as humans and as nations. Joseph Parker points out that there is “no phase of divine providence that is not found in the Book of Exodus, at least in germinal form.”1
Genesis shows God’s faithfulness to his Creation and his covenant family. The Exodus story shows the covenant family emerge as a nation, and shares how God interacts with people in leading them to repentance and mission. “Creation gives way to providence.”2
The Exodus: A Planned Response?
The Exodus is first mentioned to Abraham in Genesis 14, so God anticipated it for centuries. Joseph also prophesied about it when he commanded his family to bring up his bones out of Egypt (Gen. 50:25). Exodus 2:24 hearkens to the covenant as the reason for the Exodus itself.
Although the event is prophesied, God also responds to a suffering people. “Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” (2:23-25, also 3:7-9, 6:5) He also makes promises that apply more widely to all humanity (22:22-24). Revival and judgment are often preceded by injustice and outcry.
The God of the Exodus
A new name for God in this book is “I AM” (6:3) God says that he will make a name for himself.3 The double meaning is that he will make himself famous, as well as show us his true character. His true character is not grounded in any verbal expression or formula, but in his action on behalf of Israel. G. Campbell Morgan wrote that we interpret God’s character through our story.
The Exodus not only saved the people, but it established Israel as a nation. The family of Jacob went down to Egypt as a family, and came up as a nation.
Echoes of the Exodus
The Exodus echoes throughout Scripture, because salvation is demonstrated in the Exodus. The Passover is commanded as a way of commemorating “what the Lord did” (13:8). The Exodus is prophesied three times in the Book of Genesis, and it is remembered in the books of Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Psalms, all of the Major Prophets, Hosea, Amos, Haggai, Micah, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, 1 Corinthians, Hebrews and Jude.4 Under the Old Covenant, this event is the ultimate example of God’s intervention.
The Exodus also reverberates throughout the land—it does not just affect Israel. God promises that not only Israel but Egypt will know that he is the Lord (7:5; 14:4, 18); Egyptians leave their land in the “mixed multitude” (12:38); Jethro hears about it in Midian and worships the Lord (18:1-12); Rahab hears about it in Jericho and confesses that the Lord is God (Josh. 2:8-11); Balak knows about it in Moab (Num. 22-24). God describes the news of Israel’s emergence as reaching the entire known world (Dt. 2:25, also Ex. 15:14-16, Num. 14:15). Thus God glorifies himself among all nations through his work of salvation and the people he has saved.
Passover in the New Testament
The Exodus has to be remembered. It represents God’s saving power, and thus is the first feast or special day commanded by God to the new nation of Israel. Since the Last Supper of our Lord was itself a Passover meal, and his resurrection and Pentecost coincided with the other Jewish feasts, there is an obvious call-and-answer from Old Testament to New Testament. With Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus spoke of the “exodus” he would accomplish at Jerusalem, which answers to the first Exodus (Luke 9:31); and the new commands to remember his death through bread and wine answer to the old commands to remember the Exodus through the Passover meal (1 Cor. 5:7-8).
Moses and Pharaoh
Moses and Pharaoh demonstrate eternal principles in their divergence. Moses’ calling comes of risk and curiosity. Moses hesitates repeatedly to follow God’s call (Ex. 3-4) but grows into obedience to God’s calling voice—though that voice is not always gentle (4:24-26)!
Pharaoh shows weakness in his concessions, but he becomes hardened. Just as Moses is softened repeatedly, Pharaoh is hardened repeatedly. The plagues serve to test Pharaoh’s resolve; does he really care about what God cares about? Or does he concede only because it benefits him (that is, by ending the plagues)?
Miracles are not a solution for spiritual hardness in the book of Exodus. This is seen both in Pharaoh’s life, and in the life of Israel herself; the book’s conclusion says that the miraculous pillars of fire and cloud were seen daily and publicly by all Israel (40:38, 33:8-10), but witnessing these stupendous miracles was not a sound basis for faithfulness (Num. 14:20-23).
The Role of Moses: Mediation
God shows that he does not prefer mediation; he always prefers to deal with his people in the most personal way. But he accepts it as a “second best” more than once in the Book of Exodus. First, God allows Aaron to speak for Moses, although he was angry at Moses’ unwillingness to speak (4:10-16, 27-30). Later, God commanded the people to be consecrated to that he could speak to them (19:10-11). Sadly, they were too afraid to face God on the mountain, so God concedes to mediating through Moses and other priests and prophets (20:18-22, recalled in Dt. 5:1-5, 18:15-19).
The priesthood is commanded in Exodus 29 as a concession until the day when God would providentially lead his people to the understanding that they could approach him at any time through his Son (1 Tim. 2:5).
Throughout the book, the Israelites are overdependent on their powerful, God-given leaders.5 There is no leader in the Old Testament that has more divine attestation than Moses (Ex. 19:9, etc.). Over and over we read that they obeyed “as the Lord commanded Moses,” but what did the Lord command them?
God wanted to guide the people into personal participation; giving was an important way of encouraging this and allowing the people to be involved in the ministry (Ex. 36-38).
Moses’ Intercession and God’s Decrees
Intercession is a two-way street for Moses; it is much more than just idle begging. Twice in the Pentateuch, God tells Moses that he will destroy Israel, but Moses intercedes to the utmost for his nation (Ex. 32-34, Num. 14). After they sin by worshipping the golden calf, Moses offers himself up in exchange for the lives of his people, something that Brother Andrew6 points out is only done by two people in the entire Bible: Paul (Rom. 9:1-5) and Moses7 (Ex. 32:32). They both embody the character of Jesus who intercedes for us in heaven, and who, Alexander Whyte says, “was blotted out of God’s book for us.”8
When Moses reaches this height of intercession, God begins to explain his decrees, laws that cannot be changed. First, God gives Moses the decree of judgment on sin: “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book” (32:33). God can do anything, but he will not ignore sin in his divine economy.
The second decree God gives is the decree of divine mercy: “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” (33:19). God may grant mercy on sinners, but only he may set the conditions for this mercy. No one may force his hand.9
These decrees cannot be changed because they are founded on who God is. But within the range of these two decrees, like Moses, we can offer all that we are in intercession.
Law and Covenant: Where God Can Dwell
Law is only a small section of the book; art and atmosphere are a much larger section. These were for the people’s sake and not for God’s. God repeatedly directs Moses to make the articles of worship, not as he is told, but as was “shown” to him (25:9)
Art is legitimized in the tabernacle by the Spirit-anointed work of Bezalel, Oholiab, and others (36:2). Their work required the Holy Spirit, showing that we need God’s Spirit in every field of work, not just in those that are directly spiritual.
God brought the seed of Abraham out of Egypt that he “might dwell among them” (29:46). “I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God” (Ex. 29:45). This far-off ideal is referenced dozens of times in both Testaments and is finally consummated in the Book of the Revelation (Rev. 21:3).
Study Recommendations
Terence Fretheim’s commentary on in the Interpretation series is thoughtful, readable, and explores many dimensions of the book from the standpoint of biblical theology. This book has the right amount of detail for any student of the Word who wants to meditate verse by verse on the text itself—without getting lost in the trivial.
Joseph Parker’s preaching in The People’s Bible deals with Exodus from a bird’s eye view. He deals with the book not exegetically but thematically and creatively.
____________
1 Exodus, vol. 2 of The People’s Bible. Kindle edition.
2 Alexander Patterson, The Greater Life and Work of Christ.
3 Deuteronomy 4:35, 2 Samuel 7:23, Isaiah 63:11-14, Daniel 9:15, John 17:6, 26
4 Joel (1:4), Habakkuk (3:8, 15) and Revelation (15:1) also appear to include allusions to the events of Exodus but not direct references. Here is an incomplete list of direct references to the Lord bringing his people out of Egypt:
Gen. 15:13-16, 47:30, 50:25, Lev. 11:44-45, 26:45, Num. 15:41, 20:16, 22:21, Dt. 1:30-31, 6:20-24, 7:8, 7:17-19, 8:14, 9:26-29, 13:5, 20:1, 24:18, 22, Josh. 2:8-11, 4:23-24, 24:5-7, Jdg. 2:1, 11-12, Neh. 9:9-12, 1 Sam. 4:8, 6:6, 8:8, 10:18, 12:6-8, 2 Sam. 7:23-24, 1 Kings 8:51-53, 2 Kings 17:7, 1 Chron. 17:21, 2 Chron. 5:10, 6:5, Ps. 78:12-13, 105:26-45, 106:6-23, 114:1-5, 136:10-15, Isaiah 51:10-11, 15, Jer. 32:20-21, Ezek. 20:33-38, Dan. 9:15, Hos. 2:15, 11:1-4, 12:9, 13, 13:4, Amos 2:10, 3:1, 9:7, Hag. 2:5, Micah 6:3-4, 7:15, Zech. 10:10-11, Acts 7:40, 1 Cor. 10:1, Heb. 11:29, Jude 1:5.
5 The battle against Amalek in ch. 17 can be interpreted as involving leadership dependence. There is no indication in the story either that Moses was praying or that it was a miracle granted by God; it simply says that they lost when Moses did not have the rod of God raised up.
6 Along with many others, of course.
7 I hope to write more about this in a project called Revival and Romans 9. It is sad that we spend so much time discussing predestination but no one wants to emulate the bold prayers of Paul and Moses.
8 “Moses the Type of Christ.” Concise Bible Characters.
9 This seems to be an important point in Romans 9, which of course references this decree.
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