The Book of Exodus Analysis Essay
The 2nd book of the Old Testament. The English name “exodus “came from the Greek noun exodos, meaning a going out or departure, the major event the first half of Exodus covers. book where God brings Israel out of Egypt. The main theme of Exodus is the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham that he would make his descendants a great nation. God’s promise was fulfilled despite the opposition of the the greatest superpower during that time, Egypt. Even though the Israelites were disobedient and couldn’t believe a lot of the miracles God performed through different leaders, exodus shows that this power must be ascribed to the the character of God who will always deliver on his promises,
punishes those who sin, and forgives the penitent. Exodus also highlights the faithfulness of Moses follows God’s instructions exactly, even though he had no clue how things would turn out in the end. It also highlights his prayerfulness as his pray is what led to his victorious win over Amalek and persuaded the Lord to pardon the Israelites after they started worshiping the golden calf. (1)
The Book of Exodus starts more than four hundred years after Joseph, his brothers, and the Pharaoh who he once served have all died. As Jacobs descendants had increased in size, the new leadership in Egypt felt threatened and set out on a mission to subdue the Israelites so he could force them into slavery and once he had control of them, he made a declaration that all Hebrew boys must be drowned in the Nile River at birth. Many Hebrew women resisted against this decree. One woman, in particular, laid her newborn son in a papyrus basket and sent him floating down the river, choosing to save his life even if that meant that they might never see each other again.
Fortunately, Pharaoh’s daughter discovers the abandoned child, raises him as her own, and after he had been nursed, she named him Moses, meaning “to draw out” just as she drew him out of the Nile River.(2)Growing up, Moses was aware of his Hebrew roots. one day as he was walking the town's streets, an An Egyptian man was beating an Israelite worker. making sure no one was watching; Moses kills the Egyptian and hides his body in the sand. . when Pharaoh had heard what Moses had done, he sought out to kill him but Moses, out of fear, fled to Midian, a town near Sinai. In Midian, Moses helps seven women (the priest Jethro’s daughters) gather water from the well for their father's flock by stopping the shepherds from driving them away. When the priest heard of Moses's kindness towards his daughters, he let Moses marry one, thus beginning Moses's new life as a shepherd. God had other plans in mind for he was concerned about the suffering of the Israelites. God then appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush. God speaks to Moses and informs him of his plan to deliver the Israelites back to the land of cannon and then proceeds to send Moses back to Egypt to accomplish this task but Moses doesn’t believe in himself or his abilities and refuses to go. God is angered by Moses’ lack of self-worthiness but encourages Moses by presenting him with a staff that through the power of the Lord will perform many miracles. he then instructed Moses to take Aaron, his brother, with him as an aid. (3)The brothers side by side returns to Egypt as the Lord told them to. Moses then rallies together the Israelites and confronts the Pharaoh, demanding the release of his people in the name of the lord. When the Pharoah asks why he should obey the lord, Moses performs a miracle, turning his staff into a snake, to show the miracles the lord can perform but Pharaoh's heart was hardened, denied the return of the Israelites. and then proceeds to increase the workload for the Israelites. Because Pharaoh would not let the Hebrew people go, the lord released ten plagues.
Moses would call out to the pharaoh demanding that the Israelites be let go before each plague and after each plague and God would intentionally harden the pharaoh’s heart. They go in the following order: all water turns into blood, fog covers the whole land of Egypt, every granule of dust in Egypt turns to gnats, swarms of flies come into the houses of Pharaoh and his officials. God then proceeds to infect all of Egypt's livestock with diseases, causes festering boils to appear on humans and animals, and destroys livestock and kills people by sending thunder, hail, and fire. God sends swarms of locusts and covers Egypt with darkness. The tenth plague is to kill all the firstborn males in Egypt. Before this final plague occurs, Moses tells all the Israelites to cover their door in the blood of a lamb sacrificed to God so that the lord with spare the firstborn sons of those households. After the tenth plague has killed all the firstborns, including pharaohs heir to the throne, Pharaoh surrenders, and releases over 600,000 Israelites. As Moses and the Hebrew people are leaving Egypt, Moses joins the Israelites in the celebration of the Passover, named for God’s protection from the final plague.
(4)As the Israelites were guided by God through the wilderness toward the sea, Pharaoh followed them. The Israelites begin to doubt God and Moses saying that he has led them out of Egypt and into the wilderness to die as Pharoah is following close behind and they have no boats to get across the sea. Just when they almost lose all faith, Moses parts the red sea and when the pharaoh's army tries to follow, the waves come crashing down upon them. As they witnessed this miracle, they decided to trust Moses, but it didn’t last long before they started worrying about food and water shortages. As they were in need, God would send daily supplies of food and water. When they faced the warriors of Amalekite God gave them the strength to stand their ground. Three months after the escape from Egypt, Moses and the Israelites arrive at Mount Sinai. When they arrive, God appears before Moses on a cloud of thunder and lightning at the top of the mountain. After Moses climbs up the mountain, God gives him two tablets made out of stone that had 10 commandments written on them. God explained to Moses that if the people would these ten rules, he would keep his covenant with Israel and would help them retrieve the land promised to Abraham from the Canaanites. When Moses tells the people about what the Lord promised, they agreed to follow the rules. Moses then goes back up the mountain where God gives him specific instructions on how to build an Ark: a portable temple. this is how god will be with the Israelites through their trials.
(5)After being in the mountains by himself for forty days, Moses comes down to find Aaron and the Israelites worshipping a golden calf which is in direct disobedience to the commandments so Moses smashes the tablets. God had planned on destroying the people, but Moses spoke on their behalf and pleaded with God to have mercy on them. Pleased with Moses' trust in him, God spares the people and meets with Moses in a set-aside tent intended for worship. ( 33:11) God reestablished his covenant with Moses and with his direction the Israelites renewed their commitment to the covenant by creating a temple according to how god had it outlined. God and Moses were able to remake the stone tablets declaring god as a patient, compassionate, loving god.
(7)The Hebrew title of exodus, “names”, is taken from the first line of text. (1:1). The reason this book deserves this title is that it shares with us the many names God takes and shares with us how He shows Himself to the Hebrew people. Exodus is often called The Book of Names for this reason. When God tells Moses that his name is “I AM” (3:14), God defines himself as a verb rather than a noun. This statement suggests that God is a being who is not subject to the limits of people’s expectations or definitions. God will often reveal himself to people through nature and miracles that let us know of God's arrival or presence. Some occurrences where the Lord revealed himself in Exodus include the pillars of cloud and fire, the thunder at Mount Sinai, and the ongoing supply of manna to feed the Israelites. Such spectacles demonstrate God’s attempts to prove his existence to a nation of doubting people from whom he has been absent for more than four hundred years. In the shadow of the thunderous Mount Sinai, the Israelites would worship a golden calf because that was easier than to just accept the existence of God,
