Why Exodus?
Well, I want to welcome you to a year of fifty-two five-minute Bible studies on the book of Exodus. I find in my life when I give myself to a deep dive in a particular part of God's Word, I fall in love with that part of God's Word. And I surely have done that with Exodus. Exodus is a very, very exciting part of God's Word. And I want to encourage you as we, together, read and study Exodus, to remember that the content of this book has been recorded and preserved for you because God knows you and he loves you.
This means that every part of this book is profitable for you in some way. Don't skip over the parts that seem weird or difficult. Dig in and find the treasures that God has preserved for you. What I want to focus on in this first study are the “Themes of Exodus” because the themes of Exodus are the themes of the Bible and the themes of your life as a child of God. Here they are.
First, God keeps His promises. The promise that God made to Abraham that his descendants would be a great nation has happened with the children of Israel. We're going to see God fulfill the promise of a place for His children, the land of promise flowing with milk and honey. That through Abraham's descendants, all of the earth would be blessed, that's another great theme. God unleashes His power for Israel, but also for the world to see and to know him. Another theme is the sending of a mediator to stand between God and His people. God raises up Moses to be that mediator. And then there's the theme that the gift of gifts is the presence of God within and for His people. These are the themes that structure the whole biblical revelation.
But even more significantly for us, these are the themes that are present and shape your life as a child of God. You can trust God because He will never abandon His promises. All the promises He's made to you, He will keep. Because of God's promises to Abraham, the grace of God extended beyond Israel. And because of that, that grace has reached us and has saved us and is now transforming us.
Yes, there was a need for a mediator. Moses wasn't the final mediator. The mediator is Jesus, who now sits at the right hand of Father in His royal priestly reign, interceding for us. He is the Mediator of mediators. And we have become the place where God dwells. His presence is with us because we are his temple. And he works to convict us. He works to guide us. He works to empower us. He works to transform us by his grace. You see, Exodus is more than the story of the children of Israel. Exodus reminds us of who we are and what we have been given as the children of God. I mean, you could actually entitle this Old Testament book, the second book in the Bible, as “The Gospel According to Exodus.” Exodus is one big finger pointing us to Jesus!
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. Take some time right now to remind yourself that Exodus has been recorded and preserved for you because God knows you and he loves you. Now think about what you’d like to be true of you at the end of this book study, and pray that God would mold you and reveal himself to you through this study in fresh new ways.
2. What makes it hard for you to believe that God always keeps his promises? How do you think God might speak to you and work through this Exodus study to encourage your faith and help increase your trust in his promises? How might Exodus’ themes of redemption and restoration help to galvanize and solidify your trust in his promises?
3. Why do we all have a need for a mediator between us and God? How do you think Moses will point directly to Jesus, our ultimate mediator? Why is Jesus the final mediator? What does it mean that he is the final mediator?
4. Have you ever thought about the fact that if you are in Christ, you are now the temple of God? What are some practical implications of the fact that God dwells within you as a believer? What does that mean for power and change in the Christian life?
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children:
1. What are some stories that you can remember about the book of Exodus?
2. Why do you think God chose to use Moses to help save and care for his people, the Israelites?
3. How do you think Moses might point us to Jesus?
4. Why is it important to look for Jesus in Old Testament books like Exodus?
For Older Children:
1. What does redemption mean? What do you think reconciliation means?
2. Can you think of any stories from Exodus that help us to understand the themes of redemption and reconciliation?
3. Why do you think God chose to use Moses to help save and care for his people? How do you think Moses might point us to Jesus?
4. Why is it important to look for Jesus in Old Testament books like Exodus?