Flee, leave… take off—these words sound good to those trapped or enslaved. Some resist their marching orders, however, preferring present surroundings to a new, unknown environment. It’s not easy to trade the comfortable security of the known for an uncertain future. But what if God gives the order to move? Will we follow his lead? Exodus describes a series of God’s calls and the responses of his people. Four hundred years had passed since Joseph moved his family to Egypt. These descendants of Abraham had now grown to over two million strong. To Egypt’s new pharaoh, the Hebrews were foreigners, and their numbers were frightening. Pharaoh decided to make them slaves so they wouldn’t upset his balance of power. As it turned out, that was his biggest mistake, for God then came to the rescue of his people.

Through a series of strange events, a Hebrew boy named Moses became a prince in Pharaoh’s palace and then an outcast in a wilderness land. God visited Moses in the mysterious flames of a burning bush, and, after some discussion, Moses agreed to return to Egypt to lead God’s people out of slavery. Pharaoh was confronted, and through a cycle of plagues and promises made and broken, Israel was torn from his grasp.

Mobilizing this mass of humanity was no easy task, but they marched out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and into the wilderness behind Moses and the pillars of cloud and fire. Despite continual evidence of God’s love and power, the people complained and began to yearn for their days in Egypt. God provided for their physical and spiritual needs with food and a place to worship, but he also judged their disobedience and unbelief. Then in the dramatic Sinai meeting with Moses, God gave his laws for right living.

God led Moses and the nation of Israel, and he wants to lead us as well. Is he preparing you, like Moses, for a specific task? He will be with you; obey and follow. Is he delivering you from an enemy or a temptation? Trust him, and do what he says. Have you heard his clear moral directions? Read, study, and obey his Word. Is he calling you to true worship? Discover God’s presence in your life, in your home, and in the body of assembled believers. Exodus is the exciting story of God’s guidance. Read with the determination to follow God wherever he leads.

Vital Statistics

Purpose: To record the events of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and development as a nation

Author: Moses

Original Audience: The people of Israel

Date Written: 1450-1410 B.C., approximately the same as Genesis

Where Written: In the wilderness during Israel’s wanderings, somewhere in the Sinai peninsula

Setting: Egypt. God’s people, once highly favored in the land, are now slaves. God is about to set them free.

Key Verses: “Then the Lord told him, ‘I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering…. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt'” (3:7, 10).

Key People: Moses, Miriam, Pharaoh, Pharaoh’s daughter, Jethro, Aaron, Joshua, Bezalel

Key Places: Egypt, Goshen, Nile River, Midian, Red Sea, Sinai peninsula, Mount Sinai

Special Features: Exodus relates more miracles than any other Old Testament book and is noted for containing the Ten Commandments.

The Blueprint

1. ISRAEL IN EGYPT (1:1-12:30)
   1. Slavery in Egypt
   2. God chooses Moses
   3. God sends Moses to Pharaoh
   4. Plagues strike Egypt
   5. The Passover

   When the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, God heard their cries and rescued them. We can be confident that God still hears the cries of his people. Just as he delivered the Israelites from their captors, he delivers us from sin, death, and evil.

2. ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS (12:31-18:27)
   1. The Exodus
   2. Crossing the sea
   3. Complaining in the wilderness

   After crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites became quarrelsome and discontent. Like the Israelites, we find it easy to complain and be dissatisfied. Christians still have struggles, but we should never allow difficulties and unpleasant circumstances to turn us away from trusting God.

3. ISRAEL AT SINAI (19:1-40:38)
   1. Giving the law
   2. Tabernacle instructions
   3. Breaking the law
   4. Tabernacle construction

   God revealed his law to the Israelites at Sinai. Through the law, they learned more about what God is like and how he expected his people to live. The law is still instructional for us, for it exposes our sin and shows us God’s standard for living.