Page 25 - Old Testament Survey Student Textbook

Study Section 4: Exodus and Leviticus

4.1 Connect

Have you ever gone on a long trip somewhere? Once you plan such a trip, there may be
weeks of preparation and packing and planning. The closer the time comes to your trip, the
greater your anticipation rises. Then comes the day of your trip. You depart from you home
and take some form of transportation to get to your new location. You see and experience
new things. Perhaps the food is different than you are used to. You have to stay in a
different place than you are used to. But all in all, a trip is normally a very exciting time in
our lives.

Imagine the children of Israel, after having lived in Egypt for over 400 years, suddenly told that they
were leaving their homes and their jobs to go to a place they did not know. They had very little time to
plan the trip. But I am sure it was exciting for them to leave their bondage and begin their trek to a
Promised Land. They started out strong, but as we will see, it did not take them long before they began
to complain out the journey. Let’s see what happened….

4.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to describe how the plagues of Egypt were really God challenging the
gods of the Egyptians, demonstrating his power over them.

2. The student should be able to site the many miraculous events that occurred as a part of the
Exodus.

3. The student should be able to describe how God revealed Himself to His chosen people through the
book of Exodus.

4.3 Exodus

The author of Exodus is undoubtedly Moses. Exodus is the second book of the five books of
the Law or Pentateuch. Regarding the purpose of Exodus Andrew E. Hill and John H Walton
said, “The purpose of Exodus is to explain how the Israelites became slaves in Egypt and their
deliverance from the Egyptian oppression. The book also reveals the God whose name is
Yahweh and relates how his divine presence came to dwell among his people, Israel.” Also
regarding the name Exodus Hill and Walton said, “The English name for this second of the
Pentateuch, or Law of Moses, comes from the Greek Old Testament titles Exodus, meaning a ‘going out’
or ‘departure.’ The title is a logical one in that Israel’s Exodus from Egypt is the
dominant theme of the book.” The book of Exodus is dividing in three major
divisions and has 40 chapters. Chapters 1-11 focus on the bondage of Israelites
in Egypt, the slavery, Moses’ calling and the 10 Plagues. Chapters 12-18 focus
on God’s miraculous redemption of the Israelites from Egypt into the
wilderness. Chapters 19-40 focus on God’s revelation of his self to his promised
people through the Covenant and the Law.
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