Category: Exodus
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From Nature to Culture
God established a pattern and rhythm for His creation from the very beginning. The earth began formless, empty, and dark but the heavens* served as a pattern after which man was to continue to shape and fill and light the earth. God established the rhythm of the day, of evening and morning, darkness and light […]
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Psalm 118
Psalm 118 opens and closes with “Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” The three divisions of the Old World – Israel, the Priests, and Gentile God-fearers – each in turn take up that refrain. Though the psalmist is distressed by what is going on around him, […]
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Song of Songs
The Song of Songs is both a mystery and a beauty. It is elusive, dancing lightly from image to image, and as such is difficult to get a solid hold of in any sort of narrative-historical or allegorical way. Even so, it has been counted by Jews and Christians throughout history as the height of […]
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Deuteronomy 25
Deuteronomy 25 covers a few different stipulations. The first is a prohibition against excessive beating as punishment. The limit is set at forty stripes. This calls to mind the forty days of rain at the flood and the forty years wandering in the wilderness. These were the maximum punishment and an effective cleansing of the […]
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Meeting God
The book of Hebrews shows how the Old Covenant types and shadows are all fulfilled in Christ. The Old Covenant saints received the promises, but “did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” This “something better” that these saints […]
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Baptism as Baptism
There is a very good and right and helpful association between baptism and circumcision, but it is also important to remember that baptism is baptism. There is much more in the Scriptures about baptism than about circumcision. There were many and various baptisms – sprinklings and cleansings associated with worship and the offerings. These were applied […]
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Blood Covering
Leviticus 4 lays out the ritual of the sin offering, which deals with “unintentional” transgressions – the sin of wandering or being led astray. This is not the high-handed sin of open rebellion and refusal to repent. In this offering, the primary element is the blood, which covers the sin of the people. It’s important […]
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War and peace
Deuteronomy 20 lays out laws concerning warfare, but this isn’t Sun Tzu. It doesn’t deal with strategies or techniques or troop organization. It begins with the priest addressing the people to fear not because God is with them. He is Immanuel. He is the Man of War that rides out and conquers the enemies of […]
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Show us the Father
Moses fills the offices of priest, judge, and prophet. As priest, he receives the law and teaches the people to obey. He sits as supreme judge over the people. And as prophet, he stands in the counsel of God, calls the people to repentance and warns them of the future consequences of sin. In Exodus […]
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Out of Egypt
Matthew draws heavily on the Exodus story when he recounts the events of the birth of Christ. Mathew quotes from Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” This passage from Hosea is not overtly Messianic like Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man ruling on His throne forever or Isaiah’s prophecies of […]