Outline for Exodus 1-12

This is what I'll be using to teach 6th-graders tomorrow about the first third of the book of Exodus.

1.           From Joseph to Moses (Exodus 1)

a)      What did the Lord prophesy to Abram? (Genesis 15:7-21, esp. vv. 13-14) your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs … slaves … oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve … they shall come out with great possessions.

b)      What happened to the descendents of Jacob in Egypt? (Exodus 1:7-22) They multiplied in number and made slaves because a new Pharaoh did not know of Joseph.  Pharaoh wanted the male children killed at birth (compare to Herod, China), then he told the midwives to drown the boys in water.  Water = major theme.

c)      Allegory:  Egypt is to Israel, as what is to what? Pharaoh=Satan, Egypt=sin, Israel=us.  Egypt separates Israel from God.  Israrel forgets who they are and who God is.  God is going to take Israel out of Egypt, and Egypt out of Israel.

2.           Moses (Exodus 2-4)

a)      Why learn about Moses? Summary in Acts 7:17-45.  He prophesied and prefigured Christ:  Deut 18:15; Luke 24:27,44; John 1:45; 3:14; 5:46; 6:32; Acts 3:13-26; 7:37

b)      Birth and life in Egypt (Exodus 2)

1.      What was supposed to happen to Moses at birth? He should have been drowned.

2.      How did Moses survive? His mother hid him for three months, then put him in a basket ("ark") in the river.  Pharaoh's daughter saw him and adopted him.  His own mother was chosen as his paid nurse!

3.      What does his name mean? "Drawn out"

4.      How did he grow up? Nursed by his mother (knowing his culture) and then he lived as an Egyptian until he was 40. (Acts 7:20-22)

5.      What did he do that lost him the favor of Pharaoh? He slew an Egyptian that was beating a Hebrew.  The next day he saw two Hebrews fighting, and one asked "Who made you a prince and a judge over us", a prophetic question.  Pharaoh finds out about the murder and Moses flees.

c)      Exile and Mission (Exodus 3-4) Moses spends next 40 years in the wilderness.  He is like Joseph, sent ahead of Israel for their good. 

1.      How is Exodus 3:2-10 similar to Genesis 15:13-21?

1.      How did God manifest Himself to Moses? Mysterious fire (flaming torch, burning bush)

2.      What does God say about Israel's condition? They will be enslaved but He will liberate them

3.      Which covenant-promise to Abraham does God say He will fulfill? Land

2.      What does Moses say the people will ask, and what does God reveal? What is His name?  "YHWH", "I AM WHO AM"

3.      For what purpose is God freeing the Israelites? So that they can offer sacrifice (render worship) to Him

4.      What will happen when Egypt lets Israel go? They will despoil the Egyptians

5.      How does Moses complain, and how does God respond?

1.      First time (Exodus 4:1-9) They won't believe me or listen to me – God gives him signs to perform

2.      Second time (Exodus 4:10-12) I'm not a good speaker – God will give him the words

3.      Third time (Exodus 4:13-17) Send someone else – God will send Aaron, Moses' brother, with him

6.      What is God's message to Pharaoh? (Exodus 4:21-23) Let My firstborn (Israel) free to serve Me, or I will slay your firstborn.  (The other nations are God's "other" children.)  God sends Aaron to meet Moses.  Moses and Aaron return to Egypt and speak to the elders of Israel, showing them the signs God had given him.

3.           The 10 Plagues (Exodus 5-13)

a)      Moses and Aaron meet Pharaoh (Exodus 5-6) Moses' last 40 years are spent taking Israel out of Egypt

1.      What does God want of the Israelites? He wants the Israelites to take a three-days journey into the desert to serve Him (via sacrifice).

2.      What does Pharaoh want of them? He wants the Israelites to stay and serve him (via slave labor).

3.      What is Pharaoh's reaction to Moses' request? He makes the work harder for the Israelites, not supplying them with straw and expecting the same output of bricks.  The Israelites are angry with Moses and Aaron.

4.      How does Moses respond? He complains to God that since he came to Egypt Pharaoh has made it worse for the Israelites, and He has not saved them yet.

5.      What does God say He will do? (Exodus 6:6-8) I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God … And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.

b)      The First Nine Plagues (Exodus 7-10) Moses has Aaron throw his staff to the ground and it becomes a snake.  Pharaoh's magicians can do the same thing, but Aaron's staff consumes theirs.  God proclaims judgments on Egypt's gods.

1.      What is the first plague? (Exodus 7:19-22) Nile turns to blood, copied by the magicians

2.      What is the second plague? (Exodus 8:1-3) Frogs overrun the land, copied by the magicians

1.      What does Pharaoh promise?  Does he keep his promise? He will let the Israelites go to sacrifice if Moses removes the frogs; no.

3.      What is the third plague? (Exodus 8:12-15) Gnats from the dirt

1.      How is this plague different from the previous ones? Pharaoh's magicians can't copy it

4.      What is the fourth plague? (Exodus 8:16-19) Swarms of flies

1.      What happened to the Israelites? No flies for them

2.      What is the compromise Pharaoh offers? Sacrifice to God here, but it would be an abomination (because of the animals which would be sacrificed)

3.      What does Pharaoh promise?  Does he keep his promise? Sacrifice but not too far away; no.

5.      What is the fifth plague? (Exodus 9:6-7) Cattle dying

1.      What happened to the Israelites? Their cattle didn't die

6.      What is the sixth plague? (Exodus 9:10-11) Boils

7.      What is the seventh plague? (Exodus 9:22-26) Hailstorms

1.      What happened to the Israelites? No hail

2.      What does Pharaoh promise?  Does he keep his promise? Stop the hail and I'll let you go; no.

8.      What is the eighth plague? (Exodus 10:12-15) Locusts

9.      What is the ninth plague? (Exodus 10:21-23) Darkness

1.      What happened to the Israelites? No darkness.

2.      What is the compromise Pharaoh offers? Go worship God but don't bring animals.

3.      What does Pharaoh threaten Moses with? Death

c)      Passover and the 10^th Plague (Exodus 11-12)

1.      Remember God's words in Exodus 3:21-22 vs. Exodus 11:2-3. Israel will leave Egypt with plenty of possessions.

2.      How does God respond to Pharaoh's threat? (Exodus 11:4-7) He will take the life of the firstborn of Egypt.

3.      What is the Passover ritual? (Exodus 12:1-11) Get a lamb on the 10^th of the 1^st month (Nisan), inspect it until the 14^th, then kill it and mark the doorposts with its blood, then roast it and eat it with unleavened bread.

4.      Why is it called Passover (Pesach / Pascha)? (Exodus 12:12-13, 26-27) God would pass over where the blood of the Lamb is on the doorposts.  Israel would also be passing through the Red Sea, and passing over the Jordan into the land promised to them.

5.      What happened through Egypt? (Exodus 12:29-30) All the first-born of the Egyptians died, from the lowest slave all the way up to Pharaoh.

6.      Is this the lamb of God? (Exodus 12:3) No, each family has its own lamb

4.           Links between the Passover and Christ

a)      Get the lamb on 10 Nisan – Christ enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday

b)      Lamb is inspected until 14 Nisan – Christ is "inspected" by the Pharisees and everyone; Pilate says he finds no fault in him (John 18:38)

c)      Not a bone is to be broken (Ex 12:46; John 19:36)

d)      The Eucharist is the new Passover sacrificial meal

1.      "Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Cor 5:7)

2.      "You know that you were ransomed … with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Pet 1:18-19)

3.      "I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain" (Rev 5:6)

4.      "The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready … Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev 19:7-9)

Apparent anachronism in Exodus 16

What follows is from an email I wrote a year ago while taking part in the Great Adventure Bible Timeline study.  Someone brought up the mention of the ark of the covenant in Exodus 16, several chapters before it is created.  I sought to investigate the matter and resolve the apparent anachronism.

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In my reading [of Exodus 16] I had failed to catch the apparent anachronism of Aaron placing the jar of manna "before the testimony" (RSV) or "in front of the commandments" (NAB).

The issue might be one of punctuation. The RSV and the NAB and the KJV render verses 33 and 34 of Exodus 16 as two distinct sentences.

RSV: [33] And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD, to be kept throughout your generations." [34] As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the testimony, to be kept.

NAB: [33] Moses then told Aaron, "Take an urn and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD in safekeeping for your descendants." [34] So Aaron placed it in front of the commandments for safekeeping, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

KJV: [33] And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. [34] As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

However, the Douay-Rheims (a 1609 English translation of the Latin Vulgate) has a slightly different structure. Here, the beginning of verse 34 is the conclusion of the sentence in verse 33 (note the comma at the end of verse 33):

DR: [32] And Moses said: This is the word, which the Lord hath commanded: Fill a gomor of it, and let it be kept unto generations to come hereafter, that they may know the bread, wherewith I fed you in the wilderness, when you were brought forth out of the land of Egypt. [33] And Moses said to Aaron: Take a vessel, and put manna into it, as much as a gomor can hold: and lay it up before the Lord to keep unto your generations, [34] As the Lord commanded Moses. And Aaron put it in the tabernacle to be kept.

Whatever the punctuation should be, the "issue" can be resolved with the following explanation:

Re-read chapter 16. Note that verses 1-30 deal with events which are happening during the first week when the manna appeared. Now note the tone of verses 31-35. I would propose that these later verses are describing an event that took place later (at or after Sinai, since they expect the existence of the covenant), but they are not at all insinuating that these events actually happened before Sinai at all. I will support my proposal with Scriptural evidence:

In Exodus 16:31, the Hebrew phrase bayith Yisra'el is used for the first time. It literally means "the house of Israel". The phrase ben Yisra'el ("sons/children/people of Israel") is used plenty in chapter 16 (verses 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17, and 35). But here for the first time bayith Yisra'el appears in Scripture, in verse 31. Why is the phrase "House of Israel" used this time instead of "sons/children/people of Israel"?

I think we can come to the answer by looking for the next time "House of Israel" is used in Scripture. "House of Israel" appeared first in Exodus 16:31, speaking of them calling the substance "manna". The next time that "House of Israel" appears in Exodus 40:38, the very last verse of the very last chapter of Exodus: "For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel." By Exodus 40, the covenant has been made; the tabernacle and the ark and other elements of worship have been constructed. It is here that the context of Exodus 16:31-35 makes sense. Certainly the Israelites, when they first encountered the stuff, said "man na", but Exodus 16:31 is saying that "manna" is what it was "officially" called by the house of Israel, meaning those who were in covenant with God through Moses. My point is that "House of Israel" is a "covenant name"; it describes the Israelites in their covenant with God. As such, Exodus 16:31 is referring to something at or after the time of Sinai.

The language of Exodus 16:33-34 makes it clear that there was now "the presence of the LORD" and the tablets of the covenant. Exodus 16:35 is even more helpful: it is clearly written after the forty years had ended: "the people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land".

So if Exodus 16:35 was written to describe an event that took place much later than Exodus 16:1-30, I would argue that Exodus 16:31-34 are describing a later event as well. They are not "placing" the later event earlier in history than it happened, but they are describing the later event in the context of the rest of the chapter about the manna, and using contextual clues (such as the phrase "House of Israel") to indicate that. To further the point, Exodus 16 is the only place where "manna" is mentioned in the whole book of Exodus, and only in those last verses is the word "manna" (in English) used. It makes sense to have included the "future" of the manna in the same part of the story where it was introduced, especially since it simply never gets mentioned again.

The Exodus of St. Peter

Something hit me this morning at Mass. I was listening to the first reading -- from Acts -- and here is what I heard described (Acts 12:1-8 [RSV]):

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword; and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

The very night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison; and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Dress yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your mantle around you and follow me."

It occurred to me that the message given to Peter by the angel of the Lord was very similar to that given to Israel a few thousand years earlier (Exodus 12:8-11 [RSV]):

"They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ... In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's passover."

What providence! The Passover of the Lord was a foreshadowing of the Lord's Supper and the greatest paschal sacrifice in history... and the manner of the Exodus of the Passover was a foreshadowing of Peter's freedom from captivity!

(And they're both chapter 12.)