← Back to sermon library

Exodus chapter 1. The last time 
we had a Bible study on a Wednesday night would have been November 
18th. And that night we finished Exodus 
chapter 10. But to just jump back into Exodus 
chapter 11 seems a bit difficult, at least for me. So I thought 
I'd read chapter 1 and then we'll go over the introduction to Exodus 
that we did probably 10 or 15 weeks prior to that shutdown. 
So I'll read beginning in verse 1 in chapter 1. Now these are 
the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt. Each 
man and his household came with Jacob, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, 
and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, 
Gad, and Asher. All those who were descendants 
of Jacob were seventy persons, for Joseph was in Egypt already, 
and Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. But 
the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied, 
and grew exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled with 
them. Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know 
Joseph. And he said to his people, Look, 
the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier 
than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with 
them, lest they multiply. And it happened, in the event 
of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, 
and so go up out of the land. Therefore they set taskmasters 
over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built 
for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Ramesses, But the more they 
afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they 
were in dread of the children of Israel. So the Egyptians made 
the children of Israel serve with rigor, and they made their 
lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, in brick, and in all 
manner of service in the field. All their service in which they 
made them serve was with rigor. Then the king of Egypt spoke 
to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shifra and 
the name of the other, Pua. And he said, when you do the 
duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstools, 
if it is a son, then you shall kill him. But if it is a daughter, 
then she shall live. But the midwives feared God and 
did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the 
male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for 
the midwives and said to them, why have you done this thing? 
And saved the male children alive. And the midwives said to Pharaoh, 
because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, 
for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come 
to them. Therefore, God dealt well with 
the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. 
And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that He provided 
households for them. So Pharaoh commanded all his 
people, saying, Every son who is born you shall cast into the 
river. And every daughter you shall save alive. Amen. So we looked at that, as I said, 
several, several months ago. But we always typically introduce 
a book by going over those things that are associated with biblical 
introduction. Perhaps you've seen books that 
say introduction to the New Testament or introduction to the Old Testament. 
What that means is that those books go through each of the 
books of the Old Testament or New Testament and deal with matters 
of date, authorship, main themes, all those sorts of things that 
help the reader get a good understanding as they enter into a study of 
the book. Now, in terms of title and author, 
in the Hebrew Bible, the name is simply the first two words 
in verse 1. These are the names. Those are 
two words in Hebrew, and that's the name of this particular book. 
Now in the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the 
Old Testament, it bears the name Exodus. And Exodus simply means 
movement from one geographical area to another. departure path 
course. We see that is precisely the 
emphasis here. They're in bondage in Egypt. 
Chapter 1 sets up that tension or that difficulty very well. 
The children of Israel are in bondage and so God, in His grace, 
raises up Moses to deliver them. There's an exodus out of Egypt 
back to the promised land. Now in terms of the connection 
between Genesis and Exodus, notice that in verse 1 of chapter 1 
it says, now these are the names. We could better translate that, 
and. And as well, the fact that it 
is in Egypt, the setting in verse 1, connects us with what came 
previously. The children of Israel are in 
Egypt, according to the end of the book of Genesis. And the 
fact that these are the names connects it with the same names 
that have already been given the sons of Jacob in the book 
of Genesis. So there is a strict connection 
between the two books. Actually, through the first five 
books of the Hebrew Bible, the books that we refer to as the 
Pentateuch. Now, in terms of the larger context, 
if you go back to Genesis chapter 15, Genesis 15, you see something 
concerning the context or the application of God's promise 
in the book of Exodus. In chapter 15, God is dealing 
with Abraham. He's ratifying a covenant with 
Abraham that in Abraham, all the nations of the earth will 
be blessed. Well, God shows or God tells about the captivity 
or about the bondage that they would suffer in Egypt. Verse 
13, Then he said to Abram, Know certainly that your descendants 
will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve 
them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. So that had 
been announced many years prior to the actual book of Exodus. 
And so when we consider this, we see the fulfillment of God's 
Word, even in this difficult situation. But as we continue 
on in verse 14, we see foreshadowing of the Exodus. So in verse 14 
it says, "...and also the nation whom they serve I will judge. Afterward they shall come out 
with great possessions." So when we get to the book of Exodus, 
we ought to remember that this happens according to the promise 
of God. not only the oppression and the bondage but also ultimately 
the deliverance from Egypt with reference to a great provision 
by God in terms of the Egyptians basically telling the children 
of Israel to leave and throwing gold and all manner of riches 
at them. One man, John Currid, has said 
that the central message of the book of Exodus is God's keeping 
of that promise by delivering Abraham's offspring from slavery 
in the land of Egypt. So that's the overarching emphasis 
that you have in this particular book. Now, in terms of authorship, 
it is Moses. Another man says, the book itself 
is not a separate independent work, but a subsection of what 
has virtually always been understood as a five-part work, the Pentateuch. And there's great rhyme and reason 
between the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and 
Deuteronomy. Now, secondly, in terms of the 
outline of Exodus, Isaac has reminded me of the 3D outline 
that I often refer to as we're moving through the book of Exodus 
in our scripture reading on Sunday night. But broadly speaking, 
you could have it in two sections. One, chapters 1 to 18 would be 
the deliverance from Egypt, and then the second broad section 
would be chapters 19 to 40, the establishment of the covenant 
people. So you have deliverance of the people of Israel from 
bondage and then the establishment of these people as God's covenant 
people. Now in terms of a detailed outline, 
and again we've already seen some of this, we find ourselves 
having looked at the 9th plague in chapter 10. Chapter 11 is 
a bit of an announcement concerning the 10th plague. Chapter 12 introduces 
the Passover and then indicates the actual 10th plague itself. 
So we're already somewhat into this book, but by way of reminder, 
in the first two chapters you have Israel's Egyptian oppression 
and God's choice of a deliverer. We know that they are under bondage, 
and God uses Moses as the human instrument by which God will 
deliver the children of Israel. And then in chapters 3 to 7, 
7-7 specifically, you have Moses' call, commission, and challenge. And that was not without incident. Remember, Moses wasn't saying, 
here am I, Lord, send me. It was more of a, here am I, 
Lord, send someone else. He really wasn't interested in 
service in this particular capacity and so over a series of narratives 
God commends to him this particular work and God commends to him 
as well his grace that would be necessary for that work. Now 
then we come into the next section, chapter 7, and that continues 
all the way to chapter 11. Again, that's where we find ourselves. 
It is the 10 plagues. It is God's judgment on the gods 
of Egypt. After that, you have the Passover 
and the Exodus proper. Then you have the wilderness 
journey to Sinai. You have covenant law in chapters 
20 to 31. And then rebellion, renewal, 
and fulfillment of God's instructions for the tabernacle after chapter 
32. continuing to chapter 40. Now back to that 3D outline, 
basically you have deliverance, God delivers Israel according 
to chapters 1 to 19, God then demands from Israel by giving 
them his law from 20 to 24, and then you have the promise of 
God's dwelling with his people, in chapters 25 to 40. So again, 
that's more of a homiletical or a preaching outline, but I 
think it makes good sense of the major sections in the book 
of Exodus. Now thirdly, in terms of the 
contents, as I said, the birth and call of Moses take up a lot 
of attention in verses 1 to 4. And well, it should, because 
Moses is going to function in a monumental way in terms of 
the human instrument of God's deliverance. He's going to have 
to face down Pharaoh, a man who has grown quite accustomed to 
having a slave force, and Moses is going to have to go appear 
before that man and demand that he let his people go. So this 
is going to take great courage on the part of Moses. It's going 
to take great equipping on the part of Moses. It's going to 
take the kind of steel in his veins that will give him the 
ability to do what it is that God called him to do. So we have 
his preparation. all the various things that he 
goes through, all the various lessons that he learns, and then 
you have his role. And his role, specifically, he 
functions as a covenant mediator. And it is very intriguing because 
a lot of people see Moses as a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
especially Moses as a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Christ 
is revealed to us in the Gospel of Matthew. I think I've told 
you before that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, especially the 
synoptics, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, report the same things. They do it in different ways, 
not differences in terms of contradiction or in terms of non-truth, but 
they do it with theological ends in view. And one of Matthew's 
theological ends in view, I think, is to show that Jesus is what 
Israel had been purposed to be. In other words, Adam was created 
by God to do a specific task. Excuse me for just a moment. 
Adam, of course, failed. And then we always think of Jesus 
as the second or last Adam. I prefer to refer to Jesus as 
the last Adam because I think Israel was an Adam-type figure 
in the wilderness also. There's a lot of similarities 
between Adam the first, Israel in the wilderness and in the 
land, and then our Lord Jesus Christ. So some have seen a close 
connection between Moses as a type and Jesus as an anti-type. Just 
consider a few things. The Book of Exodus begins with 
a genealogy. So does the Gospel of Matthew. The Book of Exodus begins or 
goes on into the birth of a deliverer. So does the Gospel of Matthew. 
We have Pharaoh persecuting Israel in the Book of Exodus. You have 
Herod oppressing the Jews in the Gospel of Matthew. You have 
Moses flee from Egypt because of the death that he inflicted 
upon the Egyptian man. And you have Jesus fleeing to 
Egypt in the early chapters of Matthew. You have Pharaoh killing 
male children here in chapter 1. And the same thing obtains 
in Matthew chapter 2, Herod, not Harold, that was somebody 
else who was killing male children, but you had Herod killing male 
children in Matthew chapter 2. And then you have Israel go through 
the waters of the Red Sea. Jesus does that in his baptism. Again, the parallel not just 
between Jesus and Moses, but Moses representing the nation 
of Israel. There is typology. And the Gospel 
writers hope that, or expect you, to pick up on that, so you'll 
see that Jesus is fulfilling a particular mandate that was 
first given to Adam, and then it was then given to Israel, 
both of which fail, but Jesus carries it out. So Israel goes 
through the Red Sea, Jesus goes through the waters of baptism. 
After going through the Red Sea, after wandering for a time, ultimately 
Israel ends up in the wilderness, and there they're tempted by 
several issues and hardships and difficulties. Well, the same 
obtains with our Lord. After the baptism, the next scene 
is the wilderness for our Lord Jesus Christ. And then, of course, 
you have the giving of the law at Sinai in Exodus chapter 20. And then you have Jesus' Sermon 
on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5 to 7. So when you come to the 
New Testament, you need to understand that the New Testament authors 
are very conscious of the Old Testament. They're very mindful 
of the Old Testament. They know they are not doing 
something new, but rather they are completing something that 
had already been given. So what we have in the Old Testament 
is promise or anticipation. And what we have in the New Testament 
is fulfillment or realization. And so it shouldn't surprise 
us when New Testament authors go out of their way to show how 
that is occurring in the life and ministry, say for instance, 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul does the same thing in Romans 
chapter 5. He makes the connection between 
Adam and between the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, he does this to 
establish the foundation of what we call federal or covenant theology. He tells us specifically that 
Adam was a type of him who was to come. Now, Adam had always 
been a type. He wasn't a type simply when 
Paul identified him as such. But Adam coming from the hand 
of God is typical of our Lord Jesus Christ because God has 
one decree that is inclusive of the salvation of all sinners 
in both Testaments by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. So you have the birth and call 
of Moses in terms of the first section of contents in the book. And then second, you have the 
redemption of Israel. And as we might expect, redemption 
doesn't come without the shedding of blood. Now in the particular 
instance of Israel's redemption, the shedding of blood comes through 
the shedding of the blood of the Egyptians. The Passover celebration 
recognizes that and celebrates that, and in fact, the Song of 
Moses in Exodus chapter 15, they praise Yahweh specifically for 
His retributive justice inflicted upon the Egyptians. In other 
words, they praise God for having meted out His judgment and poured 
out His wrath upon those covenant breakers. So with reference to 
the plagues, we remember, we've seen the first was water and 
the blood, the second was the plague of frogs, the third was 
the plague of lice, the fourth was flies, the fifth was the 
livestock diseased, the sixth was the boils, seventh was the 
hail, eighth was the locusts, ninth the darkness, and then 
we'll see, God willing, next week, or within two weeks, the 
reality that the death of the firstborn would be that tenth 
and final plague. It's on the heels of that particular 
plague that the children of Israel are then released from their 
bondage and they're free to depart to return to Canaan. So there is in the infliction 
of these plagues judgment upon Egypt to be sure, judgment upon 
Pharaoh to be sure, but as well judgment against the gods of 
Egypt. If you turn to Exodus chapter 
12, specifically at verse 12. And while we're turning there, 
something we'll notice in chapter 11 and 12 is that God himself 
is the executioner when it comes to that tenth plague. Not that 
he wasn't involved in the boils, not that he wasn't involved in 
the lice, or the flies, or the frogs, or the blood. But he works 
immediately, not immediately through creation or through creature, 
but he works immediately with reference to that 10th plague, 
and he himself is the destroyer of the firstborn. And he indicates 
that in Exodus chapter 12 at verse 12. For I will pass through 
the land of Egypt on that night. and will strike all the firstborn 
in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And against all the 
gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord." So 
remember that Egypt was a polytheistic society. They had a plethora 
of gods. They had a god for everything. 
And many scholars and commentators see that in each of the plagues, 
A particular god of Egypt is the target for destruction. So 
God is showing, the God of Israel is showing His supremacy, His 
power and His glory over creation and over the men that He had 
made. And all the world will ultimately know that there is 
a God in Israel and the Egyptians themselves find that out. In fact, in chapter 11, there's 
a bit of tension in the sense that it's the commoners, the 
people on the ground, had already witnessed what Yahweh had done 
nine times. Pharaoh is incorrigible. I would suggest or submit, at 
the popular level, a lot of the regular ordinary Jews populating 
Egypt were probably pretty willing for these plagues to stop. give 
them what they want and send them out of the land. But Pharaoh 
doubles down. Pharaoh takes a stand against 
Yahweh and against his Christ. Pharaoh really rises to the occasion, 
as it were, so God does bring this judgment to bear, again, 
not only against Pharaoh, and against Egypt as a whole, but 
against the gods of Egypt. John Curt again says, at the 
center of the plague narrative is a contest, but it is not primarily 
a contest between Moses and Pharaoh, or between Moses and the Egyptian 
magicians, or for that matter between Israel and Egypt. This 
is heavenly combat, that is, a war between the God of the 
Hebrews and the deities of Egypt. The biblical writer accurately 
sees that the matter at hand is theological. It is a question 
of who is the one true God, who is sovereign over the operation 
of the universe, and whose will is going to come to pass in heaven 
and on earth. And we see that in other places 
as well. Remember that situation in 1 
Kings 18. That is a God contest. When Elijah is at Mount Carmel, 
the issue there again is theology. Elijah lays down the gauntlet. He says, how long will you halt 
between two opinions? If Baal is God, worship him. If Yahweh is God, worship him. So God the Lord gives Elijah 
specific instructions to have a contest. Whose God will reign 
supreme in that particular battle? And the same thing is true with 
reference to the plague narrative. God not only executes his judgment 
against Egypt, but against the gods of Egypt. Kurd goes on to 
say that mockery of Egyptian polytheism is a central focus 
of the plague account. So it is mockery of their polytheistic 
plan and their polytheistic right. And then with reference to the 
Passover and Exodus. So again, the broader section 
or the broader context is the redemption of Israel. So you 
have the plagues and then you have the Passover and Exodus. And with reference to the Passover, 
there is this detailed ritual. The first part uses blood, and 
the second part uses unleavened bread. We know that this is typical 
as well, especially the blood component of this particular 
rite. We have specific biblical warrant 
to refer to this typically, because we have the antitype identified 
for us in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 7. For indeed Christ, our Passover, 
was sacrificed for us. Remember about that preposition 
anti, it doesn't always mean against, it also means in the 
place of. And when you hear the word anti-type, 
it's not against the type, it's in the place of the type. In 
other words, whatever the type represented, the anti-type fulfills. So anti in antitype does not 
mean against. It means in the place of, in 
the stead of, or better, it is the fulfillment of. There are 
times when that preposition does mean against something. The word 
antichrist, that's certainly somebody that's against Christ, 
but as well, he has placed himself in the place of Christ. He has 
put himself in the stead of Christ. So with reference to that word, 
it doesn't always mean against something. And I think with reference 
to the word anti-type, people might get that in their head. 
Well, if Moses was a type and Jesus is the anti-type, does 
that mean Jesus is completely against Moses? No, whatever was 
representative of Jesus in Moses is fulfilled in Jesus because 
he is the anti-type. So you have the Passover and 
the Exodus, and as I've already said, in chapter 15, there is 
this Song of Moses, and I think that practically, the Song of 
Moses teaches us something that the Apostle Paul highlights throughout 
his writings. In Ephesians 1, he says, blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed 
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 
Notice what he does. He doesn't say, I'm going to 
argue for Calvinism. I'm going to argue for Reformed 
theology. I'm going to smash and obliterate 
Arminianism and Pelagianism. Now, everything he says in chapter 
1 verses 3 to 14 does do that, but the specific context is blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, 
the redeeming work of God provokes or evokes out of the redeemed 
of God praise and adoration and worship. One man has well said, 
theology promotes doxology. When we understand the great 
power of God, especially demonstrated in the redemption of our soul 
and body, the legitimate response is to compose the song of Moses. And that is precisely what they 
do. So Pharaoh and his army gives chase, and they are destroyed 
in the Red Sea, and then the emerging Israelites celebrate 
and worship and praise God Most High. But as I mentioned, and 
something I tried to bring out on Sunday morning, is that the 
people of God in both Testaments rejoice in the justice of God. We certainly rejoice in His mercy, 
His grace, His goodness, His kindness, the fact that He forgives 
us of our sin, but as well we rejoice in His justice and in 
His righteousness, the reality that Christ must reign till all 
of His enemies are made His footstool. Now, in the making of his enemies, 
his footstool, certainly some of that comes through salvation. 
But another aspect or another part of that comes through conquest, 
through destruction. You can turn to the book of Revelation 
and see that very thing. I turned us to 2 Thessalonians 
1, where Paul says it is right with God to trouble or to give 
tribulation to those who afflict you. It is a good thing, in other 
words. At the fall of Babylon and the 
false prophet in Revelation chapter 19, or in response to that, there's 
this fourfold hallelujah from the saints of God to God who 
had avenged them. And the same thing is here. Notice 
in chapter 1. It says, I will sing to the Lord, 
for He has triumphed gloriously. The horse and its rider He has 
thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, 
and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise 
Him. My Father is God, and I will 
exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war. The 
Lord is His name. I don't really see the Christian 
church imitating this kind of praying when God comes to deal 
with His enemies. It's not wrong to praise God 
for executing His justice upon His enemies. And the saints of 
Christ in this instance realize that. The Lord is a man of war, 
the Lord is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army 
he has cast into the sea. His chosen captains also are 
drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them. 
They sank to the bottom like a stone. You can already hear 
it today. That's vicious. That's cruel. That's horrific. 
You should never celebrate at the demise of the enemies of 
God. Well, the Bible doesn't present 
that. And if evangelicalism or reformed 
is presenting that, it's not correct. Scripture is absolutely 
clear. Yes, we praise God for His mercy, 
but we also praise God for His justice, and especially as those 
blood-bought, because we know something of His justice and 
of His righteousness. And in the same vein, we can 
praise Him for having spared us by inflicting the justice 
that we deserve upon the Son of His love. So they celebrate 
this great redemptive work by God in praising God specifically 
for his judgment upon the enemies of God. And then we have the 
journey to Sinai and basically a murmuring in the wilderness 
in chapters 15 to 19. And if you don't get enough of 
it there, you'll get plenty of it in the book of Numbers. The 
scriptures are pretty clear at the level of, let's not complain 
and grumble if we're the people of God. So we need to learn from 
that. Basically, you have the complaint 
at Merah, you have the manna from heaven, and you have the 
water from the rock. So even in the midst of their 
whining, of their grumbling, of their complaining, God nevertheless 
sustains them and God nevertheless gives them provision. Now, when 
we get to Sinai, in about chapters 19 to 24, we have a sort of a 
major aspect of the book of Exodus in play. You have the covenant 
established and ratified, and in the space of a few chapters, 
you see what I have referred to before as the threefold division 
of the law. I think I commended a book by 
Philip Ross. He has an excellent study on 
the threefold division of the law. And one of the issues that 
come up when we discuss this particular identification of 
God's law is that it's only been around since about the 13th century. Well, if it was right, it wouldn't 
matter even if it had only been around since the 13th century. 
But scholars typically trace it back to Thomas Aquinas and 
say that he was the one that developed this threefold division 
of the law. Well, that's simply not true. not only in terms of what we 
see in scripture, but also in terms of what we see in church 
history. It wasn't Aquinas who developed 
this, certainly he articulated it, but he didn't develop it. 
You see the threefold division of the law very clearly portrayed 
in Exodus chapter 19 to 24. In the first place, look at the 
mission of Israel in chapter 19 at verse 6. This is why I 
say they are a type of Adam or they are an Adam-like group. In verse 6, you shall be to me 
a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which 
you shall speak to the children of Israel. Notice, you shall 
be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Now Adam's 
task primarily was not agrarian. Definitely he had the agrarian 
blood in him and he was supposed to till and hoe and do all those 
sorts of things, but Adam was a priest unto God. Adam was tasked 
with extending the garden temple to encompass the earth as a priest 
of God to mediate the blessings of God to creation. Well, again, 
Adam fails. So God sends Israel into the 
Promised Land with that particular mandate. You're going to be a 
kingdom of priests and you're going to be a holy nation. Now, 
for those of you who've seen that language before, it's New 
Covenant language applied to the Church of Jesus Christ. Because 
of the victory of Christ, who is in fact the Israel of God, 
the Church in union with Him functions in that capacity as 
a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The Apostle Peter takes 
that very language, as does the Apostle John in the book of Revelation, 
and they apply it to the Church of Jesus Christ. That is anti-dispensationalism. There is no way one can sustain 
dispensationalism in a construct like that when an old covenant 
concept is applied to Israel and then it's applied to the 
church, which according to the New Testament is the Israel of 
God. It's the blood-bought children 
of God, whatever covenant they find themselves under, that are 
in fact the Israel of God, that kingdom of priests and holy nation. So that's sort of the mission 
that they have. You have the setting there at 
Sinai in chapter 19, a lot of pomp, a lot of show, a lot of 
majesty, a lot of terror, and a lot of glory. And then you 
have the giving of the Decalogue, or the Ten Commandments, in verses 
1 to 17. Our confession describes the 
moral law this way, Decalogue Moral Law. The same law that 
was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect 
rule of righteousness after the fall and was delivered by God 
upon Mount Sinai in ten commandments and written in two tables, the 
four first containing our duty towards God and the other six 
our duty to man. Notice what the confession does 
there. The confession links the giving of the law at Sinai with 
Adam. In other words, Adam coming from 
the hand of God had the law of God as well. It's not as if this 
is a brand new law. you see these laws broken and 
enforced prior to Sinai, which indicates that they were in play 
prior to Sinai. So this is a summary statement 
or a codification of the moral law of God that was given to 
Adam that was seen throughout the time pre-Sinai and then codified 
or summarized here at Sinai. And then you have, of course, 
the reaction of the people. There's a fear, and basically 
Moses tells them that they're not to fear in the run-and-hide-under-the-table 
type of fear, but to fear in the reverential awe for God Most 
High. And then you have the Book of 
the Covenant, chapters 21 to 23. And this is wherein you see 
judicial law. These are laws given to govern 
the nation of Israel when they go into the land of promise. 
our confession again, commenting on judicial law. To them also 
he gave sundry judicial laws, which expired together with the 
state of that people, not obliging any now, by virtue of that institution, 
their general equity only being of moral use. So essentially 
what the Confession recognizes is that the people of Israel 
were given these laws in order to govern their tenure in the 
land. And when it says that these expired 
together with the state of that people, not obliging any now 
by virtue of that institution. In other words, it was a theocracy. It was an old covenant commonwealth 
directly ruled over by God Almighty. That does not obtain in our situation. So there's no binding obligation 
on us in terms of the judicial law because it was given to Israel 
in the old covenant. I think people make mistakes 
at times about this particular aspect. But what the confession 
does go on to say is their general equity only being of moral use. Now, that becomes a bit difficult, 
but at the same time, it's not that hard. When we go through 
these judicial laws given by God to Moses to govern the nation 
for their tenure in the land, you'll see that at the heart 
of each of these laws is one of the moral laws of God. So 
any law prohibiting bodily injury, for instance, that's a specific 
application of the Sixth Commandment. Any law, case law, or judicial 
law that governs property rights, we see how that effect, or that 
goes back to the Eighth Commandment. And so it's not difficult in 
this current situation, or it is maybe, but we need to think 
through it, what's the general equity of these old covenant 
laws? If in fact there is a moral principle 
at the hub, namely the Sixth Commandment, can we see how those 
things ought to be applicable in our own generation? It may 
take a little work, it may take a little effort, but it's certainly 
worth engaging in because it will pay great dividends. Francis 
Turretin gives us a hint on how to find the general equity in 
the judicial laws of Moses. He says, one that which prevails 
not only among the Jews but also among the Gentiles following 
the light of right reason is of common right. There are some 
things that are particular only to the Jews. Well most likely 
there's not a specific application for us beyond maybe some wisdom 
or some guidance or some instruction that we may receive. He says, 
secondly, what is found to be conformed to the precepts of 
the Decalogue and serves to explain and conform it. So again, it's 
not that these are useless laws. These are useful laws that we 
are subject to. But the reason we're subject 
to it isn't necessarily because of the theocratic nation of Israel 
in the Old Covenant. And then third, the things so 
repeated in the New Testament that their observance is commended 
to Christians. Now I think Turretin does a better 
job at promoting what has been called today theonomy than theonomy 
does itself. I think that this is a better 
framework to understand a proper use of the judicial law of Moses, 
and I think it satisfies and jives with a confessional view 
of the law. If you don't understand the last 
five sentences, that's okay. It's just come up in a couple 
of private meetings lately, and I just felt I needed to get that 
out. If you do understand it and you amen it, great. If you 
disagree, let's talk. And then you've got the ratification 
of the covenant at the end of this section in chapter 24. And 
two things intriguingly here. Two things intriguingly here. 
In the first place, it is ratified by blood. That's no accident. The book of Hebrews makes much 
of that. The first covenant was ratified 
by blood. Obviously, the new covenant, 
or the better covenant, or the second covenant is ratified by 
blood. In the old covenant, it was blood 
of bulls and goats, which the author of Hebrews says can never 
take away sin. Again, functioning typically, 
pointing to the anti-type, the in the place of, the Levitical 
sacrifices comes and fulfills the task of covenant mediator. He is the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin of the world. So you have that ratification 
by blood, but also in Exodus chapter 24, you see their oath 
of fidelity repeated twice in verses three and seven. Now, 
our confession differs a bit from the Westminster Confession. 
For those of you who have studied along with us in the Confession 
study, you'll know that the Second London Confession pretty well 
copies the Westminster and the Savoy Declaration. And they tell 
us why they did that. We had no desire, we had no itch 
to clog religion with new words. In other words, they said the 
wheel was invented. We couldn't do a whole lot better 
than make the wheel over again. So they basically copied the 
Westminster and the Savoy Declaration. Before we cried foul and plagiarism, 
that was quite common back in those days to do that. But there 
are some fundamental distinctions along the way, and one of those 
distinctions comes in the chapter on covenant. The Westminster 
Confession Presbyterians see the Old Covenant as an administration 
of the Covenant of Grace. The Baptists did not follow them 
then. The Baptists, along with certain 
other Paedo-Baptists, did not see the Old Covenant as a covenant 
of grace, but rather they saw it as a covenant of works. So 
Adam was placed in a covenant of works and failed. Israel is 
placed in a covenant of works and fails. Jesus comes and is 
placed in a covenant of works and he passes. He fulfills. He does what his counterparts 
failed to do. And when you look at Exodus 24, 
verses 3 and 7, you see indication that the people of Israel understood 
all too well that they were in a covenant of works. all the 
words which the Lord has said, we will do. And then in verse 
seven, all that the Lord has said, we will do. And so we have 
the moral law, we have the judicial law, we have the ratification 
of the covenant, and then moving to another large section in the 
book, we have the instructions for the tabernacle in verses, 
or rather chapters 25 to 31. Here comes the third part of 
the threefold division of the law. Moral Law, Chapter 20, Judicial 
Law, Chapters 21 to 23, and now Ceremonial Law. Not that there's 
no Ceremonial Law prior to that, but you see the clear distinction 
in terms of that three-fold division. You have the Ten Commandments, 
You have the application of those commandments in the body politic 
and then you have the laws governing worship and the approach to God 
that we find in the book of Exodus and we find especially in the 
book of Leviticus. Leviticus really celebrates and 
amplifies and demonstrates for us ceremonial law and it shows 
us as well how it points to the Lord Jesus Christ. So in our 
confession, again, with reference to the ceremonial law, it says, 
besides this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give 
to the people of Israel ceremonial laws, containing several typical 
ordinances. There's that word typical again. 
Partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, 
sufferings, and benefits, and partly holding forth divers instructions 
and moral duties, all which ceremonial laws being appointed only to 
the time of reformation are by Jesus Christ the true Messiah 
and only lawgiver who is furnished with power from the Father for 
that end, abrogated and taken away. So he abrogates and takes 
away the ceremonial law, not because it was bad, but because 
it had now been fulfilled. This is why you have problems 
when people try to argue this way with reference to the moral 
law. Well, Jesus fulfilled the moral law. Yes, but it still 
is binding upon us. part of the function of ceremonial 
law was to point us to and get us to Christ now that he comes 
to fulfill that law it is no longer binding it is no longer 
governing the people of God not so with moral law having you 
know, illicit relations with your neighbor's wife is always 
wrong. So Jesus doesn't fulfill that 
so that we can engage in that. No, that's a different category, 
and we need to make sure we understand that. So you've got the threefold 
division of the law right here in the book of Exodus. And then, 
of course, after leaving this particular law section, you have 
the golden calf incident in chapters 32, and then you have renewal. Now, if in fact the old covenant 
was a covenant of works, it underscores God's patience. It underscores 
God's grace. I'm not suggesting no one was 
saved in this particular covenant, but they were saved by virtue 
of the promise given in Genesis 315, and that would be fully 
realized in the coming of the Lord Jesus. They were saved by 
virtue of the covenant of grace, not by virtue of their covenant 
of works. So you have the golden calf, 
and then you have covenant renewal. And then that brings us to the 
end of the book, which is the construction and dedication of 
the tabernacle in chapters 35 to 40. William J. Dunbrell says, finally, the remaining 
chapters of Exodus remind us that redemption leads inevitably 
to worship. the pattern for which is given 
from heaven, and the content of which is basically the acknowledgment 
of God as King." So that emphasis, or the way the trajectory of 
the book goes, you've got redemption, then you've got demand, and then 
you've got dwelling. It does parallel, in a large 
degree, the movement in the Christian life. We're justified freely 
by God's grace. We're appointed by the Lord Jesus 
to the law, not as a means unto our salvation or our justification, 
but as a pattern for our sanctification. And throughout, we return praise, 
glory, and worship to our blessed God and Savior. And then finally, 
in terms of some of the theological themes in the book, we have the 
doctrine of God. Exodus 3.14 is a key text in 
understanding who God is. We spent a little time in that 
passage when we were there, but I just want to remind you that 
it's a most essential text in terms of knowing who God is. 
And then you have the doctrine of salvation. If you're near 
there, you can turn to Exodus chapter 6, where I think Exodus 
chapter 6 gets at the very core of redemption or salvation with 
four specific thoughts. In the first place, the Lord 
God redeems His people, verse 6, in Exodus 6. I will bring 
you out, I will rescue you, I will redeem you. Secondly, the Lord 
God establishes His covenant with His people. Verse 7, I will 
take you as My people, and I will be your God. Third, the Lord 
God reveals Himself to His people in 7B, Then you shall know that 
I am the Lord your God. And then fourthly, the Lord God 
fulfills His promises. Verse 8, And I will bring you 
into the land which I swore. to give to Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob. And then, of course, the final 
theme is that the book of Exodus is replete throughout the rest 
of the Bible. In other words, it serves as 
sort of a foundational expression of God's redemption of His people. And so when we move through the 
prophets, and we move through the Psalms, and when we make 
our way into the New Testament, you will see that, if not direct 
quotation from the Book of Exodus, there's a lot of allusion, there's 
a lot of thematic sort of ordering of narrative. based on what had 
been done in the book of Exodus. In fact, in specifically Luke's 
gospel at the Mount of Transfiguration, when Moses and Elijah appeared 
to our Lord, they speak to the Lord about His exodus. The Greek 
word is exodus, typically rendered departure or even death, but 
that's what they have in view. So there are echoes of Exodus 
all throughout the Bible because it is a foundational work of 
God in the manifestation of His grace and mercy in the redemption 
and deliverance of His people. So hopefully that's enough of 
a reminder. God willing, next week we'll look at chapter, probably 
review a bit of chapter 10, just to summarize the nine plagues. And then we'll look at chapter 
11 as a transition chapter in terms of the announcement of 
the horrors, if you are an Egyptian, of the Tenth Plague, and of the 
blessing, if you're an Israelite, of the Tenth Plague, because 
that would be the means by which Pharaoh would let the people 
go. So I'll close in a word of prayer. 
Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for the Word of God, we thank 
you for the consistency between the Testaments, and we thank 
you, God, that that message of salvation by grace through faith 
in Christ Jesus shines forth from Genesis to Revelation. We 
thank you for the Book of Exodus and the great things that it 
teaches, and we pray that you would give us ears to hear, hearts 
to understand, and the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. And we 
ask now that you would go with us. Again, we pray for Mr. Bolt. 
We just commit our brother into your care, into your hand, and 
we ask God in heaven that you would be merciful to him and 
sustain Susan and the children and grandchildren as well. And 
we ask through Jesus Christ