3.+The+Book+of+Exodus

= __** The Book of Exodus **__ =

The book of Exodus can be divided into four main sections;
1) The freeing of the Hebrews from slavery 2) Their journey to Mount Sinai 3) God’s covenant with his people 4) Building a place of worship for the people of Israel However, some sources state that the Book of Exodus is divided into only two sections, placing (1) and (2) in the first section and (3) and (4) in the second. No matter how this book is divided the message still remains the same; God is there to liberate the Hebrew slaves from oppression, God assists with the Israelites survival and God makes a covenant with his people with set rules and rituals.

1) The freeing of the Hebrews from slavery
The first section of Exodus outlines the birth of Moses during the time of the Pharaoh’s oppression towards the Israelites. They are not permitted to worship their God so they pray, and Moses is chosen by God to help set His people free. This message is sent through the well known story of the Burning Bush (Ex 3.2-4.18). When Moses returns to Egypt to appeal to the Pharaoh for the Israelites freedom, he is refused. Because of this Egypt is subjected to 10 different plagues as a consequence. Throughout the following plagues, the Israelites are never affected. 1. Water Turned to Blood 2. Frogs 3. Gnats 4. Flies 5. Diseased Livestock 6. Boils 7. Thunder and Hail 8. Locusts 9. Darkness 10. Death of the Firstborn After the final plague, the Pharaoh concedes to let the Israelites go and leave Egypt. However, shortly after Moses leads the people away the Pharaoh changes his mind resulting in his army chasing after the Israelites. Because of this Moses is forced to part The Red Sea so his people can escape, however the Pharaoh’s army is not so lucky (Ex 14.1-30).



2) Their Journey to Mount Sinai
Now the Israelites were free from the Pharaoh’s oppression, however they were stranded in the wilderness. At various stages they become angry with Moses for leading them out here and they believe that they would soon perish from lack of food and water. "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”(Ex 17.3). However, the Lord God provides the people of Israel with enough food and water to get them through this difficult time. At the end of this section Moses leads the people of Israel to the base of Mount Sinai.

<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 140%; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;">3) God’s covenant with his people
Once the Israelites had reached the mountain, God spoke to Moses and told him that on the third day God would appear as thunder and lightning around Mount Sinai. This is where God enters into a covenant with the Israelites, known as the //Sinai Covenant//. God swears that he will continue to protect the Israelites; “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.” (Ex 19.4-7). In turn the Israelites promise to be faithful to God alone through following his rules (the Ten Commandments (Ex 20.2-18)) and demonstrating special worship (Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant).

<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 140%; line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;">4) Building a place of Worship for the people of Israel
The Israelites has now entered into a covenant with God. They had agreed to abide by God’s Ten Commandments and to build a Temple, known as the Tabernacle, to worship Him. However the Israelites were struggling to keep the covenant with God, which is where the Book of Exodus ends. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 140%; line-height: 0px; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; overflow: hidden;">