Although the book of Genesis is rich, in this book we do not see God’s glory manifested among His people in a substantial way. However, in chapter forty of Exodus, the glory of God came down visibly and substantially when the tabernacle was erected. Not only did the glory of God come down upon the tabernacle, but it also filled it.
A further contrast between Genesis and Exodus is seen in the way the fall is presented in these two books. The Bible shows us different aspects of man’s fall. In Genesis the fall was a fall into rebellion and idolatry, that is, a fall into Babel. Before we were saved, we were in Babel, in a land of rebellion and idolatry. But we were also in Egypt, the place of the fall as described in Exodus. Egypt is a land of fleshly enjoyment. This enjoyment brings people into slavery, under bondage. Therefore, in the Bible, Egypt signifies the world as the fleshly enjoyment which brings us into slavery. Before we were saved, we were in Babel on the one hand and in Egypt on the other. This means that we were in rebellion and idolatry and also in the world with its enjoyment, including sports and entertainments. The fleshly enjoyment in the world is for the satisfaction of the natural man. Through this fleshly and worldly enjoyment, fallen man is held in slavery under Satan as his Pharaoh. Fallen people are like those in Babel and like the children of Israel in Egypt. If we were limited to the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the book of Genesis, we would see only the aspect of our fall that is depicted by Babel. We would see rebellion and idolatry, but not slavery and bondage through worldly enjoyment. Even with man’s fall there are two lines. On one hand, we are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; on the other hand, we are the children of Israel.
Having seen many of the contrasts between Genesis and Exodus, we should no longer consider Exodus a continuation of Genesis as far as our experience is concerned. To repeat, Exodus is not a continuation of the spiritual experience in Genesis; it reveals another side or line of the believer’s experience. The experience in Genesis is somewhat vague and abstract, but the experience presented in Exodus is solid and substantial. Every aspect of the experience in Exodus is solid, from the Lord’s presence as the pillar to the glory filling the tabernacle.
Both Genesis and Exodus contain pictures of the spiritual experiences described in the New Testament. The pictures in Genesis, however, are not as definite as those in Exodus. From beginning to end, Exodus is a picture book. Both Pharaoh and the land of Egypt, for example, are pictures. Pharaoh portrays Satan, and Egypt depicts the rich, productive aspect of the world. (The sinful aspect of the world is represented by Sodom.) Watered by the Nile, the land of Egypt produces cucumbers, garlic, leeks, and onions. During the years of wandering in the wilderness, the children of Israel complained about the lack of those particular foods that they enjoyed abundantly in Egypt. In Egypt the Israelites had much enjoyment of the Egyptian produce, but in the wilderness they had only manna to eat. This is a picture.
As you read the book of Exodus, keep in mind that you are not merely reading words, but looking at pictures. The celebration of the Passover and the smiting of the firstborn by the destroying angel are pictures. While all the firstborn in Egypt were being smitten, the children of Israel were enjoying peace, rest, and safety as they ate the Passover lamb in their houses under the covering of the blood. What a marvelous picture! The pursuit of the Israelites by Pharaoh and his armies is also a picture of Satan and his host of rebellious angels in pursuit of God’s redeemed ones. When we come to the book of Exodus, we are watching a heavenly television. On this television we see pictures of our own redemption and salvation. Pharaoh and his army pursued the children of Israel into the Red Sea and were drowned there. The Israelites, however, marched through the sea triumphantly. Nowhere else in the Bible can we find such a picture.
We see more pictures in the calling of Moses. When God called Moses, He firstly gave him a vision of a burning bush, a bush that was burning without being consumed (3:2-4). Unable to escape God’s calling, Moses expressed his concern that the children of Israel would not believe him nor hearken to his voice (4:1). Therefore, God told Moses to cast his rod on the ground. When Moses did so, the rod became a serpent. But when Moses took up the serpent by the tail, it became a rod again in his hand (4:2-4). Then the Lord commanded Moses to put his hand into his bosom. When Moses took his hand out of his bosom, it was “leprous as snow” (4:6). At the Lord’s command, he put his hand into his bosom again and took it out, and “it was turned again as his other flesh” (4:7). After showing these signs to Moses, signs that were to be proofs to the children of Israel that the Lord had truly appeared to him, the Lord said, “If they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice,...thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land” (4:9). This was to be a further sign.
These signs are very meaningful. The bush denotes our natural man. The fact that the bush was burning without being consumed indicates that when God calls us, He does not intend to use our natural man.
The rod represents anything other than God that we rely on. The rod becoming a serpent reveals that anything apart from God that we rely upon is a serpent, the Devil. Thus, if you rely upon your husband or wife, your husband or wife is a “serpent.” The same is true of your education or your bank account. When we obey the Lord to cast down the rod, it becomes a serpent. But God does not want us to cast away the rod forever. At His command, we need to take it up again by the “tail.” We need to grasp our education or bank account by the “tail.”
Moses’ hand becoming leprous is an indication that in our flesh there is nothing good; our flesh is the embodiment of leprosy. If we touch ourselves, we become leprous.
Finally, the changing of the water of the Nile into blood signifies that the enjoyment of the world is death.
These signs indicate that God will not use our natural man, that everything we rely on other than God is Satan, that our flesh is leprous, and that the enjoyment of the world is death. These are some of the pictures in Exodus. There are other pictures in this book related to the Red Sea, the manna, the water flowing from the smitten rock, and the tabernacle with its furniture.
The general sketch of Exodus firstly shows how the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt (1:8-14). Then it reveals that the children of Israel were redeemed and saved (12:27; 14:30). After their redemption and salvation, the children of Israel were led by the Lord in the wilderness (13:17-18, 21-22; 17:1; 19:1-2; 40:36-38). They were led by the pillar of cloud and by the pillar of fire. Furthermore, manna rained down from heaven, and living water flowed from the cleft rock. In their journeys the children of Israel eventually were brought by the Lord to Mount Sinai where they received a revelation of God’s eternal purpose, which is to have His dwelling place on earth (25:8-9, 40). After receiving this revelation, they built the tabernacle for God’s habitation (39:32; 40:2, 34-35).
Exodus is not only a book telling how the Israelites got out of Egypt; it is a book of redemption, supply, revelation, and building. The exodus from Egypt was simply the beginning. This was followed by the supply, the revelation, and the building.
The central thought of Exodus is that Christ is the redemption, salvation, and supply of God’s people and the means for them to worship and serve God so that in Him they may be built up with God together for them and God to meet, communicate, and dwell mutually. We see Christ throughout the book of Exodus. As the Passover, He is the means of our redemption. As the great salvation for God’s people, He saves us out of the hand of Pharaoh, Satan. As the manna and the living water, He is our life supply. Furthermore, the Red Sea signifies Christ’s death in which we are baptized (1 Cor. 10:2). Romans 6:3 says that those who are baptized into Christ are baptized into His death.
In Exodus Christ is many other items: the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, the seventy palm trees and twelve springs at Elim, and the tabernacle with all its furniture. Through the tabernacle and its furniture, God’s redeemed people could serve Him and worship Him. This indicates that Christ is the means by which we serve God and worship Him. God’s chosen people are to be built up together into one entity, the tabernacle, where God and man may mutually meet, communicate, and dwell. In Christ we and God, God and we, are built together, meet together, and dwell together. This is the central thought of the book of Exodus.
We may outline the sections of Exodus in a simple way. The book is arranged in five sections: enslaved (1:1-22), redeemed and saved (2:1—15:21), led (15:22—18:27), receiving revelation (19:1—34:35), and building the tabernacle (35:1—40:38). Having this introductory word before us, we shall get into the details of this book in the following messages.