God was going to dwell among his people, and the people would worship him at the tabernacle. The Lord instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, gave him the blueprints, listed the furnishings, and now appoints the craftsmen who will build it. The Lord commissioned Bezalel and Oholiab to oversee the great work and gave them master craftsmen abilities to design, cut, carve, and construct the place where the Lord's presence would dwell.
The people had prepared to meet God for three days, and now as now standing at the bottom of the mountain, God speaks to his people. God identifies himself as the eternal one that brought Israel out of Egypt and out of slavery. He is God, and there is no other. Therefore his words are to be heeded. The Lord had saved Israel and therefore had the right to govern them.
On the morning of the third day, the King of the Universe descended in a way that was graphic, magnificent, and terrifying. The skies exploded with thunder and lighting as a thick cloud enveloped the mountain. The trumpet sounded, and the people trembled before Almighty God. Moses led the people to the mountain, and they stood there awestruck at the sight.
The people are faced with a lack of water to drink, but this time the people have a furious reaction, and they quarreled with Moses. They demanded water in a way that was both a denunciation and an accusation. The situation with this mob is tense, and a riot was ready to break out at any moment. Moses cautions the people that quarreling with him is pointless and they were actually testing God.
God delivered his children out of Egypt, and his people are no longer slaves. They had plundered Egypt, and God demonstrated his power over the nations. Egypt was vanquished by the sovereign God of the universe commanding his creation. Israel, his firstborn son, is free but the firstborn of the Egyptians suffered because of their sin and disobedience. One might think that after the Egyptian threat ended that the people enjoyed peace and a comfortable life. However, this is not the case, and Israel still faced a desolate wilderness.
As Israel reaches the edge of the wilderness, the Lord directs Moses to alter their course by turning back and encamping by the sea. This change would lead Pharaoh to believe that Israel was confused and trapped. Pharaoh would decide to pursue God's people and this would lead to their defeat and God's glory.
When God's people left Egypt, they were equipped for battle, and Moses took the bones of Joseph, fulfilling the promise made to him so many years ago. Joseph believed by faith that Egypt was not his home and that God would visit his people and bring them into the land he had pledged to their fathers. God led his people by day in a pillar of cloud and at night he guided his people by fire. God's presence was constant.
Exodus twelve is so important because there are important themes and issues in this chapter, the two most important being blood redemption and the Passover. Death was coming, but God’s people could avoid judgment through the death of a substitute. A lamb was slain, and its blood covered a home. However, not just any lamb could be used for the purpose of redemption. The lamb must be without blemish, and every household could take refuge under the blood of the lamb or perish.
Blood was followed by frogs, gnats, flies, livestock death, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. Nine times God displayed his power to Pharaoh over Egypt with all her gods and nine times Pharaoh refused to obey the decree of the Almighty. Pharaoh told Moses that if he saw him again, it would result in his death. Before Moses departed for the last time, the Lord spoke of one last plague that would lead to the Israelites release.
The Lord tells Moses that Pharaoh's ongoing pattern of disobedience will now result in judgment. Moses is instructed to meet Pharaoh the following morning when he goes out to the Nile and stand on the bank with his staff in hand. Moses and Aaron are to repeat the command of the Lord to release his people to go serve him in the wilderness and point out his disobedience.
The Lord does not disparage Moses for his discouragement. Instead, God reaffirms his covenant. God would show his power and Pharaoh would personally drive Israel out of the land because of God's actions. God reminds Moses that he is the source of being, blessedness, and infinite perfection.
Confidence is high when Moses and Aaron gain an audience with the Pharaoh. They have God's promise of success and the support of the people. They announce to Pharaoh that the Lord, the God of Israel says that he is to let his people go so that they may hold a feast in the wilderness. Pharaoh shows no respect for the God of Israel, and because he does not recognize him, he will not let the people go.
They arrive in Egypt and gather the elders. Aaron spoke to them and told them everything the Lord had said. Moses performed the signs, and the people believed. The news that the Lord had visited his people and had seen their affliction caused the people to bow in worship.
God will sometimes reveal himself in unexpected ways, as was the case for Moses as he went about his daily tasks keeping the flock of his father-in-law. Moses leads the flock to the west side of the wilderness, and the angel of the Lord appeared to him. The angel appeared in a flame of fire in the midst of a bush.
God works in and through families even in times of persecution, population control, birth, and death. A man and a woman from the house of Levi got married and had two children before the murderous law of Pharaoh was issued. God continued to bless their union and when they conceived and bore a son they hid him because of their faith in God (Hebrews 11:23).
Exodus is the sequel to Genesis and it begins with a recap of Jacob, his children, and the death of Joseph. Joseph’s brothers had also died in Egypt, and for some time after Joseph’s death, the Israelites had increased per God’s promise. God's people were strong, and they filled the land.
Joseph tells his brothers that God would visit them and bring them up out of the land of Egypt. Abraham and Isaac at least lived as sojourners in Canaan, but never possessed it. Jacob lived in Canaan but had to leave it. Joseph lived most of his days in Egypt, not Canaan. Joseph dies with the hope that God will come to his people. It is for this reason that he pleads with his brothers and the Israelites for his bones to be taken up out of Egypt at the time of God’s coming.
Seventeen years pass between the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt and his death at the age of one hundred and forty-seven. Jacob is not in despair but looks at death as a reunion, and he wants to be buried where his ancestors are buried as a representation of that reunion. It is at the moment of his death that the scripture tells us that Jacob is reunited with his forebears.
Death causes people to focus on the things that are most important, so when Joseph receives word that Jacob is ill and nearing the end of his earthly life, he gathers his sons and goes to see his aged father. Jacob is told that Joseph has come for a visit and he summons his strength and sits up. Joseph had provided wealth, education, and social standing for his boys but he wanted them to have a place among God's chosen people. God's covenant was central to Joseph's identity, and he wanted his sons who were given Hebrew names to enjoy the same covenant blessing he had.
Pharaoh honors Joseph by offering to employ any brothers with exceptional skills with a royal appointment over Pharaoh’s livestock. Once the negotiations concluded, Joseph brought his father in before Pharaoh and the aged Patriarch blessed the King of Egypt. Pharaoh is curious about the age of this elderly man. Jacob responds that he is one hundred thirty years old and that life had been difficult for him but that his fathers before him had lived even longer. Jacob blessed Pharaoh a second time and departed from his presence.
