Bible in Two

Hello and welcome to Beauty, the no-frills, no-nonsense podcast about all things beauty. True Beauty. God’s Beauty. I am your host, Deanna, and today we are talking about the book of Exodus - and let me tell you, if you have not read Exodus before, or if it has been a while, you are in for a treat. The book of Exodus is beautiful and has some lessons I think are important to remember. So, let’s dive in and reveal some of this beauty. Exodus is a story of deliverance. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt and this book shares their story. There is a lot involved in forty chapters, including the birth of Moses, the burning bush (one of my most favorite stories), plagues, the wilderness journey, and the Ten Commandments. Moses is typically credited with authorship of the book of Exodus, but remember when I talked about the authors of the bible back in December, and I shared about the letters and how the books were put together? Well, the smart bible people of the world say the book of Exodus may have had two different authors and then a third author who merged the two works into one. It doesn’t really matter - it doesn’t change the content or the message of the book. I just think it is interesting to think about how the bible came to be. We always hear the bible is written by men inspired by God and we grow in our faith believing every part of the bible is God breathed - which is true. But that shouldn’t mean we don’t dig a little deeper to understand exactly how God moved in different lives to make it all happen. That’s part of the treasure hunt, for me. There is a great theme in this book which centers around the rescue of the Israelites from human bondage. But there is also a parallel theme. In a way, the Israelites’ story is our story, and our rescue from the bondage of sin. I used The Lexham Bible Dictionary for my study and found nine themes that are highlighted in the book of Exodus. I want to share these so you can look for them as you read. * As I said at the beginning of this podcast, the book of Exodus is a story of deliverance. The Israelites would never have asked to be freed. They couldn’t save themselves and they needed help. They just didn’t envision the kind of help they received. And isn’t that alone a beautiful picture for us? But there is so much more. * The book of Exodus shows how the Israelites came to have knowledge of God. As you read, think about how personal this is as the Israelites hear over and over, “I am the Lord.” This was not an emotional alter-call. He was making his choice for them very clear, which leads me to the third theme. * God’s covenant with the Israelites. He literally calls them “My people.” He chose them - and this is a key theme. The Israelites accepted this covenant as a group and they experienced the benefits of God’s presence, which we will touch on in a minute. * The Israelites were in Egypt, but they were slaves. They were not citizens in the land. Under the covenant with God, there is a promised land. A place for them to look forward to. A reason for them to trust and have hope. God promised to lead them to a permanent home, which also meant they needed to defeat the greatest warriors. This is an incredibly exciting book. * Despite how God moves so dramatically in the book of Exodus, the presence of God is limited to the Israelite people. Think about how they had to trust an unseen God. Read the description of the tabernacle with joy and consider what they saw and felt as they disassembled everything to travel from place to place. The ark was the symbol of God’s presence and he kept it hidden from sight. The Israelites didn’t have unlimited access to God, which leads me to number six. * Because the people couldn’t see God, they took to the use of idols. The book of Exodus shows the contrast between those idols and a covenant God. * Laws play an important role in this book, as they do in life. Laws give guidance on how to live in community and be productive. God’s law takes this one step further and teaches people how to be holy. God’s laws help to shape a person’s journey and lead us away from sin and into eternal life. * Of course, to get from Egypt to the Promised Land, the Israelites had to learn to lean in and trust God, which is what allows them to see the last theme. * I have shared before about my time in leadership over a preschool ministry at my church. One of my favorite things was to say, “God is…” and then hold up my index finger. When I did that, the kids always held up their index fingers and we all shouted, “the one true God.” He is the one with the power and the book of Exodus is a beautiful story of how the Israelites came to experience the greatness of the one true God. My tip for you this week is to slow down and lean into the reading of Exodus. Even if you have read it before, and even if you know the stories and remember the flannel board or yelling for yourself, “God is the one true God.” Don’t skim these timeless treasures. Instead, dig into the story of redemption. Read the words with fresh eyes. Imagine yourself in the story because it is your story. See that parallel in your own life and faith journey. When we lean in, we remember his favor. We see his character - the very character we need to emulate in our lives today. We understand his purpose and sense his glory. God’s presence did all that and more for the Israelites when he set in motion their rescue from Egypt and he does that for us today. If you have been inspired by this message, please encourage a friend to join you on the journey of reading the bible in two years. A like and a share go a long way - for me, of course, but more importantly, for the faith life of another human made in the image of God. Thanks for listening today. Until next week, be beautiful and keep looking for beauty. Deanna Get full access to Shining.Our.Light at deannakohlhofer.substack.com/subscribe