Exodus: A Great Salvation -- Salvation Set Up

As I mentioned in last week's post, I had the pleasure of preaching a sermon series on the first twelve chapters of Exodus over the summer—i.e. the exodus story itself. Last week I talked about the preliminary issue of the historical nature of the account and made an argument for its historical veracity. Today's post is the first sermon itself: "Salvation Set Up," which covers Ge. 50:22-Ex. 2:10.

This sermon series began in Ge. 50 because while the exodus story is a riveting, historical epic, it’s not something out of the blue. Like most great epics, Exodus begins in the middle of things, with the adventure already underway in Genesis. In fact, in the Hebrew, the book begins with the word “And,” showing us that while we may be starting a sequel of sorts, the story is the same story that God has been writing since the beginning of the world—the story of redemption that began in Ge. 3:15, builds throughout the whole OT, and climaxes with Jesus.

The story of the exodus is part of the grand narrative of the OT, and it serves as a bridge between God’s promises to the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to the initial fulfillment of those promises here on earth, setting the stage for the descendents of Jacob to become the nation of Israel and to be taken by God into the earthly promised land. In fact, the story of the exodus lays the foundation for the entire OT, and its importance extends even into the NT. The exodus is the great miracle of the OT, and thus the rest of the OT looks back on the exodus as the paradigm, the pattern of God’s great salvation—past, present, and future. For example, Ps. 106 is one of the many passages that look back on the exodus and say, in effect, "This is the God we serve! He saved us from Egypt. He redeemed us out of slavery. He brought us into the promised land. That means we’re His people, and He will take care of us today. So, we will trust Him and worship Him."

Now, this paradigm of salvation extends even into the NT because the story of the exodus is really, from a spiritual perspective, the story of Jesus and His work of redemption—it’s a picture and a sign pointing us forward to the ultimate salvation that Jesus accomplished.

So, if you want to hear more about how this passage sets up the story of the exodus and even points us to Jesus, you can listen to the sermon here or read the transcript here. I pray that the Holy Spirit will use it to magnify Christ in your heart and mind to the glory of God.

By His Grace,
Taylor