(Part 3) The Rest is *Salvation* History
The Bible in a Year Reflections: Part 3- The Exodus Period
This is Part 2 of a series of articles that give the reader some takeaways and further insight from the various periods of Salvation History that are featured on the Bible in a Year Podcast. For an introduction to the series and an overview of the Early World period, click here:
Today, we will be examining the Exodus Period- perhaps the last of the books that even someone with a low Biblical fluency is familiar with. Everyone knows the story, at least the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. or this article, I am utilizing the Ascension app’s “Introduction to the Exodus Period” as the framework to cover the major themes of exploration for this period. It will not have a primary focus on the narrative events unless they are related to those themes.
Periodic Overview
The third period in Salvation History, “The Exodus”, covers the period of time following Israel’s journey and stay in the land of Egypt. After the Pharaoh that knew Joseph dies, there’s an open hostility against the Israelites, leading to their enslavement in the land of Egypt. What follows is a Divine Intervention where a man named Moses leads the Israelites not only out of the land of Egypt towards the Promised Land, but he also leads them in the worship of the Almighty God.
Major Figures
God (duh), Moses, Aaron, Pharaoh, Joshua, Caleb
Themes
The Problem of Idolatry, The Domestic Priesthood (hey, that would make a great Substack), The Divine Name, The Tabernacle, The Ten Commandments, Christ as the Source of Life-Giving Water
The Problem of Idolatry
We read that the Israelites, although safe (for now) in the land of Egypt, are not in a good place in society- a new Pharaoh fears the multiplicity of the Israelites and commands their enslavement (Exodus 1:8-12). Even worse, the 430 years spent in Egypt has greatly deteriorated the Israelites’ worship of God. Essentially, the Israelites assimilated to Egyptian culture to the the point that they are worshipping the false gods of the land.
Many Church Fathers and other Scripture commentaries have noted that worship of false gods in the Old Testament wasn’t just a harmless mistake. These false gods are actually demons, looking to draw God’s people away from Heaven for all eternity- that is the TRUE problem with idolatry. When we worship false gods, it’s as if we are pinned in the spiritual combat and need a liberator. Essentially, the Israelites enslavement by Egypt is an outward symbol of their interior, spiritual enslavement to the devil and his minions.
We must keep in mind that God is an all-loving, all-merciful Father. He won’t just passively sit back while His people bind themselves to these evil spirits. When God decides that it’s time to act, He comes with a vengeance. And we read as much at the end of the second chapter, “God heard their moaning and God was mindful of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Exodus 2:24).
What proceeds is the calling of Moses to liberate the Israelites. Moses, an unwilling prophet, finally agrees to follow God’s will and begins a dialogue with Pharaoh in hopes to release Israel for the worship of God. If idolatry is like a virus that’s infected a wound, then Moses’s intervention on behalf of God is the antibiotic- it’s going to help, but it’s going to cause pain and discomfort as a sign that it works!
From chapters 7-12, the infamous 10 Plagues are unleashed upon Egypt because Pharaoh refuses to allow the Israelites to worship the True God. It’s interesting what God chooses for these plagues to affect. Essentially, each plague is a direct attack on something that the Egyptians worship as a god.
What the God of Israel is proving is that He is above all and the only True God. Everything is in submission to Him alone. This is the essence of spiritual combat- God is displaying His sovereignty over not just the created world, but the spiritual and eternal world, too. Remember, these “gods” of the pagan religions are really demons- they are outside of time and space. God’s defeat of their symbols in the created world most likely came with a spiritual beat-down, as well.
All of this frees the Israelites to pursue TRUE freedom- worship of the Almighty God that will lead to Heaven for all eternity. God delights in His children cooperating with His will, and His plan for the Exodus kept that in mind. We’ll look to our next theme to further examine that plan of cooperation.
The Domestic Priesthood
Now, this theme is my own addition- it’s not included in the Great Adventure Timeline; however, I feel that it is too significant to not mention in this post. This is a topic that will get a more thorough treatment in a free-standing post. In the meantime, it’s enough to explain how the Passover was meant to be a precursor to the official ordination of the Old Testament priesthood. I previously talked about this in an article on Eucharistic Adoration, which you can read here,
We read that, following the Passover, God says to Moses,
“‘Consecrate to me every firstborn; whatever opens the womb among the Israelites, whether of human being or beast, belongs to me.’” (Exodus 13:2)
The word “consecrate” means to set apart for service to God. As it’s used in the above passage, it means to set apart men as priests. This means that, following the Exodus, God intended for the men of Israel, specifically the father of one’s family, to become the priests of the Old Testament.
It doesn’t take much digging to realize that the fathers were being trained for the priesthood during the first Passover. Each household was to sacrifice and consume a lamb. Then, they were to spread its blood on the doorposts of the home. There was a “liturgical feel” to the Passover, and it would naturally follow that the head of the household, the father, would be tasked with completing the ritual. Therefore, anyone who performed the Passover- the father of the home- was being consecrated. In other words, formed into a domestic priest.
Sadly, the golden calf debacle forced God to resort to His “plan b” in the Levitical priesthood, but it doesn’t take away that the call was originally for all the fathers. It’s a notable happening in the Old Testament that deserves a bigger recognition by the faithful.
The Divine Name
In Moses’ first encounter with God in the burning bush, the name of God is revealed, “I AM” (Exodus 3).
It’s often at this moment that the reader might flip back through Genesis when struck with the realization that no one had ever asked God to reveal His name. Before Moses’s question, God had always just spoken to the Patriarchs of Genesis.
God’s name is so holy that it was only spoken by the Jews, following Moses’s proclamations to Pharaoh, one day of the year- the Day of Atonement. It was said by the High Priest when he entered into the Holy of Holies in the Ark of the Covenant. This is significant because it sheds more light on Jesus using the Divine Name to identify Himself in the Gospel of John (John 8:58, 18:4,5). It is a “pulling back of the veil” to reveal His Divine Nature.
The Tabernacle
Exodus is a pretty exciting story with all of the Divine Intervention, the plagues, and the Exodus from Egypt; however, the excitement seemingly grinds to a halt when God begins to instruct Moses on how to build the Ark of the Covenant. The highlight of these “blueprints” is the Tabernacle, the lone place where God Himself will dwell on Earth before the Incarnation.
The Tabernacle is so important to Catholics because it is ultimately a foreshadowing of Our Lady, and it’s our main defense for Marian devotion. For starters, we read that the presence of God is revealed in the form of a cloud that goes into the Tabernacle. The only time that the Greek word for “overshadow” (Exodus 40:35), episkiazo, is used again in the entirety of Scripture is at the Annunciation, when Mary is overcome with the Holy Spirit to conceive Christ (Luke 1:35).
Secondly, the Tabernacle would eventually hold 3 important items- the Rod of the High Priest Aaron, the 10 Commandments, and the Manna from Heaven. All 3 of those items foreshadow Christ- the Eternal High Priest (Hebrews), the fulfillment of the Law (Matthew 5:17), and the True Bread from Heaven (John 6:51). Where did Christ- the fulfillment of those 3 Old Testament foreshadowings- dwell? The womb of Mary.
Therefore, Mary is clearly foreshadowed in the Tabernacle.
The Ten Commandments
Although the event is spoiled by the Israelites’ idolatry, the glory of Moses receiving the 10 Commandments on behalf of Israel is not lost on the reader. These are concrete (no pun intended about the tablets) rules for what it means to worship the One True God. Catholics still use these to this day for directing their examination of conscience before receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Christ will fulfill these and draw out their true purpose in His Ministry, which is why they are the only part of the Mosaic Covenant that still applies to us who have received the New Covenant from Christ. Ultimately, these 10 Commandments give us the framework for what it means to love God and our neighbor.
In the context of the Exodus, this is what ultimately sets Israel apart from the surrounding pagan nations. Many of the restrictions given in the 10 Commandments were widely practiced and allowed in the pagan cultures of the people occupying the Land of Canaan, where Israel would eventually be led to conquer. To prevent a backslide into the sin of idolatry, God in His mercy gave Israel the constant reminder of the Covenant in these commandments.
Christ as the Source of Life-Giving Water
There are many events that prefigure the ministry of Christ. There are 3 events that foreshadow the coming of Christ, the one who gives the life-giving water (John 4:14)- the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna from Heaven, and the drawing of water from the rock.
The crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22) is a foreshadowing of the Sacrament of Baptism. Just as the Israelites escaped the sinful kingdom of Egypt on their journey to the Promised Land of Canaan, Baptism takes us from the kingdom of Satan and sets us on the path to the TRUE Promised Land of Heaven (it seems pretty important to baptize our infants then, huh?)
The manna from Heaven (Exodus 16:4) sustained the Israelites as the journeyed through the desert. This was a gift from God to sustain them in their sojourn. In a more powerful way, God gives us Himself- Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity- in the Eucharist to sustain us on our earthly sojourn as we journey to our ultimate destiny of Heaven. The manna was fully necessary to sustain the lives of the Israelites, and the Eucharist, by the words of Christ Himself, is fully necessary to receive eternal life (John 6:53).
Lastly, the miraculous pouring forth of water from the rock (Exodus 17:6) foreshadows the water given forth by the Church in her Sacraments. It was Christ who made it a point to found His Church on “the rock” (Matthew 16:18) of the first pope, Simon Peter. It would be dense of any reader to not trace back Christ’ statement as a reference from this event in the book of Exodus.
In Conclusion
The Book of Exodus ends with the descent of the cloud of God into the Ark, and the looking forward of the Israelites journey towards the Promised Land.
I would like to apologize to my readers for falling behind with this series. At the time of this publishing, there are now 3 periods that I need to catch up on- Desert Wanderings, Conquests, and Messianic Checkpoint- the Gospel of John. I will be publishing those articles in hopes of getting caught up on this journey through the Bible in a Year podcast. Until I do, the rest is *Salvation* History. . .