Dr. J. Vernon McGee :: Notes for Exodus

OUTLINE Outline for Exodus

EXODUS

WRITER: Moses

A CONTINUED STORY:

Exodus continues the account that was begun in Genesis, although there was a lapse of at least 3 1/2 centuries. Genesis 15:13 says that the seed of Abraham would spend 400 years in a land that was not theirs. It is difficult to be dogmatic about the chronology of the patriarchal period. It has been omitted purposely from these outlines. The word that opens Exodus is a conjunction, which is better translated “and” rather than “now.” Exodus has been called the sequel to Genesis. Dr. G. Campbell Morgan wrote, “In the book of Exodus nothing is commenced, nothing is finished.”

MESSAGE:

Exodus means “the way out.” Redemption is by blood and by power. The message is stated in Hebrews 11:23-29.

KEY VERSE:

I am the LORD thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (Exodus 20:2)

COMMENT:

Seventy souls of Jacob entered Egypt (Genesis 46:27). It is conservatively estimated that 2,100,000 left Egypt at the time of the Exodus. Although we cannot be certain of dating during this early period, it would seem that Joseph entered Egypt under the Hyksos or shepherd kings. This was the 15th to 17th dynasty. They were Semitic conquerors from Mesopotamia, Bedouin princes from the desert. They were related to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Actually, the Israelites were their only friends, as they were hated by Egyptians. Amasis, military leader of Egypt, led a rebellion against the Hyksos kings, deposed them, and was made Pharaoh. It was Ramses II in this line who was the Pharaoh of the oppression and the one “who knew not Joseph.”
Moses’ life is divided into three 40-year periods:

1. 40 years in Pharaoh’s palace in Egypt,
2. 40 years in the desert in Midian,
3. 40 years in the wilderness as leader of Israel.

The training in Egypt, evidently in the Temple of the Sun, did not prepare Moses to follow God in leading Israel out of Egypt. God trained him in the desert for 40 years to reveal to him that he could not deliver Israel alone. God gave Moses a B.D. (Backside of the Desert) degree.
“And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds” (Acts 7:22). The wisdom of Egypt is not to be despised even today. The construction of the pyramids and the retention of brilliance in the colors they used reveal they knew architecture and chemistry. Also, they knew the distance to the sun. And writing was a highly developed science among them.
After God prepared Moses to deliver his people, He sent him back to Egypt after 40 years. Moses is to assemble elders of Israel and go to Pharaoh. Pharaoh will refuse to let Israel go. His refusal will open the contest between God and the gods of Egypt. Pharaoh was a representative of the gods of Egypt. Egypt was dominated by idolatry — “gods many and lords many.” There were thousands of temples and millions of idols. Back of idolatry was Satan. There was power in the religion of Egypt — “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth, men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith” (2 Timothy 3:8). Pharaoh asked, “Who is Jehovah?” He had never heard of Him. “And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). God introduced Himself. Pharaoh got acquainted with God and acknowledged Him as God. “And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time; the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked” (Exodus 9:27). “Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you” (Exodus 10:16).
Two points of significance arise from this episode: