Exodus: Redemption
“They shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God”(29:46).
Exodus narrates the story of how God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt and established them as His chosen people. According to the covenant with Abraham, Israel did not remain just a family, but prospered and became a great nation. Having left Egypt, they gathered at Mount Sinai, where God gave them the law and the blueprint of the tabernacle so that they might live as God's people in accordance with His rules.
This book highlights how God redeems His people from the bondage to sin and foretells the glorious redemption of Jesus Christ through various types and foreshadows. Firstly, the Passover commemorates Israel's deliverance from slavery and points to the ultimate salvation that Jesus Christ would achieve through His death and resurrection. Just as a lamb's blood saved Israel from God's wrath, Christ, the Lamb of God, would offer His life as a substitute to redeem all who believe in Him.
Secondly, God appointed Moses a mediator between Him and His people to give them the word of God and to lead them according to God's will. When all Israel made idols on Mount Sinai, Moses prayed to God for them, and God changed his mind and did not destroy them. Moses foreshadows Christ, who as the only mediator between God and His people gives them the word of God as Prophet, guides them as King, and intercedes for them as Priest.
Thirdly, Israel experienced God's wonderful salvation, but they were still a stiff-necked people with grumblings and complaints. Even so, God did not forsake them, but fed them with manna from heaven and provided water from a struck rock. Israel failed every trial, but God used their failures to reveal the need for Jesus Christ, who is the spiritual food and rock for His people.
Lastly, God demands a holy life from His people and gave them His holy law. However, at the very outset when God gave the law, Israel was a sinful people busy making idols. Nevertheless, God made a covenant with them and was pleased to be with them. He let them build a tabernacle to dwell among them. The tabernacle is a type of Jesus Christ, the true temple of God. Just as the tabernacle became the physical place where God met His people in the wilderness, Christ ultimately becomes God's dwelling place where His people enjoy personal fellowship with Him.
Throughout Exodus, God demonstrates His grace and mercy toward a people who repeatedly fail to live up to His standards. The types of Christ found in the book underscore the centrality of redemption in God's plan for His sinful and needy people.
