Redemption. Exodus records the greatest redemption event in the Bible prior to Christ's incarnation. This is good news to captives who labor in bondage to sin and misery. The redemption in Exodus begins with God remembering his covenant promises offered in Genesis (Gen 3:15; 12:1-3; 15:13-14), in particular by remembering his covenant with Abraham (Ex 2:23-25), and coming to redeem his people through Moses the mediator (chs. 3-4). Central to this redemption is judgment and salvation: judgment on Egypt and salvation through the substitutionary death of spotless lambs (chs. 7-13).
The order of the Bible: Grace first, then law. Having redeemed his people, God guides them through the wilderness and brings them to Mt. Sinai. That is always the order of the Bible: redemption, then response; grace, then law. However, the Law (Mosaic covenant) could not deliver people from their sins; it was not meant to do so. Rather, it served to point beyond itself to One who would come to fulfill all the requirements of the law's "rules" (Ex 21:1).
Our ultimate redemption. Exodus offers a paradigm of God's redemption gained for us in Christ; Exodus helps Christians see the ultimate redemption that God works out through Jesus (1 Tim 2:5; Gal 3:7-18; Jn 1:19; Rom 3:24-26; 1 Cor 5:7; Eph 1:7; 2:1-10). That is why NT saints sing Moses' song (Rev 15:3). As we read Exodus, may we see and delight in the work of Christ and love the One who first loved us.
The Gospel in Genesis.
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