Exodus II Explained

Anyone who has read the Bible cover-to-cover will probably have noted the number of times the Exodus Story was retold. Over and over again God reminds His people that they were miraculously freed from bondage. “Never forget; tell your children; do this every year as a reminder of how the Lord your God freed you from the bondage of Pharaoh’s Egypt.” This emphasis was applied neither to the miraculous creation story, nor to the great story of Abraham and his sons, and not even to the shocking story of the purging of mankind on earth except for Noah and his zoo-ark. All of these events and many more are at least as significant as the one about the brave man, Moses, with a magic stick releasing a few thousand slaves from their master’s stronghold. And yet, it is the Exodus alone that is commemorated annually in Passover fasts and over and over again in the Bible. Why is this?

I suspect that it is because God wants humankind to renew the psychological/spiritual journey away from bondage and to be grateful for His power.

The parallel is striking between the Exodus story of Moses leading the Jews away from Egypt and the story of Christ leading mankind away from sin and death. One group goes to the Promise Land, the other to the land of immortality. The relationship between the bondage of slavery and the bondage of sin is an old concept; however by overlaying the Exodus story onto the Christ story, the parallels are not only remarkable, they help us to see more clearly our plight as Christians. The physical Exodus is not so very different than the spiritual journey children of God must take to reach the promise of a land where we will live absolutely free from war, illness, poverty, and want. The Promise Land is still being held out for us and we still must move from one place to another to be there.

This physical/spiritual Exodus is best reconstructed during Great Lent when each day can represent one year of travel. And yet this journey does not end with the crucifixion, it begins with it and ends with the Resurrection where we can find ourselves right smack in the middle of the Promise Land of immortality. Forty years in forty days about forty hours. Never forget that God set you free and that you have somewhere to go. I hope you will continue to be with me on this journey. We have surprises in store for you.