Preacher's Guide to Exodus

by Will Jackson

1.    Preach Exodus in light of the canon.

What other parts of the Bible inform or clarify what your passage is saying?

How do other parts of the Bible leverage or borrow from your passage?

2.    Preach Exodus as colorful and creatively complex literary narrative, not raw security camera footage.

What are the major emphasis points the author highlights and how does he highlight them.

What do we learn from those highlighted ideas, rather than the events themselves.

Abraham Kuruvilla suggests we read the text like stained glass rather than plain glass. The passage is not a window to look through at the core importance behind, as if it’s merely historical documentation that invites us into speculation. The passage is, instead, a stained-glass representation. The glass is arranged to depict a message. Focus on the glass, not what may or may not be behind the glass.

3.    Preach Exodus more theme by theme, and less verse by verse.

Feel free to preach the passage’s marquee portion or sweeping sections. In narrative, it’s best when we see verses grouped together and not in isolation. Additionally, sometimes the arc of meaning in a passage doesn’t map linearly from top to bottom. Unlike an epistle, the “logic” of the author may seem out of order to our Western minds.

4.    Preach Exodus by avoiding “History Channel” side quests.

It doesn’t matter which mountain we know today was Mt. Sinai then, likewise with the Red Sea (“Sea of Reeds”). Our focus is on how these historical reference points were used in the narrative (e.g., Mt. Sinai is an Eden-like location, the Red Sea points our minds to Noah’s flood, etc.).

Similarly, proving the historicity of the Exodus is somewhat of an uphill battle. The Egyptians were better archivists than the Hebrews, but understandably, Egypt would not have wanted to record this moment in its history. Though there is tangential archaeological evidence for the Exodus, our primary trust in its veracity is through Jesus’ affirmation of the events. He rose from the dead (this is historically authenticated), therefore, we can believe what he says about all things.

5.    Preach with an eye for Moses as the author, not a main character.

As the Spirit inspired him, Moses wrote by leaving bread crumbs for the next generation of Israelites. As a main character, he was used by God to portray God’s activity with the “Egypt” generation. Moses isn’t just writing history for a people who needed one. Exodus is a biblical narrative, which means it’s richly designed like a piece of art—like a movie with layers and layers of meaning and symbolism and allusion and easter eggs. More than just the historical events, the art is what the Holy Spirit wants us to see.

6.    Preach Exodus with an eye for typology.

If we zoom out enough, we can see how Moses parallels Jesus (escaping infanticide, wilderness testing, mountain meeting with God, etc.). The Exodus journey itself will point us in similar Christotelic directions from time to time (e.g., the Passover lamb, the rock in the wilderness).

7.    Preach Exodus with a Christian response in mind.

What is the Spirit demanding or expecting of today’s audience in response to your passage, translated through what Moses first taught to later generations of Israel?

As a supernatural work of literature, Exodus parallels Israel’s journey and the Christian life we experience (slavery, salvation, baptism through water, holiness, trials, wandering, re-entry to the garden). It is a present-tense book as much as it is a past-tense book.

8.    Preach Exodus with Pharaoh as the bad guy, not the nation of Egypt as a whole.

Egyptians fall within the scope of those Yahweh sought to redeem as Israelite neighbors. Much like Germans in the 1920s and 30s, we can’t be certain all of them followed their leader—and even if they did, Christ came to save all kinds of sinners. Even further, it’s paramount that we see Pharaoh as the narrative and the rest of Scripture portray him—the seed and representative of the serpent.

9.    Preach according to the three “Telescopic Lenses.”

Lens #1 - Creation Restored

First, the Bible tells the story of how God’s good Creation is being actively Restored. In the beginning, God dwelt with His people in perfect unity and enjoyment. At the first sin, this communion was disrupted and God has since been continually grieved at the separation that had to follow but also relentlessly working to make things right so that we might be welcomed back into His presence.

Lens #2 - Promise Fulfilled

Second, as the means to restore this good yet broken world, God has chosen to work through one man—the premier agent of redemption. In the earliest pages of the Bible, he is described as the “seed of the woman … who will crush the serpent’s head.” This Promise, we now know, would be Fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus.

Lens #3 - Mission Accomplished

And finally, within the plan to heal this broken world, God has enlisted the redeemed-along-the-way to further multiply the efforts of the redeemer so that the grand rescue Mission might be Accomplished. Even this paradigm is given to us within the earliest pages of Scripture and provides the clearest avenue for our present engagement as Christians seeking to walk in faith and obedience. His mission has always been our mission.