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Written by Pastor Nate

It’s no secret that the first five books of the Bible can often be intimidating. From questions about the origins of the world in Genesis, to seemingly odd commands regarding food and clothing in Leviticus, to an endless record of numbers in the book of Numbers, these books can leave us wondering why they were preserved for us and what they tell us about following God.

As we step into Exodus this fall, there may be times where we ask similar questions. We may wonder why the first half of Exodus is narrative-driven and action-packed, while the second half grinds to a halt and begins to outline the rules and blueprints of the Tabernacle. But before we begin on this journey through the book of Exodus, I would love to share a few thoughts that may help us as we handle these ancient texts.

And the first is just that – these texts are ancient! The people who wrote them and those who first read them had very different thought processes than we have today. To read these texts faithfully, we should be aware of what our own cultural biases are. One of the most significant biases is how we think about the Law. You may be familiar with the Jewish name for the first five books of the Bible: the Torah, or the Law. But Law, in a biblical sense, is not the same as we may think of laws today. Laws in America are broadly meant to be legislative and inflexible, dictating what is or isn’t allowed. We wouldn’t think of them as things to meditate on or find wisdom in.

Yet this was more of the function of the Law. Yes, it told of things that people should and shouldn’t do, but the more important function was to get people to ask one of the questions that I listed earlier: “Why is this here?” The Law invites you to grapple with and meditate on it and to submit to what it’s instructing and how that relates to knowing God and being holy.

As we step into Exodus, we are stepping into more than laws. You may have observed in the past, and you will observe again as we walk through this book together, that half of Exodus is a gripping and compelling story while the other half seems to be endless lists of rules and regulations. But even these rules and regulations, along with the laws we often find strange throughout the first five books of our Bibles, serve to tell an incredible story.

As we read Exodus, we are reminded that the Bible is a unified story that points us at every turn and in every chapter to Jesus Christ. Join us this fall as we discover Him in Exodus!