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Introduction

Few Old Testament books have as much high drama as Exodus. Perhaps that is why Exodus has been turned into movies and television shows probably more than any other book in the Bible. From Cecil B. DeMille’s epic The Ten Commandments to Disney’s more recent animated feature The Prince of Egypt, filmmakers and filmgoers have long found Exodus to be chock-full of gripping stuff!

Exodus is, in fact, so powerful as a narrative that it is easy to sheer this book off from the rest of Scripture, both within the Pentateuch and across the wider sweep of the Bible. That’s why a resource like Terrence Fretheim’s commentary in the “Interpretation” series is so vital as Fretheim shows all of the interconnections that exist between Genesis and Exodus, pointing finally beyond both of those books to also the wider witness of Scripture.

The book falls naturally into various sections:

The Birth and Call of Moses
Moses’ Confrontations with Pharaoh
The Ten Plagues
The Passover and Exodus from Egypt
Wilderness Time: The Law and the Golden Calf
The Glorious Descent of Yahweh to the Tabernacle

In some ways, Exodus moves us from emptiness to fullness; from an apparent absence of God in Exodus 1 to the fullness of God’s indwelling in Exodus 40. When preaching on this book, each individual sermon needs to be consciously part of the larger whole.

When exegeting these stories, it is also important to get beyond the Sunday school simplifications of the stories. Many of these stories are gritty, earthy, and in their own way surprising (though it’s always a challenge to “surprise” a congregation from a book they think they have down pat to begin with). As with all preaching, sometimes good preaching comes from asking fresh questions. For Exodus, such questions could include:

  1. Where is God in Exodus 1?
  2. Why are the names of Shiphrah and Puah preserved for us (relatively few names were recorded in Scripture after all)?
  3. How does Moses’ watery rescue story in Exodus 2 tie in with larger biblical themes involving water?
  4. God gives Moses a “sign” in Exodus 3, but what good is a sign that will be seen only AFTER the exodus is complete? (The “sign” God gave Moses was that after he had taken the people out of Egypt, they would worship on that mountain where the burning bush was. But by then Moses would not NEED a sign!)
  5. Don’t skip Exodus 4: what is going on in this bloody, bizarre chapter!?
  6. Why is Pharaoh’s initial line in Exodus 5 so key to not just Exodus but the whole Bible?
  7. Why is a family tree plunked into the middle of Exodus 6?
  8. The Ten Plagues are more than just a side show. How are these events related to Genesis? To all of Scripture?
  9. Why does becoming the people of God have to include a wilderness time?
  10. What accounts for Moses’ going from a stuttering, weak-kneed figure in so much of Exodus to the champion of his people who challenges Yahweh so directly in Exodus 32-33?

These are not the only questions to ask about Exodus—they may not even be the best questions to ask! But they help get the homiletical ball rolling. Speaking of getting the ball rolling and finding fresh ways into these stories, don’t ignore the rich resources available in Jewish commentaries on Exodus. The Jews have lived with and pondered these stories for over 3,000 years. Insights from the heart of that tradition are often profound and invigorating.

Commentator Terrence E. Fretheim suggests the following to be leading theological issues in Exodus. The sheer breadth of these issues reveals yet again the richness of this book:

  1. A Theology of Creation;
  2. The Knowledge of God;
  3. Images for God;
  4. The Meaning of Liberation and Exodus as Paradigm;
  5. Israel’s Worship and Yahweh’s Presence;
  6. Law, Covenant, and Israel’s Identity.

Exodus is, therefore, a book that cries out to be preached as a series of sermons. What’s more, the breadth of this book means that a credible series of sermons could not be less than 10 sermons long and could easily extend to upwards of 20 sermons. Deciding to preach on Exodus is a significant one, therefore, as the better part of a year could be taken up inside this book. But in the end, the congregation’s knowledge of God and of all Scripture will be manifestly enhanced!

Sample Sermons

Series by Rev. Scott Hoezee, Director of CEP

Note: The following 16 sermons were preached at Calvin CRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2003. This was the second time in my twelve years at Calvin Church that I did a series on Exodus. Repeating and updating the series was fun to do, and the congregation enjoyed once again being walked through this key biblical book. I offer links to these sermons not because I think they are necessarily so fine but in the hope that something here will spark your own creative energy in preaching on Exodus!

Recommended Commentaries

Book Cover

The Book of Exodus
By Brevard Childs, OTL. 1974.

A very technical analysis of the text. However, note the excellent "Theological Reflection" and "Excursus" essays.
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Exodus
By T.E. Fretheim, Interpretation, 1991.

An excellent commentary for preaching. Although lacking in textual exegetical detail, this volume makes great observations. Note Fretheim's overall approach to Exodus and its vital connections to Genesis.
Book Cover

Exodus
By C. Houtman, Peeters, 1994-1999.

Dutch Reformed scholar. Exhaustive and very useful in exegesis and interpretation. Very expensive. Use in library.
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Exploring Exodus: The Heritage of Biblical Israel
By Nahum M. Sarna, Schocken Books, 1996.

Good commentary from Jewish perspective.

Recommended Reading

From Calvin Theological Seminary Professor of Old Testament Arie C. Leder

Commentaries

Enns, Peter. Exodus. The NIV Application Commentary. Zondervan, 2000.
Divides commentary into: Original meaning, bridging contexts, and contemporary significance.
Fretheim, Terence E. Exodus. Interpretation. John Knox, 1992.
Good preaching commentary.
Gowan, Donald E. Theology in Exodus. Biblical Theology in the Form of a Commentary. Westminster John Knox, 1994.
Treats the following theological themes: the absence of God (Ex. 1-2); the numinous (Ex. 3-4); the presence of God (Ex. 3-4); the name (Ex. 3-4); the promise (Ex. 3-4); the divine destroyer (Ex. 5-15:21); God of grace and God of glory (Ex. 15:22-31; 35-40); and, the distancing of God (Ex. 32-34).

Articles

Issues in Interpretation dedicated to themes:
  • The Decalogue, Interpretation 43.3 (1989).
  • The Figure of Moses, Interpretation 44.3 (1990).
  • The Book of Exodus, Interpretation 50.3 (1996). Available as back issue on http://www.interpretation.org/backissues.htm (See also 1997 [January] issue on Law of Moses; and 2005 [January] on sabbath.)

Article on preaching law by T. Keller. (You have.)

Books

Fretheim, Terence E. God and the World in the Old Testament. A Relational Theology of Creation. Abingdon, 2005. Pages 109-156 on Exodus and law.
Watts, James W. Reading Law. The Rhetorical Shaping of the Pentateuch. Sheffield, 1999.
Using the rhetoric of persuasion Watts instead of focusing on the genre of law. Will take some time working through, but very useful if you want to spend some time re-thinking the lists of laws and how to translate their rhetoric of persuasion for the contemporary church. On the combination of story and law/lis, Watts writes on p. 45: “The story alone may inspire, but to no explicit end. The list alone specifies the desired actions or beliefs, but may not inspire them. It is the combination of both together which maximizes the persuasive effect of a speech or text.”

An Exegetical Paper for Preachers

An Exegetical Paper for Preachers / Sermon Series Idea by Dr. Arie C. Leder, Professor of Old Testament: Calvin Theological Seminary

Read It (pdf)