A Momentous Year

The Book of Exodus

All the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.—Exodus 12:41

David Rice

While the book of Genesis covers about 2,500 years of history, the book of Exodus which follows covers much less. After reviewing the oppression of Israel, and the plagues on Egypt which may have lasted eighteen months or so, the remainder of the book covers a single year.

But it was a momentous year. It was the year of Israel’s exodus from Egypt, the giving of the law at Mount Sinai fifty days later, the construction of the tabernacle, and the inauguration of the priesthood to perform the various sacrifices prescribed under the law.

The Opening

The book opens with a brief restatement of items covered at the close of Genesis—namely the mention of seventy souls, posterity of Jacob, who came into Egypt with him, and the death of their benefactor Joseph. The last verses of Genesis tell us Joseph was 110 when he died. Because the Israelites were in Egypt for a total of 215 years, and Joseph was 39 at the time his family joined him in Egypt, this means from the death of Joseph until the exodus was 144 years.

The number naturally reminds us of the 144,000 of Revelation 14:1, which refers to the elect spiritual class elsewhere described as the “bride” of Christ. Joseph represents Christ, who inaugurated the Gospel age, and the exodus with its plagues and deliverance of the firstborn represents the close of the Gospel age. Thus the 144 years between these episodes represents the span from the death of Christ to the deliverance of the church. It is a fitting number to call to mind the elect class developed during that time.

The Story of Moses

The story of Moses begins with Exodus 1:8. Some years after the death of Joseph a Pharaoh arose who looked with suspicion on these Semitic residents of Goshen. It is oft debated when in the history of Egypt’s many ancient dynasties this episode is situated. Our understanding is that this was during the lengthy and powerful twelfth dynasty of Egypt, which constituted the bulk of what is today termed the “Middle Kingdom” of Egypt.

At this period of history Egypt’s artistic and cultural advances were at their peak. This would be consistent with the wealth which would have accumulated to the government during the seven years of famine, when the wealth of Egypt and the surrounding nations flowed to the Pharaoh.

The fear of the Pharaoh who subjected the Israelites to bondage was that these “Asiatic” residents (as the Egyptians considered them) within his domain might side with a possible invading “Asiatic” force in the future. Indeed, in the years after the fall of the twelfth dynasty there was an influx of such peoples into the delta area of Egypt, resulting in a takeover of the country by “Hyksos” kings, which term is now commonly understood to mean “rulers of foreign lands.”

However the politics may have seemed to Pharaoh, he misjudged the threat. He failed to reflect that the very strength of the empire he ruled was due largely to the beneficent relationship Egypt had had with the Israelites. The relationship had been close, not only during the early years of Joseph’s power, but even later. 1 Chronicles 4:18, for example, records that Mered, a descendant of Judah, married Bithia, a daughter of Pharaoh.

When Israel was forced into bondage with “taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens” (Exodus 1:11), the affliction actually stimulated a burst of population growth among the Israelites (verse 12). Even today it is apparent that in those countries where living conditions are difficult, and the finer things of life are unavailable, the birth rate and accompanying population expansion is large.

As a consequence Pharaoh next determined to deplete the number of potential enemy soldiers among the Israelites by having all the male children killed. When the midwives did not cooperate, “Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river” (Exodus 1:22)—a method of disposal sometimes attested of ancient Pharaohs.

Under these circumstances Moses was born. Moses would later deliver Israel, as Christ would deliver his people, and the threat to Moses’ life as an infant parallels the threat to Jesus’ life as an infant when Herod decreed the death of all males in Bethlehem under the age of two. In both cases the child destined for God’s special use was spared through His providence.

The story is well known. Jochebed, the mother of Moses, after hiding the newborn as long as she could, set him adrift in an ark made of reeds, to be found by a daughter of Pharaoh whose pity was moved and who took the young babe for her own. Moses’ elder sister Miriam watched from a distance, and at the right moment offered to find a Hebrew nurse for the young child. The offer was accepted and Jochebed, Moses’ own mother, was given the job of nursing the child, and given wages for the service.

What a lovely lesson is here brought to our attention of devoted trust in the providence of God. Jochebed’s child was under sentence of death. She could not retain him for long, so she committed him to the care of Jehovah and trusted His grace and protection of what she committed to Him. There is also over us a sentence of death, and whatever hopes we have for the future are all clouded by the death sentence upon our race. What can we do? We can do no better than what Jochebed did—commit the matter to God, yield to him freely all our hopes for the present and future, and yield to him our lives and hopes and beings through full consecration. And behold what the Lord does for us: he returns to us all of what we committed to him, with a charge to care for it and use it on his behalf. And he offers us wages for the service, “wages ... unto life eternal” (John 4:36).

Moses’ upbringing by his mother instilled in him a respect for the promises of God to his ancestors of faith: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses’ upbringing in the courts of Pharaoh educated him in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, which was greatly to his advantage when he compiled Genesis from the tablet records accumulated by the Israelites, and when he composed Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

As described in the article 120 Years at the age of forty Moses slew an Egyptian in defense of a fellow Hebrew, fled to Midian for forty years, and later returned at God’s command to deliver the Israelites.

The Family of Moses

Exodus 2:1 tells us “a man of the house of Levi ... took to wife a daughter of Levi.” These were Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Moses. Exodus 6:16-20 gives this information in greater detail. The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. “And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses” (verse 20). The lifespans of this line are also given: Levi 137 years, Kohath 133 years, Amram 137 years.

Thus Moses descended from Levi through both his father and mother. On his father’s side the line was Levi, Kohath, Amram, Moses. His maternal descent was Levi, Jochebed, Moses. It is interesting that Moses’ mother was the aunt of his father, a generation ahead in theory, even though probably about the same age. This means Jochebed would have been born later in Levi’s life, whereas her brother Kohath would have been born earlier in Levi’s life.

This deduction is affirmed by the record of Genesis 46:11 that all three sons of Levi were living when Levi came into Egypt, and the record of Numbers 26:59 that Jochebed was born to Levi after he came into Egypt.

A useful feature of these genealogies and lifespans is that they give us a better understanding of the meaning of Exodus 12:40,41, which is a key to the chronology of the Old Testament. “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years ... that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.”

If the reader checks various translations of this passage, it becomes apparent that some render the passage to express the thought that the Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years. Yet this does not accord with the information given above, as a little experimentation will show. For example, say Levi was forty when he came into Egypt—he could have been no younger than that according to the narrative in Genesis about Jacob. This means he would have died 97 years after entering Egypt. If the Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years, then 333 years would still remain before the exodus.

Now suppose the unlikely and extreme case that Jochebed was born to Levi in the last year of his life. Because Moses was eighty at the exodus, Jochebed would have been 253 years old at the birth of Moses—which is impossible when people were living on the order of 130 years at the time. Therefore it appears Exodus 12:40,41 does not intend that the Israelites were 430 years in Egypt alone. So what does it mean?

The passage evidently refers to the sojourning of the Israelites and their fathers in the promised land and in Egypt. In this respect it would follow the kind of reckoning Paul used in Hebrews 7:10, when he says Levi paid tithes to Melchisedec while “he was yet in the loins of his father” Abraham. That sojourn began when Abraham came into Canaan following the death of Terah. His first stop of note in the promised land was Sichem, later given as Shechem, at which place God appeared to Abraham “and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land” (Genesis 12:7). Until this time God’s covenant with Abraham had been provisional, but now it was given unconditionally.

The reasoning above is evidently what the rabbis of old also deduced about the meaning of Exodus 12:40,41, and the apostle Paul, schooled under one of Israel’s famous rabbis, Gamaliel, reports this view in Galatians 3:16, 17. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made ... And ... that [Abrahamic covenant] ... the law, which was 430 years after, cannot disannul.”

The flow of Paul’s statement is unusual because of the point he is making in Galatians. But it does stipulate that 430 years spanned the time from God’s covenant with Abraham until the law which was given just shortly after the exodus.

Without these texts—Exodus 12:40,41 and Galatians 3:16,17—we would have no record affirming this period of time, and thus no sure method of determining the time from Moses back to Adam. Without this key, we could not compute the climax of 6,000 years of human history which introduce the Millennium.

430 Years

This period of time is interesting because it reappears later in the Divine Plan in conspicuous places. Ezekiel 4:4-6 records an instruction of God to Ezekiel to lie on one side, then the other, for 390 and 40 days respectively—430 days total—to represent an affliction of Israel of the same number of years when Israel would be subject to other nations and “eat their defiled [spiritual] bread among the Gentiles” (v. 13). Indeed, from the time of this prophecy until the cleansing of the temple under the Maccabees, was a period of 430 years, counting inclusively.

In both cases this 430 years refers to a tentative, unsettled, provisional state, pending a blessed relief in God’s due time. Probably both of these periods represent the Gospel age when spiritual Israel has been in a tentative, unsettled, provisional state pending a blessed relief from their enemies.

It is at least worthy of note that the 1,290 years of Daniel 12:11 is related to this span of time also, being exactly three intervals of 430 years. Probably there is some deeper meaning that we have yet to fully apprehend in the relationship of these numbers. It is always good, when studying the Lord’s word, to keep in mind the relationships we observe, as they may prove useful in revealing greater insights into the things it has pleased God to put into the Scriptures for our interest, encouragement, and use. (See Proverbs 25:2.)

The Family of  Moses’  Wife

During Moses’ forty years of shepherding in Midian he married Zipporah, daughter of Reuel (Exodus 2:18-22), who is also called Jethro (Exodus 3:1), and later called Raguel (Numbers 10:29). While in Midian Zipporah bore two sons to Moses, Gershom and Eliezer (Exodus 18:3,4). When Moses returned to Egypt, he took his wife and sons with him: “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt” (Exodus 4:20).

At some point, however, it appears Moses sent his wife and sons back to Midian, perhaps for their safety, or perhaps because the time preparatory to the exodus was so extended. In either case, when Jethro heard the good news of the blessing of God in the exodus, he joined Moses at Mount Sinai: “And Jethro, Moses’ father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God” (Exodus 18:5).

The great victory God gave to Moses confirmed to Jethro that Jehovah was indeed God: “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them” (Exodus 18:11). He offered a burnt offering to God, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel joined to “eat bread with Moses’ father in law before God,” by which he publicly declared himself committed to Jehovah (Exodus 18:12).

So should we mark the victories God gives us through the spirit over the enemies we face within and without. Let us in response declare publicly our appreciation, and our commitment to Jehovah who gives us these victories.

It was Jethro who gave Moses such good advice about lessening the burdens he carried in judging all the issues among the Israelites. When he saw that Moses judged the people from morning to evening, he advised Moses to distribute the burden to trusted elders who would refer only the most difficult cases to Moses (Exodus 18:14-22).

The appointees would be “able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens” (verse 21). There was great wisdom in this advice. Not only would it provide release for Moses to focus on the greater matters, but it would distribute the judgment among many trusted men.

Inevitably, had Moses continued to decide every issue, a spirit of accusation would rise from time to time from parties who did not prevail. As accusation joined to accusation, Moses would face a crescendo of opposition which would weaken his leadership and demoralize his spirit. Even as it was, Moses was frequently accused by various segments within Israel, on one occasion moving God to deliver him from the injustice by overthrowing “two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown” (Numbers 16:2).

In this Moses was an example for us all. Our Lord Jesus, whom Moses represented, was beset even more vehemently by the Pharisees of his day, who were momentarily successful when they crucified him. But the leadership of Israel would suffer the judgment of God when the internal strife within Jerusalem, and the subsequent taking of the city by the Romans, did what they feared—“the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation” (John 11:48).

The brother of Zipporah, son of Jethro, namely Hobab, served as a guide for the Israelites during their wandering from Sinai forward. For interesting comments on his service, see the article Israel’s Guiding Light.

The Ten Plagues

The ten plagues which fell on Egypt were segregated into two parts, the first three and the last seven. The first three plagues affected all, both Egyptians and Israelites, but the remaining seven fell only on the Egyptians and not in Goshen where the Israelites lived.

This division is noteworthy because it is an integral part of the antitype of this experience. Revelation chapters 15 and 16 speak of “seven last plagues” which are commonly identified as the fulfillment of the last seven of the ten in Egypt.

We understand that the first three refer to three distresses on Christendom which precede the harvest when the “wheat and tares” are mixed. This is before the call “come out of her, my people,” so all are affected. The last seven would then represent seven plagues during the harvest after the call to separate.

We interpret the first three plagues to represent 1) the Reformation, 2) the French Revolution and consequent Napoleonic wars which ravaged Christendom, and 3) the “nuisance” plague of lice as the “nuisance” of the Adventist Movement in the early 1800s. The first of the next seven was like that last one. It was a plague of flies, representing the impact of the truth movement on Christians within Christendom who did not respond favorably. This preceded the first deadly plague, the second of Revelation 16, which affected the broad “sea” class; it resulted in the overthrow of the kings of Europe (compare Ezekiel 26:16 and Isaiah 23:11).

The final judgment among the ten plagues in Egypt was the death of the firstborn, which evidently represents that at the close of the harvest the “inheritors” of the old system will be no more, that is, the present system will come to an end so there is nothing more to inherit.

The firstborn of Israel during that climactic night indicate that the saints of God are still here, until the close of the harvest, in the flesh, under the protection of the blood. Their “passing over” evidently represents the deliverance of the saints from jeopardy through their passing into life beyond the veil. If this is the meaning of the picture, it indicates that some of the church will be in the flesh until the last plague begins to be poured. Until then, the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus” still has some participants who are yet in the flesh.

The midnight hour at which the death angel passed through Egypt would represent the destructive close of the present dispensation. This is not the midnight for the church—that appears at the opening of the harvest, as shown in the parable of the virgins, for “at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom” (Matthew 25:6), and considerable activity among the Lord’s people proceeds thereafter. That midnight marked the close of six periods of the church, and introduced the favorable opportunity of the Laodicean stage of the church which commenced with our Lord’s return in 1874.

The midnight hour of the death angel in Exodus 12:29 is quite different. That will be the midnight hour for the world. In it the old systems pass away, and a transition is made into the kingdom of Christ which is established at Israel through the commotion associated with this last of the seven plagues. The former midnight (for the church) is at the beginning of the harvest, whereas the latter midnight (for the world) is at the close of the harvest.

Law of the Passover

Exodus 12 records the instructions of God about keeping the passover. This is a famous passage which many read annually as they study the Memorial of our Lord’s death, an event that occurred on the same day of the Jewish calendar that our Lord Jesus died on the cross and which was also the time the Israelites were slaying their passover lambs.

Five days earlier the Israelites were to select their lambs, on the tenth of Nisan; just as Jesus was presented to the multitudes as he rode into Jerusalem to shouts of Hosanna, on the tenth of Nisan. It was on the previous evening, which opened that day, that Mary anointed Jesus for his approaching death—all fitting to denote Jesus’ “selection” as the passover sacrifice for Israel.

One of the features of the passover celebration was a seven-day feast of unleavened bread, which seems aptly to represent the Gospel age of seven stages, during which we appreciate the benefits of our paschal lamb, Jesus, and cleanse ourselves from the leaven of sin. Exodus 12:16 says that feast closed with a special celebration on the seventh and closing day of the feast, representing the special blessings of the Laodicean stage of the church, for during this period the saints go to their promised blessings in the spirit realm.

The Journey from Egypt

The flight of Israel from Egypt is recorded in chapters 13 and 14, and their song of triumph and thanksgiving after their deliverance through the Red Sea in chapter 15. Frequently the passing of Israel through the Red Sea is applied to the full deliverance of all the world through the last onslaught of Satan during the little season which follows the Millennium. This application is given in Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 6, pp. 458, 459.

Exodus 14:24 contains a prophetic clue which harmonizes with this view. The time the hosts of Pharaoh were being subdued in the Red Sea is described as “in the morning watch.” In Psalm 90:4, a watch in the night is compared to a thousand years. Mark 6:48 shows there were four watches in the night, so the one described as the “morning watch” is evidently the last of these. In the Jewish economy the day was divided also into four parts—two parts of the morning, and two parts of the afternoon. Thus the day was divided into eight portions.

The “morning watch” of Exodus 14:24 may thus represent the eighth millennium in God’s plan. This is the time during which the Little Season of Satan’s last endeavor to pursue mankind takes place, for Revelation 20:3 specifies that the Little Season follows the end of the millennium (which most identify with the seventh millennium since Adam).

Wandering in the Wilderness

Exodus 15:22 begins the account of Israel’s experiences following their great deliverance. When the apostle Paul comments on the wilderness experiences of Israel, he applies them to the experiences of the Christian church during the Gospel age.

For example, 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 is explicit about this: “All our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (verses 1, 2). This represents our baptism into the greater than Moses, namely our Lord Jesus.

In verse three Paul says they “did all eat the same spiritual meat”—the manna from heaven—which our Lord Jesus says represents the nourishment we have in him (John 6:31-35). The manna represents both the living word, Jesus, and the written word, the Scriptures which testify of Jesus, from which we draw spiritual strength and nourishment. To take advantage of this heavenly manna we should first commit ourselves to God, and by faith “eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood” (John 6:53). We should then “Search the scriptures,” for in them we “have eternal life” (John 5:39).

When the Israelites first received the manna from heaven, they described the taste of it “like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31). What a lovely taste! So is the blessing of the holy spirit, communicated through the Scriptures, to those who appreciate and value it.

But with time the Israelites tired of this miraculous sustenance. So is the jeopardy with us. We can tire of even the miraculous nourishment we have in the Scriptures, through the spirit. We can consider it common, unappreciated, or worse, if we do not focus on what a blessing it is to be thus fed by God in a supernatural way by his spirit.

When the Israelites tired of it, they described its taste differently: “Now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes ... and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil” (Numbers 11:6-8). Could it taste this way to us? We still recognize it as “oil”—the holy spirit—but gone is the likeness to “wafers made with honey.” Honey, in the Scriptures, is the sweetness of the high calling. Do we forget the remarkable sweetness of this call? Does the continuity of our Christian walk —resisting the things of the flesh, pursuing a conscientious life, with principle, patiently, consistently—cause us to weary, and let slip the wonder of the goal, and the sweet fellowship with God and Christ which is both our present inheritance, and our future reward?

Let us instead rejoice every day for the unspeakable privilege which is ours. We know what the world does not know—of God, his plan, and the devoted service of the saints who with us are running for the prize of the high calling. Let us awaken every morning to appreciate another opportunity to express by our deeds, thoughts, and words, “the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Gospel Age Blessings

Exodus 15:23 begins the record of the healing of waters at Marah. They were cured by a tree cast into them, probably representing how the brackish waters of the law were sweetened by Christ’s death. By this means the “handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us” was taken “out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Colossians 2:14).

We are freed from the “letter [which] killeth,” and are privileged instead to follow “the spirit” which “giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). The spirit of the law we can keep, through our intentions, if we focus our affections on things above, and apply ourselves to the spirit of Christ. This blessed spirit we may contain within our minds, our hearts, and use it to control our words, conduct, and the thoughts from which these spring. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

The Israelites next took their journey to Elim, finding “twelve wells of water, and [seventy] palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters” (Exodus 15:27). After the Christian church began through baptism into Christ, they found the curse of the law removed, they encamped in the sweet blessings of the teachings of the twelve apostles, evidently represented by the twelve wells by which the Israelites would draw water. The seventy palm trees remind us of the seventy disciples that Jesus sent two by two to prepare people for his message; perhaps they represent all the sundry teachers and leaders among the early church, beyond the scope of the twelve apostles.

All of these were a blessing to settle those of the early church into their faith, provide peace and refreshment for them, for the trials of the way would soon commence. “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46).

What a blessed condition! May we each rejoice in the fellowship of saints as they did then. May we never disdain the fellowship of Christian brethren, by looking at the shallow joys of the world.

The Trials Commence

Exodus 16 records Israel’s complaint for food, so God gave them manna. Exodus 17 records Israel’s complaint for water, so God gave them water from a rock in Horeb. On the latter occasion Moses was to strike the rock, which he did, and it gushed forth water. So Christ was smitten at the first advent, and from his sacrifice comes the blessed water of life for the saints now.

Years later, near the end of their journeys, the Israelites would clamor again for water, and God would again produce water for them from a rock. But on this occasion Moses was merely to speak to the rock. So at the close of the Gospel age, the rock which represents Christ will yield yet another wonderful flow of life-giving water, this time for the world of mankind. But he will not be smitten again for this purpose. Merely speaking to the rock would now suffice, indicating God’s time for a second blessing as a result of Jesus’ original sacrifice (Numbers 20:8).

Exodus 17 then introduces another trial for Israel: “Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim” (v. 8). So the enemies of the church would persecute and afflict them, but never overcome the saints. Ultimately “I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven” God promised (Exodus 17:14); and so God will utterly remove all the enemies which now afflict the saints.

In the book of Hebrews Paul again takes up the comparison of Israel in the wilderness, longing for the promised rest in Canaan, to the saints during our wilderness wandering, longing for the promised rest of the kingdom. He warns there, as he did in 1 Corinthians 10, not to fall as the Israelites so often fell by abandoning their faith: “Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years” (Hebrews 3:8,9). “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12,13). “For,” as he continues, “we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end” (verse 14).

Israel Gathered at the Mount

Exodus 19 records Israel’s arrival at Mount Sinai. Both Paul and Peter extract lessons from this episode which apply to the saints. As Israel gathered to the literal mountain in the desert, Paul says we have gathered to a spiritual mount in antitype: “Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God” (Hebrews 12:22). As Israel there heard the voice of God speaking from heaven all the ten commandments, so Paul instructs us, “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking ... from heaven” (Hebrews 12:25, NASB).

At this mountain God offered Israel, gathered expectantly at the mount, a remarkable opportunity: “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people ... and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exodus 19:5,6). This is the source for Peter’s exhortations to the saints: “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people” (1 Peter 2:9).

As wonderful as was the offer of God to Israel, it was only a picture of the higher blessings he offers us. What is our answer? Israel replied, “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8). Let this be our answer also, but let us be more resolved than Israel to fulfill it.

When Israel rebelled some weeks later, “there fell of the people that day about three thousand men” (Exodus 32:28). So it was at the giving of the Letter of the Law. But when the Spirit of the Law was given at Pentecost, it brought life in proportion as the other brought death: “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41).

When Israel was being inducted into the law covenant, Moses “offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD” (Exodus 24:5). The blood of sprinkling secured from these was used on the people: “And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people” (verse 8). Paul refers to this in Hebrews 9:19, and showed that this required Jesus to die as a sacrifice for sins to thus secure our relationship to God (Hebrews 9:23,24). We, who have accepted God’s offer to becomes priests and kings, have thus had our “hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,” to cleanse us, and thus enable our induction into Christ (Hebrews 10:22).

Subsequently seventy elders of Israel accompanied Moses, Aaron, and his eldest sons to a remarkable vision of God, who appeared seated high above on a firmament of sapphire. There they feasted and had blessed communion. So at the opening of the Gospel age did the leaders of faith enjoy blessed spiritual communion with God through Jesus. The testimony of this lingers to this day through the words of New Testament Scripture, so that the blessings of that early time are available even to us.

Closing Chapters

The remainder of the chapters through and including chapter 34 are covered in the articles Seven Ascents and Descending in Glory. In chapter 35 Moses addresses Israel, explaining again the holiness of the Sabbath, which was a day of release from the mundane issues of life, to focus on the higher spiritual values of God and godliness. That was to be a day of holy convocation.

Today it is common in Christian cultures to observe Sunday in this respect, a day of relief from the profane concerns of life, to assemble with other Christians, focus on things of the spirit, and mutually edify one another in the faith. If we let the spirit of the world permeate into the blessedness of this opportunity, we are moving away from the spirit and toward the world. Let us, on the other hand, commit ourselves, and encourage our brethren during our meetings with them, avoiding the profane cares of this life.

Moses then gave instructions about building the tabernacle; the work then proceeds through chapter 39. At last “it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up” (Exodus 40:17).

God approved: “So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation [literally, tent of meeting—where God would meet with man], and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:33, 34).

So let us build, and seek the Lord’s approval.