The Bible is the story of Jesus. The Old Testament declares Jesus is coming. The Gospels declare Jesus has come. The rest of the New Testament declares Jesus is coming again, be ready! Let us consider this truth by briefly noting how every book in the Bible declares Jesus. Let us consider Exodus.
The book of Exodus documents the departure of Israel under the leadership of Moses. Genesis ends with the family of Jacob (Israel) safe in Egypt. It was there that God would turn Jacob’s (Israel’s) family into a nation. Seventy souls went in (Gen. 46:27) and millions came out (Num. 1:46). We see Jesus foreshadowed/prefigured in several ways in this wonderful book.
The last of the ten plagues God visited upon Egypt to get them to let His people go was the death of the firstborn (Ex. 11). Israel was told what to do to be saved from this plague. If they sacrificed a lamb without blemish and put its blood on the doorposts and lintel of the door, the “destroyer” (Ex. 12:23) would not enter their homes. That is, because they were under the blood they would not be visited with death. The apostle Paul makes plain that this was a shadow of the Christ to come. In 1 Cor. 5:7, he wrote that Christ is “our Passover”. Christians are under the blood of Jesus and are saved from spiritual death.
Moses served as a prefigure of Jesus. Moses was sent by God to deliver Israel from Egyptian captivity. Though Israel had started as welcomed guests in Egypt, when the Pharaoh who “did not know Joseph” rose in Egypt Israel was enslaved and cruelly treated (Ex. 1:8-16). Moses led them through the waters of the Red Sea (“baptized into Moses” 1 Cor. 10:2) out of bondage. Jesus frees from the bondage of sin and death (Rom. 6:17-18; Rev. 1:5) all who will be baptized into Him (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). The manna provided to Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness was a preview of our Lord Jesus. Jesus Himself said that He was the Bread of Heaven in John 6. He explained that as the manna kept them alive physically, He was able to keep them alive eternally (John 6:49-51). The Lord’s Supper we partake of every first day of the week is our memorial of the manna of His flesh and water of His blood.
The worship of the Law of Moses is all foreshadowing Jesus Christ and His kingdom. The Aaronic high priesthood was a type of Jesus (our High Priest-Heb. 9:11). The tabernacle which became the temple was a type of the church/kingdom to come. The holy place represented the church. The most holy place represented the presence of God, heaven. The veil was the flesh through which our High Priest Jesus would go to offer sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 10:20). The sacrifices of the priests and the applying of the blood upon the horn of the altar in the most holy place is a most poignant prefiguring of what Jesus would do for us.
Briefly we have considered how Jesus can be seen throughout the book of Exodus. He is the deliverer sent and the sacrifice given. He is the High Priest who nourishes His flock. He is the purpose of the Bible, our salvation. - By Rick McCurdy
Christiansburg church of Christ, Christiansburg, VA
