Notes on Exodus from The Literary Study Bible:

"If we know Christ ..., we can trace the story of the exodus somewhere in the spiritual geography of our own souls. Through the waters of baptism, we have been delivered from our bondage to sin. Now God is guiding us on our pilgrimage through the wilderness, feeding us our daily bread, teaching us his law, receiving our worship, and leading us to his glory in the Promised Land."

Parallels between Exodus and Christ (Literary Study Bible):

"The story of Israel's exodus from Egypt is the paradigm for salvation in the OT. It also sets the pattern for the full and final salvation that God has provided in Israel's Messiah. Jesus Christ became the new Moses of a greater exodus by going down into Egypt, passing through the waters of baptism, enduring temptation in the wilderness, and going up on the mountain to give people God's law (see Matthew 2-7). Like Moses, Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant (see Heb. 9:15). Like the Passover lamb or the offering sprinkled on the ark of the covenant, the blood of his sacrifice is the atonement for our sin. Like the tabernacle, he is the dwelling place of God with us (see John 1:14, where the word for 'dwell' is the Greek word for tabernacle). Like Aaron the high priest, he brings us into the Most Holy Place, where we can meet with God."

Theological themes of the book of Exodus (from the Literary Study Bible):

• The sovereignty of God: God rules all nations, working in history to reveal his glory.
• Revelation: God reveals his will and character in what he says and what he does, so that his people can known him as their God.
• Salvation: God releases his people from captivity, redeems them from slavery, and adopts them as children.
• Covenant: Israel is rescued because God remembers his covenant and restored because God renews his covenant--his everlasting love commitment to his people, sealed in blood
• Law: God's law is both a gracious gift for the people he has redeemed and a perfect standard for human behavior.
• Holiness: God has set his people apart for holy service, and everything associated with his worship is to be kept perfectly sacred.
• Judgment: God justly executes his wrath against his enemies.
• Atonement: Through the various offerings made at the Passover, on Mount Sinai, and in the tabernacle, Exodus shows that God forgives sin only through a righteous sacrifice of blood offered in the place of sinners. 
• Worship: the goal of life is to glorify God, who has the right to tell us exactly how he wants to be served and worshiped.

Notes on Exodus from the Literary Study Bible:

The book is designed to achieve the following literary purposes:

• glorify God by telling the full story of how he delivered his people

• establish Israel's identity by rehearsing its founding experiences as a nation

• personify evil in the cruelty and tyranny of Pharaoh

• present Moses as an ideal mediator for the people of God

• present memorable images of divine judgment

• provide a travel guide for a life of spiritual pilgrimage

• record memorable instances of personal and national encounters with God

• reveal God's will for his people, as summarized in the Ten commandments

• show how God's law relates to daily life, as exemplified in the Book of the Covenant (chapters 21-23)

• formalize the true pattern of worship in the institution of Passover, the renewal of the covenant, the construction of the tabernacle, and the consecration of its priests

• revel in the luxurious beauty of the tabernacle and its furnishings

• warn against the spiritual dangers of grumbling against God or deciding to worship him our way rather than his way

• convey a sense of reverence and awe for the holiness and majesty of God

• captivate us with the story itself

Notes on Exodus from the Literary Study Bible:

"The story of Israel's salvation has everything that anyone could ever want in an adventure story: a cruel villain (Pharaoh), an unlikely hero (Moses), fantastic disasters (the plagues), a spectacular deliverance (crossing the Red Sea), a long journey (through the wilderness), a mountaintop experience (where Moses receives the Ten Commandments), and a grand finale (when God comes down to fill the tabernacle with his glory). Along the way--as we might expect in an epic adventure--there are . . . many close encounters with the living God. God's purpose in all of this was to show his glory by fulfilling the promises he made to his people in the covenant. The exodus is the archetypal deliverance of the Old Testament--the definitive salvation event that established the identity of Israel as the people of God and demonstrated the character of their Deliverer as the God who saves."

"The real hero of the story is God himself, and Exodus finds its most essential unity in his actions and attributes as the God who hears his people pray, delivers them from slavery, provides for them in the wilderness, instructs them how to live, invites them to worship him, and meets with them in all the power of his holy divine presence. To be even more specific, the main theme of Exodus is the glory of God. The initial plot conflict is that Pharaoh will not let God's people go out to glorify their God."

"The central message of Exodus is that God's people are saved for God's glory."

Recently I have been reading through the book of Exodus in the Literary Study Bible, and I've been enjoying it. I'm now in the section known as the Book of the Covenant, where God gives Israel laws for community life. A note on this passage says the following:

"The Book of the Covenant is more like a guide to cases than a strict legal code. ... [It was] never intended to cover every conceivable case but rather to establish legal precedents that wise leaders could use to adjudicate other situations as they arose. Although these laws were given to Israel as a nation under God and thus are no longer binding in all their detail, they are based on moral principles that teach us the character of God and can still help to guide society today."

Some thoughts as I was reading:

1. One section of the Book of the Covenant that can be troubling for modern readers is the guidelines for slaves and their masters. But "here it is important to know that because servitude was usually voluntary and intended to be temporary (people often worked as slaves to pay off their debts or to make restitution), the institution of slavery in Israel was different in some important ways from the degrading and dehumanizing practice of permanent, involuntary slavery that was later practiced in Africa and the West. ... The laws in this section are intended to protect the rights of slaves and their families."

In other words, this section actually promotes love for one's neighbor. It demonstrates that human beings are creatures with inherent dignity and respect. It's notable that Exod. 21:16 prescribes the death penalty for anyone who kidnaps a slave or anyone who owns a kidnapped slave. 

The Bible assumes the inherent dignity of every human being.

2. I was also struck by this section's emphasis on respect for the land. The Bible shows that the land itself is important and ought to be respected and not overworked. Every seventh year, the land itself was to be given rest. How different from the way Americans treat land. The subculture I have grown up with sees environmentalism as a dirty word, but they have no problem with industrial farming. From what I read here in Exodus, I believe that industrial farming is a great evil, and that God despises it.

3. Although the regulations here are not permanent, this section does assume a real, permanent Moral Order that we must follow if we desire to have a good life. Everything has its place--respect for the land, respect for other people, sexuality, marriage and family life, the worship of God, the rhythm of work and celebration (interestingly, feasts are required). To have a good life, everything must be in harmony--human beings must be in harmony with themselves, with God, with each other, with the land, with strangers, with all things. This passage also shows that our affections must be in tune with this Moral Order, that we might follow it not only externally, but internally. The Moral Order must guide our affections.