Holman Old Testament Commentary - Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers

Glen Martin, Max Anders, Max Anders

• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Year: 2002
• ISBN:
  9781433674259
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

One in a series of twenty Old Testament verse-by-verse commentary books edited by Max Anders. Includes discussion starters, teaching plan, and more. Great for lay teachers and pastors alike.

Exodus 1–2

Preparing for the Journey

I. INTRODUCTION

Life in the Balance

II. COMMENTARY

A verse-by-verse explanation of these chapters.

III. CONCLUSION

Learning a Careful Balance

An overview of the principles and applications from these chapters.

IV. LIFE APPLICATION

An Indian's Insight

Melding these chapters to life.

V. PRAYER

Tying these chapters to life with God.

VI. DEEPER DISCOVERIES

Historical, geographical, and grammatical enrichment of the commentary.

VII. TEACHING OUTLINE

Suggested step-by-step group study of these chapters.

VIII. ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

Zeroing these chapters in on daily life.

“Some providences, like Hebrew letters, must be read backwards.”

John Flavel

The careful balance between deliverance, direction, and dedication unfolds in the Book of Exodus as we learn how a people are prepared for the journey awaiting them and how a leader is prepared for the task of leading a ragtag group of people into a long-awaited land of milk and honey.

Preparing for the Journey

I. INTRODUCTION

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Life in the Balance

Have you ever wondered why British sailors are called “limeys”? Well, hundreds of years ago, modern medicine was still in its infancy. Sailors would drop like flies from scurvy on long sea voyages. But British sailors accidentally discovered a truth that was to impact the health and lives of thousands. They found that the dreaded scurvy could be stopped with the addition of limes to the sailors' diet. This fruit, unknown to them, contained vitamin C. Who would have thought that the difference between life and death could be a humble lime! So, because British sailors sucked on limes, they became known as “limeys.”

Life is delicately balanced. It can be negatively affected, and even ended, by the smallest deficiency or addition. Add an extra carbon molecule to oxygen, and you get carbon dioxide, which can be fatal if too much is inhaled. This substance, much like vitamin C, is unseen, yet potent.

What is true in the physical realm has similar parallels in the spiritual realm. You are about to make a journey that will demonstrate the fine balance of deliverance, direction, and dedication. The Book of Exodus paints three pictures for the careful student. First is the picture of God's deliverance of the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The second picture will be a beautiful portrayal of God's faithful guidance of these same people through the wilderness to the promised land. The third painting will show us the glory of God as the Israelites trusted his leading and dedicated a dwelling place for his holy habitation.

II. COMMENTARY

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Preparing for the Journey

MAIN IDEA: God saw the oppress/on of his people and prepared a deliverer for them.

The Oppressed People (1:1–22)

SUPPORTING IDEA: God's chosen people were persecuted in a foreign land.

1:1. Moses aptly opens this book with a listing of the tribes of Israel. The tribes represent the sons of Jacob, over which Jacob uttered profoundly prophetic words (see Gen. 49). From these tribes would come prophets, priests, kings, and other notable characters who would help create Israel's unique history. Of course, Israel's greatest contribution would be the giving of the Messiah (Rev. 12:5). Moses mentions Joseph last because of his unique place in Genesis and because he comprises the two other tribes not mentioned here—Ephraim and Manasseh.

1:2–14. God had blessed these tribes abundantly so that they were fruitful and had multiplied. Yet their growth in Egypt was viewed as a threat by the reigning Pharaoh. His fears were twofold. These growing tribes in Egypt might align themselves with Egypt's enemies or be strong enough to escape from the land. In either case, the results would be disastrous for Egypt. To protect the interests of Egypt, the Pharaoh began oppressing the Israelites. He appointed tough slave masters over them as they built store cities for him. Yet Pharaoh's tactics backfired: The more Israel was oppressed, the more they grew in number. This, in turn, resulted in still more severe countermeasures.

1:15–22. Students of history tell us that when a nation uses terror tactics on a segment of its society, it will not achieve the desired result. In fact, such actions lead to further frustration, causing the perpetrators to sink to even lower depths of cruelty. Witness the twentieth century's fascist regimes that fell into such murderous evil as they attempted to destroy peoples with whom they felt they could not coexist. Pharaoh, realizing his previous attempts at controlling the exploding population growth of the Israelites had failed, now approached the Hebrew midwives with a scheme so unscrupulous it can only be called devilish. He commanded the midwives to kill all Hebrew male babies, while sparing the females.

The midwives, however, feared God and would not submit to Pharaoh's bloodthirsty scheme. Instead, they spared the male infants and told Pharaoh that the Hebrew women did not wait for their assistance but delivered the babies on their own. Such daring actions by the Hebrew midwives did not escape the eye of God, who rewarded their faithfulness by providing them with families of their own. Pharaoh then acted out of pure desperation. He sent his own soldiers on search-and-destroy missions. Whenever they located a Hebrew male baby, they were ordered to throw him into the Nile. Would Pharaoh have his way? Did Pol Pot, Stalin, or Hitler?

Adoption and Life in Midian (2:1–25)

SUPPORTING IDEA:God carefully prepared his servant.

2:1–10. Moses, the writer of Exodus and God's chief instrument in bringing the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, now mentions something of his origins. Descended from Levi, the third child of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:34), Moses was the second son of Amram and Jochebed, who previously gave birth to Aaron and daughter Miriam (Num. 26:59). The baby Moses must have beamed with vigor and strength, standing out among other Hebrew babies (Heb. 11:23), and would have been a prime target for Pharaoh's brand of extermination.

Yet Moses’ mother, well aware of the ongoing surveillance commanded by Pharaoh (Exod. 1:22), hid him for approximately three months, and then, possibly out of desperation (but also faith, Heb. 11:23), placed him in a papyrus basket… among the reeds along the bank of the Nile, so he wouldn't float away down the Nile. Jochebed also posted his sister Miriam to keep watch over him.

When Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe… she saw the basket.… and sent her slave girl to get it. Soon the princess concluded the baby was one of the endangered Hebrew babies, and, at the prompting of the enterprising and skillful Miriam, sent for a Hebrew nurse to care for the child. Miriam, of course, didn't get just any nurse, but Moses’ own mother. Pharaoh's daughter arranged to have the “nurse” feed and care for the child, after which she took him for her own, naming the adopted son Moses, which means roughly “to draw out.”

2:11–14. Moses developed a close relationship and identification with his own people, even though he was raised and educated as an Egyptian. Year after year Moses witnessed untold instances of his adopted n...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Full Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Editorial Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Holman Old Testament Commentary Contributors
• Holman New Testament Commentary Contributors
• Holman Old Testament Commentary
• Introduction to Exodus
• Exodus 1–2
• Exodus 3–4
• Exodus 5–7
• Exodus 8–11
• Exodus 12–13
• Exodus 14–15
• Exodus 16–18
• Exodus 19–20
• Exodus 21–24
• Exodus 25–28
• Exodus 29–31
• Exodus 32–34
• Exodus 35–40
• Introduction to Leviticus
• Leviticus 1–7
• Leviticus 8–10
• Leviticus 11–15
• Leviticus 16
• Leviticus 17–20
• Leviticus 21–24
• Leviticus 25–27
• Introduction to Numbers
• Numbers 1–4
• Numbers 5–8
• Numbers 9–12
• Numbers 13–14
• Numbers 15–18
• Numbers 19–21
• Numbers 22–25
• Numbers 26–29
• Numbers 30–32
• Numbers 33–36
• Bibliography
• Glossary