Book 2 - Exodus

Exodus is one of the most dramatic, well-known stories in the entire Bible. Even people who have never opened Scripture know pieces of it from movies, books, art, and everyday conversation. But underneath the recognizable parts is a story about freedom, calling, trust, and a God who refuses to leave His people trapped in darkness.

This is the book where the people of Israel discover who they are. It is where Moses steps into a calling he never wanted. It is where God begins to show what it means to be faithful even when His people are not.

Let’s walk through it in a way that makes sense.

What Exodus Is About

Exodus is a story of rescue. It begins with God's people trapped in slavery in Egypt and ends with them learning how to live as a new kind of nation. It is about freedom, but also. about formation. God does not just bring them out of something. He brings them into something. A relationship, a purpose, a new identity.

The Story

A People Cry Out

Exodus opens several generations after Joseph. The Israelites have grown so large that Pharaoh feels threatened. He forces them into slavery and tries to crush their future by ordering all Hebrew baby boys to be killed. The people cry out for help. God hears them.

A Baby in a Basket

In the middle of this darkness, a baby boy is born. His mother hides him for three months, then places him in a basket on the Nile River. By what seems like coincidence but is actually divine timing, Pharaoh’s daughter discovers him and adopts him. She names him Moses.

Moses grows up in the palace, but his heart breaks for his own people. When he tries to intervene in a moment of injustice, things go wrong, and he flees into the wilderness to start a new life far from Egypt.

The Burning Bush

One ordinary day, while watching his father-in-law’s sheep, Moses notices something strange. A bush is on fire, but it is not burning up. When he steps closer, God calls his name.

God tells Moses that He has heard the cries of His people and that Moses is the one who will lead them out of Egypt. Moses panics. He lists every reason why he is not the right person. God gives him one reason why he is.

I will be with you.

This becomes the defining truth of Moses’ life. God chooses ordinary people and equips them with His presence.

Confronting Pharaoh

Moses returns to Egypt with his brother Aaron. They stand before Pharaoh and demand freedom for the Israelites. Pharaoh refuses again and again. Each refusal is followed by a plague that exposes Egypt’s powerless gods. Water turns to blood. Frogs cover the land. Darkness falls. The plagues escalate until Pharaoh breaks and lets the people go.

It is victory, but only for a moment.

The Red Sea

Once the Israelites leave, Pharaoh regrets it. He sends his army to chase them down. The people reach the Red Sea and panic. They are trapped between water and soldiers. God tells Moses to raise his staff. When he does, the sea opens into a dry path. The people walk through with walls of water on both sides. When the Egyptians follow, the waters close and the people are safe.

This is one of the most powerful images in the Bible. A God who makes a way when there is no way. A God who brings His people through impossible places.

Life in the Wilderness

Freedom does not feel like the people expected. The wilderness is hot, uncomfortable, and uncertain. They complain, doubt, forget, and question everything. Still, God provides.

He sends bread from heaven called manna. He gives water from rocks. He leads them with a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.

God is teaching them something essential. Freedom is not just escape. It is trust.

The Ten Commandments

At Mount Sinai, God calls Moses up the mountain. Thunder shakes the sky. Lightning flashes. A cloud covers the summit. There God gives Moses the Ten Commandments. These are not random rules. They are instructions for a new way of life, a way to honor God and treat people with integrity.

The commandments are the beginning of a covenant, a promise between God and His people. They show what life looks like when a community reflects God’s character.

The Golden Calf

But before Moses even comes back down the mountain, the people lose patience. They melt their jewelry and create a golden calf to worship. It is a moment of betrayal, but God responds with both justice and mercy. He does not abandon them. He stays, forgives, and continues leading them forward.

A Long Journey Ahead

Because of their lack of trust, the people are not ready to enter the promised land. They wander the wilderness for many years. Even this becomes part of their story. They learn who God is and who they are supposed to be.

Why Exodus Matters

Exodus is not just about ancient history. It is about the human story.

It shows a God who hears when people cry out.

A God who rescues.

A God who calls ordinary people into extraordinary roles.

A God who provides even when people complain.

A God who gives direction through His commandments.

A God who forgives when His people fall short.

Exodus teaches that freedom is not only leaving something broken behind. It is learning to live for something better.

Scene to Remember

The Red Sea splitting open and an entire nation walking through on dry ground. It is a moment that still shapes faith today because it shows that no obstacle is too big for God to overcome.

Spotlight: The Burning Bush (Exodus 3)

Moses was not looking for a holy moment. He was not praying, fasting, or searching for a sign. He was simply doing his normal work, leading sheep through the wilderness. That is when he saw something strange. A bush was on fire, but the flames were not consuming it. It glowed with a steady, unburning fire.

Curious, Moses stepped closer. The moment he did, he heard his name.

“Moses. Moses.”

It was God calling to him from within the fire.

God told Moses that He had seen the suffering of His people in Egypt. Their pain was not ignored. Their cries were not forgotten. God had come down to rescue them, and Moses was the one He had chosen to lead them out.

Moses did not respond heroically. He panicked. He argued. He questioned everything. He asked what authority he had. He asked what he should say. He asked what he should do if people did not believe him. He asked why God would choose someone like him. He even begged God to send someone else.

This is important. Moses did not step forward because he felt qualified. He stepped forward because God promised to be with him.

The burning bush shows us that God often calls reluctant people. People who are unsure. People who feel unqualified or afraid. God does not begin with their confidence. He begins with His presence. The miracle in this story is not the burning bush itself. It is that God chooses ordinary people and walks with them as they grow into a calling bigger than themselves.

Spotlight: The Parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14)

The Red Sea moment is one of the most famous miracles in the entire Bible, but it becomes even more powerful when you understand the fear underneath it.

Picture the scene.

The Israelites have just escaped Egypt. They are exhausted, frightened, and trying to move quickly. Ahead of them is the Red Sea. Behind them, in the distance, they hear something growing louder. Horses. Chariots. Soldiers.

Pharaoh has changed his mind. He wants them back.

The people realize they are trapped. Water in front of them. An army behind them. No escape. They panic. They accuse Moses of leading them to their deaths. They forget everything God has done so far. Fear takes over.

God tells Moses to stand firm. Then He tells him to raise his staff over the water. When Moses does, something no one has ever seen before happens. The sea splits. The water pushes back like walls on both sides, and a dry path opens up in the middle.

The people walk across with the sound of rushing water towering above them. When they reach the other side and the Egyptians charge into the passage, God closes the sea. The water crashes back together, and the people are finally safe.

This moment is not just about a miracle. It is a picture of how God works in impossible situations. When we feel cornered. When we feel trapped. When we cannot imagine a way forward.

God creates a path where one does not exist.

The Red Sea teaches that faith is not always believing without fear. Often it is stepping forward while the fear is still there, trusting that God is clearing the ground beneath your feet.

Spotlight: The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)

After escaping Egypt, the Israelites camp at the foot of Mount Sinai. The mountain shakes with thunder. Lightning flashes. A thick cloud covers the peak. God calls Moses up to meet with Him. What happens next shapes the rest of the Bible and much of human history.

God gives Moses ten core instructions. Not to restrict freedom, but to teach the people how to live as a community that reflects His character. These commandments become the blueprint for how to love God and how to treat people with dignity.

Here they are in simple, clear language.

The Ten Commandments

1. Put God first above everything else.

2. Do not worship idols or created things.

3. Do not misuse or disrespect God’s name.

4. Remember the Sabbath and set it apart for rest and renewal.

5. Honor your father and mother.

6. Do not murder.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Do not steal.

9. Do not lie or give false testimony.

10. Do not covet what belongs to someone else.

    
    

The first four focus on our relationship with God. The last six focus on how we treat one another.

These were not random rules. They were God’s way of forming a new society where justice, truth, loyalty, and respect held people together. They were about shaping the people into a community that reflected His heart.

Even today, thousands of years later, these commandments form the backbone of moral law in much of the world. Courtrooms. Legal systems. Ethical frameworks. They all echo Sinai.

The Ten Commandments show that freedom is not only being delivered from oppression. It is discovering how to live in a way that honors God and protects one another.

Up next - before we dive into Leviticus we'll ask "How am I supposed to believe this?" The question from my son that sent me down this path...