Exodus study section
Exodus related passages
Exodus is quoted and echoed throughout Scripture, and its redemption finds its fulfillment in Christ.
Within the Bible
- Previous: Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt and Joseph’s dying hope that God would “visit” them and bring them to the land promised to Abraham (Genesis 50:24-25). Exodus is the answer to that hope and the fulfillment of God’s word to Abraham that his descendants, after affliction in a foreign land, would come out with great possessions (Genesis 15:13-14).
- Next: Leviticus continues directly from Exodus, giving the laws of sacrifice and holiness for the people among whom God now dwells; where Exodus ends with the glory filling the tabernacle, Leviticus opens with the LORD speaking from it.
- Thematic Connections:
- Numbers and Deuteronomy - The wilderness journey and the renewal of the covenant continue the story of the redeemed people.
- Hebrews - The definitive New Testament commentary on the tabernacle, priesthood, and sacrifices as shadows fulfilled in Christ.
- The Psalms - Repeatedly celebrate the exodus, the Red Sea, and God’s steadfast love proclaimed at Sinai (e.g. Psalm 105-106; 136).
Cross-Testament Connections
Exodus is one of the most quoted and echoed books in the New Testament, and its pattern of redemption underlies the whole gospel:
- Christ our Passover: The Passover lamb, spotless and with no bone broken, is fulfilled in Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:7; John 1:29; 19:36).
- The greater Exodus: Jesus’ death is literally called His “exodus” (Luke 9:31), the true deliverance from the slavery of sin and death.
- Baptism and the sea: Israel’s passage through the sea is a picture of baptism into Christ (1 Corinthians 10:1-2).
- Bread and water: The manna and the water from the rock are fulfilled in Christ, the bread of life and the smitten Rock from whom living water flows (John 6:31-35; 1 Corinthians 10:4).
- The tabernacle and priesthood: The mercy seat, the high priest, and the torn veil all point to Christ, our propitiation, great High Priest, and the new and living way into God’s presence (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 4-10; Matthew 27:51).
- God dwelling with us: The glory filling the tabernacle anticipates the Word who “tabernacled” among us (John 1:14) and the new creation where God dwells with His people forever (Revelation 21:3).