The Exodus Motif and Discipleship 1
(The Fall – Gen. 1 – 3)
The Exodus is central to the Scriptures, central to the gospel, and central to the Christian life. Whatever book of the Bible you are reading, and whichever Christian practices you are involved in, echoes of the exodus are in there somewhere.
- Roberts & Wilson, Echoes of the Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption through Scripture, 2018, Kindle location 91
“This has been some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen and one of the most relaxing trips I have experienced!” exclaimed one of our travelers from two years ago. Kim and I experience much of the same on these travels!
At the time of this writing we are just a few months from embarking on our journey encompassing the Peloponnese and many other Greece sites along with Cairo, the pyramids, and a day in Jerusalem, Lord willing. During our time we will also be visiting many of the biblical sites that were a part of the Apostle Paul’s missionary travels and writings. We look forward to experiencing these things and more with some you!
As we take this journey, we will be experiencing history from Christ and His disciples in Jerusalem to the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys and also to the Exodus motif of Scripture as we see the advanced power of Egypt witnessed in the Cairo Museum and illustrated in their pyramids.
In setting the stage for our readings on the Exodus motif that is found throughout the Bible, I have referenced the website, literarydevices.net >motif, as to what a literary motif is:
In a literary work, a motif can be seen as an image, sound, action, or other figure that has a symbolic significance, and contributes toward the development of a theme. ... In a literary piece, a motif is a recurrent image, idea, or symbol that develops or explains a theme, while a theme is a central idea or message.
There is an expression used by 1st responders when they have experienced an extremely traumatic event that may bring up emotions from past calls: “The first, the last, and the worst.” This is where we will start with the Exodus motif as it is where Scripture starts.
In the creation narrative of Scripture, we read these words six times, “…it was good” (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25). The chapter ends with verse 31 stating, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” (NKJV)
However, it didn’t take humanity long before all of that changed! In Genesis 3 we see that Satan’s temptations led the first couple to doubt God’s Word and fall into direct disobedience to the commands of God. God pronounces curses upon the Serpent, nature, and humanity. This results in the 1st exodus, but also the worst exodus of all time as it is an exodus from total freedom and communion with the Creator to being driven from that perfect environment into a now cursed creation with humanity separated from God and now in spiritual slavery to sin and death.
Thankfully, it doesn’t end there.
This exodus will take us all the way through Scripture until that day when all things are made new including all that sin has broken in creation and humanity! Along the way we see many other exodus events, a few of which I look forward to sharing with you. Among the readings planned right now are:
· The Greatest and Worst Exodus of All Time (The Fall – Gen. 3)
· The Greatest Exodus for the Nations (Call of Abram)
· Exodus or Exile? Jacob
· The Groundwork for the Exodus “Out of the Water” (Moses’ rescue from the Nile)
· The Exodus Proper
· The New Exodus Prophesied (Isaiah)
· The Greatest Exodus of All Eternity - When Jesus left Heaven
· The Lord’s Supper – Looking Back at the Exodus to Look Ahead
· The Exodus in Pauline Theology
· The End of All Exoduses: Time and Eternity! (Rev.)
Our personal salvation and spiritual transformation through discipleship are a part of this process toward Redemption/Restoration/Reconciliation.
Comments