Exodus

Transcript from the podcast (so sorry for the spelling mistakes)

Wildfire podcast is an extension of Wildfire Ministries, an organization that has a focus of igniting men and women of God into a deeper discipleship with Christ, instilling them with a passion to radically and relentlessly pursue Christ wherever that leads, that God's truth will spread like a wildfire.

Hey, everyone.

So, this, this is it.

This is the first time we're recording a podcast with the camera.

Yeah.

So, yeah, there's a lot of technical issues.

Oh, my goodness.

I want, I wanted to kill Look so many times.

Yeah.

So you're lucky to be alive right now.

Okay.

I feel good.

Is that because I'm a perfectionist or why is that?

I'm a perfectionist too, in some regards, but you, oh my goodness.

You have OCD or something.

It's crazy.

We're all about trying to get perfection.

Okay.

So we're going to discuss Exodus.

That's what we're doing in this podcast.

And Prince of Egypt.

Have you seen it?

It's my favorite animated movie.

I knew that.

I was just playing in the, yeah.

You love it too much, I think.

Yeah.

I feel bad because we always talk about movies, but apart from that and the Bible, we don't have a lot in common.

I don't like football.

You don't like surfing.

Yes.

So it's the Bible movies, but yeah, Prince of Egypt.

You cried to it.

I did cry to it.

Yeah.

So, but it's good.

Gives you a little general overview.

It's yeah.

In terms of accuracy, it's not the worst.

It's pretty good.

Okay.

Sweet.

So biblical and historical context.

This is the second book of the Bible after Genesis, and is the beginning of the story of Israel as a nation.

They entered Egypt as a family of 70, and emerged as a nation of roughly 2 million.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I think it's 1.4 million men, and then we can roughly guess there was probably 2 million.

Right.

Okay.

I think that's what the verse says.

Amazing.

Yeah.

Any other context you want to add?

So in terms of historical context, we get the dates from 1 Kings 6.1, which says, in the 488th year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord, that's Solomon.

So we knew roughly when Solomon reigned, so we were able to backtrack this to estimate the Exodus took place at 1447 to 1445 BC.

So given those dates, we can kind of use what most Egyptologists accept as kind of the dynasties, and we would say it's somewhere in the 18th dynasties, and that most likely Hatshepsut would have been Moses' kind of Egyptian mother, and Ammonhotep II would have been the Pharaoh of the plagues and the Exodus.

So that's not really important information, but I just find it interesting.

I did some research over lockdown, I just thought it was good to know.

I think it's interesting.

Yeah, and people even doubt the the historical liability or the veracity of the Exodus account.

But there's several Egyptomologists, and we can trace it along with the Bible itself as an historical document recording this.

And of course, there's other archaeological findings and stuff.

And you wouldn't expect, and it's like, ancient history is basically propaganda.

So if you're a king, you wouldn't want all your greatest defeat recorded for all of history to know.

So you kind of hush it down and suppress that.

Exactly.

Totally makes sense.

Pretend it's fake news.

Yeah.

Okay.

So let's try and recap the story a little bit here.

So if we go, so Abraham is the, given the covenant and he's the chosen nation.

That's the line which God has chosen to, for the nation that he wants to bless.

And then from that, you then follow the line.

You have Isaac.

Then from Isaac, you have Jacob.

And from Jacob, you have Jacob and Esau.

But Jacob, you then have his 12 sons, 13, but 12 of the tribes, one of which is Joseph.

Joseph then goes to Egypt.

Is that correct?

Yes.

Yeah.

And then he basically, there's a whole host of that, but then basically he resides there, gets in a high position and then his family moves down there.

Yeah.

That's the family of 70.

Yeah.

So the Exodus basically, the family of 70 comes out as a nation.

Exactly.

That's where it happens.

They just keep proliferating, they keep growing and expanding, to the point where the Egyptians perceive them as a threat.

Yes.

A threat to their authority.

And now we have Pharaoh decides to seize them as threat and decides to execute the children.

I think it's male children under five, it's either under two or five years old.

So he decides to execute the male children as a way to cut down the population, to stop them from becoming a potential threat and overthrowing the Egyptians.

So that's then, here we are, that's the start of the Exodus client.

There's the background context and here we go.

So then what happens from then on?

Yeah.

So basically it follows this character Moses, and he is, he's put in an ark.

So he's saved through the waters by like an ark structure somewhere to the Genesis.

So it's just picking up that pattern again.

And he's taken under the wing of one of the princesses of Pharaoh in the palace.

And he's raised in the palace where the rest of his family and nation are suffering as slaves.

So that happens for about a period of 40 years, is estimated.

And then after that, there's an instance where he kills a slave master to protect one of his brethren.

We don't really know if he knew you.

At that point, either way, he was filled with this type of empathy.

Yeah, I think he probably did know at that stage.

But we're just inferring.

That's just us inferring.

So, and then he flees.

He flees.

The wilderness.

Goes out to Midian.

Which is over in the, I think it's in modern day Saudi Arabia.

Midianite wife, and yeah, with Jethro and his family.

And then the burning bush.

The burning bush happens.

Where he's called by God.

Yeah, which is my favorite scene in the movie.

Because they don't change any of the dialogue.

Yes.

It's all taken directly from the passage.

So it's very good.

Okay.

And then you then have a very interesting account about God approaching Moses, which we're going to leave out.

We want to have a particular focus on what we're going to talk about later with Tabernacle, et cetera.

But basically, whenever Moses arrives back, Aaron is the one who speaks for him.

And then he is then going to Pharaoh and saying, the famous line, let my people go.

And then of course, Pharaoh no hardens his own heart.

And then we then have the plagues.

The plagues, which each play against one of Egypt's gods, which we don't have time to go into.

Okay, because they're future to false gods.

You read about that in like Ezekiel 6 or 7.

Okay.

So from that, then we have the...

The Passover story.

The Passover story.

That's the last plague.

The killing of Firstborn.

Firstborn son.

That didn't have the blood over the doorways.

And then of course, that's the thing that sets Fairlight.

And he's just like, okay, leave.

We don't want to hear.

And then the Israelites leave, and then there's the voyage.

Then they come to the Red Sea.

Then they have to cross the Red Sea.

Then of course, the Egyptian forces come, and they try and get the Israelites.

And then of course, the waves come in on the Egyptians.

And then the rest, they kind of...

Yeah, that's usually where most people think the Book of Exodus ends.

But there's tons of boring stuff left.

So I think that's chapter...

Boring stuff, people's perception of boring stuff.

It's actually rather exciting.

Well, hopefully change your mind.

So that's part one, 1 to 18.

And then part two is 19 to 40.

And that takes place kind of in the wilderness, but most of the time it's there at Mount Sinai.

Of course.

If you Google that, that'll say it's in, that Google will say that that takes place, or Mount Sinai is in Egypt, but that's most likely not correct.

Because Mount Sinai is where Moses met God through the burning bush, which we know took place in Midian, which is nowhere near Egypt, it's in the far side of the Red Sea.

So we kind of, we know that Mount Sinai is more than likely in Saudi Arabia.

Right, okay.

Okay, so then we go from Mount Sinai and then we have the rebellion, sinful nature of the people, and we have the issue of the 10 commandments that were given up Mount Sinai.

So let's see, this lists them, so we have them, okay?

Cause they are the foundation of morality for centuries.

Yeah, of course there was morality written on the heart of people.

However, this was it in Seton Stone.

Yes.

And then people always say, well, why do we need the 10 commandments?

It's like, if you look at the sin that was being committed at that time, even the sin that was being committed while Moses was being given the commands, it's like, they definitely needed it on Rinsed Stone, or at least needed reminded of the emphasis of these important laws.

That seems so simple, but yet we don't apply to our lives.

Okay, so, Thou shalt know that God's before me.

Thou shalt not worship any graven image.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

Honor thy father and mother.

Thou shalt not murder.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Thou shalt not covint.

Yeah, so if you had to pick one and talk about it, which one would you pick off the top of your head?

Oh, one that's applicable to, I think, society today is honor thy father and mother.

Okay.

Yeah, even just, you know what I mean, we have to show a little dignity and respect to our parents that they are wiser than us, and about seeking their counsel and their advisement.

It's like a foolish way.

A foolish man's ways seem right to him, but the wise seek advice.

What better way than if God has blessed you with a parent who can do so?

Yeah.

So just by honouring, even if some don't have parents, it's about respecting those in authority or those above you or in ownership.

And it seems like a commandment that comes with a promise as well.

Okay.

So it's a good thing to keep in mind if you want to.

If there's one that will obey, that's the one to go for.

Yeah, totally.

Do you have honour?

I would say, thou shalt not take the name of Lord in vain.

I've kind of been learning more about this recently.

Okay.

And it's basically the idea that taking the name of Lord in vain isn't just saying, oh my God, or Jesus Christ, in a profane way.

Yeah, those are in quotation marks.

But it's not just saying those things in a profane way, but it's also on a much larger scale, like the idea of forcing people to do things under the name of God.

So if I went out and killed someone because they weren't a Christian, that would be me taking God's name in vain, because I'm going out and doing something that God's commanded me not to do.

Yeah, totally.

So that's me taking His name in vain.

And you can apply that to a broader context as well.

And even going out for a beer with someone, and having one too many.

But you say you're going to meet with a fellow Christian and have fellowship, I'd say that would be an example of taking the name of the Lord in vain.

All right.

Okay.

Totally understand that.

Totally understand that.

Yeah, even if it's like just there's too much toleration now for people just taking the Lord in vain.

Even if you think of in the New Testament by the Pharisees, how they said that Jesus had like the spirit of Beelzebub or like evil forces within him.

It's like even that, you're just blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

You're blaspheming Jesus, who is the son of God, and just showing no fear or reverence.

That's the central importance.

Okay, so from then, Sinai with commandments and then, you know, Israel, they sort of get back into order following their sinful, their sinful night of rebellion against God and the golden calf.

Yeah, they're not in order for long though, as you find.

If you read through all the Torah or the five books of the penitentiary, they don't really...

Just repetitive failure, just humanity.

And just God's grace and mercy on display.

Okay, so then we have Tabernacle.

I think before we do Tabernacle, we need to go back and talk about the character of Moses, because he's a big player in the Bible.

Yeah, totally.

So he...

So Jesus is the most talked about character in the Bible, not unsurprisingly.

And between...

It's either Moses or David is the second most talked about character Bible.

Yeah.

So either way, he's a very important character.

Yeah.

And you can follow him, and there's plenty of books out there.

You can read just about Moses.

So the Exodus kind of gives you his beginnings, and you can just follow him all through the Torah.

But I think one of the things to note about Moses is that he was in the position of authority in Egypt and trained as a ruler.

That's what they were going to train him to do in the palace.

They're training him to rule.

For 40 years, that was.

But it wasn't then when God said, okay, now you're going to go and lead my people in the wilderness and to the promised land.

Totally.

He sent them away to the wilderness first for 40 more years, where he had to be a shepherd and shepherd sheep.

And it's that idea of...

And that was equal amounts of time as well.

40 years on both accounts.

It wasn't as if the shepherd part wasn't as important.

So it's okay.

You can learn how to rule 40 years and for five years to go and learn how to take care of a few sheep in the wilderness.

They're put in equal footing.

So Moses was a shepherd king, and he was the one God chose to lead the people.

And then that is again a type of Christ, who is our shepherd king.

Okay.

And he's a good shepherd.

Yes, totally.

And then we were also saying about that idea of how he was in the wilderness for that period of time, so for 40 years, and then how God was molding, shaping Moses in order to come to that point in the burning bush at the exact moment that God wanted him in order to carry out the will of God.

And for us, a principle to apply is that we have to be patient.

Even whenever we perceive dry seasons, these are the seasons where God's cultivating or refining us in order for the service that he has planned for us in future.

Yeah, and Moses wouldn't have known when the service was going to come.

He probably, I can't remember how the preacher one time said that Moses probably thought his opportunity was going to come when he was in authority in Egypt.

He thought, okay, I can maybe work my way up the ladder here, work my way up the chain, and then I'll be able to change on a systematic level.

And then whenever he killed that Egyptian guard, he probably thought, okay, I've messed up, I'm just going to go and live in exile now.

But it was only after he was in exile that God called him to his true rules.

So even if we do mess up with our lives, as long as we still pursue Christ and pursue godliness, then God can still use us for good, regardless of our mess ups.

Okay, so we've gone through, we've gone through the context, we've gone a little narrative there, and then we've also highlighted how we're going to come to the tabernacle.

We've also highlighted the importance of Moses.

Yes.

And so, Passover's significance.

So Israel's physical oppression, you then have our spiritual oppression.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Physical Exodus, spiritual Exodus.

You then have freed by the blood of the lamb, freed by Christ's blood.

Yeah.

Okay.

So the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, as John the Baptist said.

Yeah.

So you have these parallels.

Yeah.

Basically, Israel were physically oppressed and were spiritually oppressed by sin.

Okay.

Israel had to get exiled, like Exodus means like to leave or to exile, like they had to exile themselves from that physical oppression.

And we have to be exiled from our sin, our spiritual oppression.

And they were freed at the Passover.

So we're recording this actually just a few weeks after the Passover took place.

And planned it.

Yeah.

That was completely planned.

And they were freed by the blood of the lamb on the doorposts.

And we're freed by Christ's blood on the cross.

There's so many things, like so many metaphors transcending from old to new.

Yeah.

And like typologies of Jesus Christ, even Leviticus, it's insane how many there is.

Okay.

So let's get down to it then.

Down to the tabernacle.

Everyone's favorite.

Everyone's just like, I really wanted them to talk about like the plagues or like the storyline or something else.

Tough luck.

And now they're like, they're focusing on the tabernacle.

Lucky for you, looking at our huge nerds about the Bible.

We picked this topic.

Yes.

Get into it.

Okay.

Tabernacle can be very boring.

Yes.

If taken at face value, though, and not looked at at any more detail.

Yeah.

So we don't have time to talk about all the interesting features.

Keyword, interesting features.

So we will use an example from the structure of the tabernacle.

Yeah.

And this is just an example of like whenever you're reading the text, it's like, what's Stephen saying?

And it's the whole idea of like understanding the Bible is one holistic narrative, old and new, understanding that the, what is the new?

I always get that wrong.

I just, my brain can't comprehend it.

Is that the New Testament, is the Old Testament revealed?

Is that right?

The New Testament, is the Old Testament revealed?

And the Old Testament is the New Testament hidden?

Concealed.

Concealed, exactly.

So whenever you read the New Testament, it's like, you can actually, people think that there's no way the New Testament, there's a need to dismiss the Old Testament.

No, like the New Testament heightens the Old Testament.

It makes it flourish.

It provides so much more.

It provides the fulfillment of so much that was said.

So here we have an example of this type of fulfillment.

I think first of all, we need to talk about what the tabernacle means and what it is.

So there are some really good YouTube videos out there.

Let me include some of the description.

I think it would be a good idea.

It basically can take you to the top of what the tabernacle is.

There's actually a real life size one in, I think it's Timna Park in Israel.

So they just rebuilt it to scale.

So I think it's about 150 feet long and 30 feet wide, but you can look up the videos and check.

And it was, tabernacle basically means dwelling place.

So it was somewhere where God came to dwell with his people because he was too holy for him to just dwell in among them, because we're impure people and so are the Israelites.

So he had to create the special place that was holy.

So how you have within it the holy of holies, then the holy place, and then the outside court scene.

So that was kind of what it was.

And we can then, there's tons, as I said, there's tons of little details and things like that, that you can take ages to study and pick up on, read books on.

But the example I picked when prep-preparing this was in Exodus 40, it talks about how to set up the tarvanacle.

So it's already given details of all the different, the altars, the menorah, those kinds of things.

So chapter 40 is just telling you how to set up and the order of set up and that kind of thing.

So the way we'll break this down is basically, we're going to talk about each item and the order it was to be set up in, and to show how Jesus saw himself as the fulfillment of those items and their purpose, which was overall to bring the people closer to God and in fellowship with God.

Okay.

Does that make sense?

Totally.

Okay.

Yeah.

So we're actually, our understanding of the New Testament is going to provide us even more clarity and understanding in this passage itself.

Yeah.

Okay.

Cool.

Also, with regard to the Tabernacle, because I feel like this is a question at least I would ask is like, what it's like, why, why the Tabernacle?

Why create this institution whenever the fact that the Holy Spirit resides in all of us?

And the whole point is that we don't actually understand the severity of our sin.

Like Isaiah 6 says, I am a man of unclean lips.

And then it talks about that call about being sanctified in the presence of God.

And in the Tabernacle, it's about God's holiness and where he can reside.

And that was a physical manifestation or representation of how you have to be so careful when you approach me.

And it's the same as us today.

Even though we have the Spirit of God and the veil was torn in two, we still have to approach God with a fear and reverence that we can come before him.

And that God resides within us and that should give us more motivation to serve and live a holy God.

A holy life?

Serve a holy God.

Okay, that makes sense.

Sorry, I got confused there.

That's right.

Come on, come on.

First time record.

I've had listening for two hours, like testing these mics so you can do that one.

That's on me.

Okay, so let's go into it.

So the table of show bread, that's, how would you say, item object number one within the Tabernacle.

And then we see the New Testament equivalent of that is, I am the bread of life, John 6.35.

Yeah.

So all throughout John, Jesus has these seven I am statements, which will follow.

And he presents them in an order that follows the order that the Tabernacle is to be set up in.

So hopefully that's made, does that make sense?

Hopefully that's made more clear as we give examples.

But the first one is the table of show bread.

And the first I am statement, Jesus presents himself as I am the bread of life in John 6.

Yeah.

Perfect.

So the next one is the menorah, which was kind of like a candlestick with seven different candles on top.

Okay.

So basically a light.

Menorah.

And this is echoed with Jesus in John 8 verse 12, when he says, I am the light of the world.

Class.

Yeah.

Pretty cool.

Okay.

So number three is the screamed door.

And then Jesus says, I am the door, John chapter 10 verse 7.

Okay.

So whenever we say these though, is that obviously because like there's a New Testament about what Jesus says, like I am the door, I am the bread, he's the bread of life, he's our sustenance, he's everything that we need.

And then I am the door, he's the way in, he's the entrance towards God.

So here we have like, the door was the entrance towards God, the screen door.

And then the bread, what is that?

That was just for the priest state, basically.

Yeah, okay.

And then the, okay.

So the door, screen door, perfect.

Okay.

So there's just, right.

Sorry, that was just me speaking out loud.

That's fine.

Yeah.

So number four is the older, which is where they sacrifice the animals.

Okay.

And the animals have brought forth many, which were sheep and cows, and what they're looking after, they're looked after by shepherds.

So Jesus says, I am the good shepherd, which is in John 10 and 11.

John 10 and 11.

Okay.

And then we have the laver, but laver.

There's no accent on that.

Look, it's the laver.

Laver, or basin.

Basin.

I probably should have just said that, and then I'd like you to go with the other one, but it's fine.

There we go.

And then the New Testament equivalent is, I am the resurrection and the life.

John 11, 25.

Yeah.

So that's reference to baptism.

Okay.

Which even when you baptize yourself, that's representing life to death and back up to life again.

Yeah.

The parting of the waters.

Like we even talk about with Moses' ark, going through the waters.

The parting of the waters represents life in the Bible.

So whenever you're talking about the laver, that's you're cleaning the sin off, and it's the resurrection to new life.

That's what it represents.

Amazing that a Northern Irish farmer could have pronounced that instantly there.

Definitely.

I'm telling you.

Lover.

Oh, okay.

So number six then.

Number six is the screen to the courtyard gate.

So basically, there is the screen door we talked about before.

That's the door into the tabernacle.

Yes, and the way.

But there is the outer...

There was another white fence that went around the whole tabernacle, and this is the screen into the courtyard.

And it's kind of echoed when Jesus says in John 14.6, it says, I am the way.

So it's the way into the tabernacle or into the courtyard.

Okay.

So the other one was...

What was it saying?

I am the door.

Because it was an actual door into the house.

Yes, okay.

And this is I am the way.

Because it's not a door, it's a gate.

Yeah, totally.

It hits again that central importance of how Jesus is how we approach God.

Mm-hmm, yeah.

Right, okay.

So this is it.

Are you ready for this?

Because this is point number seven, the anointing of the priests.

Yeah.

New Testament equivalent, Peter.

Yes, the New Testament equivalent is from John 15, 5 to 8, Jesus says, I am the vine and you are the branches.

So when we go through, this one doesn't seem like it makes sense.

It took me a while to get my head wrapped around it.

But when you go through the sequence and the order, if all six, if all of the other six line up, it's most likely this does line up in some way, so it just requires some more research.

But number seven, the anointing of the priests represents when Jesus says, I am the vine and you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me and I in him, he is that bears much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers.

And the branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

But this, my father, is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so prove to be my disciples.

Did you get the link there, Luke?

I do understand the link.

I just am not brave enough to explain it, so I'm going to leave that to you.

But the passage in John 15 there, what it's saying is that Jesus is the vine, and then from the vine come the branches, the branches that bear for fruit.

So it's only through Jesus can we bear fruit.

And then of course the vine dresser is God.

Yes.

Okay, so how does this relate?

So I'll attempt to explain it, and you can question me if I'm not doing it too well.

So the priest, the whole role of a priest was to represent the people to God and God to the people.

It was the mediator between God and man.

Of course.

That was the role of the priest.

And when Jesus is saying he's the vine, we have to be connected to the vine to access God.

Yeah, of course.

So he is...

That's the mediator, the intercessor, the idea of the veil.

Yes.

And this is also explained further in Hebrews.

You might know the reference, but I think it's when Jesus is compared to Melchizedek as our high priest and king.

Yeah, totally no idea.

Somewhere in Hebrews.

Somewhere in Hebrews anyway, but it's basically Christ is our high priest and our representative of God the man, the man, the God.

And we don't need to go to an earthly priest anymore.

We can just go straight to Christ.

I'm going to make the inference that it's either Hebrews 2, 8, 9 or 10.

Hebrews only has like 10 chapters, and you go half an hour already.

Okay, so this is what it's saying is.

So the New Testament is that Jesus is the intercessor for us.

And in the Old Testament, this was the, the only truth of the priest.

The priests were the intercessor for the people and God.

Yeah.

They remediated Jesus is the intercessor for us and God.

Yeah.

I think this is best put in John 1, 14.

Okay.

It says, the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.

The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

So basically saying, Christ came down, the word just does, Jesus Christ came down, and he dwelt with us.

He had his tabernacle with us, and we can see the full glory of God through him.

We don't need to have a full on tabernacle anymore, thankfully.

Amazing.

Yeah.

Okay.

So there's the Book of Exodus.

That's our take, our slant on it.

And yeah, we just highlighted the context, we highlighted the story line, we highlighted the importance of Moses, and we highlighted the importance of the Passover and how that's relevant to us.

And again, it's applicability, Old Testament, New Testament, and we talked about the tabernacle.

And the laws?

Did we say about the laws?

Did we say about that?

We did say about the laws.

I read the laws.

Okay.

Yeah, you read the laws.

Sorry.

So the laws, and then you've got the tabernacle, again, Old Testament, New Testament equivalent.

So again, that's everything.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Anything else to add?

No, I think that's it.

Hopefully you all enjoyed Access and you can go watch The Prince of Egypt if you want to get a full recap.

Okay.

Perfect.

So we shall see you all in the next podcast.

Bye.