Everybody has a longing for something great in their lives. Moses’ great realization was that great thing was not God’s blessings but God himself. God’s glory is that great thing that can transform our lives and give it an ultimate purpose.

Idolatry wasn’t just an ancient problem of men worshipping stone statutes. Idolatry is reducing an almighty God to something smaller and more manageable. In Exodus God’s people trade worship of an Almighty King for a more manageable and free flowing golden calf. Exodus shows us the danger of idolatry but also the tremendous mediator Moses who averts disaster and shows us God’s heart of grace.

The tabernacle was the revolutionary idea that God has come down to live amongst his people. God is no longer distant, but intimately present as his people moved through the darkest of times. The tabernacle ultimately finds its fulfillment in Jesus who comes to tabernacle amongst his broken people as they journey to their true home.

The Ten Commandments are often seen as weighty restrictions which limit our freedom. But the law in Exodus is a way for God’s people to remain free. These laws keep us from materialism, from lust and envy. The law ultimately points to a perfect Savior who forgives us and enables us to live out the law.

Throughout our lives we need to make critical decisions on things like what job to take or where we will live. All of these decisions require not just information but wisdom. In Exodus 17 Moses finds wisdom through an unexpected visitor. Jethro shows us the wisdom of knowing our limits, self care and empowering others. Jethro points us to wisdom ultimately found in Jesus.

Many of us are prone to be discontent in our lives. We often find ourselves blaming others and God for not having what we really want. God’s people similarly grumbled against Moses and God in a desert without water. But instead of judging them, God graciously provided a stream of living water in the desert. God’s grace continues to flow to us today through the person of Jesus.

After the climactic rescue at the Red Sea, many expected the Israelites to march right to the Promised Land. But instead they found themselves in a desert where there was no water or food. Similarly we often find ourselves in desert places where we often doubt God’s plan for our lives. The Exodus story shows us how God uses deserts to strengthen his people and always miraculously provides for all of their needs. The bread from heaven foreshadows the good news of the gospel where Jesus comes to give us the true bread of life.

“Salvation” is a term that many people use but is often not well understood. In the Red Sea crossing we see the fulness of what it means for God to save. The Exodus generation was rescued from judgment and brought into a new home through simply believing imperfectly in a perfect King. The Red Sea crossing shows us how we can also experience a dramatic rescue and how we can have a new purpose for living.

The Passover was a climatic event in the life of God’s people. Death passed over all of them and they were set free. Passover is a preview of the Gospel story where because the death of the firstborn son, Jesus, we are set free to now live for God. The call of God is now living in remembrance of deliverance and living as God’s free firstborn children.

God is often seen as either only loving or as an angry vindictive ruler. Which is he? In the book of Exodus we see both the judgment of God but also his patience with our stubborn ways. God’s judgment shows us God’s justice but also leads the way to see both justice and grace at the cross of Jesus.