Chapter 2 EXODUS
From slavery to the Promised Land took four shaping decades. The shape of Exodus divides neatly into two parts. From captivity to Sinai and from Sinai to the promised land. The first line of this scroll starts “These are the names”. In the Septuagint it became Ex hodos Greek for “Exit” or “Way out”. Jacob’s family of seventy went down to Joseph in Egypt four-hundred-years before. With an average growth of three-point-one percent, the numbers increased to at least one-million in the four-hundred-years of slavery. We read Pharaoh was concerned at the rate of growth and tried to curb it. Some Egyptians also came out with them. So we can only guess well over a million and perhaps nearer two-million came out of Egypt on that day.
Which route did the Children of Israel take? The Egyptians had a line of watch towers from Mediterranean down to the Bitter-Lake, so they could not have taken that route without walking straight into a garrison of the outpost watch. A second route would take them up to the sand plains by the Mediterranean and then down to Kaddish Barnea. But that is far more than three days journey. The most probable Route which fits the timescale and description of the journey relayed in Exodus, would have been down to the Reed sea shown on the map15. Besides the stop off at Elim and Marah and the length of the journey being three days, this land was where Moses would have been at home in his forty-years of shepherding. Sinai is the most commonly held to be the Modern mountain Jebel-Musa.
Ancient Hebrew has twenty-two consonances and no vowels, so what we read as ‘Red Sea’ might equally be the Reed sea which connected the Bitter lake to the Red Sea in those days. God sent an East wind which lasted all night16. Together with an ebb-tide they were able to cross in good time before the Reed sea returned in rage to drown the Egyptian Solders. To me, the most challenging part of this miracle is the ear of Moses. He knew when to raise his rod over the sea to conduct the whole affair. What would I give to gain a listening ear such as that? Once safe on the other side they burst into song in time to Miriam and her Tambourine. In true Hebrew fashion they gave God another new name El-Shaddai - (God -All-Mighty).
After three days journey from the Passover, the Israelis settled at the foot of Mount Sinai for a year. In his first one-hundred-days of office Moses presented this new nation with a constitution, a set of laws for society living and a set of bye-laws suitable for survival in the desert. The constitution was first in the form of ten statements. Moses went up the mountain to receive the ten word’s17 or commandments on the tenth day, and came down on the fiftieth day with two stone tablets, not because he ran out of space on one tablet but because this was a contract. Each tablet contained all ten commandments, one copy for the people and the other to go into the bitumen lined ark as God’s copy. On his way down Moses saw the people had already broken the commandments. Having grown impatient in less than forty days they had asked Aaron to make an Egyptian bull-god of fertility. Not forty days before they had given God the name El-Shaddai, now they set up an idol because He was not mighty enough. Moses smashed the two tablets, crushed the golden bull-calf and made them drink it. That day three-thousand men were slaughtered18. But make a note of the day, it was fifty days after Passover which was to be celebrated as the feast of Weeks or Pentecost19.
Moses commanded the people to keep three feasts every year. The first was the feast of the Passover when the Egyptian firstborn were killed and the Hebrew folk released from bondage. The second was three-days later known as the feast of First-Fruits when the first fruits of harvest were presented to God in Thanks. The third important feast gets its name from the fact that it starts seven full weeks, or rather fifty days, after the feast of First-Fruits and is called Pentecost. Just fifty days before, Egypt’s first-born died and Israel had been set free, the Hebrews wanted to once again to be identified with the Egyptians making the golden calf.
On this day of Pentecost under Moses, Moses presented the law and three-thousand of those who wanted to be identified with Egypt died. Under Jesus, on the third day after Passover, Jesus the first-fruits of those that believe was raised from the dead and on the fiftieth-day when He presented the Holy Spirit and the first three-thousand of those that believed were saved. S
Figure 8: Priestly Robes
hortly afterwards, Moses went up the mount again and came down with another two copies of the law. Moses called the people together and told the people all the words of the Lord. God said “I will protect, provide and prosper you”. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do”. So Moses the officiator of this ceremony declared ‘‘This a binding covenant between the Lord and you.’’20 So now the constitution was established.
When all that was done, God said to Moses “Its time I came to dwell among the people”. Moses replied How are you going to do that God? If you come in all your Glory, either your pure holy nature will destroy the people or the people will corrupt your nature! There will need to be a structure between us because our natures are not compatible. The different between God and us is, God is creator is sustainer of everything. God is by nature essential to every living thing, Holy (set apart and unique), Pure (unblemished and uncontaminated), Holiness and Purity are what gives God His Glory. Glory means Weighty. For our purposes here, we might say the Sun is: Holy because it is unique and set apart. We might say it is Pure because it consumes any impurity that approaches it, (it is uncontaminated). We might say it is Glorious and Majestic (Weighty). The Glory of the sun creates an environmental ring which is dangerous. We can bask in the glory of the Sun from this distance but you cannot approach it because there is aura around it which will burn you up before you got there. The impure cannot go into the presence of God without harm. God set up a ceremonial picture in the camp to show it can be achieved spiritually. It came in the form of protective clothing to allow close contact without cross contamination.
God’s special clothing in Exodus chapter-twenty-eight is a type or picture. God Himself ordered and designed these robes. First there is a white undergarment21 which must only be put on after a sacrifice had been offered. This garment must cover from neck to ankle to demonstrate the sacrifice had covered all sin. Do you remember Adam and Eve, tried to cover themselves with fig leaves to hide their shame? That was not sufficient so, the Lord God fashioned garments from animal skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.22 To make cloths out of animal skins the animal has to be sacrificed. You will remember when Peter had a bit of a problem with this on the night of the Passover feast. Jesus began washing his disciples’ feet and Simon Peter protested. Jesus explained to him “People who have bathed only need to wash those exposed parts that come into contact with unclean items”.23 Once the sacrifice has covered us by faith we only need to confess our daily failings. Remember also at the other end of the bible in the book Revelation:
Then I looked, and saw so many people that no one could count them all. They were from every nation, tribe, race of people, and language of the earth. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They all wore white robes washed in the blood of the Lamb24.
But there is one group conspicuous by its absence among the twelve tribes in Revelation chapter twelve, there is no mention of the tribe of Dan who forfeited its right to white robes when they turned to gods of other nations:
The Lord will not be willing to forgive him.... and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven. And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.25
For the priests there was a second robe to be put on over the white robe, it was a blue robe called the robe of the Ephod: 26
And you shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
Priests put on this robe over the white robe only after he had moved from the altar to the washing bowl and ritually wash his hands and feet. This is the seamless robe of Christ’s righteousness, which is for all and upon all who believe.27 You will remember the seamless blue robe they put on Jesus as they led him away to die? They cast lots for because it was too valuable to rip. The blue robe was the seamless royal robe. For the priest it had bells sown on the hem so he would be heard in the camp, You will remember a leper was to carry a bell to tell he was quarantined so no-one would be contaminated. The priest had bells on him, so no-one would touch him and contaminate him once he was purified. You may remember Saul contaminated Samuel and was condemned because of it. Samuel turned about to go away, but Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it tore; wherefore Samuel said, “Jehovah shall rend the kingdom of Israel from you this day”,28 Does that help you understand why Jesus said to Mary in the resurrection garden, “Don’t touch me for I have not yet ascended to my father”?29
After the Robe, a priest put on a breastplate30. It carried twelve precious stones each inscribed with a name of a tribe of Israel. Aaron was told this was the “burden” of Israel, and he must carry it into the Holiest place. He was to represent all whose names were on that plate. The picture changes a bit in Revelation, It has been updated to a book but it is the same principle. Jesus carried the lambs book of life as representation of all the names found in it. When the time came to open the book there was no-one else worthy to open it so it was handed back to the lamb to open.
But remember also there were two groups pictured in Revelation, one is the vast sea of gentiles too numerous to mention, the other twelve-thousand from each tribe. All tribes were safety there all except Dan who had deliberately turned to other gods.
The High priest had to wash again in the Laver, then he could put on an over garment. This was to made with three colours woven together, gold for the king, blue for the priest and purple or scarlet for the sacrifice. Purple symbolized the blood of the lamb in Scripture. It was painted on the doorpost at Passover, it also was the colour of the piece of cloth given to Rahab to hang out the window in Jericho. When God saw the sign He could pass by and leave that piece of wall standing.
Later, when Saul died, God contrasted him with the King who was to come.
"O people of Israel, Stop weeping for Saul, Look to the one who clothed you in scarlet, Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.31
He is reminding them that Saul took everything from them in taxes, while God gives them blessings beyond measure. Isaiah uses scarlet to reminds the people God does the impossible
The high priest was also to wear a turban when he went into the Holy place. The badge of authorization was engraved with “Holy to the Lord”.33 It was the last thing to be put on and was put on him. He could not put it on because holiness has to be endowed by the Holy. This was the crown to demonstrate the high priest was now fully holy.
Put the turban on his head and the special crown around the turban.34
This is refers back to the of Blessings bestowed on Abraham by Melchizedek. Hebrews chapter-seven tells us blessings come from the greater to the lesser. Holiness cannot be attained as we will see later, That is why fig leaves were no good for cover of sin. It had to be a covering via a sacrifice. And it is placed upon Adam and Eve by God. The only way something can be made Holy is if it is purified by something holy. That is what Paul is getting at when he says:
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.35.
Isaiah visualized the robes in his vision and reminded the people the condition for wearing them was faith and obedience:
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.36
John saw the robes in heaven too:
I saw the Son of Man. He was dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash tied below his chest.37
Now the priest is ready. He must go into the Holy Place. Just in front of the curtain stands a bowl of burning coal mixed with incense. You will remember from Revelation this is the prayers of the saints. In this picture, the coals representing the prayers of the saints were taken into the sanctuary by the high priest.38 But when the real high priest came, that curtain was ripped from top to bottom so our prayers now go straight into the sanctuary where Jesus is. In Isaiah’s vision from Chapter-six, even though he had done everything by the book, he got to the curtain and was frightened to go in. A seraphim had to come and take a burning coal in tongs and touch his lips that burning coal touched his lips burning up any final impurities in Isaiah. A picture of how Christ’s intercession can purify.
What Jesus did not do at that moment the curtain was ripped in two, Jesus did not change the nature of heaven where God is. Holiness or weightiness remains because that is in the nature of God and remains unchanged. The fact that the curtain was torn does not signify that we can go into the sanctuary with a “Hail fellow well met” attitude. Jesus reminded his listeners the guest who turned up at the wedding without a proper wedding garment was bound and thrown out. Every one of those pictured in Revelation was wearing their robe of white. Respect, Honour, Reverence, Obedience, Trust, Selflessness, and Praise have not been removed from Heaven.