College Press Publishing

The book of Exodus functions as the sequel to Genesis describing God's deliverance of the children of Israel and the establishment of a new covenant between God and Israel. The rest of hte Old Testament looks back on the exodus of Israel from Egypt as the primary redemptive event in Israel's history.

This primary redemptive event became central to the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. God's redemption of Israel became the foundation for the Israelite faith and practive reflected in the many Old Testament allusions to the Exodus as the basis for:

Obedience to the covenant

Proper ethical treament of others

The establishment of the sovereignty of GOd

A national dateline marking the nation's history

A standard for the measurement of all subsequent events

For the Christian, Exodus serves similar functions, pointing to the important work of redemption as seen in the New Testament's record of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These issues impact significantly the purpose and hermeneutics of this commentary.

The reader with a good understanding of both the Old and New Testaments sees in the Exodus 
God's deliverance of Israel foreshadowing the death of Christ and the establishment of the church.

The Tabernacle, and its worship, furnishes the best example of this dynamic. Everything that was used in the Tabernacle worship would be found and explained more fully in the New Testament forms and worship. The Tabernacle emphasized God's holy presence in Israel. With its outer court, holy place, and most holy place, it accented the various gradations of this holiness of God. The various ceremonies involving ritual cleanness and uncleanness emphasized this gradation also. In the New Testament this presence of Holy God among his people was fulfilled in Jesus, who "became flesh and tabernacled among us" (John 1:14).

The Christian's appreciation of the work of Jesus in mankind's salvation is understood and appreciated in a ratio equal to the understanding of the messages and themes of Exodus and the book which bears its name.

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 About the Author...

Dr. Randall C. Bailey, is the Associate Professor at the V.P. Black School of Biblical Studies at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama. He received his B.A., M.A., G.S.R.E., and M.Th. from Southern Christian University; and earned his M. Phil. and Ph.D. from Drew University.

About the Editors...

Terry Briley, Ph.D., is Professor of Bible at Lipscomb University , Nashville, Tennessee, since 1986 and serves as Dean of the College of Bible and Ministry. Terry Briley received the B.A. from David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University), then a M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition to teaching at Lipscomb University, he is the Senior Minister at Natchez Trace Church of Christ and leads an annual summer mission trip to Brazil.

Paul J. Kissling, Ph.D., is professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages and Area Chair in Bible/Theology at Great Lakes Christian College, Lansing, Michigan. He is an elder at Meridian Christian Church in Okemos. Paul Kissling received the Bachelor's degree from Great Lakes Christian College, the M.Div., from Lincoln Christian Seminary, the Th.M., from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and the Ph.D., from the University of Sheffield (England). Paul has taught and preached in over 15 countries and serves as Old Testament specialist on the Board of the Stone-Campbell Journal.