Notes on Exodus

No Facebook memories here; just some excerpts form my study journals, ranging form June 7 - June 12th, in the year 2015. Exodus is a notoriously dull book of scripture, especially when it comes to those passages regarding the building of the temple. For reasons I cannot fathom, I was blessed with an outpouring of insight and spirit when reading these passages, and gleaned much more than I had on previous readings. These passages are intricate in their symbolism, powerful in repetition, and solemn in their implications.


Exodus 17:7 -- Is the Lord among us, or not?

7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?

The Israelites failed to understand that there would still be challenges and hardships on their journey. Because they assumed everything would go smoothly, and quickly, they murmured everytime a problem arose, doubting whether or not God supported them. They faced this problem time and time again because they held mistaken expectations. 

Exodus 18:20-22 -- Great Matters and Hard Causes 

20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

A high priest's role is to represent the people to God, and the prophet's role is to teach the people God's ordinances and laws; the path they must walk, and the work they must do. They are also judges of "great matters" and "hard causes' -- things that are too hard for individuals to bear.

Exodus 25:8 - Temples Sanctify 

8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

The purpose of constructing temples is so that Jehovah may dwell among His people. This is not only accomplished by the construction of holy temples, but by the sanctification of the people that comes through the process of construction: dedication to the Lord, and the offering of time, worldly possessions, and one's own strength. "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven:" one of those being the sanctification of our hearts. 

Exodus 25:22 - God's Message and Messengers

22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

In this scripture, the ark of the testimony holding the tablets of law represents scriptures, while the cherubim represent angels. The mercy seat is symbolic of the Atonement, which brought us mercy. God has spoken to His children in all ages through angels, and the scriptures, all centered on the promise of the Atonement.

Exodus 25:30 - Bread

30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me always.

Jehovah - the Bread of Life - can be with His people through the temple. The ultimate purpose of the temple is to bring us into the presence of God. 

Exodus 26:33 - The Veil

33 ¶And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.

The Tabernacle's veil acknowledges the reality of the Fall, and our ultimate inability to return to God (on our own), but the shewbread is placed without the veil; i.e. on the outside. Despite the Fall, Jesus Christ offers His presence to us. 

Exodus 27:20 - Lamps 

20 ¶And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

Just as Jehovah was literally the Israelites' constant light in the wilderness, the Israelites were to keep a lamp burning always, perhaps in remembrance of the Lord's sacred mercies which never cease. 

Exodus 28:10-12 - The High Priest

10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.

11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in pouches of gold.

12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial.

As the ultimate High Priest, Christ bears all of Israel on His shoulders, to bring us into the presence of God. He has graven our names in stone. He knows us individually, and will not forget nor neglect us. 

Exodus 28:29 - Atoning Love

29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.

Christ atones for us in love, settling our judgment, bringing Israel (those that accept the gospel) back into the Father's presence, to dwell with Him for eternity. 

Exodus 29:30 - Judgment 

30 ¶And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.

Christ bears our judgment in His heart. He has atoned for us, and so He can bear responsibility for us in the presence of God. Christ remembers the price He paid for us, and what He suffered to pay it: He remembers our sorrows, our sicknesses, our failings and weaknesses. He understands us, and will bear those things with us.

Exodus 28:38 - An Holy Offering

38 And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

The High Priest is sanctified, as an offering to the Lord, atoning for those who have "hallowed" their iniquity -- that is, those who have repented. 

Exodus 29:10-14 - Bearing the burden

10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.

11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.

13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.

14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.

The High Priest transferred Israel's sins to an animal that was sacrificed to the Lord, and the remnants of it were completely erased. In other words, they repented, and by sacrifice all traces of their transgression were forgotten. Through repentance, Jesus Christ's Atonement makes complete recovery possible. In the words of Boyd K. Packer, the Atonement leaves no marks, no scars. 

Exodus 30:6 - Prayer 

6 And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.

7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.

8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

Prayer is before the face of the Lord (v. 6); we should pray every morning (v. 7); and have a prayer in our hearts (v. 8). Those who care for us (the High Priest, Prophets, the Savior), pray for us. Prayer can be perpetual, if we have a prayerful attitude of always conversing with God. 

Exodus 30:10 - Blood 

10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord.

The Atonement is wrought by blood, making the repeated mention of blood in the Gospel of John extremely impactful. 

Exodus 30:20, 21 - Our God is Everlasting Burnings

20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord:

21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

Our God is holy and pure; the impure and unholy perish in His presence. They cannot bear to be there; for their guilt is as a fire in their bosom. Our God is "everlasting burnings;" He is like a fire, pure and powerful. 

Exodus 32:26 - Who's on the Lord's Side?

26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. 

Those who are "on the Lord's side" will always gather round His prophet, cloaked with priesthood power (represented by the Levite priests). 

Exodus 32:30 - Foreshadowing

30 ¶And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

This verse is a powerful precursor to the actual Atonement of Jesus Christ. Moses' actions foreshadow those of the Savior, as he intercedes for his people, and spares them the justice of God by making mercy possible.