Exodus is connected to Genesis in much the same way that the New Testament stands in relationship to the Old Testament. Genesis tells of humanity’s failure under every test and in every condition; Exodus is the thrilling epic of God rushing to the rescue. It tells of the redeeming work of a sovereign God. 

Exodus is preeminently the book of redemption in the Old Testament. It begins in the darkness and gloom yet ends in glory; it begins by telling how God came down in grace to deliver an enslaved people and ends by declaring how God came down in glory to dwell in the midst of a redeemed people. 

Exodus, which is Greek, means “way out.” Without Genesis, the book of Exodus has no meaning. It begins with the Hebrew word we, which means “and” or “now.” The story is just continuing. This book, like many other books of the Old Testament, begins with the word “and,” even though this word does not always appear in translations. This seems to point to the fact that each author was not just recording his own story but only his part of a great drama that began in the events of the past and looked forward to that which would come. Take the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy); each book is about something and those five things are vitally related to one another. 

—Henrietta Mears

Source: This content is from What the Bible Is All About, written by Henrietta Mears. Copyright © 1953, 2011 by Gospel Light. Copyright assigned to Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

We come to the end of Genesis, and we remember that not only was there a covenant made with Abraham about being a great nation, and not only was there a covenant with Abraham about the fact that through him and through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed, but there was also a covenant with Abraham about land. There was a land of promise, a land of the covenant.  

And that’s why when we come to the end of Genesis chapter 50, we are very aware we are not where Abraham was promised his descendants would be. That great nation is not yet, and it is not, where God promised it would be.  

But embedded in those verses in the end of Genesis is a promise that explains the hinge between Genesis and Exodus. And you see this in chapter 50 when you look at verse 24: “And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’”

So on his death bed, Joseph promises what amounts to an exodus. He announces and promises that God would lead them out of Egypt, back to the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  

—Albert Mohler

Source: Albert Mohler, quoted from his message, “Exodus 1:1-22,” published on his website AlbertMohler.com. Used by permission of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The story of Exodus is one of redemption but for a purpose. It’s redemption for the purpose of relationship with the redeemer.  

—Drew Hunter

Source: Drew Hunter, quoted from his message, “Building the Tabernacle, then Building the Church,” on Exodus 35-40, preached at Zionsville Fellowship on May 29, 2016. Used by permission of Zionsville Fellowship.  

You can split Exodus into three major sections: chapters 1-18, 19-24, and 25-40. Three four-letter words can summarize these sections: bush, hill, and tent. In ch. 1-18, the Lord is the God of the bush, where he promises to deliver his people. In ch. 19-24, the Lord is the God of the hill, where he speaks from the smoking mountain and tells his people how to live. Finally, in ch. 25-40, the Lord is the God of the tent where he dwells with his people. 

—Matthew D. Adams 

Source: Matthew D. Adams, quoted from his article, “The Beauty of the Lord,” published on August 22, 2016, by Gospel Centered Discipleship on their website gcdiscipleship.com. 

This is a deeply personal character statement about Yahweh—who is the Elohim (God) that we say we worship. And so, we should hone in on this. What’s God saying here?  

“I am and will continue to be what I am and will forever be.”  

So what God is saying is, whatever character traits or whatever attributes that God displays, he is that. It’s as if he’s saying, “You look up in the dictionary merciful.” Oh! There’s Yahweh. “You’ll find me there.” Yahweh’s merciful. Whatever Yahweh is, he is merciful. He’s the perfect embodiment, the most consistent reliable mercy that you will find anywhere in the universe 

Whatever character trait Yahweh has, he is that, he defines it in his very being.  

This is in contrast to you and I for example, because you and I are only sometimes what we are. Human beings are only sometimes what we are. …you can depend on human beings sometimes to be what they are.  

You can always depend on Yahweh to be what he is. You never have to worry about Yahweh all of a sudden changing the rules on you and being someone else than what you thought Yahweh was all about. You always know where you stand with Yahweh. He always keeps his word. 

—Tim Mackie 

 Source: “Yahweh Is Our God–I Am Who I Am.” YouTube video. Posted by “Tim Mackie Archives,” August 21, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcY9fCtTv-4  

The Bible is filled with deliverance stories—many exodus stories. And they always come from God’s initiative. This [the Exodus] is the greatest deliverance story in the Old Testament. It points forward as a model to the greater and greatest deliverance story of salvation through Jesus. So, our salvation comes the same way as Israel’s salvation: God initiates. God initiates our salvation. It comes from his fatherly heart. So, if we’re going to ever be saved, it’s because it flows from God’s heart. 

—Drew Hunter

Source: Drew Hunter, quoted from his message, “The Exodus Everyone Needs,” on Exodus 13:17-14:31, preached at Zionsville Fellowship on February 21, 2016. Used by permission of Zionsville Fellowship. 

In Exodus the Lord delivers his people from slavery with mighty signs and wonders (1-15) and brings them to Sinai (16-19), telling them there that they are to be his “kingdom of priests and holy nation.” He confirms their kingdom status by entering into a covenant with them as their king and giving them kingdom laws to follow (20-24). But that is not all! He is going to be a king who is near to them, dwelling in their very midst, and this is why he proceeds to give them directions for his tabernacle, his earthly palace (25-31, 35-40). 

—Jay Sklar

Source: Jay Sklar, quoted from an interview with Collin Hansen, “Daring to Delight in Leviticus”. This interview originally appeared here at The Gospel Coalition. 

This is what Exodus 24 is all about. The greatest gift of salvation is God, his presence. The point is he wants us to be with him. He wants you to be with him. I wonder if we believe that—that God does not just save you because he has to, but because he wants to. And to be saved is not to be legally or technically pardoned; it is to be welcomed at his table. Do you recognize every day that you are welcome to draw near to God?

—Drew Hunter

Source: Source: Drew Hunter in his message, “Redemption’s Goal: A Feast with God,“ on Exodus 24:1-18, preached at Zionsville Fellowship on April 24, 2016. Used by permission of Zionsville Fellowship.