Category Archives: Exodus

Summary of Exodus

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Summary of Exodus:

Chapter by Chapter:

Exodus 1-3: Pharaoh wants to destroy all sons/Birth of Moses/Moses calling: Jesus Christ not Jehovah
Exodus 4-6: Signs unto Moses/Free Israel!/Jehovah=Jesus Christ
Exodus 7-9: Pharaoh’s Heart is Hardened/ Plagues: Frogs and Lice/Rain in Egypt
Exodus 10-12: Plagues and Darkness/Promise to Slay/The Passover
Exodus 13-15: Leaving Egypt/The Red Sea is Divided/Israel Sings with Moses
Exodus 16-18: Israel wants Bread!/Israel wants Water!/Organization of Church Laws
Exodus 19-20: Israel a chosen people/10 Commandments
Exodus 21-22: Laws of Moses/Laws of Moses 2
Exodus 23-24: Laws of Moses 3/Israel Accepts the Word of God
Exodus 25-26: Israel Commanded to build a Temple/Temple Veil
Exodus 27-28: Altar of Burnt Offerings/Garments/Urim and Thummim
Exodus 29-30: Washing and Anointing/Altar of Incense
Exodus 31-32: Sabbath Day/Golden Calf
Exodus 33-34: Face to Face/Moses in Mt. Sinai= Veil
Exodus 35-36: Offer Gifts unto the Church/The Work of the Temple
Exodus 37-38: Temple/Temple
Exodus 39-40: Holy Garments/Temple Washing
  • The Pharaoh of Egypt, fearful of the growing numbers of the Israelites orders that all the newborn boys in be thrown into the river.
  • A Levite woman saves her child, by placing him in an ark of bulrushes, where the daughter of the Pharaoh  finds him. This child is named Moses and is raised as her own.
  • Moses becomes aware of his origins and when he grows up he notices the abuse of the Israelites.
  • Moses sees an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave and ends up killing an Egyptain overseer and flees to Midian.
  • In Midian, Moses marries the daughter of Jethro, who is a priest in Midian. While there, Moses has an encounter with God in a burning bush. Moses asks God what his name is, and he responds, “I AM that I AM”. God instructs Moses to head back to Egypt and lead the Hebrews to the land of Canaan, the promised land of Abraham.
  • God appears again, and several more times while he is in Egypt. God instructs Moses to appear before Pharoah and instruct him on God’s demands, to let the people go.
  • Pharoah hears the demands and does nothing, this follows a series of 10 plagues, which always end with Pharoah promising to let the Hebrews go, but never doing it or stopping them as the being to leave. Because every time God hardens the heart of Pharoah.
  • God instructs Moses to institute the Passover among the Hebrews. God kills all the first born and livestock of Egypt, passing over the doors with blood on them.
  • Pharaoh finally lets the Hebrews leave Egypt and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt begins. Over 600,000 Hebrews (excluding the Levites) leave the land of Egypt. As they leave, Pharaoh changes his mind and pursues after them through the wilderness.
  • Moses parts the red sea and is able to move all of the Hebrews across the Red Sea on dry ground, and closing the waters of the Red Sea on the troops of Egypt.
  • The Exodus becomes very difficult, but as long as the Hebrews follow the commandments of God, he provides for them; including Manna and Water.
  • Moses appoints Judges of Israel.
  • At the base of the Mountain the congregation of Israel sees and hears God in the clouds. God commands Moses to come up the mountain, where he instructs him on the laws and commandments of God and his kingdom. Moses receives the 10 commandments and other laws. The people of God (Israel) promise to abide by these commandments, with the promise that they will see the Holy Land of Canaan.
  • Moses is instructed to build the tabernacle (which at this point in time is a traveling tent like temple, where they perform ordinances and sacrifices under the guidance of the priest Aaron and his sons.
  • While Moses speaks with God, Aaron makes a golden calf and the people of Israel begin worshiping it. God informs Moses of this atrocity and threatens to destroy all of Israel. Moses pleads to him on their behalf.
  • Moses comes down from the Mountain again, this time with his face “transformed”, or basically without the vail.
  • The people of Israel begin to follow the commandments, the tabernacle is finished and ceremonies and rituals start to take place as they travel throughout the wilderness.
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Exodus 39-40

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Exodus 39-40

Chapter 39: Holy Garments

Holy Garments are made for Aaron and his priests, under the instructions given to Moses by God. The Tabernacle is finished and Moses blesses the people.

Chapter 40: Temple Washing

After completing the temple, Aaron and his priests go into the temple and are washed and anointed and given an everlasting priesthood.

The children of Israel are guided by a cloud in the sky. When the cloud was taken up into the skies, the children of Israel knew to move forward on their journey. But when the cloud descended upon them they knew to stop and not journey until it was taken up again. (Exodus40:36-37)

The cloud in the sky was to light up the tabernacle by day and fire by night.

Exodus 37-38

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Exodus 37-38

Chapter 37: Temple

Bezaleel continues his work on the temple, he makes: the ark, the mercy seat, and the cherubims that guard the ark. He places tables, vessels, candlesticks and bowls shaped like almonds in the temple.

The chapter gives us details, like size and design of each of these items placed in the temple. For further details on sizing and detailed design, please read Chapter 37 of Exodus.

Chapter 38: Temple

Bezaleel, Ithamar, and Aholiab with others work to complete the altar of burnt offerings and other items pertaining to the tabernacle and its construction. 603,550 men make their offerings.

Exodus 35-36

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Exodus 35-36

Chapter 35: Offerings unto the church.

Moses gathers the children of Israel and tells them what the Lord has commanded of them. He reminds them of the importance of the Sabbath day, and to keep it holy. Moses tells the Israelites that they need offerings to the church, to build the Temple. Just like we had already read in Chapter 25 of Exodus, we can find a list of things that are to be donated to complete the temple. The call of the Artisans of the temple (originally mentioned in Chapter 25) is confirmed.

Chapter 36: The Work of the Temple

Bezaleel, who was commanded to be and Artisan on the temple gathers every wise hearted man who is willing to work on the temple. The offerings to build the temple come in every morning from the children of Israel.

Once they had sufficient offerings to build the temple, Moses commands the people to no longer donate to the temple, because they had sufficient and “too much” (Exodus 36:6-7).

The men continue to work on the temple, all men putting their talents to use. Verses 8-38 go into more detail about what each man made in the temple and the details of size and construction are listed.

Exodus 33-34

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Exodus 33-34

Chapter 33: Face to Face

The Lord promises to be with Israel and drive the people out of the land. The Tabernacle is moved from the camp.

Throughout much of the story of Moses we see him speaking with God and at times it appears as if he is speaking directly to God as if he would to another man. So the question is, Does Moses actually see God? Can any man see God for that matter?

Has anyone seen God? In John 1:18; it says: “No man hath seen God at any time…”

That seems pretty straightforward right? If this is true, why does it say in Exodus 33:11; “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto a friend…”

Doesn’t that clearly state that Moses did in fact see God? Well let’s examine a little further… in the same chapter of Exodus 33, we read: “…thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me and live.” (Exodus 33:20)      

That seems a bit contradictory, right? Because many people have seen God…

Acts 7:55-56: “But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and saw the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”

Numbers 11:8: “With him (Moses) I speak mouth to mouth…”

Genesis 32:30: “And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seeen God face to face, and my life is preserved”

Isaiah 6: Isaiah sees God!

The above are just a few examples of people seeing God and speaking with him. So if this is true, why does John 1:18 say no man has seen God? -OR- Why does Exodus 33:20 say that no man can see God and live? Because Jacob/Israel saw God and his “life was preserved”, how is that possible?

The truth: Any person that God wants to speak with or permits to see him is his choice. After all God is all knowing and all power, why can we say that man can “not see him”, if we were to say that would we be speaking for God?  So the question remains, why does the Bible say that men can see him and then says that no one can see him, and no one can live after seeing him? Because the Bible is not perfect, face it. I love the Bible, I know that it was written by men, no doubt, inspired by God, but corrupted and changed over time.

Luckily we have modern prophets today! Joseph Smith translated parts of the King James Version to correct what was possibly mis-written, taken out or changed with time.

Here is Exodus 33:20, King James Version compared to the King James Version – Joseph Smith Translation:

KJV: “And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”

KJV-JST: “And he said unto Moses, Thou canst not see my face at this time, lest mine anger be kindled against thee also, and I destroy thee, and thy people; for there shall no man among them see me at this time, and live, for they are exceedingly sinful. And no sinful man hath at anytime, neither shall there be any sinful man at any time, that shall see my face and live”

That makes a lot more sense, no SINFUL man can see God and live. But for those who are righteous and chosen of God can see God, if he permits them. That explains why Jacob was preserved after seeing God “face to face”. In face the KJV-JST elaborates on John 1:18; “…no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath borne record of the Son…”

To me this is a very interesting subject, especially in today’s world where most people either do not believe in God or believe that he is a God of only wrath and destruction. God loves us so much that he calls Prophets, and through those prophets we can be guided, just like the Israelites were guided through Egypt by Moses. God does in fact speak with us, through is prophets, administering angels and through personal revelation.

Chapter 34: Moses in Mt. Sinai = Veil

Moses goes up Mt. Sinai to speak with the Lord. During his visit, the Lord reminded him that him and his congregation (the children of Israel) are to not make any graven image or worship other gods, because the Lord God of Israel is a “…jealous God:” (Exodus 34:14). He also reminds him about the Passover and the importance of the Sabbath day, to keep it as a holy day (Exodus 34:21).

Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights with God, where God also created new tablets containing the 10 commandments, because he had broken the other tablets. In this chapter, we may have learned how a normal person can see God without “perishing”. It says that when Moses spoke with God, the skin on his face “…shone while he talked to him” (Exodus 34:29). After Moses comes down from the Mount, “…all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone…” (Exodus 34:30).

“And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out…” (Exodus 34:33-34)

It is my personal opinion, based on the scriptures I have presented for chapters 33 and 34 of Exodus, that…

  • NO one can see God, unless they are righteous and chosen to be seen by him.
  • NO one can see God with their natural eyes, until the “veil” be taken from their eyes.
  • NO SINFUL man or woman can see God.

Exodus 31-32

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Exodus 31-32

Chapter 31: Sabbath Day

The Lord speaks to Moses and tells him that he has called Bezaleel to be an artisan for the  temple, working with God, Silver, Brass, cutting stones and carving timber.

The Lord reminds Moses and Israel that the Sabbath day is a holy day, where no work should be done. Those who work on the Sabbath shall be “put to death”. Really emphasizing the importance of the Sabbath day, and respecting it. This being one of the 10 commandments that God wrote into the two tablets with his finger on the Mt. Sinai.

Chapter 32: Golden Calf

 

The Lord speaks to Moses in the Mount, and while he is speaking to the Lord, the children of Israel sin. Aaron asks Israel for all the gold, so that he can make a “god”, a golden calf, so that they can worship it. The Lord tells Moses about this and commands him to come off the Mount to stop them. The Lord is angry, but Moses tells God to spare the children of Israel and to remember his promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel). The Lord “repents” of his decision.  Interesting point here: Does God, being all powerful and all knowing, REPENT? I don’t think so. That is why we have the Joseph Smith Translation of the King James Version:

 

King James Version (KJV); Exodus 32:14:

“And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people”

 

Joseph Smith’s “New Translation” of the King James Version; Inspired Version (KJV-JST); Exodus 32:14:

“And the Lord said unto Moses, If they will repent of the evil which they have done, I will spare them,

and turn away my fierce wrath; but, behold, thou shalt execute judgment upon all that will not repent of

this evil this day. Therefore, see thou do this thing that I have commanded thee, or I will execute all that

which I had thought to do unto my people.”

 

This to me is a testament to the changes that were made in the Bible, because the inspired version that Joseph Smith Translation makes much more sense and leaves me with a sense of understanding, knowing that this is truly of divine inspiration.

But to finish off the story, Moses asks the people of Israel; “…Who is on the Lord’s side?” (Exodus 32:26).

Moses tells the children of Israel that he will do his best to make an atonement for them. Moses goes before the Lord and pleads for the forgiveness of the people. The Lord tells Moses that he will “blot out” the names of those who have sinned from the book. Essentially excommunicating those who had sinned before God.

Exodus 29-30

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Exodus 29-30

Chapter 29: Washing and Anointing

Aaron and his sons are to be washed, anointed and consecrated. Sacrificial rites are performed in the temple.

They are to bring a basket of unleavened bread tempered with oil and wafers anointed with oil, made of wheaten flour. Bringing with them a bullock and 2 rams. The bullock and the 2 rams are to be killed and burnt as offerings. One of them rams will be eaten with the bread in the basket.

All of this being done as a atonement for the sins of the people.

Chapter 30: Altar of Incense

In the temple there is an Altar of Incense, where the priests can burn incense. This altar is built of shittim wood. This Altar is to be placed before the veil, which is by the Ark of Testimony.

Upon the altar of incense, a ritual of atonement is to be performed only once per year. The Lord speaks to Moses and tells him that everyone that is numbered in Israel needs to pay a half a shekel upon entering the temple. The money is to be used for the service of the tabernacle.

The Lord speaks to Moses again and tells him to make a “laver” of brass. Laver meaning wash, a wash basin made of brass. This is to be used by Aaron and his sons to wash their hands and feet. The priests are commanded to wash their hands and feet before entering the temple, and to be anointed with oil.

Exodus 27-28

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Exodus 27-28

Chapter 27: Altar of Burnt Offerings

The tabernacle of the Lord (the Temple) contains an altar for burnt offerings. The Temple also has a court, surrounded by pillars, which has a light to burn always.

Chapter 28: Garments/Urim and Thummim

Aaron and his sons are consecrated and anointed to be ministers in the priest’s office. The garments that Aaron wears includes; a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a coat, a mitre and a girdle. The Breastplate contains twelve precious stones, with the names of the tribes of Israel on them. The Urim and Thummim is to be carried in the breastplate.

Exodus 25-26

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Exodus 25-26

Chapter 25: Israel is Commanded to Build a Temple        

                The Lord speaks with Moses and tells him that the people of Israel need to donate property so that they can build a temple to the Lord.

                What is to be donated:

  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Brass
  • Blue, Purple, and Scarlet Linen
  • Goats Hair
  • Dried, and dyed red Ram’s skin
  • Badgers Skins
  • Shittim Wood
  • Oil
  • Spices
  • Onyx Stones

                Israel is commanded to build the Ark of the Covenant: which is a chest of Aracia and Shittim Wood, overlayed with Gold. It is 2.5 cubits long and 1.5 cubits broad. This chest is also referred to as the “Ark of Jehovah”.

                They are to build a room in the temple that has the mercy seat and cheribums. A table for the shewbread, and the candlestick according to what Moses was commanded.

Chapter 26: Temple Veil

                In the Tabernacle there is to be a veil with ten curtains of blue and purple, that have loops. These curtains have “taches” or marks on them and are to separate the holy place from the most holy place. The Ark of the Testimony is to be placed in the most holy place.

                What is really interesting to me is that Modern LDS temples have what the scriptures of old talked about. God has always called prophets and commanded them to build temples. That to me is a living testimony that the LDS church is indeed the same church that was lost in ancient times and restored today for our benefit and before the ushering in of the second coming.

Exodus 23-24

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Exodus 23-24

Chapter 23: Law of Moses

  • Thou shalt not raise a false report.
  • Do not follow a crowd of evil. – Just because everyone is doing it, doesn’t mean it is ok.
  • Do not pervert justice.
  • 6 years you can work the land and have crops, but the seventh year is a year for the land to rest.
  • Six days to work and 1 day to rest per week.
  • Thou shalt keep the passover.
  • Israel is required to keep 3 feast per year to the Lord.
  • An angel of the Lord will be set before the Israelites to guide them and to show them the way.
  • The Nations of Canaan will be slowly driven out as long as Israel does not worship or make covenants with their Gods.

Chapter 24: Israel Accepts the Word of God

Israel accepts the word of God, and accepts the covenant. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the 70 Elders of Israel see God. The Lord calls Moses to come up Mount Sinai to receive two tables of stone with all the commandments written on them. The top of the mountain is covered with clouds for six days.