The Exodus, Covenant and the Law
This domain tests narrative sequence plus covenant theology: how deliverance precedes commandment, and what the Law was actually for in Israel's life.
Exodus
- Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3): God reveals the name YHWH and commissions a reluctant leader.
- The ten plagues expose Egypt's gods; the tenth kills the firstborn and institutes Passover, where the blood of a lamb marks households for deliverance.
- The Red Sea crossing is the decisive saving act, celebrated in Exodus 15.
Covenant and Law
- At Sinai the covenant formula is 'I will be your God and you shall be my people' (Lev 26:12). Grace comes first; the Law then shapes the redeemed community.
- The Decalogue (Ex 20; Deut 5) divides into duties to God (commandments 1-4) and to neighbour (5-10). Its moral core endures; ceremonial and civil regulations were tied to Israel's worship and land.
- Deuteronomy 28 sets blessings and curses before the people: obedience brings life, apostasy brings exile.
- The golden calf (Ex 32) shows how quickly a delivered people relapse; Moses' intercession saves them from destruction.
Worked example
'Explain the meaning of Passover.' State the event (blood on the doorposts, the destroyer passing over), the memorial (an annual meal, Ex 12:14), and the fulfilment: Christ as our Passover lamb (1 Cor 5:7). Marks come from all three strands, not from the story alone.
Traps
- Teaching that the Law saves; Paul insists it never did (Gal 3:11).
- Mixing the order of the plagues or crediting Moses directly with the tenth.
- Forgetting that Sinai's law follows, and answers, the rescue from Egypt.