Exodus (NIV Application Commentary | NIVAC)

Top Highlights

“Exodus is the story of God’s deliverance of his people.” (Page 42)

“The purpose of the desert tests are succinctly summarized in Exodus 20:20: ‘Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’ ’ God tests his people for their benefit, not for his own. It is through passing and failing these tests that God’s people learn the nature of the obedience that he requires of them.” (Page 332)

“Not only are the Israelites to remember what God has done, but that memory is to motivate them to obey (v. 5).” (Page 387)

“This root problem is what we have seen earlier in 14:10–14: a lack of trust in God. By making the golden calf, the Israelites adopt a pagan representation of their God, who had already demonstrated in no uncertain terms his mastery over the pagan gods of Egypt.” (Page 569)

“To put it another way, Pharaoh is opposed to their fulfillment of the creation mandate to be fruitful and increase (cf. Pharaoh’s words in v. 9 with vv. 6–7). In this respect, Pharaoh represents not only a force hostile to God’s people by enslaving them (vv. 11–14), but a force hostile to God himself, who wills that his people multiply.” (Page 43)