Exploring Exodus: Literary, Theological And Contemporary Approaches

The stories and instruction in the Old Testament book of Exodus seem more at home in a museum than in today’s world. Yet, for the apostle Paul, the Old Testament is ‘written for us’: hence, reading Exodus as direct address is the appropriate Christian stance. This volume, based on the 2007 Moore College School of Theology, acknowledges that reading Exodus for all its worth, as a witness to the gospel and as wisdom for Christian living, is an enormous challenge. The book’s appeal for today is unmistakable, in terms of its epic scope and moral complexity. The opening chapter surveys the ‘uses, re-uses and misuses’ of Exodus in contemporary culture, and exhorts us to feel the book’s raw power, by facing squarely its moral challenges and being shaped by its sometimes bewildering theology. In response, subsequent chapters explore major units of the text and the main theological and ethical issues that they raise. Topics covered are the exodus event itself; its significance in contemporary theologies of liberation; Moses at Sinai; the Law in Exodus; the tabernacle; and how we should preach Exodus.