God created man and woman and then entered into communion with them. That fellowship was represented by a dwelling place, a food garden sanctuary in Eden. Through his own sin, man lost that communion and now seeks what he lost, that is, abundant life and a home.
We see this longing to restore communion in multiple ways, most especially by man’s ongoing attempts to rebuild a sanctuary fit for communion and his attempts to ward off death and secure life for himself.
This explains the pop idols that line a teenage girls’ bedroom and a boys cubby house. People seek a sanctuary and that sanctuary is itself symbolic of our desire for fellowship and refuge with our respective gods.
And so, throughout Genesis man is busy with building either cities, or wells, or altars under a tree. All are symbolic meeting places, towers, temples, houses and sanctuaries.
But, Man has been exiled from the House of God and therefore he is exiled from life.
One of the main historic symbols of this restoration is the Exodus stories of scripture. The point of all Exodus stories is that the people of God are leaving a land of exile, enslavement or corruption in order to enter a new land where God will build a House for His Name and feast with His people.
Noah leaves the corruption of the old world behind, crosses the water and arrives at a new world where he builds a garden of food and an altar to God (Genesis 8:20).
In Genesis 12, Abraham leaves Canaan and goes down into Egypt because of a famine. While there, Pharaoh takes Sarah and binds her to his household (Genesis 12:15). The Lord strikes Pharaoh with plagues and Abraham leaves Egypt with great wealth (Genesis 12:16, 20 Genesis 13:1-2).
Abraham then re-enters Canaan and offers a tenth of his wealth to Melchizedek.
Jacobs’ life is also taken up with an Exodus event. In Genesis, after a meal, Jacob flees Esau and winds up at Laban’s house. Laban won’t let go (Genesis 30:26-27). when Jacob eventually flees Laban’s house, he does so with a good deal of wealth (Genesis 30:43).
Laban, like Pharaoh, chases him. Apparently, Rachael had smuggled some of Laban’s household gods as she went out the door. Laban catches up to them and searches all the tents (Genesis 31:33).
What is this story doing in the bible? What is it supposed to teach us?
For one, it teaches us that Laban’s gods are no gods. Rachel is sitting on them and they can’t even get up, nor cry out through muffled bum cheeks (Genesis 31:34-35).
The story is also telling us that Laban’s gods are unclean. Rachel’s condition is an important aspect. Under the law of Moses, we learn that anything a woman touches in this condition also becomes ceremonially unclean. Likewise, those who worship false gods are also unclean.
At the end of Genesis, Jacob moves from Canaan to Goshen, again, like Abraham, because of a famine. While in Egypt, they are enslaved, but under the leadership of Moses the Israelites plunder
Pharaoh’s house, escape Egypt and begin to make the long journey back to Canaan.
All of these Exodus events teach something similar. Namely, that the gods of this world have no power, that they are unclean, and that a holy people must be separated from them. And so, God brings His people out of the house of Egypt in order to establish a house for Israel and Himself as their neighbour.
In the book of exodus, a Hebrew woman, Jochebed, gives birth to Moses, makes a basket out of reeds and floats the basket upon the waters. IN a world where Hebrew boys are being slaughtered, Moses will be saved in an ark that is drawn from the water.
Moses is like the seed of the woman is going to crush Pharaoh’s head and like Noah who will take his people to a new world by crossing the sea.
In fact, everything that happens early on for Moses is a retelling of the events of the patriarchs and a reflection of Israel.
Like Joseph, Moses will be a Prince in Egypt and a deliverer for God’s people. But first, like Israel, he will have to spend 40 years in exile. Like Isaac, Jacob, Moses will also meet his bride by a well of water during his own exile in Midian.
While Moses is enjoying his exile in Midian he works as a shepherd. Leading his flocks west (a good sign) he finds himself at Mount Horeb (which is Sinai) and there He meets with God before burning bush.
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (Exodus 3:1)
It’s at this time that Moses is commissioned as Israel’s deliverer.
These events look forward to Israel who will head out of Egypt to meet with God on the same mountain and make their way to a new home, ripe with food, where they will fellowship with God (Exodus 3:8).
Like all little gods, the gods of Egypt are revealed by their works. And their works are oppressive (Exodus 2:23).
By contrast, Israel had the one true God, who remembered His Covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God knew (Exodus 2:25)
What comfort there in these simple words! Not just because they’re good but because they are spoken by the God of all grace.
The Exodus itself is reminiscent of God’s intention in marriage: That man should leave and cleave. Part of that leaving for Israel means separation from her former idols (Deuteronomy 30:15-20) but it also involved moving into a new house – the house of God. And that would also mean living by new house rules.
At Sinai, the giving of the 10 Commandments is God saying in effect, “Because you are now My people, you are to live as My people.”
At the beginning of Exodus, Israel is busy building cities for Pharaoh. At the end of the book, Israel is still busy building, but now they are building a house for the one true God.
At the beginning of Exodus, An oppressive king reigns over the Hebrews. At the end of Exodus, the glory cloud of God comes down over Israel and rests on the Tabernacle.
When Israel arrived in Egypt, she was small in number Now, like the stars in heaven, God had built Israel into a great multitude.
And now, Israel would build the House that was promised to Jacob. And God, having married His people at the foot of Mount Sinai (Ezekiel 16:8), was now planning to move in with them.
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