The Exodus Way

Today you get a term paper, lol... Enjoy!

Introduction

Bondage, repentance,deliverance, and being led through the wilderness is a recurring theme in scripture that you can see take place in the life of individuals as well as in the corporate journey of Israel. This “Exodus Way” is a pattern evident throughout the believer’s daily journey and it is crucial to understand how it begins as well as how it is lived out in faith. The Exodus Way reveals the framework of God’s redemptive plan for man. It shows the identity of God as a just, compassionate, covenant-keeping God, while defining the believer’s life as a journey of repentance, commitment, and continual reliance on Him - all to bear witness to a watching world.

Exodus

            To understand “The Exodus Way,” I first looked up the meaning and root of the words in Hebrew.  The word “Exodus” is only found in the Old Testament as the title of the book of Exodus and so wasn’t found in my hard copy of the Strongs concordance. When you look at the Hebrew name of the 2^nd book in the Torah, it is שְׁמוֹת (Sh’mot) – or “Names.”[1] According to an article on Chabad.org, Chana Weisberg  explains that this is because the books of the Torah were named from the first significant Hebrew word in each book. [2]  I think it is interesting that this is the first book in which God was “named,” or introduced Himself, as is shown in Exodus 3:14, “God said to Moses, “I am, who I am” and goes on in Exodus 34:6-7 “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness, maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” It is important to understand the identity of the One we are following on “the way.”

 When the New Testament references the Greek word Exodos, (ἔξοδος (exodos) -- a departure) it describes the Israelites “going out of Egypt.”[3] This phrase is found in the Old Testament many times as  יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם = Yetziat Mitzrayim which is referenced through verses like Exodus 12:51 “And on that day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions,[4] or Deuteronomy 5:6, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the Land of Slavery.

Modern Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar shared in her “Words of Wisdom” article entitled, “We All Need to leave Egypt Over and Over Again,” the significance of the Exodus to Jews.

“The Exodus from Egypt - Yetziat Mitzrayim - is considered the “Master Story” of the Jewish people. (Master stories are those narratives that are shared by many or most people within a society or culture. They are the cultural scripts or dominant discourse by which we live.) The Exodus is mentioned in the weekly celebration of Shabbat in the words of the Kiddush, in the daily ritual of prayer in the siddur following the Shema/V’ahavta (in the Geula prayer when we sing Mi Chamocha), in the reasons for the custom of wearing tefillin and tallit, as well as in the ethical mandate not to oppress the stranger, remembering that we were once strangers in the land of Egypt, which is mentioned over 36 times in the Torah. And of course, it’s at the heart of the upcoming festival of Passover.”[5]

            More on the Passover in a minute… So the “Exodus Way” – the journey through life, of committing your way to God, turning away from everything before and entering into covenant with the Lord, to following Him, through trials and hardship, remaining faithful, placing complete trust in God, and when we fail, repenting again, turning away from self-reliance and into total trust in God, over and over… that is the Exodus way.

The Way

But what is a “way?” “The Way,” is a phrase used over 700 times in the Old Testament. In the Stong’s section of biblehub.com, it is:  דֶּרֶךְ (derek) – way, road, distance, journey, manner and is seen as a life’s journey, a course of life.[6]  King Ahaziah did what was Evil in the sight of the Lord, and his, “way” was described in 1 Kings 22:52. “He did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.” This “way” walking is the journey that each of us take in life. Just as the Israelites walked out of Egypt and into a life of trust and dependance on God, we can see this in our Christian derek, our walk through life, escaping the slavery of sin and bondage and into a new life of trust, dependence and worship of our savior.

Passover

The Israelites Began this journey through the Passover, where they willingly obeyed the direction of God, spoken through Moses in Exodus 12:21-22 and entered into a “threshold covenant” with God. This Threshold Covenant is described in Henry Clay Trumbull’s book of the same name,

                        “The primitive Passover sacrifice was an offering of blood by the head of the household on the threshold of his home, as a token of his welcome to the guest who would cross over that blood and thereby become one with the family within.”[7] 

What a picture of entering into the family of God! This was the first covenant that Israel entered into with God, before the circumcision and Law of the Mosaic Covenant. Abraham had entered into a covenant with God in Genesis 15 where God alone took on the covenant obligations. Through the obedience of Noah, God made a covenant with the whole world to not destroy the earth with a flood, but this small seemingly simple act of brushing blood drenched hyssop on the doorway of their dwellings was a covenant to leave the familiar behind, and choose to follow God, wherever it took them.

            This act is described in Jewish exegesis as an act of repentance, literally an about face from their way of life. A commentary on Exodus 12:13 describes the blood as being a sign for the people of their participation in the covenant.

“And the blood shall be a sign for you—not for Me.” The Mekhilta stresses that the blood on the doorposts was not for God’s benefit, but for the people of Israel, as a visible sign of their participation in the covenant and their willingness to be separated from Egypt. The Israelites were participating in the worship of Egyptian gods and had to make a formal declaration that they would be joining the family of God and walking in His ways. [8]

Threshold Covenant

             The Israelites participated in the primitive threshold covenant of the sacrifice of the lamb in the doorway which nomadic people, according to Trumbull, did when guests entered a home. The head of the household made the sacrifice therefore committing to protect and provide for the guests. There is also a responsibility of a guest when they come under the protection of the head of household. They could never again go to war against them.[9] This was a new beginning for Israel.

The entering of this covenant between Israel and God is described often as a marriage covenant. Here, Trumbull describes the Passover night as the “Marriage of Jehovah with Israel.”

“It seems clear that the Egyptian Passover rite was a rite of threshold covenanting as ordered of God and as understood by the Israelites. It’s sacrifice was on the threshold of the homes of the Hebrews on the threshold of a new year and on the threshold of a new nationality. Then Israel began anew in all things. Moreover , it was recognized as the rite of marriage between Jehovah and Israel; as the very Threshold Covenant had it’s origin in the rite of primitive marriage. That first Passover night was the night when Jehovah took to himself in covenant union the “Virgin of Israel,” and became a Husband unto her. From that time forward and recognition of, or affiliation with another God is called “whoredom,” “adultery,” or “fornication.[10]

            So, Israel turned from Egypt, married God, came under His protection and obeyed Him. They exited Egypt and, just like in many new marriages, tested the waters. They whined and complained, they were fearful, they were hungry and thirsty and didn’t believe they would be taken care of. But God came through in spite of their doubts and cared for them through miracles signs and wonders and Israel repented and committed once again.  

Sacrifice

            Another common thread in “The Way” is sacrifice. You see this in the Pascal (Passover) lamb that had to be slain, in the sacrifice of Moses to be bold and agree to be a spokesman for God to the people, in his willingness to give up his very soul if God wouldn’t forgive the people for their apostacy with the golden calf. In his all or nothing statement in Exodus 33:15-18 “If Your Presence does not go with us,” Moses replied, “do not lead us up from here.  For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

So the LORD said to Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”

Then Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.”

            How lovely is this? Moses was willing to give up the journey if the presence of God would not be with Him. The bride desires her Husband and even though the family was more worried about the vacation than the Husband, the bride brought it back to what really matters – that we are all in it together.

Hall of Fame

            Where else do we see this cycle of “The Exodus Way?”  The Exodus way doesn’t begin in Exodus, it begins with Adam.

·       Adam  - entered bondage through his fall into sin, God sacrificed the first animal to clothe him, and Adam walked through life outside of Eden in the wilderness.

·       Noah – God sought an obedient man, He was born into sin and slavery and spent 100 years building an ark subject to ridicule. He was delivered from bondage through the flood waters which washed away the sinful just like pharaoh’s chariots were washed away.

·       Abraham – God required him to leave his land – sacrifice – to go to an unknown land. He faced hardship without an heir. He cried out to God, surrendered his own will and

entered into a covenant. His life was spent in the wilderness, trusting and obeying through hardship and tests such as the request to sacrifice His son Isaac.

·       Jacob – He was born into a life of fear and deception. He was striving and grasping for what was promised. He deceived his father and stole from his brother. He went to Haran and entered into a literal life of slavery to purchase his wives. He ate the fruit of his deception when he was deceived. He wrestles with God at Peniel in Genesis 32 where he is confronted, broken and blessed and receives a name change. (marriage)

·       Joseph – He is prideful, enters slavery. God places him in a household but then he is thrown into bondage where he perseveres and displays God to other inmates. God delivers him from jail and he sets him over all of Egypt for His purposes.

·       Moses – Parents hid him. He was brought into Pharoh’s household.  He surrendered a life of ease to enter the wilderness obedient to God. He obeyed and went back to Egypt to deliver the Israelites. He experienced the actual exodus. God afflicted their enemies, and they surrendered in obedience and entered covenant. (Passover) They escaped by way of miracles signs and wonders through Red Sea, They were led by God through the wilderness, and experienced test after test to see if they would walk in Gods ways.

·       Jeremiah – Called by God into a lonely life. Obedient to God, he had to sacrifice his own desires to be the prophet to Israel for God. God led him through life.

·       Jesus – Jesus willingly set aside his deity to come down and enter a world of sin. He was led by God through life and was delivered from death through resurrection.

·       Saul - Was bound in a life of legalism and self-righteousness. God moment on the road – He was blinded – another slavery to sightlessness. God came and delivered him through the obedience of Ananias. He surrendered his life, experienced a name change to Paul, and lived life for God as a witness to the world.

·       Myself - I knew God but was lonely and afraid, trusting in my own performance, a slave to others. God came to me. He told me who I was, drew me to him, drew me into his Word. He met me in a roadside park in Kerrville, Tx on a road trip. He showed me his love as He explained about the Israelites on the Exodus Way and I surrendered all. I entered the wilderness of small obediences, trials and testing. How will I handle lack? How will I handle blessing? All of these drawing me back to ultimate dependance on him. How can I show dependance? -By obedience.

Obedience

            Obedience is the “work” that shows that faith is real. Faith is required, as described by Mark Boda in his book, “Return to me.” Boda states that faith is a “key internal value related to repentance.[11] Because repentance is required to enter the Exodus Way, faith is the evidence that repentance has occurred. Hebrews 11:1 says that “Faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. Studying the word for certainty got me. The Greek word, ἔλεγχος (elenchos). According to the Thayer’s lexicon it means conviction, evidence, proof.[12] 

How can our faith be proof of what we believe to the world? Jesus gives us a hint in John 14:31. “But I do exactly what the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father…” We are called into a life of trust and obedience, one that God walks with us, through the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son. We do all of this to be a witness to the world of who God is, as His ambassadors.

The Mission

            2 Cor 5:17-20 gives us our mission. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.”

Conclusion

            So in conclusion, The Exodus Way is the journey of every believer, given by example through the lives of the patriarchs, the nation of Israel, kings, prophets, disciples and apostles. It is the way of repentance, commitment, faith, obedience and reliance on our Father. Even though we fail, we “get back up on the horse.” (Old cowboy proverb) Even though we are righteous, it doesn’t mean we won’t fail. Proverbs 24:16 says, “For though the righteous fall seven times , they rise once again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”

            My own salvation story was brought back to me this past week. 34 years ago I was sitting on the roadside in Kerrville, Tx discussing God’s failures with Him, (giving Israel too many chances). As I looked over that empty flood plain, my heart broke. God said to me, “I gave them chance after chance because I loved them, just like I love you and gave you chance after chance.” I cried and surrendered. It truly is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance (Romans 2:4). So lets all commit to the Exodus Way, a life turning away from the slavery of depending on ourselves and self-protection and fully go on from here – in complete trust and dependance on God, so that our obedience will be a testimony of God’s goodness to the world. The rest of John 14:31 is great advice. “Get up! Let us go on from here.”

[1] Rabbi Nosson Scherman and Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz, The Chumash with the Teachings of the Torah Milstein Edition, Artscroll Series, (Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 2021), 3.

[2] C. Weisberg, “What’s in a name? Shemot (‘Names’).” The Jewish Woman. Chabad.org. accessed July 12, 2025, https://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/3550427/jewish/Whats-in-a-Name.htm

[3] Blue Letter Bible. “Strong’s Greek: G1841. ἔξοδος (exodos) — departure, an exit, (figuratively) death, decease.” accessed July 12, 2025, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1841/kjv/tr/0-1/

[4] Blue Letter Bible. Exodus 12:51 (KJV). In Blue Letter Bible. accessed July 12, 2025, https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/exo/12/51/t_conc_62051

[5] Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar, “We All Need to Leave Egypt Over and Over Again.” CAJE-Miami, July 2025, https://caje-miami.org/latest/shabbat/we_all_need_to_leave_egypt/

[6] Bible Hub, “Strong’s Hebrew: 1870. דֶּרֶךְ (derek) – way, road, distance, journey, manner.” In Strong’s Concordance. accessed July 12, 2025, https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1870.htm

[7] Henry Clay Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant: Or, The Beginning of Religious Rites (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1896), 25-26.

[8] Jacob Z. Lauterbach, trans., The Mekilta of Rabbi Ishmael, vol. 2 (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1933), 17.

[9] H. Clay Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant: Or, The Beginning of Religious Rites (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1896), 49.

[10] H. Clay Trumbull, The Threshold Covenant: Or, The Beginning of Religious Rites (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1896), 81.

[11] Mark J. Boda, Return to Me: A Biblical Theology of Repentance (Downers Grove, IL:IVP Academic,2015), 184.

[12] Joseph Henry Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1889) s.v. G1650.