Explore the themes of salvation, law, and God’s presence in the book of Exodus with award-winning Old Testament scholar Dr. Tremper Longman. This course takes you step by step through Israel’s salvation from Egyptian bondage, their receiving of God’s law, and His command to build the tabernacle. Dr. Longman then connects these events to the New Testament. Learn how Jesus is the fulfillment of the exodus and how specific events mirror Jesus’ life and ministry. Get answers to questions such as, who wrote the Torah? How do we read the law from a Christian perspective? Why is there so much violence in the Old Testament? You’ll learn why this ancient text is so important, and just how culturally relevant it is today.
“But in the case of the exodus, it’s really important to understand that the author is claiming that this actually happened in space and time. Why? Because, in this case, God is establishing a track record. It’s not just a story. It’s telling us what actually happened, because God is showing that He is able to save people when they’re beyond human resources.” (source)
“On the other hand, the laws that follow, which scholars often call casuistic or case law, have a different form, a kind of ‘if-then’: ‘If this happens, then the following consequences.’ This law takes the 10 general ethical principles of the Ten Commandments and then applies them to specific situations.” (source)
“It signals to us a need to slow down, reflect, meditate. It’s hard to skim poetry.” (source)
“Another thing, though, to realize is that any history book has to be selective. You can’t recount everything that happened in an event. And so this selectivity often is what leads to questions and sometimes confusion. But you have to realize that histories are written choosing what the author considers to be important and then, also, emphasizes the events that he considers important and also provides an interpretation of those events. That’s one of the reasons why we call this a theological history—because it’s not just giving us a neutral recounting of what happened in the past, which is not even really possible, but rather, is interested in talking about our relationship with God.” (source)
“The second major genre that we encounter in the book of Exodus has to do with law” (source)