Frances Hogan
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Frances Hogan For my Father, to whom, under God, I owe the Words of Life gift of life, and whatever love of God and Scripture I possess. With grateful thanks. from EXODUS Foreword by Bishop Langton D. Fox, Retired Bishop of Menevia, Wales Collins FOUNT PAPERBACKS First published in Great Britain in 1984 Words of Life by Fount Paperbacks, London Second Impression May 1985 Copyright © Frances Hogan 1984 Frances Hogan is a Catholic scripture teacher who is working as a lay missionary in the church. She has taught Made and printed in Great Britain by Science and Scripture in West Africa and Ireland for nine William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, Glasgow years. Since 1975 she has worked full- time as a lay missionary, giving scripture courses, retreats, and working in parishes Unless otherwise stated, biblical quotations are taken opening up the scriptures to the people. from The Jerusalem Bible, © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd of London Frances Hogan has committed her life to making the and Doubleday & Company, Inc. of New York, Word of God known to lay people in the Church in order to and are used by kind permission of the copyright holders. deepen their prayer life and commitment to Christ. She has made a series of Scripture Tapes on books of the Bible and on various spiritual themes. Conditions of Sale This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent; re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser Contents Foreword 9 Introduction 11 Bibliography 17 I. The Time of Bondage 1. Slaves in Egypt 19 2. The Cry of the Poor 29 3. God's Answer 34 II. The Time of Deliverance 4. Facing the Enemy 57 5. The Passover: The Sacrifice that Sets Us Free 98 6. Deliverance at the Sea of Reeds 117 III. The Time of Growth 7. Training in the School of the Desert 131 8. Food for the Journey 144 9. God Is Our Rock 154 IV. The Time of Consecration 10. Glory on the Mountain 161 11. God Lives With Us 185 V. The Final Stage 12. Toward the Promised Land 209 Foreword Introduction Frances Hogan is a smiling, serene Dubliner with a special The Old Testament is a treasury of God's Word to us, gift for teaching. She has charmed thousands of us with her containing rich spiritual nourishment. Some people think talks on Scripture., that it has nothing relevant to say to them. They read it with She is a clear-minded, centre-of-the-road, Vatican II little understanding, then put it aside as being for scholars. But Catholic, and her gift is for presenting the whole of Sacred St Paul tells us that 'all Scripture is inspired by God and can Scripture, not only the New Testament, to twentieth- profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding century Catholics. When she presents them, the books that people's lives and for teaching them to be holy' (2 Timothy make up the Bible cause 'our hearts to burn within us' 3:16). The Book of Exodus can help our spiritual growth, (Luke 24:32). They reveal their quality as letters from even though the events that it chronicles took place over heaven sent with love by our Father who wants us to know three thousand years ago. God chose to reveal Himself Him and follow His guidance. through the people of Israel and through their history, and Helpfully, Frances has made sound-tapes of her talks He spoke through them a universal message to mankind. available. Now she offers this book in which she talks to us of This message of redemption forms the central theme of the Exodus. I say 'she talks to us' because her style is that of Book of Exodus. the spoken word. She gives a sense of direct personal The Book of Exodus is the most important book of the communication. She makes easy reading. Old Testament; without it Israel's history in particular, and She is informative, but mercifully she is economic about the Bible in general, would be unintelligible. The Bible the wealth of information she could pass on. The load of opens with the Book of Genesis, which describes the evidence about authorship, for example, or about the creation and fall of mankind, and our desperate need of a documents woven into the text, even verse-by-verse saviour. Exodus follows as the second book of the commentary, we can find elsewhere. Frances gives us only Pentateuch (which means 'five rolls'), the most important what we need that we may clearly understand and warmly section of the Old Testament. The other three books of the receive what God tells us through Exodus of how He wants us Pentateuch comprise Leviticus (The Book of Holiness), to respond to His leadership (2 Timothy 3:16) and what, in Numbers (The Wilderness Book), and Deuteronomy (The His love, He wants us to know about Himself. You study the scriptures Renewal of the Law). The title of this second book comes believing that in them you have eternal life; from the Greek `Exodos' which means 'the exit' or 'the way out'. The Hebrew title was Shemoth, 'these are the now these same scriptures testify to me (John 5:39). Names', but it is no longer used. tLangton D. Fox Retired Bishop of Menevia, Wales It is not my intention to give you a verse-by-verse commentary on the Book of Exodus, but rather to show 11 Words of Life Introduction you the pattern of redemption, and to indicate some of its purpose of redemption is God's desire to bring His people many lessons for daily life. out of slavery and into intimacy with Himself. Our slavery The plan of redemption was first revealed by God in a to sin is seen typified in the physical slavery of the Hebrews. partial way through signs and symbols in the exodus of God sent them a saviour — Moses in the Old Testament, Israel from Egypt: the completion and fulfilment came and Jesus in the New, who made God known to the people through Christ and the gospels. This partial revelation is and revealed His Word to them (Exodus 3 onwards, cf. known as a shadow or a type. The main theme of the John 17 `. and I have made your Name known to them gospels is that Jesus, the Son of God, became incarnate 'to . ). But the people will not believe 'unless they see signs seek out and save that which was lost' (Luke 19:10), to and wonders' (John 4:48), so God manifested His signs make His people into children of God and form them into a through the plagues of Moses and the miracles of Jesus; worshipping community, the Church, through His death and both suffered conflicts with the authorities — in Pharaoh Resurrection. The main theme of the Old Testament is that (Old Testament) and the leaders of Israel (New Yahweh had compassion on a group of slaves in Egypt and Testament). Redemption was brought about by blood came down to deliver them through Moses, His chosen sacrifice, in the death of the Passover Lamb (Old redeemer (Exodus 3:7-8), made them into the people of Testament) and Jesus on Calvary (New Testament). For God and formed them through the Covenant into a neither Hebrews nor Christians was this the end of the worshipping community. The Church-nation of Israel gave story, for their pilgrim journey had only begun when way to the Church proper in the New Testament. slavery and death were overcome in that Easter garden Jesus Himself guided the young Church to go back to the Old which had been foreshadowed by the Passover. The exodus Testament to interpret the redemption wrought by the Messiah: or 'going out' of God's people began when Moses led them 'then starting with Moses and going through all the prophets into their baptism in the Red Sea (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:1— he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures 4), 'through the wilderness where they were tried and that were about himself' (Luke 24:27; see also v. 44). tested, to their meeting with God at Sinai. There God This typological interpretation is used extensively manifested His glory to them and bound them to Himself throughout the New Testament (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:1- by the solemn covenant which obliged them to love and 13; 2 Corinthians 3:6-18; Romans 4:23, 5:14, etc.; all of the serve God and their neighbour (cf. Exodus 20; John 13:34). Letter to the Hebrews), among the early church Fathers, and They became God's Church-nation just as Jesus formed is the interpretation used in this book. It means that we go the universal Church whose sign is obedience to God's will beyond the record of historical events to find out what God and love for God and neighbour as the expression of the wanted to teach us through them. We go beyond the New Covenant in His own blood. The Church-nation was question 'Did it happen?' (history) to 'What does it commissioned to conquer the Promised Land and set up mean?', 'What is God saying to us?' (revelation), and meet the Kingdom of God, but they failed and this is now the the living and powerful Word of God.