Introduction
Exodus is an accurate historical record of the founding of the nation of Israel. Whatever questions may arise from such a view derive either from man's ignorance of the entire historical period when these events occurred, or from misunderstanding the Sacred Text. This account is the only historical record of what happened.
The Biblical account up to here has been brief, having an account of those things alone that were considered absolutely necessary to be related, but with this chapter there begins an account of many minute details, enumerated with all the care and precision of an eye-witness. The catastrophic deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage has a significance and importance, which in their immediate and ultimate consequences, "stand alone in the world's history."[1] This chapter is the record of a truly great moment for Moses, for Israel, and for all mankind - "one of the truly significant watersheds of history."[2]
The fullness of time indeed had come. The wickedness of the Canaanites had run its course, and the time for the sword of judgment to fall upon them had arrived. Israel had become mighty, prepared, and disciplined through hardship, and as Jamieson noted:
"The period of Israel's sojourn and affliction in Egypt had been predicted (Genesis 15:13), and it was during the last year of the term that had still to run that the Lord appeared in the burning bush."[3]
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