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The Hebrew title for the book of Exodus is “And these are the names.” These are the opening words of the book in Hebrew. The book begins with the word, “And,” showing a continuation of the story of Genesis, and it repeats the phrase in Genesis 46:8. Additionally, the beginning of the book of Exodus intentionally mirrors the ending of the book of Genesis. Genesis ends with the sons of Israel, numbering seventy (Gen. 46), sojourning in Egypt. Exodus opens with the sons of Israel, numbering seventy, residing in Egypt (Ex. 1) and then quickly multiplying in size and strength.
The primary theme of Genesis, Israel is the chosen seed, is further worked out in the book of Exodus. God delivers his people from their misfortune in Egypt so they might worship the LORD in the land.[1] This going out from Egypt is where we get the more familiar title, “Exodus.” This title comes from a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (viz. the Septuagint) which means, “going out.” This is a crucial theme for understanding not just Exodus but the whole story of Scripture. God’s deliverance of his people from slavery is the paradigmatic story of the Bible. During the Transfiguration, Jesus was speaking with Moses and Elijah about his “departure” (Luke 9:30). The Greek word behind departure is “exodus.” Wouldn’t that have been a fascinating conversation to have heard! Jesus was about to accomplish his exodus which is also our exodus. Jesus’ victory over death was the firstfruits (1 Cor. 15:20-23) of all his children being raised from the dead. Jesus is leading the exodus from death to life!
When we read the story of the Exodus, we must do so within the context of Jesus’ exodus. The story of Jesus leading his people out of slavery to sin and death is the archetype for Moses leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. This is the good news of the Gospel. We who were dead in our sins have been brought out from death to life by the work of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[1] Bruce Waltke, An Old Testament Theology : An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach, 1st ed. (Grand Rapids Mich.: Zondervan, 2007), 347.
I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. John 14:18 (ESV)
I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. John 14:18 (KJV)
When we are going away from our connections to some distant place, we may speak of our return; but it must be conditionally; for we are not sure of the event; it does not depend upon us, and we ought always to say: “If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that.” But when we die, we know our return is impossible, and our friends know it, and weep most of all that they will see our faces no more. The dying pastor cannot say to his anxious flock, I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you, and again feed you with the bread of life. The dying father cannot say to his family, mourning around his bed, I will come again, and provide for you.
. . . . But Divinity here speaks, as well as friendship. “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.” This is the language, not only of foreknowledge, but of sovereign dominion; the language of one who had the keys of hell, and of death; of one who said, “No man taketh my life from me; I lay it down of myself – I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. Even death would not interrupt his goodness, nor his entering another world affect his intercourse with his people in this.
William Jay, Morning Exercises, April 16
The 1998 movie Armageddon is about a group of roughneck oil men who have been recruited by NASA to blast into space to drill into an asteroid and destroy it before it smashes into earth. As they are being strapped into the space shuttle, Owen Wilson’s character, Oscar Choi, says, “I got that ‘excited/scared’ feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it’s more – It could be 2% excited and 98% scared but that’s what makes this so intense.” I think I can relate to his confused emotions. As I look at the momentous event of my ordination and installation as the fifth Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian, I have to be honest and say I’ve got that ‘excited/scared’ feeling. I am also convinced that this is a good thing. I should be both excited and scared. I should be excited about what God has in store for us. And I should have a holy fear of the weight of this calling.
In the book of Leviticus we see the ordination of the Aaronic priests. The priests were mediators between God and his people. They were to teach God’s revelation and to facilitate the encounter between God and his people in worship. That Aaron would be allowed to fill this important office is speaks to the grace of our great God. Aaron had previously facilitated the sin of the people in Exodus 32. Moses confronts Aaron after the people had worshiped the golden calf, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” (Ex 32:21). Aaron responds by blaming the people and essentially saying, “It just sorta happened, I threw the gold in the fire and out came this calf” (v. 24). But God was gracious to Aaron. God did not give up on Aaron and now he and his sons are being ordained as priests. They are imperfect priests, yet they have been called to be set apart to serve the Lord. They will teach the people and they will facilitate the worship of God. We can take comfort in this. There is not a one of us who is qualified to serve God apart from His grace. Apart from God’s generous mercy, we are worthy recipients of His full and unmitigated wrath. But God being rich in mercy has lavished grace upon grace on us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Praise be to God. If you are looking for a perfect man to lead your church, I am not that man. I stand before you only because God’s greater grace has stood for my great sins.
Aaron and his sons were ordained through a ritual of ceremonial washings and sacrifices. After the ram of ordination was sacrificed, some of its blood was put on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. These body parts seem to be a part taken for the whole. By marking these parts it seems that the whole of the priests are marked by and identified with the sacrifice to God.1 Gary Demarest suggests in his commentary on Leviticus that these body parts correspond with the actions of the priest. The ear suggests listening to God. The thumb suggests working for God. The toe suggests walking with God.2 There is a sacred action to which the priests were called. They were to listen to God, work for God, and walk with God. This is a good yardstick for the Pastor and for all who are called by God to bear his name.
Theodore Roosevelt was asked in 1917 to write an inscription for the pocket New Testaments given to soldiers prior to their departure for WWI. In that inscription, Roosevelt quoted Micah 6:8 as a preface to the whole New Testament, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” I see a parallel with the marks of sacrificial blood given to the priests in ordination. God has told us, will we listen to Him? We are called to do justice, will we work for Him? We are instructed with walk with God, will we walk with Him?
When we look at ordination today, we do so by acknowledging the connection with the Old Testament priesthood but also by acknowledging the role of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. We no longer need a priest to stand in our place before God. Christ now stands in our place (Heb. 10:11-14). We, therefore, believe in a priesthood of all believers. But priesthood and ministry are not the same thing.3 God still gifts and calls men to be set apart to teach the people and to facilitate the encounter between God and his people in worship. There is a distinct ministry of Word and sacrament given to the Church. And it is to this office that I have been called by Covenant Presbyterian Church of Short Hills. It is to this office that I will be ordained. It is high calling. It is higher than anything I can humanly accomplish. I am called to keep watch over your soul as one who will have to give an account to God (Heb. 13:17). One cannot enter into such a ministry lightly. And yet I know God has equipped me and called me to this. Herman Bavinck wrote that “ordination is the solemn public declaration before God and his congregation that the person called has been sent by way of a lawful process and hence by God himself, that this person possesses the required gifts and as such ought to be received, recognized, and honored by the church in question.”4 I am thrilled and humbled to be called, ordained and installed as the fifth Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church of Short Hills. To God be the Glory!
1Bruce K. Waltke and Charles Yu, An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach (Zondervan, 2007), 461.
2Gary W. Demarest, Leviticus (Communicator’s Commentary: Mastering the Old Testament) (W Publishing Group, 1993), 89.
3cf. Second Helvetic Confession, XVIII.10
4Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics (Baker Academic, 2008), 4.383.
Donald L. Friederichsen of New Providence, New Jersey, will be ordained and installed as the fifth Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church of Millburn and Short Hills. The ordination and installation service will take place at the church on Sunday, March 25, at 5:00 pm. Pastor Friederichsen will serve as the new Pastor of the church, following the retirement of the current Pastor, Dr. David Miner of West Orange, New Jersey, who has faithfully served the church as Pastor for the past twenty years. Pastor Friederichsen is a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando (MDiv, ’11) and of The University of Tennessee (B.A., ’99). His wife, Kim, and three children will be in attendance at the ceremony.
Covenant Presbyterian Church of Millburn and Short Hills is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America. Covenant Presbyterian meets in the historic White Oak Ridge Chapel on Parsonage Hill Road. The Church invites the community to the ordination service and to meet the new Pastor at the reception immediately following.
” . . . . praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me . . .” ~Eph. 6: 18
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A good prayer mustn’t be too long. Do not draw it out. Prayer ought to be frequent and fervent. ~Martin Luther
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Listen, my friend! Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness. ~O. Hallesby
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A friend mentioned something E. Stanley Jones wrote in connection with prayer: this has been a help to me: If your mind wanders to something else when you’re praying, Dr. Jones suggested, pray for that something else.
Another part of faithfulness in praying for others is not to wait until a convenient, quiet time—rather, to pray in the midst of life’s pressure.
God can stir our minds to pray: God can bring an image from the past, or from a far distant place, before our mind’s eye, and lead us to pray.
Prayer may be our children’s greatest enlightenment that we have concerns for people and situations beyond our own family circle.
~Joseph Bayly
The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice! - Psalm 97:1
Those who bemoan the moral and social disinter-gration of American culture are often right. But when they speak to us in such a way as to stir up fear and panic in our hearts, they are wrong. Our God reigns, and therefore we need not—we must not—be afraid as we exercise our civic responsibilities, no matter what seems to be going on around us. - Charles Drew
Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice. - Proverbs 29:26
“What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life.” – Henri Nouwen
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and pleases God our Savior… – 1 Timothy 2:1-3
. . . Now let us look at this promised new song (from Revelation 14:3). We have seen that no man can learn it yet; still, we may know something about it, for it is to be the song of the redeemed. The condition of learning it is to be this–that a soul shall be “redeemed from the earth.” The song, then, must be the flower of the perfected redemption. It must be the triumph of the complete work of Christ. And so we can tell what will be some, at least, of the elements that make it up.
First, there will be in it the saint’s pure joy in the Savior’s glory. In the condition of sainthood that will come first. The soul will rejoice for Christ before it rejoices for itself. The first use it makes of its crown will be to cast it at His feet. It will test its harp by striking it to his praise. As the first cry of the successful child is that the father will be pleased, of the successful scholar that the teacher will be honored, of the successful soldier that his country will be saved, so the saved Christian’s first delight is not, as we are sometimes told, to find that he is safe, but to know that Christ has triumphed and is glorified.
And what will that glorification be? The ends of the earth shall have been gathered in. The enemies shall all have been subdued. Peace will brood like a great, deep, loving atmosphere over a whole harmonized creation. The plans of Eternity will be accomplished. The rounded and finished purposes of that wonderful Life and Death shall be all returned and held fast in the Savior’s hands. His work shall not have returned unto Him void, but shall have prospered to complete success in the thing whereto He sent it.
–Phillips Brooks (A sermon preached in 1867). This pastor-poet is the author of “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
“Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” – Colossians 4:5-6
The following quotations are from Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, available in our library:
Godliness requires that we discipline ourselves for the practice of evangelism.
I think the seriousness of evangelism is the main reason it frightens us. We realize that in talking with someone about Christ, heaven and hell are at stake.
If God does not use people like these – like us! – as His witnesses, there will be no human witnesses. Since there are no perfect people, there are no perfect witnesses.
We need to realize that sharing the gospel is successful evangelism. We ought to have an obsession for souls, and tearfully plead with God to see more people converted, but conversions are fruit that only God can give.
In this regard we are like the postal service. Success is measured by the careful and accurate delivery of the message, not by the response of the recipient.
Will you believe God can use your words in the salvation of others?
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
- Romans 5:1-2
In times of trouble, then, when our sin has brought misery into our lives, all of us need to be reminded of the hope of the gospel.
- Jay Adams
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand!
- Edward Mote
The hope of the final victory is so much the more vivid because of the unshakably firm conviction that the battle that decides the victory has already taken place.
- Oscar Cullman, referring to Christ’s decisive victory on the cross
Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come:
O be our guard while troubles last, and our eternal home!
- Isaac Watts
“The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”
- Romans 8:18
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” Jesus, Acts 1:8
Breath in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.
- Augustine
If we follow his impulse, the Holy Spirit will always lead us to pray. When we allow him to work freely, he will always bring the Church to extensive praying. Conversely, when the Spirit is absent, we will find excuses not to pray. We may say, “God understands. He knows I love him. But I’m tired . . . I’m so busy . . . It’s just not convenient now . . .” When the Spirit is absent, our excuses always seem right, but in the presence of the Spirit our excuses fade away.
- R. T. Kendall
Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.
- Corrie ten Boom
“Be filled with the Holy Spirit…” – Ephesians 5:18