Disclaimer: Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 film classic, "The Ten Commandments" (1) follows the path of the Exodus. As critically acclaimed as the movie was and remains, many portions of it were biblically inaccurate.

The Exodus tells of the Israelites' (2) generational slavery at the hands of the Egyptians and how God (3) anointed Moses (4) to lead them out of bondage toward their Promised Land of Canaan (5). This is followed by accounts of stiff-necked disobedience (6) amongst God's children, leading to them wandering in the wilderness (7) for 40 years (8) prior to reaching their long awaited destination.

Multiple Bible (9) verses disclose that Moses was the author of the Exodus narrative (Exodus 17:14; 24:4-7; 34:27), which is revealed in the latter four books of The Law (10): Exodus (11), Leviticus (12), Numbers (13) and Deuteronomy (14).

The account begins with the Israelites being subject to Pharaoh (15), the ruler over all of Egypt. They were enslaved under ruthless and brutal taskmasters who oversaw them with punishing labor in oppressively harsh conditions.

After 400+ years of bondage, a deliverer (Moses) is raised up to free his people. After the Ten Plagues (16) are unleashed, Pharaoh reluctantly frees the Israelites (Exodus 12:31), but he later changes his mind. The mighty Egyptian (17) armies go after the Israelites, but God (through Moses) parts the Red Sea (18), allowing the Israelites to escape. God then closes the waters down upon the pursuing Egyptians and they all drown.

After personally witnessing this epic miracle, one would think the Israelites would, henceforth, place all their unconditional trust in God forever and ever, thereby reaching the Promised Land and living happily ever after. But, as we read on, we find this is not how things unfolded. We can tag this unbelief of the ancient Israelites as we look into our own faith journey.

Rather than rendering complete obedience (19) to a God yearning to care for them, the Israelites didn't waste much time at all in repeatedly exhibiting stiff necked behavior with their Creator-- and they paid a heavy price for doing so. The final straw of disobedience was when the Twelve Spies (20) returned from their advance scouting of Canaan and some of them reported it was not safe for the Israelites to enter or dwell in. So, instead of the Israelites accepting God's gift of land, they rebuked it. Accordingly, He sentenced them to wander in the wilderness long enough for all original Twelve Tribe members (600,000+) to die off (Numbers 14:26-35), with the exception of Joshua (21) and Caleb (22).

At the same time the original members of the Twelve Tribes were dying off, they were re-populating a future. Finally, after 40 years of wandering, the Lord announced it was finally time to take Canaan (Deuteronomy 1:1-8). Moses addresses the Israelites for a final time, teaching them further the ways of the Lord. He dies on Mount Nebo (23) and is buried by God. Joshua then leads the way into Canaan.

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If you're seeking additional information about Christianity on a more personal level, consider visiting a Christian Church here in Marion County (24). Introduce yourself to members and ask to speak with someone to learn more about Jesus. Surrendering your life to Christ (25) (a) is the most rewarding and everlasting decision you'll ever make, and it's comforting to have someone guide you as you begin your new life as a child of the Most High! May God shower you with great favor in this endeavor!

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Footnotes, Page Credits and External Resources appear below. Consider printing and sharing the offered PDF narrative and other listed resources with family, friends and strangers alike for use in Bible Studies (26), Home/Church Faith Sharing Groups (27), Discipleship Encounters (28) and/or Personal Faith Enrichment!

Modifications are welcome at [email protected].

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FOOTNOTES

  (1) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/ten-commandments

  (2) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/twelve-tribes-of-israel

  (3) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/god-of-the-bible

  (4) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/moses

  (5) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/promised-land

  (6) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/disobedience

  (7) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/wilderness-wandering

  (8) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/40-in-the-bible

  (9) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-good-news

(10) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-law

(11) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/exodus

(12) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/leviticus

(13) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/numbers

(14) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/deuteronomy

(15) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/Pharaoh

(16) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/ten-plagues-of-egypt

(17) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/Egyptians

(18) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/Red-Sea

(19) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/obedience

(20) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/twelve-spies

(21) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/joshua-son-of-nun

(22) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/caleb

(23) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/Mount-Nebo

(24) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/listing-by-city

(25) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-gracious-visitor

(26) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/bible-studies

(27) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/christian-education

(28) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/discipleship

EXTERNAL RESOURCES

(a)  How Do I Convert to Christianity?, Got Questions Ministries, accessed January 12, 2020    https://www.gotquestions.org/convert-to-Christianity.html