The God Who Makes Himself Known: The Missionary Heart of the Book of Exodus (Volume 28)

New Studies in Biblical Theology #28

by W. Ross Blackburn, D.A. Carson (Series Editor)

The Lord's commitment to make himself known throughout the nations is the overarching missionary theme of the Bible and the central theological concern of Exodus. Countering scholarly tendencies to fragment the text over theological difficulties, Ross Blackburn contends that Exodus should be read as a unified whole, and that an appreciation of its missionary theme in its canonical context is of great help in dealing with the difficulties that the book poses. For example, how is Exodus 6:3 best understood? Is there a tension between law and gospel, or mercy and judgment? How should we understand the painstaking detail of the tabernacle chapters? From a careful examination of Exodus, this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume demonstrates that In the end, Exodus not only sheds important light on the church's mission, but also reveals what kind of God the Lord is, one who pursues his glory and our good, ultimately realizing both as he makes himself known in Christ Jesus. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Biblical Studies, Old Testament, Academic

238 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

Reviews

[Cameron McCartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exodus has been my favourite book of the Bible since my early years of faith, and this book only made me love the book even more. Blackburn clearly and so helpfully draws out how Exodus is primarily a book about the great God, making himself known to the ancient world. He divides the book up helpfully, showing us how God was making himself known as a compassionate and gracious God through the plagues, the exodus, the wilderness, the law, the tabernacle and the golden calf.

I particularly enjoyed Blackburn’s excellent exegesis of Ex 34:6-7, which I will not spoil here for prospective readers, but I think he is spot on. The chapter on the law was also excellent and such an easily misunderstood section of the book for so many modern Christians. Many thanks to Blackburn for his refreshing and eye-opening reminder to me that when presenting the confusing book of Exodus to a confused world we must remember the main message; a gracious and compassionate God, is making himself known to Israel, Egypt, and the modern world.

I’m thankful for books like this that help me understand the Bible better, help me understand better the world that I live in, and of course show me more and more of God’s undeserved grace for people like me who live in his world. I love the Lord more after reading this book, and thank him for making himself known to me through his Word👏🏻🙌🏼.

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new favourite book on my favourite book of the Old Testament. Blackburn expertly communicates how the major theme of the Book of Exodus is the mission of God's name being made known to the nations. The purpose of the Exodus is simply the bringing about the promises of Genesis 22, that the nations will be blessed through the sons of Abraham (Israel). Israel will be a missional nation by its priestly role, she will interede between God and the nations (Exodus 19:5-6). The covenant community is to be a holy community that reflects God to the world.

"Israel was set apart as a nation for the purpose of rendering priestly service in order to reflect the character of God to the nations. In other words, through Israel, God would make himself known to the world."

Blackburn breaks Exodus into six sections where this theme is explored in detail within the revelant passages. Each section is successful in demonstrating that the missionary theme of God being made known is not just to central to the book of Exodus, but is central to the entirety of scripture. Blackburn ultimately brings back it to Jesus, as any biblical theology should! He is the redeemer of Israel and the ultimate of revelation of who God is, he is the fulfillment of the missionary Heart of God Himself. Through Christ, the Son of Abraham, the nations do indeed know God and are blessed.

Blackburn ends with a fitting conclusion that reflects on what this all means for the Church community today. The mission of Exodus was tied to the covenant community at Sinai, and that same mission is tied to us today at the Great commission. The Israel of God is involved with the Mission of God, that he would be made known to all the nations through Jesus Christ.

"The mission of the Church is not just imparting information, but rather living in such a way that the nations take notice. This is the call of both Israel and the church."

"Ultimately, God is known in and through Jesus Christ, his goodness -indeed His glory- manifest most perfectly in the cross. Therefore, faithful mission goes forth with the understanding of Paul, ' I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified' (1 Cor. 2:2). Iy is in Christ that God is present with His people. It is in Christ that God's mission to be known by the nations will be realized. And finally, it is Christ to whom those nations will sing, 'Savlation belongs to our God who sits upon throne, and to the Lamb!' (Rev. 7:10)."

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, helpful stuff

[Nathaniel Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good! Chapter two, "Name of the Redeemer (Exodus 1:1-15:21) is worth the purchase of the book.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A study of the theology of the book of Exodus contending that it reflects God's missionary purpose to make himself known to the nations through Israel.

The God Who Makes Himself Known typifies the purpose of the New Studies in Biblical Theology of which it is a part. It both articulates the theological themes arising from the book of Exodus, and connects that to the theology of the Bible as a whole. In this case, Ross Blackburn explores how God's concern to make himself known to the nations, which Blackburn describes as "missionary" is reflected in God's dealings with Moses and the people of Israel in this book.

The organization of the book follows the biblical text of Exodus. I will highlight the key idea Blackburn elucidates in each portion:

Exodus 1:1-15:21. In the first part of Exodus, centering around 6:3, the focus is on the declaration, "I am the LORD" and what this means in the light of the deliverance from Egypt showing both the supremacy and redeeming character of God to the nations.

Exodus 15:22-18:27. This section focuses on the training of Israel in the wilderness, that they would "learn obedience" by which they reflect God's supremacy in daily life, and their dependence upon the redeeming God to sustain them.

Exodus 19-24. These passages are concerned with the giving of the law. Blackburn reflects upon how Gospel precedes Law and how the Law is given to flesh out Israel's calling to make known the name of the Lord to the nations in how they live, and what this reveals of the greatness and goodness of God.

Exodus 25-31. Blackburn looks at the instructions for the Tabernacle, showing the progression in the quality of the materials as one approaches the Holy of Holies, the parallel between Eden and Tabernacle that reveals God's redemptive purpose, and God's intention to dwell in the midst of his people.

Exodus 32-34. I found this section the highlight of Blackburn's discussion as he explores the idolatry of the people, even while God is in the midst of giving instructions for his dwelling place in their midst. He highlights how Moses intercession is heard on the basis not of his attempt to substitute for the people's sin but on the basis of God's name and purpose, and how this will be jeopardized should God's presence depart from them.

Exodus 35-40. Blackburn explores why we have this second description of the Tabernacle, downplayed by many commentators. He argues that the canonical order of this text after Israel's sin shows how the Lord responds to sin, and how God restores a repentant people and so reveals his glory, greatness, and redeeming character to the nations as he indwells the Tabernacle.

The biggest question that may be raised is whether Blackburn is reading New Testament perspectives into Exodus. Certainly, he is reading Exodus in a New Testament light, but his argument of concerning the missionary heart of God revealed through Israel's deliverance and wilderness encounters with God is one rooted in both the data of the text and a discussion of the canonical structure of Exodus. What Blackburn does is make an argument for the coherence of Exodus as a whole, as well as for its place within the canon.

This work strikes me as a helpful adjunct to exegetical study of Exodus, offering a larger framework useful for teaching or preaching the book as Christian scripture. While interacting with scholars discussing the meaning of texts like Exodus 34:6-7 and how God both forgives and punishes sin, Blackburn also offers insights into the lavish greatness and goodness of God that leads us into worship, and the life of faithful obedience against God's gospel purposes for the nations. Like other monographs in this series, Blackburn exemplifies how scholarly rigor and devotional warmth may walk hand in hand.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid entry in the NSBT series, though not as compelling in style as some of the others. I did find the thematic work quite helpful, especially the "Missionary God" theme, and the discussions of the final form of the Exodus text are really interesting (personally, I find some of the source-critical perspectives frustratingly bland and generally missing-the-point). I'm not sure if I completely land in some of the same places as Blackburn (he's quite conservative on some of the authorship question) but regardless, I deeply applaud his efforts to wrestle with the text as we have it today, and I found his argumentation to be intellectually honest and scholarly. There were some aspects of the text that I wish got more attention, but that's kind of to be expected in a more literary-canonical-thematic commentary.

In general, if you like the NSBT (and I do, quite a lot) then this is a worthy volume in that series. If you are planning a preaching series on Exodus, this is worth a read-through.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blackburn argues "that the Lord’s missionary commitment to make himself known to the nations is the central theological concern of Exodus" (p. 15).

Below are some of my favorite quotes:
"Knowing the Lord implies honouring him for who he is." (p. 18)

"The mission of God is God’s commitment to be known for who he is, among his people, and through them, among all peoples." (p. 23)

"The law was given for God’s glory and Israel’s good, and ... the law is not simply an expression of God’s righteousness, but his generosity as well." (p. 86)

"These verses [Exod 19:4–6] are, in effect, Israel’s ‘mission statement’, defining Israel’s purpose as the people of God, and the role of the law in that purpose." (p. 87)

"Israel was set apart as a nation for the purpose of rendering priestly service in order to reflect the character of God to the nations. In other words, through Israel, God would make himself known to the world." (p. 95)

"Here idolatry is both a matter of misplaced love and misplaced trust." (p. 109)

"Often the impulses at work in critical scholarship may encourage the exegete to settle for a critical solution to explain a theological problem that needs more time, more thought and more prayer." (p. 209)

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, quite good. Lots of insight. Exegetical grounding is strong, but not always consistently so. Well-written, but the research is a bit dated, even for 2012.

[Spencer R · Rating 4 out of 5]

My full review can be found here at: http://wp.me/p3JhRp-ti

The author, W. Ross Blackburn, reads Exodus as a book that reveals God’s missionary heart, one that has a universal purpose. Yahweh has revealed himself to Israel so that they will reveal Yahweh to the rest of the world.

Summary Outline
Blackburn is concerned about missions. “Too often the concept of mission in the OT has either been generally denied, or the OT has been used as a short prologue to a discussion of biblical mission, which usually means mission according to the NT” (16).

Blackburn divides Exodus into 6 sections.
1. The Name of the Redeemer (1.1-15.21). 
God will make himself known to a world ignorant of his name. "The Lord is his name" (Exod 15.3), and all will know it.

2. Training in the Wilderness (15.22-18.27).
Here Blackburn argues that "God uses difficulty to make himself known" (63). This discipline is not punishment. Discipline is a "means of training" that "serves God's glory and the good of his people" (63-46), which in the end will make Israel like Yahweh, drawing all nations to him.

3. The Law and the Mission of God (19-24). 
In Israel's obedience to God's good law, they will represent the good God to the world. Israel had a passive role in leaving Egypt, but now they would have an active role in portraying Yahweh to the world. The Law didn't save Israel. Yahweh did (and does).

4. The Tabernacle Instructions (25-31). 
The chapters on the tabernacle take up a third of the book of Exodus (13 chapters out of 40). It's hard sees for the forest for the trees, but God is holy. For God to dwell among his people he had to be in the Tabernacle, and there had to be limits and restrictions. Israel is also his kingdom of priests and they are to bring the world to him.

5.  The Golden Calf (32-34). 
The Lord is a jealous God who 'claims all honour for himself' because he created all things. No other gods are worthy of worship. Yet once the Israelites think his presence is gone, they forsake Yahweh and worship another god. Yahweh both punishes and extends mercy to uphold his honor and to make his name known.

6. The Tabernacle Construction (35-40). 
Even here, we see that as Israel remembers that God dwells in her midst, they will be faithfully obedient. After giving gold for the making of the golden calf, they repent by giving freewill offerings for the construction of the temple. And everything is made according to the Lord's command. Israel will have a proper fear of God, and His presence makes Israel distinct.

Any Spoiled Milk?
Blackburn gives a good bit of space to differing scholarly positions. Though it fits with his purpose and though I occasionally find it interesting, not everyone will enjoy the scholarly conversation throughout the book. When they come up you can easily skim through them or skip over them. I pretty much don't care to read about arguments of critical scholars, and I'd imagine most readers (who aren't academics) won't care either. Yet Blackburn doesn’t give an opposing argument and then trash the entire idea. He often finds something positive about it, and then launches his discussion from that. These points don't fill the book, but they certainly are there.

Well recommended

[Special thanks to IVP Academic for allowing me to review this book! I was not obligated to provide a positive review in exchange for this book].

[Ben Nissen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blackburns book illuminates God's mission for his own glory and name to be exalted among the nations in the book of Exodus (of all places - It wasn't my first place to look for a book on "Mission"). It's Highly technical, and for the layperson it could be easy to get lost in the weeds..BUT(!) the result of such precision is an amazing jewel!

It can be easy to simply lump Exodus as "Law" and assume that it only serves the purpose of exposing sin. Blackburn unveils such complexity and beauty in the pages of this book. Even though I could not interact with all the arguments on a scholarly level, his careful tracing of the threads, and themes of the overall narrative of scripture - and particularly how the book of Exodus serves foundationally - coalesced into an amazing exclamation point. I found myself weeping at the end of Ch. 6!

I'm going to go get my masters and read this again!

[Amy Jacobsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this series and plan to continue in it. I found it helpful and enlightening to identify the missionary thurst of the book of Exodus. God is about making himself known for the blessing and benefit of all nations. We as believers are active participants in this missionary purpose.

[Amy Jacobsen]

I enjoy this series and plan to continue in it. I found it helpful and enlightening to identify the missionary thurst of the book of Exodus. God is about making himself known for the blessing and benefit of all nations. We as believers are active participants in this missionary purpose.

[Christopher Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blackburn’s The God Who Makes Himself Known is centered around the missional vision of Exodus. Throughout the book, Blackburn is committed to connecting the Exodus story with the broader canonical context and tracing where ideas have their culmination in the New Testament. This is a clearly and confidently Christian perspective on the Exodus narrative, but it does not want to remove the narrative out of its original context. More systematically than Walzer, Blackburn moves across the narrative by addressing several major themes of the story. He highlights the revealed character of God (28), the canonical relationships of Exodus (57-60), the purpose of the wilderness and law (65;113-115), and the tabernacle narrative(s) (131;153;204). All of these themes find their home in Blackburn’s theology of mission. Israel is not saved for themselves, but to represent YHWH to the nations. Partnered with this idea, across the book there is this push to see the particular as moving to the universal (17).

Blackburn stresses the original and canonical context (209). For him, this is the way Exodus must be approached for the church to understand the missional heart of Exodus. As his book makes clear, he doesn’t disregard critical scholarship, but he writes primarily for the church. The most satisfying thing about this hermeneutical decision is the way Blackburn pulls the text together after deciding the missional orientation. His concern for the unity of Scripture means Blackburn wrestles with the broader canonical context to see how it uses and illuminates the Exodus story. He is optimistic about the unity of the Exodus narrative and does not get sidetracked with discussions of the documentary hypothesis or other source critical issues. He is content to assume the integrity of the text and try to find how they fit together.

Blackburn offers a thesis that is solidly based in the Exodus text and confirmed through contextual and canonical reading. His thesis of the missional heart of Exodus stays at the focus of the book the entire time and is constantly be clarified throughout the book’s proposals. I can firmly recommend Blackburn’s excellent book and would suggest all studies of Exodus begin with it.

[Joshua Reichard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! As a Christian who has been reading his bible for most of his life and is fairly familiar with the book of Exodus. It was so encouraging and challenging to read a book that hones in on the main objective of Exodus. God making himself known! It is so easily missed when we fall here and there into rabbit holes. But Blackburn keeps the main point at the forefront of the reader's mind in the whole book.

One of the most profound and helpful chapters was on the tabernacle and its construction. It is a tragedy that the majority of commentaries fall flat on their face when they approach this section and spend little time explaining it. Blackburn helps his readers gain a love for every word written in Exodus, not just the first 20 chapters.

[Laurent Dv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent commentary on Exodus. Not a verse by verse commentary but a section by section commentary with theological/thematic analysis. Very usefull to grasp the unity of Exodus, the surprisingly presence of the theme of mission in the book and all the events related in. Full of practical applications for the Church which make it very encouraging (look at the conclusion chapter which sum up all quite well).

[Tirzah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate this book for helping me better understand the book of Exodus. The Old Testament can often be hard to understand and even harder to apply it to our current lives. This is one of the many books I would recommend to those who wish to learn more about the OT and God in general. It is theological and became too scholary for me in a few places, yet I was still able to get the gist on those difficult parts. In fact, I think this would make a good book for a group Bible study.

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful study on the missional themes of Exodus. The best part of the book is the well researched and argued section on Exodus 32-34, known as the Golden Calf incident. The author brings satisfying answers to many difficult and pressing issues in that part of the narrative. As i look back, i benefited from every section of the book though and have numerous notes that impacted my sermons, so I am deeply grateful.

[Brian Pate · Rating 4 out of 5]

God's missionary heart is revealed in the book of Exodus. Everything he does is for the purpose of displaying his glory among the nations. Excellent look at Exodus from a biblical theological perspective.

[Dan Waugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! I love this series and this is quite likely my favorite of those I have read. Definitely scholarly, so there is wading through various interpretations, lots of footnotes, etc. But, this is what Biblical Theology should be - deep, warm, and evocative.

[Joel Zartman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the most illumining.

[Michael Locklear]

per Jonathan Leeman (8.16.21) - a valuable book in preaching through the Book of Exodus

[Adam Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in June. This is just a placeholder until I write up an actual review here.

[Neil Kruger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! One of the best books I have read this year. A wonderful mix of scholarship and devotion, and a great example of how sensitivity to the canonical context can serve biblical theology.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is the point of the book of Exodus? Blackburn makes a good case “that the particular existence of Israel has a universal goal, and that Israel’s existence is unintelligible apart from her mission to the nations.” That mission, God’s mission, is to make himself known as redeemer and as a just judge who is also full of mercy.

The name God reveals to Moses at the burning bush, the encounters with Pharoah, the escape from Egypt, the Ten Commandments, God showing Moses his glory, the instructions for and building of the tabernacle—all these, Blackburn contends, fit into this theme. Israel is not to chosen by God merely for salvation but for the larger purpose of making him known to the ends of the earth.

The book could have been enhanced by greater discussion of the chiastic structure of Exodus 25—40. Otherwise, my only critique the definition of mission the author adopts from Christopher Seitz who “suggested that mission, biblically understood, fundamentally involves God’s seeking to put right what has gone awry; that is, the evil inclination of the human heart” (p. 16). The problem is that mission is found before the Fall when God told the man and woman “to fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28), a commission that is repeated multiple times in Genesis and is referenced early in Exodus (1:7).

Fortunately, Blackburn doesn’t follow up at all in the book with the idea that something has to have gone wrong for mission to take place. As Beale demonstrates in The Temple and the Mission of God, creation, Eden, the tabernacle and the Temple all express how God has always wanted humans to join him in the work of filling his creation with his glory.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blackburn's purpose in writing the book is to show "for Exodus, is simply the Lord's effort to make himself known among the nations for who he is, the God who rules over the universe and redeems those who call upon him. The goal of the following, then, will be to demonstrate that this commitment to right what is awry, or to move Israel and the nations from ignorance to knowing him, is the Lord's motivation behind his actions in Exodus. In this way the theme is missionary."

Blackburn's keys on God's revelation to Moses in the great "I AM" statement, and uses it as He continues his disclosure to the Israelites with the repeated statement, I am the LORD.

I enjoyed this challenging book, but would have enjoyed it even more if Blackburn would have omitted the references to the discredited documentary hypotheses, which seem to be obligatory for academic publication (and this is a reworked version of his doctoral dissertation).

[Jarred Edgecombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blackburn argues that the purpose of Exodus is to make the name of the Lord known to Israel and to the nations. He accomplishes his argument by showing the sequential development of the theme in each major section.

He contends that, while most theologians don't treat it this way, the section on the tabernacle blueprint and building is the most theological section. He reviews Jewish literature on the tabernacle. He spends much time developing the importance of the Golden calf incident (32) in understanding the two sections of the tabernacle narrative (25-31, 36-38).

Embedded in the tabernacle regulations is the Lord's self-assertion of being merciful and punishing the guilty (34:5-6). Blackburn states that in order to understand these verses one must consider the greater purpose of Exodus - to make the Lord's name known. He does a good job of explaining his reasoning.

[Mike Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. The following is my summary of the concluding chapter:

Exodus is about God’s mission in making himself known, making Jesus’ commission just as much an OT thing as a NT thing. Exodus contributes much to our mission theology: (1) It’s done through / in community (“endeavours that may be considered evangelistic are best rooted in community”, 211, cf Chester); (2) It’s costly to us as God puts us through trials to make us into a priestly nation, conformed to him; (3) In mission we make God known as he is; (4) which includes especially making him known as Redeemer!

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressive survey of the book of Exodus using a canonical approach to interpretation. Blackburn's monograph convincingly displays the missionary heart of God as a central theme of the book of Exodus.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good examination of the doctrine of God in the book of Exodus. This book is a serious call to the Church to truly become a missionary people.

[Lucas Bradburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best ones I have read so far. Extremely insightful.