The book of Exodus is the wellspring of many of the dominant themes of the Bible. Central among these is the construction of the Tabernacle as the place in which Yahweh would dwell with His people, giving the ultimate testimony to His personal relationship with this people. This paper works on the assumption that it was His desire to “tabernacle” among the Israelites that drives the Exodus narrative. The locale at which this comes to pass is Mt. Sinai, which serves not only as the locus of the events that took place in space and time, but also serves as an archetype through which Israel’s experience of Yahweh as a “tabernacling deity” is explicated.
The paper will first briefly trace the experience of God’s people with Yahweh from Adam and Eve’s initial relationship with Yahweh in Genesis 2 through Israel’s encounter with Yahweh at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19. These will focus on the nature of individual encounters with Yahweh, and culminate with the long 400 year absence Israel experienced while enslaved in Egypt. Yahweh heralds an end to this period in Exod. 3.12 when He offers as a sign to Moses the promise that His people would gather to worship Him at Mt. Sinai.
Once this groundwork has been provided, the paper will turn to the manner in which Exodus 19-40 illustrates the nature of the covenant relationship with Yahweh. I contend Mt. Sinai serves as an “archetype” of this relationship, demonstrating the nature of how Yahweh reveals Himself to Moses and the people, how rebellion will be dealt with, and how reconciliation might be experienced.
Finally, the paper will touch on how these themes reappear throughout the biblical canon.