FRAMEWORKS:
Exodus 13: Establishing Future Procedures
v.1,2
Consecration of the Firstborn
v.3-10
Don't forget the Feast of unleavened Bread
v.11-13
Redeem the Firstborn
v.14-16
Tell the Next Generation
v.17-22
Led by the Lord
v.1,2
Consecration of the Firstborn
v.1
The
Lord said to Moses,
v.2
“Consecrate
to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb
among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”
[Notes:
The Lord starts to give instructions that will a) make
all first-born special and b) act as a reminder of the Passover.
Through it the Lord declares His ownership of those who could
have died if they hadn't been spared by the sign of the blood.]
v.3-10
Don't forget the Feast of unleavened Bread
v.3
Then
Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came
out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought
you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.
v.4
Today,
in the month of Aviv, you are leaving.
v.5
When
the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites,
Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors
to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe
this ceremony in this month:
v.6
For
seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day
hold a festival to the Lord.
v.7
Eat
unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in
it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere
within your borders.
v.8
On
that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did
for me when I came out of Egypt.'
v.9
This
observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder
on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips.
For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.
v.10
You
must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.
[Notes:
That instruction in v.1,2, which will be followed up
in the next verses, should be seen in the light of the whole act
of remembrance of what happened with the Passover. The instructions
include:
•
making
this Passover day a special annual remembrance, [v.3,4]
•
to be
continued after they enter the Promised land, [v.5]
•
He reiterates
it is to be a seven-day festival with unleavened bread, [v.6,7]
•
and their
children are to be told what happened [v.8]
•
this
will be an annual reminder. [v.9,10]
Remember,
the point of the unleavened bread was to act as a reminder of
the haste that was brought about in the speed of the Lord's judgment
and the effect it had on the surviving Egyptians.]
v.11-13
Redeem the Firstborn
v.11
“After
the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives
it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors,
v.12
you
are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb.
All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.
v.13
Redeem
with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it,
break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
[Notes:
Picking up from v.1,2 and put into context by v.3-10,
when they get into the Land they are to ‘redeem' all the males
of their livestock, as well as their sons [v.2] again as a reminder
a) of what had happened and b) of their relationship with the
Lord as a result of that deliverance. In Num 18:16 would come
instruction of how to redeem them with five shekels.]
v.14-16
Tell the Next Generation
v.14
“In
days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?' say
to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery.
v.15
When
Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn
of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to
the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each
of my firstborn sons.'
v.16
And
it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead
that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”
[Notes:
This festival will act as an annual opportunity to teach
their children what had happened, especially when they come to
redeem their firstborn.]
v.17-22
Led by the Lord
v.17
When
Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through
the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said,
“If they face war, they might change their minds and return to
Egypt.”
v.18
So
God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.
[or
the Sea of Reeds] The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for
battle.
v.19
Moses
took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the
Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to
your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this
place.” [See Gen. 50:25]
v.20
After
leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.
v.21
By
day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide
them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them
light, so that they could travel by day or night.
v.22
Neither
the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left
its place in front of the people.
[Notes:
Something significant is happening. Instead of going
north and east and taking ‘The Way of the Philistines' up the
coast of Canaan, the Lord led them more south and east so they
were confronted by the potentially deep waters of the Red Sea.
Two further points to note:
•
they
took Joseph's bones as requested by him [Gen 50:25] and
•
the Lord
guided them supernaturally by a pillar of cloud or fire.]
Continue to Chapter 14