Exodus

13.1-22

The opening two verses of this chapter lay a foundation built upon by the following fourteen verses. Yahweh declares that the firstborn of Israel are His, just as He told Moses were to be the first words he would speak to Pharaoh. “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Israel is My son, My firstborn." (Ex 4:22). The specific remembrances of this Feast of the Unleavened Bread are now described, on the specific day, when a lamb is slain for the "REDEMPTION" (v13) of the sons of man. And the unclean animal among the children of Israel whose offspring cannot be claimed as the firstborn of Yahweh, the donkey, is likewise redeemed by a lamb, lest its neck be broken. This is not to be forgotten, nor is it to be mistaken as anything other than prophecy. 1,570 years after this, the Lamb of God was slain as the redemption for the life of the sons of God, His first people, Israel. And even as they rejected Him throughout history, Christ, the Lamb, the Messiah, arrived as foretold. His gift is then turned over to the unclean Gentiles, those not born of the Jews. The Gentiles, too, are redeemed by the Lamb. Yahweh required that this be remembered then, just as He requires that we remember it today. And just as He was telling the Jews of His imminent arrival as the Messiah, we, the church, await His imminent return as the Lamb that was slain, the firstborn of the dead, the Redemption of the world. It was "With a strong hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt from the house of slavery." (v14). It was with His blood that the Son brought us out of the bondage of slavery to sin and death. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph 1:7)

CHAPTER 13

Sanctifying the Firstborn

1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

3 And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a strong hand Yahweh brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.
4 “This day, in the month of Abib, you are going out.
5 “And it shall be when Yahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall do this service in this month.
6 “For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to Yahweh.
7 “Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders.
8 “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9 “And it will be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of Yahweh may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand Yahweh brought you out of Egypt.
10 “Therefore, you shall keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year.
11 “And it will be when Yahweh brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,
12 and you shall devote to Yahweh the first offspring of every womb and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to Yahweh.
13 “But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.
14 “And it will be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a strong hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
15 ‘And it happened, when Pharaoh hardened his heart with stiffness about letting us go, that Yahweh killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to Yahweh the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
16 “So it will be as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries between your eyes, for with a strong hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt.”

Pillars of Cloud and Fire

17 Now it happened that when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not guide them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
18 Hence God turned the people to the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in battle array from the land of Egypt.
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall bring up my bones from here with you.”
20 Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
21 And Yahweh was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to guide them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might go by day and by night.
22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.