Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 13:20-22

20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

The signs and wonders had not ceased for Israel. Now they were being led by a pillar of cloud during the day and of fire during the night. The passage gives as a reason that the Israelites could “go by day and night.” The fire was apparently large enough to light their way so that they could continue walking even after the sun had gone down. Some have speculated that the pillar of cloud might have provided shade from the sun, preserving their strength as they walked through the day. It seems that God intended for them to move with great haste, carrying them swiftly towards the Promised Land.

We are also told that the Lord, Himself, “went before them” in the cloud and the fire. Note that it does not say that God was the cloud or the fire, but that He was in them, much as He had been in the burning bush when He first spoke to Moses. Thus, where God went, the cloud and fire went, and where the cloud and fire went, God’s followers went also.

All of this seems representative to me of the commandments and instructions that we receive from God. Like the pillars of cloud and fire, they stand out from the rest of the world, giving a stark contrast to the common, carnal behavior that we would otherwise follow. And while God might not be His commandments, we do say that He is in them, and that those who follow His law are also following Him. Furthermore, we believe that His instructions are guiding us through the wilderness to the ultimate Promised Land: paradise in the hereafter.

We should all consider in what ways we are following God’s pillar in our own lives. Are we truly allowing ourselves to be a peculiar and distinct people, following a different marker than the rest of the world? Are we following instructions that have been given to us by the divine? Are we true and authentic disciples? Or are we following our own opinions and conventional wisdom? Are we just “going with the flow” of the world, secularists who inappropriately claim spiritual titles? Speaking for myself, I am in a strange place somewhere in between, sometimes spiritual and sometimes secular. I still have work to do to be a follower “by day and night,” all of the time.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 13:17-19

17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:

18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

Today’s verses give a few tidbits of information about the manner in which Israel departed Egypt. Let’s take a look at each of them in order.

First of all, the Israelites already knew what their destination was, but there remained the question of which route to take get there. Verse 17 suggests that the most direct route would have been through the land of the Philistines, but God would not allow it. His people were fresh in this world, newly exposed to its dangers in a way that they had not been for centuries. Yes, servitude in Egypt had not been ideal, but at least it had come with the protection of the Egyptian armies. Traveling through hostile Philistia would introduce the people to war sooner than they were ready for it. Thus, God commanded that they take the longer but safer route through the wilderness.

While Israel might not have been deemed ready to face battle, verse 18 does say that they were “harnessed,” which means arrayed in military fashion. They did not wander forward as an unordered blob, but structured into proper rows and columns and companies, like soldiers marching to war. This might have been to improve order, and also to begin their training for the battles that they would eventually be required to face.

Finally, verse 19 makes the point that the Israelites took the bones of Joseph with them, fulfilling the prophecy that he had made many years prior. What a long sojourn from the Promised Land this had been for him. The last time that Canaan had been Joseph’s home was just before his brothers sold him into slavery. He was the original Egyptian-Hebrew, and his bones had rested among his people in that land for centuries. But, in spite of the years apart, he was still a son of a patriarch, and the Promised Land was his proper resting place. At long last, he was being brought back to where he belonged.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 13:14-16

14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:

15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.

16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.

Verse 15 makes it clear that the purpose for which the firstling flocks were to be sanctified to the Lord was for sacrifice. They were not going to become the priests’ flocks, they were not going to be used by the community, they were simply being offered up as a sacrifice to God.

And what is the point of making an offering to God anyway? Why is it good for a person to destroy some of his resources, thus harming his personal status and also his society’s economy? What is the benefit in deliberately giving up a benefit?

To comprehend this paradox we must recognize that the act of sacrifice, in and of itself, naturally increases our connection to the sacred. It is good for us to take that which we have and give it away to the Lord, as doing so simultaneously debases the value of that worldly thing and elevates the value of God in our hearts. It is in our nature to respect and revere the things that we give away our resources to, as doing so signals to our minds that those things must be worth more than what we have given up. Thus, even today, while the Christian is not expected to make an animal sacrifice, he is expected pays his tithes and consecrate his time in worship services. If he does not do those things, then he is sending a signal to himself that God is not worthy of respect or reverence. What is more, he sends the same signal to his children and that sows a terrible future for them.

No wonder then that in these verses it is again made clear that the rising generation is to see and hear what sacrifices their parents are making to God and why. Again it is stressed that these rituals and traditions are to be a “token upon the hand, and for frontlets between the eyes” of the children. Their minds and their spirits are to be trained by these offerings, bringing them to have the proper estimation of God in their hearts. They are to impress upon the children just how mighty that “strength of hand that the Lord brought them out of Egypt” must have been that their parents would still mark it years afterward by offerings up every firstling of their flocks. The benefit of the sacrifice was how it would orient the children to the divine instead of the mundane.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 13:11-13

11 And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,

12 That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord’s.

13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.

Obviously Israel departing Egypt and marching to Canaan was a fulfillment the promise God made to Abraham. But as verse 11 points out, it was not only a promise to Abraham. Moses told the Israelites “the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware UNTO THEE and to thy fathers. God had promised the land of Canaan anew to all of the people of Israel that lived in that day. In fact, if anything, the promise was more to them than to Abraham, as Abraham would only receive it through them.

And in return for God giving this gift to His people, the people were again reminded of how they must consecrate their firstborn to the Lord. “All that openeth the matrix” means the first child that breaches the walls of its mother’s womb. Though again, it was specifically to be the firstborn male. It is unclear to me if the firstborn was a female, whether the first male born thereafter would still be taken and consecrated to the Lord, or if there would be no consecration from that family unit, since the first male would not have “opened the matrix.”

Also, note that it was only clean beasts that were meant to be given as an offering, which is why the firstling donkeys were not eligible. A clean lamb could be given in its place, presumably a lamb that was not already owed to the Lord by being a firstborn, or if the person refused to give a lamb or had none to give, the donkey would be put to death, as then no one would have a claim on it.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 13:8-10

8 And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.

9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.

10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.

Once again the Israelites were instructed to point their children to the miracles in Egypt whenever they held their yearly Passover. Constantly reinforcing the reasons for the tradition in this way would help to prevent any adulteration of the practice, such as co-opting it for pagan rituals.

This idea of teaching and reminding the rising generation is continued in verse 9. Here we have the first reference to the phylacteries, small boxes with rolls of scripture that could be bound to the back of the hand or across the forehead. The wearing of the phylacteries would be the literal fulfillment of God’s commandment, and recalling His instructions in every thought and action would be the metaphorical fulfillment.

The notion of teaching the next generation what God had done previously and instilling faith in those past events has always been an essential element of discipleship. As I mentioned yesterday, the Israelites in Moses’s time were already far removed from the miracles that Abraham saw; they only had stories of those events. Of course, now they had seen their own set of miracles in Egypt, but their children would again only have the stories. Eventually, those children would see the parting of the Jordan River and the falling of Jericho, but the children’s children would again only have the stories. And so on and so on. Now and again, God’s people do see incredible signs and wonders, but in between those special moments, the belief is preserved by faith in the stories of old. We believers operate by trust and hope, living our lives in anticipation and reflection, only receiving a surety when we pass to the other side.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 13:5

5 And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.

As I mentioned before, the Israelites who left Egypt were as far removed from Joseph as we are from William Shakespeare. Obviously, they were even further removed from Abraham, to whom God had originally promised the land of Canaan. From when God gave Abraham His promise to the birth of Isaac was a period of approximately 25 years. Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob was born, and Jacob was 130 when he entered Egypt. The Israelites dwelled in Egypt for 430 years. Thus, God’s original promise for Abraham’s seed to inherit the land of Canaan was now 645 years old when Moses led the people out of Egypt. Of course, because of some rebellion that we will soon read about, the fulfillment of the promise would be delayed another 40 years, making a wait of approximately 685 years. For comparison, 685 years before today was 1,338, at which time the Byzantine Empire was still standing!

But God had already fulfilled one of His promises to Abraham. He had made the man’s descendants into a great nation, approximately with 2 million souls, and the fulfillment of that promise was preparatory to Israel having the strength to claim the second.

No matter how much time has transpired, no matter how forgotten by man the promise might be, and no matter how many unexpected twists and turns come along the way, God will not forget or renege on His word. Many generations might pass away, but His pledge will not.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 13:3-4, 6-7

3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

4 This day came ye out in the month Abib.

6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord.

7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.

The requirements for observing the Passover had been stressed multiple times before it was observed and Israel was freed, and now on the other side of that miracle Moses doubled down on the requirements yet again. Before they left Egypt Moses pointed them forward, telling them what this observation would signify, and now that they had left Egypt Moses was pointing them backward, reminding them what the observation did signify.

This before-and-after teaching reminds me of a poetic structure that is found several places throughout the Bible called a chiasmus. In this form things are written in a palindromic way, with ideas mirroring one another as they approach the center. As it turns out, not only were Moses’s instructions palindromic, so was the very life that the Israelites were living.

  1. They were once free in Canaan
  2. Then they journeyed into Egypt
  3. They were made into slaves
  4. God worked His miracle among them
  5. They were made free
  6. They journeyed out of Egypt
  7. They were on their way back to Canaan

The central pivot point between the descent and the ascent is the miracle that God worked that first Passover night. Moses repeating the instructions for the Passover both before and after the miracle further reinforces how it is the central focus of the story, and the Israelites are to align themselves to that moment moving forward. Any time in the future when they lost their way and ended up in trouble, they would be restored only by remembering the lesson that the Passover had taught to them: that God alone could save them, even if by a miracle, as they surrendered to His will.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 13:1-2

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.

God had spared the lives of all the Israelite firstborn, but that didn’t mean He was leaving them untouched. Just as the Israelites had marked their doors with the blood of the lamb, God had marked all of Israel’s firstborn sons to serve Him.

Notice that God says to “sanctify” the firstborn, not to “sacrifice” them. These boys would not be killed like the Egyptians, but they would still be giving up their lives in the service of God. They would be the priests to carry out the rituals of the temple, performing sacrifice and making atonement for the masses. And just as every family in Egypt was touched by the death of their firstborn, so too every family in Israel would be linked to God, also through their firstborn. Every Israelite would personally know someone who was part of this sanctified work, the firstborn would be the leaven that raised the whole nation.

Of course, this arrangement would only persist for a season. In time, the tribe of Levi would prove itself more faithful, and as a reward God would assign them to be the new priest class. All other tribes would retain their firstborn sons, then depending on the righteousness of more pure families to keep their connection to God.