Exodus
13 – God Claims the First in Everything
God
wanted Israel to remember what His hand had done for them in case in the future
they forget to trust and serve Him. The
annual Passover would remind them to keep their lives pure. God freed them from bondage, and He frees us
from bondage, and He guides us to the inheritance He has prepared for us. His word is like the pillar of cloud and
fire, and He will show us the way if we trust in Him.
The
firstborn in Egypt had died. The gods of
Egypt had always claimed the firstborn as their own, and now God claims the
firstborn of Israel as His own. God does
not promise material prosperity to anyone, but it is interesting how He has
blessed men and women who have put Him first. The Lord has given Himself to
us! We have been bought with a price –
the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The
blessing comes when you give yourself to Him voluntarily and put Him first.
The
firstborn of their sons had to be redeemed with silver. We are redeemed by the
blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ.
The
Israelites coming out of Egyptian slavery had no weapons to fight with; so, God
graciously took them through the wilderness. It was a longer route to the land,
but it would spare any warfare. They
would not have to face an enemy until they entered the Promised Land. It took them forty years to get through the wilderness.
When
the Israelites left Egypt, Moses took the bones of Joseph. At least two hundred
years had passed since Joseph had said that they will take his bones out of the
land of Egypt.
The
children of Israel are moving toward the hot, burning desert that even Moses
called a great and terrible wilderness.
They went through it and did not even get sunburned because they had a pillar
of cloud over them by day. The people had the glory, the visible presence of
God. We do not need the visible presence
of God to walk by faith. They needed the
“glory” because the redemption had not yet been worked out in history as it has
now.
If
you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard@blogspot.com.
J.
Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.
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