Old Testament - Exodus 13 - April 2, 2022

 4/2/2022 – Exodus 13

This chapter is about the final plague the Lord would send. The Lord told Moses that the first born of all the families, and even the first born of all the animals, would be taken---which means they would no longer have their earthly life. He also unstructured the Israelites to not only put the blood of a first born lamb upon their door-posts, but He also asked them to only eat unleavened bread for six days, and on the seven day they should hold a feast that would remind them of the Lord’s power and guidance, and do it every year at the same time of year in which this plague brought them out of Egypt.  And they should also use this yearly feast to educate their children on the Lord’s care and power and love. “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. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. (v’s 9-10)

Great agony from this plague was caused in all the homes of all the Egyptians, and that finally caused Pharaoh to finally let the Israelites go. (v17) The shortest way for their journey out of Egypt was to go through the lands of the Philistines, but that had the possibility of bringing the Israelites into a war…so “God said, Lest peradventure the people repent [of leaving servitude and walking into war] when they see war, and they return to Egypt. And so, the Lord lead them along a longer course through wilderness and the Red Sea. (v 18)

V 19 tells us that Moses also took the bones of Joseph with him. They left Egypt and camped  in the edge of the wilderness. But the Lord was with them. He “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. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.” (v’21-22)

After over 400 years in Egypt in servitude the Israelites had lost much of their ability to worship the Lord, and had not fully taught their children of the Lord and His commandments. And now, it seems that the Israelites were slow learners, as it took them 40 years to make their way into Canaan. I don’t want to be a slow learner. I discovered long ago that my life is much happier, and more filled with learning, when I draw near to Him, and am able to truly feel His love.


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