Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”
- Let’s study the concept of the firstborn. Here in verse two, the Lord declares that all firstborn males – man and beast – are to be set apart for Him. We’ll read more about this later in the chapter, too, and you’ll realize that this ordinance is to happen once they enter the land of Canaan. If you look at Leviticus 11, the cow, the lamb, and the goat were all deemed “clean.” These animals all (1) chewed the cud, and (2) had a split hoof. Therefore, God considered them holy, or set apart. The fact that these animals were “clean” had nothing to do with the quality of the beasts. Instead, it was because God declared them clean (Wiersbe). Think about that as it relates to your life. You are not holy because you try to be good or live a faultless life – you are holy because God declares you as holy. 1 Peter 1:15-16 declares this very thing over us: But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
3 And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. 5 And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.8 And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’ 9 It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.
- God gave specific direction to the Israelites about keeping the Passover tradition. It was to be an annual event to commemorate the journey out of bondage. How quickly our hearts forget what the Lord has done! In Luke 22, Jesus conducts the Passover meal and reinforces that the disciples were to “do this in remembrance.” First Corinthians 11 also talks about the Lord’s Supper and the importance of this ordinance. Even though Christ became the Passover lamb and the sacrificial system was fulfilled, we are still called to meditate on the significance of His sacrifice.
11 “And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord’s. 13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed 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 males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”
- When it came to the redemptive process, any firstborn cow, sheep, or goat could be sacrificed (at one month of age) to God. Any firstborn unclean animal – like a camel, donkey, rabbit, etc. – could only be redeemed by a cow, lamb, or goat. Again, the spiritual parallel here is that before we apply Christ’s blood to our lives, we are considered unclean. And therefore, it takes the blood of the Lamb (Jesus) for us to be redeemed. You learned something, didn’t you?! Me too.
- Notice that firstborn sons had to be redeemed, as well. Jesus was also redeemed by Mary and Joseph. You’ll find in Luke 2:24,that Jesus’ parents were too poor to bring a lamb to redeem Him, but instead brought a humble sacrifice (a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons). As Wiersbe states, “But He was the Lamb!”
17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.
- We are going to camp on these verses for a while because there is a great lesson tucked in here. Turn to 2 Peter 2:9. It reads, “…the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment…” Hear this, friends: the Lord knows what you can bear and what you can’t. He knows how to deliver you – just like He knew how to deliver the Israelites.
- If you’re going through a season where you feel like you’re in the wilderness and this is the worst possible predicament you could be in right now, be encouraged! It may seem like you’re going the lengthy way around, but God knows the best route. While you’re traveling the “long way,” remember it’s His way and this specific route was mapped out because it’s helping you dodge those big, discouraging “Philistines” in your life. Just like God lead the Israelites “by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea,” so He may be leading you by way of the wilderness, too. And, it may almost be time for Him to part that Red Sea in your life, so stick with it. Chin up! March on and quote Proverbs 3:3-5 along the way.
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”
- The Israelites were in bondage 430 years – so we know Joseph’s bones were at least that old. Genesis 50:25 tells us about the oath the children of Israel gave about them taking his bones from Egypt. How faithful they were in keeping that promise! Joseph was embalmed and put in a coffin and despite all the rush of leaving Egypt that night, they made sure to live up to their word. I wonder if the words of Joseph which were passed down by each generation reverberated in the minds of those leaving that night: “…but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
20 So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
- Praise the LORD that He still goes before us! While we don’t have a visible pillar (or column) by day and by night, we do have the Word of God which goes before us. We know that it is a “lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” (Ps. 119:105). Turn to Mark 10. This is the chapter in which Jesus predicts His death a third time and then He travels to Jerusalem for the Passover. There’s something pretty awesome in verse 32: “Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him…” Pretty neat parallel, eh? The Lord was before His children as they traveled out of Egypt into the Promised Land. And thousands of years later, Jesus went before His disciples as He made His journey to the cross – the cross which is our ticket out of Egypt, too. Amen.