Title: Exodus 13
Content Exodus 13:1-16
All the rules in Israel consist of repeating what they had done according to God's direction when they came out of Egypt. Israel believes that it can continue walking with God by always making the Exodus event present through the ordinance called the Passover. This is because Israel, unlike other nations, began with the God of Abraham, Jehovah. Israel was the plunder that Jehovah himself obtained through war, and in contrast to the firstborn who was removed from the earth, Israel was also born again as God's firstborn.
In this regard, God said to the Israelites who were leaving Egypt, “All the first-born among the children of Israel, whether man or beast, sanctify them and give them to me, for these are mine” (verse 2). Israel has a duty to respond to God's purpose in bringing about the Exodus by separating the first-born of all people and livestock as holy.
It was because of the blood of covenant sacrifice that the Israelites were able to survive in Egypt. In other words, the sins of Israel were contained in the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. So, for the firstborn of the son, a ransom had to be made (verses 13, 15). Likewise for livestock, the lamb must be a ransom. If for some reason the beast could not be redeemed, the beast had to give its life back to God even by cutting its neck.
Then why does God require the distinction of the first-born? The first birth represents all that will be born in the future. Thus, it means that Israel became a being belonging to the Lord. Because Israel was not the people who could come out of Egypt by their own strength, but the people who escaped from Egypt by the power of God, it is right to give everything as God's.
Because Israel, who should have been in death and curse, gained life through the blood of the Lamb, Israel now belongs to God. From now on, Israel's strength must be confessed and revealed, not from the side of men, but from the side of God. It is in the land of Canaan where they must go.
“When the LORD will bring you...to a land flowing with milk and honey, which he swore to your fathers to give you” (verse 5), and “as the LORD swore to you and to your ancestors, you will be brought to the land of Canaan. and give you the land” (verse 11). This is the assurance that Israel will surely possess the promised land of Canaan because of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb that has already occurred.
Exodus 13:17-22
God did not make Israel's journey out of Egypt through the nearby Philistine land, but through the wilderness of the Red Sea. The reason for this is that “when this people see war, they will repent and return to Egypt” (verse 17). The road was an important road leading from Egypt to the land of Canaan, considering the reverse order of Abraham's entry into Egypt from Ur of the Chaldeans through the land of Canaan.
In this regard, it is considered to be a reference to the military fortresses installed in the area guarding the borders of Egypt. But what was practically important was that, as the Lord God had already said, Israel had to stand before him on Mount Sinai (3:12).
The problem was not the war itself, but the weakness of the people who, when they experienced war as soon as they came out of Egypt, would not be able to overcome it and go back to Egypt. Although they were led out of Egypt by God's hand, the hearts of the people were still the same as those of Egypt.
They did not yet fully understand the promises of God. Therefore, they did not have the will to go to the promised land of Canaan and serve God no matter what. It was only that he had escaped from Egypt because of the suffering of slavery in Egypt. What they wanted was not to become God's people, but to be freed from Egyptian bondage and live comfortably physically.
Therefore, God insists on everything according to His will in order to make them realize deeply about God's promises and their new destiny to be distinguished from the Gentiles through certain occasions.
When Moses came out of Egypt, he took the skull of Joseph (v. 19). The reason for this is that “Joseph made the children of Israel swear firmly, saying, ‘God will surely admonish you, and you shall take my skull and go out from here’” (Reference Genesis 50:24-25).
The Passover celebration given to Israel is intended to convey from generation to generation that the promise to Abraham was never fulfilled by human efforts, and this should be taken into account when Israel moves Joseph's skull.
Considering the fact that Moses was standing at the head of Israel and walking along the way, the Israelites were following Joseph's skull as they headed toward the Promised Land. The skull of Joseph, who died while looking at his descendants according to the promise, is playing the role of guiding the people of Israel. Although Joseph died, God's covenant, which brought Jacob's family to Egypt using Joseph as an instrument, shows that Joseph's skull is now being thoroughly kept by God.
Israel passed through Succoth and encamped at Etham, where the wilderness began. Then a pillar of cloud appeared by day and a pillar of fire by night. “And the LORD went before them with a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and a pillar of fire by night to give them light to go by day and night” (verse 21). ” (verse 22).
The Israelites did not have to go to the land of Canaan by finding their own way and opening up difficulties on the road, but they were going to the land of Canaan under the guidance and protection of the pillars of cloud and fire that God had given them.
Just as the clouds and pillars of fire did not leave Israel, it is the life of a believer that is held by God. Our life of faith is never progressing through pioneering a new path or breaking through difficulties, but rather a life led by the Holy Spirit.
However, the content of our prayers is filled with our own heart, not the feeling that we have no choice but to be thankful if we entrust ourselves to God's will and use it as a tool. I ask that you make my way smooth and that God Himself be my bodyguard. It is as if prayer is a means of communication that requests material and human support from the rear in fulfilling one's desires.
Nowhere in the Bible does it give such a definition of prayer. Rather, it is presented as a prayer to submit oneself to the will of God (Luke 22:42). Therefore, if you cannot submit yourself to the will of Heavenly Father through prayer, that prayer becomes a means of revealing your righteousness (Matt. 6:5). Ultimately, you should know that praying for yourself has nothing to do with the Lord.