Exodus Day 4

Today's reading is Exodus 13 - 16.

Devotion: Ex 13:11-16

Context: God's final instructions as the Israelites leave Egypt.

Text:

11 "After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your forefathers, 12 you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14 "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."

taken from www.biblegateway.com

Wow...either consecrate the first born lamb to the Lord or kill them? That's a tough instruction!

I looked up the word 'consecrate', and the Hebrew word dictionary says 'redeemed'...hmm, that didn't really help me much! My Oxford Dictionary/Thesaurus (a REALLY cool book, by the way!) helped more. Redeemed can be defined as 'saving someone from sin, error, or evil', 'repay or clear a debt', and 'fulfill a pledge or promise'. To consecrate is 'to make or declare something to be holy or sacred'.

The Israelites were to remember God's miracle of Passover every time they looked at their firstborn -- child or animal. To remember that He loved His people enough to save them from slavery and to protect their children from the plague on the Egyptians.

Do you have anything that reminds you of God's love? We don't set one child apart from the rest, but we still need to remember how much God has done for us on a regular basis. If the Israelites, who saw all of the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the daily miracle of manna, could forget God's love for them, it is much easier for us to forget.

Look around your desk or your home, and find something that reminds you of how far you have come since you accepted Jesus. Whenever you see that item (or person), be sure to send up a prayer of thanks!