Day 1078: Remember this day - Exodus 13 vs 1 - 10

1-2 The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” 3-4 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.

5-7 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. 8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

9-10 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year. Exodus 13:1-10 English Standard Version

This part of the book of Exodus is still dealing with the momentous night - 14th Abib on the Jewish calendar – when God struck down the firstborn of Egypt, but spared the Israelites whose homes had been marked with the blood of a slaughtered lamb. This is why the Israelites were to consecrate to God the firstborn of man and beast. We will see more of this in the verses which follow today's reading.

While vs 1-2 appear almost in isolation, they seem to be closely linked to what's said in vs 5-7 about holding a special service during this month every succeeding year. For seven days they were to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there would be a feast to the Lord. What was the purpose of this action? (vs 3-4)

It was an act of remembrance. It was so that the nation would never forget how their freedom had been obtained. It wasn't through any great deeds on their part, nor due to any goodness in their own lives, but it was by God's 'strong hand' that they possessed the land He had given to them. Fathers were to tell their sons on that festival day that ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ This doesn't mean women were excluded. They were an integral part of the nation who shared the blessing God had promised to Abraham.

But what about vs 9-10? Were they meant to be followed in a literal way?

Over the years many Jews did take them literally and wore what were known as 'phylacteries'. These were small strips of parchment on which were written certain passages from the Law, which were then folded tight, placed in small boxes, and attached by bands to the left wrist and the forehead at the hours of prayer. The New Living Bible, however, translates the verse as: “This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the LORD: ‘With a strong hand, the LORD rescued you from Egypt.'”

In other words, the annual Passover festival of unleavened bread was to be a reminder to them in the same way that wearing a sign on their hands and head would be. Could it be that the head represented their thoughts, and hands represented their deeds? Passover would then also remind them that they were to acknowledge God in all their ways. Whether literal phylacteries were intended or not, there was no doubt in their minds about the festival they were to keep. It would remind them of the One who had saved them.

Is this not even more true for Christians? When Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples He told them that the bread and wine of that meal were, in future days, to remind Christians of His body that was given, and His blood that was shed, for their salvation. We must regularly remember the day and the way our salvation was won through the Lamb of God.