God's people have been freed, but the first thing He reminds us in our freedom is that we belong to Him.
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Exodus 13 Summary
The Israelites are in the process of evacuating Egypt, where they had been enslaved. The first thing that God says to His newly freed people seems somewhat strange: All firstborn males, both human and animals belong to God.
Remember the context here: the Israelites are now free because God has just executed all of the firstborn males in Egypt, causing Pharaoh to finally relent and send them out. God wants Israel to know that their firstborn belong to God every bit as much as the Egyptian firstborn did.
As the people hurriedly leave, Moses announces the details of a new annual holiday that will become the focal point for their year, designed to remind them and their children to come of the power of God's hand in freeing them from slavery.
What a sight this must have been! The people rushing out, following a pillar of fire, being given all sorts of valuable items from the Egyptians, with Moses excitedly moving through their midst motivating them with the announcement (much of this was probably sung) of a new feast which they'll be celebrating in the Promised Land of milk & honey.
Dig Deeper
God wastes no time putting the Israelite's new found freedom in perspective. They were not freed from slavery so that they could do whatever they pleased, but just as they'd belonged to Pharaoh, they now belong to God.
This is just one of the many parallels the exodus has with our lives as Christians. We were freed from slavery to sin, and now we belong to Christ.
This chapter introduces many symbolic concepts the rest of the Bible will draw on: leaven stands for sin which exponentially expands, the people finding salvation under the blood of the lamb, the idea of redemption, and God's people being led by Him.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father freed us from slavery by His mighty hand (v3)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be led by the pillar of fire/smoke, which you have today in the form of God's Word.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
