Into The Desert

Exodus 13

God explains the "what" and "why" of this Passover moed (appointed time / feast) and leads his people with columns of smoke and fire.

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “You must give me every male in Israel who is his mother’s first child. That means that every firstborn baby boy and every firstborn male animal will be mine.”

Moses said to the people, “Remember this day. You were slaves in Egypt, but on this day Yahweh used his great power and made you free. You must not eat bread with yeast. Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving Egypt. Yahweh made a special promise to your ancestors. He promised to give you the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. After Yahweh leads you to the land flowing with milk and honey, then you must remember this day. You must have a special day of worship on this day during the first month of every year.

“For seven days, you must eat only bread without yeast. On the seventh day there will be a great festival to show honor to Yahweh.  So for seven days, you must not eat any bread made with yeast. There must be no bread with yeast any place in your land.  On this day you should tell your children, ‘We are having this festival because Yahweh took me out of Egypt.’

“This festival will help you remember; it will be like a string tied on your hand. It will be like a sign before your eyes. This festival will help you remember Yahweh's teachings. It will help you remember that Yahweh used his great power to take you out of Egypt.  So remember this festival every year at the right time.

“Yahweh will lead you into the land he promised to give you. The Canaanites live there now. But God promised your ancestors that he would give you this land. When that happens,  you must remember to give Yahweh every firstborn boy. And every male animal that is the firstborn must also be given to Yahweh.  Every firstborn donkey can be bought back. You can offer a lamb and keep the donkey. If you don’t want to buy back the donkey like this, then you must break its neck to kill it. But every firstborn baby boy must be bought back from Yahweh.

“In the future, your children will ask why you do this. They will say, ‘What does all this mean?’ 

And you will answer, ‘Yahweh used his great power to save us from Egypt. We were slaves in that place, but he led us out and brought us here.  In Egypt, Pharaoh was stubborn and refused to let us leave. So Yahweh killed every firstborn in all the land. (Yahweh killed the firstborn males—animal and human.) That is why I give every firstborn male animal to Yahweh, and that is why I buy back each of my firstborn sons from him.’ This is like a string tied on your hand, like a sign in front of your eyes. It helps you remember that Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with his great power.”

Pharaoh made the people leave Egypt. 

With his country in ruins, his heir dead, and his own body scarred with boils and cysts - it's time to force those Israelites out of Egypt.

God did not let the people take the road leading to the land of the Philistines. That road by the Mediterranean Sea is the shortest way, but God said, “If the people go that way they will have to fight. Then they might change their minds and go back to Egypt.”  So God led them another way through the desert by the Red Sea. The Israelites were dressed for war when they left Egypt.

I wonder why God didn't harden their heart against going back to Egypt?  It seems if it okay to do that to Pharaoh, it would also be okay to do that to the Israelites.

Moses carried the bones of Joseph with him. Before Joseph died, he made the Israelites promise to do this for him. He said, “When God saves you, remember to carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”

The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham. Etham was near the desert. Yahweh led the way. During the day, he used a tall cloud to lead the people. And during the night, he used a tall column of fire to lead the way. This fire gave them light so that they could also travel at night.  The cloud was always with them during the day, and the column of fire was always with them at night.

The cloud gave them shade in the desert during the daytime, and the fire gave them light and warmth at night.  In both cases - an awesome testimony from God to His people.