Exodus 13 "Abib"

Exodus 13:4 "This day came ye out in the month Abib."

Exodus 13:3 "And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day..."

We have taken a long journey from when Abraham left Ur and journeyed in the land of Canaan. We have seen the family grow and become a nation now 600,000 men not counting the children. With a strong hand the Lord delivered them from slavery and the hand of Pharaoh.

Now, we embark on another long journey...that of a new nation. Laws are to be established.

The passover and feast of unleavened bread are laid out for the people to follow throughout the generations to come.

Exodus 13:8 "And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.

Also as a reminder of the last plague which finally caused Pharaoh to rush them out of the land. The dedication of the firstborn is established.

Exodus 13:11-12 "And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord's."

It should be noted that those leaving Egypt were all born there. They have been slaves and so have not traveled much if at all. They must be shown the way out of Egypt. We notice in v17 that God did not lead them through the land of Philistines because he said they might change their mind and return to Egypt when they faced war. So he took them to Succoth by way of the wilderness and the Red Sea. v17 Moses took the bones of Joseph with them.

Succoth is where Jacob (Israel) went when he fled from Esau back in our earlier studies.

It is wonderful to note, as the chapter closes, that the Lord journeyed with them.

Exodus 13:21-22 "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud day, nor the pilar of fire by night, from before the people."

Psalm 33:20 "Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield."