Exodus 13 Remember

Exodus 13

About two weeks ago, just after Christmas, I was walking along a seaside path. The sun was blazing down with its summer warmth, the sea was glistening – and I saw a strange sight. I was in the coastal town of Hermanus, just outside Cape Town, and there in the centre of town, on the seaside path were two old World War 2 guns.
They had been kept as a monument. There was a stone pillar, and on the pillar was a plaque with the names of all the soldiers who had given their lives during the war. And there was one sentence on the plaque: Their names live forever.
In other words: Remember.

We remember their sacrifices during the war and we are thankful. I remember what my grandfather went through to win the freedom we take so for granted. We remember those who fought and died for freedom. And we remember what that cost: our freedom came at a great price. Let us never forget, say these monuments, what horror war brings, what terrible price it exacts on us, and what it costs to stand against tyranny. Remember.

Today’s passage is Israel’s “war monument”. Remember. Remember what God has done. Remember how he brought you out. And remember what it cost.

1. Remember: the Lord rescues his people with a mighty hand (slavery and rescue (yeast)) v3-10

2. Remember: the Lord redeems his sons from death with a sacrifice (death, redemption, and the costly sacrifice) v11-16

Redeem means buy back, exchange, transfer, swap (å bytte ut)

3. Remember: the Lord is with his rescued, redeemed people v17ff

1. Remember: the Lord rescues his people with a mighty hand

Remember what God has done. Well, what has God done? Well, I’m glad you asked, since it’s been about a month since we were last in Exodus, and we’ve probably all forgotten!

God saved a tribe of whiny, ungrateful, weak slaves (that’s Israel), by choosing as their leader and rescuer an escaped murderer hiding out in the desert wasting his life (that’s Moses). What an inspiring story! What a bunch of losers. These are the people God chooses? Seriously? Yes, seriously. These are the people God saves!

3 So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever—the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. Today the LORD has brought you out by the power of his mighty hand. And in case the Israelites (and us) are slow Moses reminds us again at the end of his speech v9 Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the LORD: ‘With a strong hand, the LORD rescued you from Egypt.’

The hero of the story is not us, the people. It is not Moses, or Aaron. It is God. He is the Rescuer, the Saviour of his people. It is his power, his action, his love, his mercy on a small insignificant bunch of slaves. Why?

Because his word is true. 400 years earlier the Lord told Abraham what would happen: that his descendants would be enslaved, and that when the time was right he would rescue them and lead them to the land he had promised Abraham and his descendants.
The Lord God keeps his promises. His word is powerful.
We remember what the Lord has done in the past – because it reminds us that he keeps his promises. What he has done in the past gives us confidence that he will do what he has promised to do in the future: to judge the living and the dead, and to rescue all those who receive Christ Jesus as Saviour and as Lord. Remember! And have faith.

Again we see that faith is not just “believing without evidence”. We talk about a “leap of faith” as being a blind jump – but that’s not Biblical faith. Faith in the Bible is based on evidence. We trust the evidence of what God has done in the past, so we can then live confidently, with faith, trusting that he will do what he has promised. Faith is based on the evidence of what God has revealed already. So remember what he has done, and have faith.

So we remember the Exodus. Great. Nice story. Ah, but there’s more, remember. As we’ve seen as we’ve gone along in these chapters, God’s eye is on the future, on the real Exodus, the real rescue, which this one is just foreshadowing: the Cross of Christ.
That’s why in v3 So Moses said to the people, “This is a day to remember forever. Forever. Forever is a bit excessive isn’t it, for the rescue of a bunch of slaves. But not for remembering the Cross. The point of Exodus is the Cross. Exodus is just a shadow of the real rescue to come. That’s why it’s such a big deal. That’s why the need to remember it forever.

We, like the Israelites, are slaves. But not slaves to the Egyptians, we are slaves to sin – our rebellion against God. We have ignored him, our Creator and King. We have broken his laws and done our own thing. We have insulted him by not giving him glory. We have sinned against him. The evidence of sin is all around us: broken relationships, arguments, hurt, greed, poverty, divorce, locked doors, wars, sexual abuse, terror attacks – all these come from our sinful hearts turned towards ourselves instead of towards the Lord. And because he is just, he will not allow us to hurt and destroy each other and ignore him forever. He has set a day of judgement and warned us about it. Just as Pharaoh was warned of his day of judgement. Pharaoh was arrogant and refused to repent, and brought ruin, destruction, and ultimately death on himself and his people. Learn from his mistake!
A day of judgement is coming, a plague of death when darkness will cover the whole earth and everyone will meet the angel of death face to face. We are in Egypt, waiting for the final plague.

So, how do we escape? How do we live instead of dying? Remember that the Israelites had the Passover lamb, sacrificed in their place. Then they had to leave with the people, following the Lord, in faith, out into the desert. They would remember this with a feast, the feast of unleavened bread (unleavened means bread with no yeast). 6 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. Then on the seventh day, celebrate a feast to the LORD.

There was no yeast because there was no time to bake bread with yeast – yeast needs time to rise, and they had to leave quickly – they were rescued. Bread without yeast also keeps longer – it is bread for a long journey, the journey to the Promised Land. Eating bread with no yeast was a symbol, a symbol that you were following the Lord into the desert, trusting him to take you to the Promised Land.

That finds its fulfilment in the Cross. Where our Lord Jesus won for us our freedom by taking our place as the Passover lamb. He took our place, taking the punishment of death our sins deserved, in order to break the power of sin over us and set us free. We are no longer slaves to sin, but now are free to follow our Lord God to the Promised Land of the New Creation.

Romans 8:1-2 So now there is NO condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. You are free! Just like the Israelites. So remember what Christ has done. If you belong to Jesus – if he is your Saviour and Lord – then the power of sin is broken in you – particularly the power of sin to kill you. You will not die spiritually. You will not face the darkness of God’s righteous anger. You are sinless because Christ has taken your sins. I am free!

So when we are tempted to sin: to lie, to gossip, to get proud and arrogant, to answer back harshly, to hurt, to steal, to give in to lust, or anger, or hatred, or prejudice, whatever it is – we must remember what Christ has done. Remember that I belong to him.

The Israelites were commanded to look back at the Exodus, that great event where God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and lead them safely to the Promised Land of Canaan.

We are commanded to forever remember the True Exodus the great event where God rescued us from slavery to sin, through the cross, and will lead us safely to the New Creation.

I am free. Remember it.

Remember that the Lord rescues his people with a mighty hand.

2. Remember: the Lord redeems his sons from death with a sacrifice

11 “This is what you must do when the LORD fulfills the promise he swore to you and to your ancestors. When he gives you the land where the Canaanites now live, 12 you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the LORD, for they belong to him.

All the firstborn sons belong to the LORD? Why? The answer is in v15 Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the LORD killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the LORD—except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’

Remember the final plague. The final plague was the plague of death. Remember it. Remember that your sons were redeemed, saved by the sacrifice of the lamb. Remember that any son not redeemed by the lambs was killed.

It’s very dramatic, isn’t it? In fact the whole 10 plagues thing is quite dramatic. God could just have blown Pharaoh away with a little flick of his wrist. So why the drama? Why the big event? Why the dramatic memorial?

Because the Firstborn Son before all firstborn sons is Jesus. And he is the great redeemer – the one who buys back sinful men and women, like us, like Israel. He pays the price, a price paid in blood: his own life.
Exodus is a drama, a big event because it is an echo of the death of the Firstborn Son. The death of Jesus echoes throughout time and space, through all of history – a massive cry “It is finished!” as the universe itself is turned upside down. God the Son became a human being and tasted death in order to free...us. He who knew no sin became sin for us. It is the biggest event in time. There is no bigger, there will be no bigger. That God Himself would stoop to take our form, to taste our suffering, to even taste death in order to rescue us.
Some say the gospel is unbelievable and I would say they’re right. In fact, if you don’t think it is unbelievable I don’t think you fully grasp the wonder of the gospel. Have you ever just sat in wonder and thought “Jesus died for me”. Jesus died...for me!

I was in chains, enslaved by sin. I was in darkness, under the judgement of death. And Jesus saved me. He saved me by redeeming me: paying the price to set me free. He took my place.

And that is the symbol that the Israelites were to remember, and to tell their children. Here is the firstborn son. He is under the sentence of death. But God has said “redeem all your firstborn sons”. So instead of the son being placed on the altar, a transaction takes place. A price is paid, normally 5 shekels, and the son is redeemed, bought back, set free from death. Someone else paid his price.

But now the firstborn donkey is brought forward. There is no redeemer for this donkey. No-one to pay the price. No-one to take his place. The donkey’s neck is broken, and its body falls lifeless in the dust.

Remember: see the price being paid to redeem the life of the son. The price is paid. The son lives.

Remember: see the donkey. There is no-one to pay his price, no redeemer is found. His neck is broken because there is no redeemer. No redeemer = death.

We are all under the sentence of death. We will all die. Eternal death. Unless there is a redeemer: Christ Jesus. Only he can pay the price to save us: not 5 shekels – that was only a symbol. The price to be paid is a life for a life – one perfect life to redeem your imperfect life. Life for death. And so Jesus gives his life for us, paying the price. He is the firstborn son, the firstborn son who goes to the altar and who is not redeemed, he is not bought back, so that he can redeem, by back, all of us.

Is he your redeemer? Have you been bought back by him? Remember! Be redeemed. Or will your neck be broken like a donkey, your body lying in the dust for all eternity?

Remember: the Lord redeems his sons from death with a sacrifice.

3. Remember: the Lord is with his people

21 The LORD went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. 22 And the LORD did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.

The Lord did not abandon his people after he rescued them. He did not say You’re free, good luck.

If he’d done that, they would have gone the direct route: through the land of the Philistines. And they would have faced battle, become terrified, and run back to slavery in Egypt.

But God called them to follow him. You see, they were set free not to do their own thing, but set free to follow God.

We know that we are saved from our sins – but what are we saved for? We’re not just saved FROM sins, but saved FOR service to God. We are set free not to do our own thing, but set free to be who we were born to be: people who glorify God. We are set free to fulfil our destiny.

Freedom to do our own thing is sin: we do what we want without referencing God – we’re acting like we are God, like we are in charge. What we value so highly as “freedom” the Bible calls sin. And actually, that’s slavery. When we do what we want, we find soon that we can’t do anything else. We become enslaved to our own selfish desires and motivations and we can’t do anything else. We are slaves to ourselves. If the Israelites had been “free” to do what they wanted they would have landed back in Egypt!
I remember a friend of mine at University who had cheated on his girlfriend – and he loved his girlfriend. He said “I couldn’t stop myself”. He was helpless. His “freedom” had trapped him and become his master. That’s sin. Sin enslaves us, ensnares us. Only Christ can set us free. Only in following him can we be truly free.

So remember. Remember what he has done. Remember that he has saved you with his mighty hand. Remember that he redeemed you with a costly sacrifice. And remember that he is with you – the Lord is with his people. So decide today to follow him. No matter what the road, follow him. Obey him. Put him first. Sacrifice your time, your money, your relationships, your reputation, your stuff – give it all up to him – and you will be amazed at what he will do. Don’t stay in Egypt, hanging on to your things – mine. But give it up, head out the door, and trust Christ.

At the beginning of this new year, the Lord is challenging us to trust him. To have faith. Remember what he has done. Remember who he is. And do not be afraid to trust him. Obey him. No matter how difficult it is. Amen? Amen.