This year I switched from using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible reading to the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net”. I have now done this long enough to say that I am glad I made the change. I am firmly convinced that the One Year Bible Online is a great way to read through the Bible in a year. It breaks the parts of the Bible which can be a struggle to read into manageable portions. However, I think that the Daily Bible Reading Schedule I am using now is a better format for doing a daily Bible study.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Exodus 13-15.

    The people of Israel were told that the first born males (human and livestock) belonged to the Lord. They were to sacrifice the livestock (with the option to buy back donkey colts) and buy back their firstborn sons. Part of this is the idea of presenting the first of whatever we produce to God. This idea is given more depth later when the law describes first fruit sacrifices. The idea also goes back to the Cain and Abel story, where God looked favorably on Abel because he sacrificed from the firstborn of his flock. However, there is another point made here that is worth emphasis. They were required to buyback their firstborn sons. They were forbidden from sacrificing their sons. This prohibition was not an after thought, or a concession to human sentimentality. This prohibition was something which set the Israelites apart from the people around them. We know that throughout history almost every other people offered their children as sacrifices to their gods upon certain conditions (some peoples did so more routinely than others).

    When the Israelites left Egypt, God led them on a roundabout path because they were not prepared to face battle (as we see later in this passage). Further, no sooner had the Israelites left Egypt than the Pharaoh once more changed his mind about letting them go. Pharaoh gathered his armies and set out in pursuit. When Pharaoh overtook the Israelites they proved God correct, they were not ready, or willing, to fact battle. However, they were trapped and had no choice, until God provided them with an escape. By doing this God accomplished three purposes. First he forced the Egyptians to accept the departure of the Israelites by destroying the elites of their army. Second, God showed the Israelites that they were NOT an army prepared for battle. And third, God showed the Israelites that He could rescue them when all seemed lost.