12:33-36: At the end of the confrontation with Pharaoh, we see that things have been turned completely upside-down. Initially, it had seemed like Pharaoh held all the power; he was able to laugh off Moses' request by saying "Who is the Lord?". But by the end of the plagues, the Lord of the Hebrews is revealed to be the true ruler of Egypt, while Pharaoh is powerless. Pharaoh even asked Moses to bless him, a remarkable reversal of roles (12:31); and as the Hebrews leave, all of Egypt is theirs. They can take whatever they want with them.
12:43-51 More rules are given for the celebration of the Passover. This act of worship is carefully designed to remind the Hebrew people of what the Lord did for them. Remembering is always a big part of our worship. We are naturally forgetful. We get consumed by the problems and concerns of the present. But in worship, we are reminded of the big picture. We repeat the story of what God has done for us in the past, thereby giving us hope for the present and future. We remember the story not only by telling it with words and thinking about it in our minds; we also perform actions that tell the story. Communion and Baptism are chief among these for us.
13:1-16 God saved all of the firstborn of the Hebrew people, and in return He asks that they dedicate all firstborn male offspring to Him. In practice, this meant offering a sacrifice on the son's behalf. Luke 2:21-24 records Joseph and Mary keeping this commandment when Jesus was born. This ritual reminds us of the nature of true freedom. We often think of freedom as having no master or being one's own master. In the Bible, however, freedom is release from the dominion of evil so that one can serve God. We were created to have God as our master, and only in this state can we truly live as we were meant to live. When we serve ourselves, we may imagine that we are free from any constraint, but this is actually an illusion. In such a state, our rebellion against God is actually enslaving us. True freedom involves recognizing our proper limits. It also involves living in gratitude for God's salvation: "You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
Paul talks about our freedom from sin, but he also calls us "slaves of Christ". Authentic freedom involves submitting to God's will in everything. This is never something that God forces us to do; we do it freely and joyfully.
13:17-18 God led the Israelites on a strange route. Instead of taking them through the Philistine country (the road that went directly to Israel), he took them far into the desert, where there was no food and no water. This probably didn't seem like a good plan to the Israelites; in fact, it probably seemed like a disaster. Indeed, in no time they will complaining about the trip and reminiscing about their good life in Egypt. God often leads us on strange paths as well. Will we lose hope, or will we trust that God knows what He is doing?
13:19 At the end of Genesis, the dying Joseph asked his descendants to bring his bones back to Israel. This was a sign that, though Joseph enjoyed great blessing in Egypt, he recognized that Egypt was not his true home. It was only a step on the way to the land that God had promised. 400 years later, Joseph's request was still remembered, so the Israelites brought his bones with them. Like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the Hebrews wandering in the desert, we know that we have not yet reached our home. Whatever blessings we enjoy in this world, it is only a stop on the way to the city that God has prepared for us. Let us, then, journey on, not getting too attached to the things of this world, not sitting down to rest for too long, but pressing on to the heavenly city.
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