Exodus 13:8
And on that day you are to explain to your son, 'This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'
And on that day
This phrase sets a specific time for the observance, indicating the importance of remembering a particular event. In the context of Exodus, "that day" refers to the day of the Passover, a pivotal moment in Israelite history. The Hebrew word for "day" is "yom," which can signify not just a 24-hour period but also a significant time or event. This highlights the importance of commemorating God's deliverance and the beginning of a new chapter for the Israelites.

you are to explain
The act of explaining is crucial in the transmission of faith and tradition. The Hebrew root "nagad" means to declare or make known. This implies an active role in teaching and ensuring that the significance of the Passover is understood by future generations. It underscores the responsibility of the faithful to pass down the accounts of God's mighty works.

to your son
This phrase emphasizes the importance of family and generational teaching in the Jewish tradition. The Hebrew word "ben" for "son" can also mean descendant, indicating that this instruction is meant for all future generations. It reflects the biblical mandate for parents to be the primary educators of their children in matters of faith.

‘This is because of what
Here, the phrase introduces the reason for the observance. It points to a cause-and-effect relationship, where the actions of God in history have direct implications for the present and future practices of His people. This phrase invites reflection on the reasons behind religious observances, encouraging believers to understand and internalize their faith.

the LORD
The use of "the LORD" in all capital letters signifies the translation of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, the personal name of God revealed to Moses. This name is deeply significant, representing God's eternal presence and covenant faithfulness. It reminds the Israelites of the personal relationship they have with a God who is both transcendent and immanent.

did for me
This personalizes the historical event, making it not just a communal memory but an individual testimony. The Hebrew root "asah" means to do or make, emphasizing God's active role in the deliverance. It encourages believers to see God's hand in their own lives, recognizing His ongoing work and provision.

when I came out of Egypt
This phrase recalls the Exodus, the defining moment of liberation for the Israelites. "Egypt" symbolizes bondage and oppression, and coming out of it represents freedom and new beginnings. The historical context of the Exodus is foundational for understanding God's power and faithfulness. It serves as a reminder of God's ability to deliver His people from any form of bondage, both physical and spiritual.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

2. Moses
The leader chosen by God to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

3. The Israelites
The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were enslaved in Egypt and delivered by God.

4. Egypt
The land where the Israelites were enslaved and from which they were delivered.

5. The Passover
The event commemorating the LORD's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, marked by the sacrifice of a lamb and the sparing of the firstborn.
Teaching Points
Importance of Remembrance
The act of explaining to the next generation serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness and mighty works.

Role of Parents in Spiritual Education
Parents are tasked with the responsibility of teaching their children about God's deliverance and His commandments.

Personal Testimony
Sharing personal experiences of God's deliverance can strengthen faith and encourage others.

Symbolism of Deliverance
The physical deliverance from Egypt symbolizes the spiritual deliverance from sin through Christ.

Faith and Obedience
The Israelites' obedience in observing the Passover was an act of faith, which is a model for Christian living.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can we effectively communicate the significance of God's deliverance to the next generation in today's context?

2. In what ways does the account of the Exodus parallel the Christian experience of salvation?

3. How can personal testimonies of God's work in our lives serve as a tool for evangelism and discipleship?

4. What are some practical ways parents can incorporate the teaching of God's Word into their family routines?

5. How does understanding the historical context of the Passover enhance our appreciation of Christ's sacrifice?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 6:20-25
This passage also emphasizes the importance of teaching children about God's mighty acts and the reasons behind the commandments.

Psalm 78:4-7
Highlights the importance of passing down the accounts of God's works to the next generation.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8
Paul connects the Passover to Christ, our Passover Lamb, emphasizing the spiritual deliverance from sin.

Hebrews 11:28
References Moses' faith in keeping the Passover, highlighting the importance of faith in God's promises.
The Sanctification of the First-BornJ. Orr Exodus 13:1-3, 11-17
Remember This DayJ. Orr Exodus 13:3-11
How to Declare God's SalvationJ. Urquhart Exodus 13:3-16
Importance of Commemorative Days and OrdinancesExodus 13:8-10
LessonsG. Hughes, B. D.Exodus 13:8-10
Truth EmbodiedJ. A. Froude.Exodus 13:8-10
People
Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Israelites, Jebusites, Joseph, Moses, Pharaoh
Places
Etham, Red Sea, Succoth
Topics
Declared, Egypt, Forth, Hast, Inform, Saying
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 13:8

     5658   boys

Exodus 13:1-10

     8644   commemoration

Exodus 13:1-16

     7410   phylactery

Exodus 13:3-10

     8467   reminders

Exodus 13:6-8

     5302   education

Exodus 13:8-10

     6659   freedom, acts in OT

Library
Thought, Deed, Word
'It shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth.'--EXODUS xiii. 9. The question may be asked, whether this command is to be taken metaphorically or literally. No doubt the remembrance of the great deliverance was intrusted to acts. Besides the annual Passover feasts, inscriptions on the door-posts and fringes on the dress were appointed for this purpose. And the Jews from a very early period, certainly before our Lord's
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Fifth Day. Holiness and Redemption.
Sanctify unto me all the first-born.'--Ex. xiii. 2. 'All the first-born are mine; for on the day I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified unto me all the first-born in Israel: mine they shall be: I am the Lord.'--Num. iii. 13, viii. 17. 'For I am the Lord your God that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.'--Lev. xi. 45. 'I have redeemed thee; thou art mine.'--Isa. xliii. 1. At Horeb we saw how the
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

June the Tenth Pillars of Cloud and Fire
"The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud." --EXODUS xiii. 17--xiv. 4. I need His leadership in the daytime. Sometimes the daylight is my foe. It tempts me into carelessness. I become the victim of distraction. The "garish day" can entice me into ways of trespass, and I am robbed of my spiritual health. Many a man has been faithful in the twilight and night who has lost himself in the sunshine. He went astray in his prosperity: success was his ruin. And so in the daytime I need the
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Personality of Power.
A Personally Conducted Journey. Everyone enjoys the pleasure of travel; but nearly all shrink back from its tiresomeness and drudgery. The transportation companies are constantly scheming to overcome this disagreeable side for both pleasure and business travel. One of the popular ways of pleasure travel of late is by means of personally conducted tours. A party is formed, often by the railroad company, and is accompanied by a special agent to attend to all the business matters of the trip. A variation
S.D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on Power

"The Lord Hath Need of Him. " Mark xi, 3
What! of an Ass? Yes, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world." He gets renown to Himself by "using things which are despised." Let us never despair of the most foolish of men, if he become the servant of Jesus. It is said of the great John Hunt, that when a young man, he gave no promise of the talents he shewed in the work of the Ministry. We have spoken with one who knew him before his conversion, who made us smile as he described his gait and style of life. Yet this ungainly ploughboy
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

Entangled in the Land
"For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in."--Exodus 14:3. ISRAEL WAS CLEAN escaped from Egypt. Not a hoof of their cattle was left behind; nor foot of child or aged man remained in the house of bondage. But though they were gone, they were not forgotten by the tyrant who had enslaved them. They had been a very useful body of workers; for they had built treasure cities and storehouses for Pharaoh. Compelled to work without wages,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

Letter xxxvi. To Pope Damasus.
Jerome's reply to the foregoing. For the second and fourth questions he refers Damasus to the writings of Tertullian, Novatian, and Origen. The remaining three he deals with in detail. Gen. iv. 15, he understands to mean "the slayer of Cain shall complete the sevenfold vengeance which is to be wreaked upon him." Exodus xiii. 18, he proposes to reconcile with Gen. xv. 16, by supposing that in the one place the tribe of Levi is referred to, in the other the tribe of Judah. He suggests, however, that
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

Letter xxxv. From Pope Damasus.
Damasus addresses five questions to Jerome with a request for information concerning them. They are: 1. What is the meaning of the words "Whosoever slayeth Cain vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold"? (Gen. iv. 5.) 2. If God has made all things good, how comes it that He gives charge to Noah concerning unclean animals, and says to Peter, "What God hath cleansed that call not thou common"? (Acts x. 15.) 3. How is Gen. xv. 16, "in the fourth generation they shall come hither again," to be reconciled
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

Epistle xxviii. To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli .
To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli [136] . Gregory to Augustine, &c. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will (Luke ii. 14); because a grain of wheat, falling into the earth, has died, that it might not reign in heaven alone; even He by whose death we live, by whose weakness we are made strong, by whose suffering we are rescued from suffering, through whose love we seek in Britain for brethren whom we knew not, by whose gift we find those whom without knowing them we sought.
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Jesus Living at Nazareth and visiting Jerusalem in his Twelfth Year.
(Nazareth and Jerusalem, a.d. 7 or 8.) ^C Luke II. 40-52. ^c 40 And the child grew [This verse contains the history of thirty years. It describes the growth of our Lord as a natural, human growth (compare Luke i. 80); for, though Jesus was truly divine, he was also perfectly man. To try to distinguish between the divine and human in Jesus, is to waste time upon an impracticable mystery which is too subtle for our dull and finite minds], and waxed strong [His life expanded like other human lives.
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Healing of the Woman - Christ's Personal Appearance - the Raising of Jairus' Daughter
THERE seems remarkable correspondence between the two miracles which Jesus had wrought on leaving Capernaum and those which He did on His return. In one sense they are complementary to each other. The stilling of the storm and the healing of the demonised were manifestations of the absolute power inherent in Christ; the recovery of the woman and the raising of Jairus' daughter, evidence of the absolute efficacy of faith. The unlikeliness of dominion over the storm, and of command over a legion of
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Jesus' Last Public Discourse. Denunciation of Scribes and Pharisees.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXIII. 1-39; ^B Mark XII. 38-40; ^C Luke XX. 45-47. ^a 1 Then spake Jesus ^b 38 And in his teaching ^c in the hearing of all the people he said unto ^a the multitudes, and to his disciples [he spoke in the most public manner], 2 saying, ^c 46 Beware of the scribes, ^a The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: 3 all things whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

Circumcision, Temple Service, and Naming of Jesus.
(the Temple at Jerusalem, b.c. 4) ^C Luke II. 21-39. ^c 21 And when eight days [Gen. xvii. 12] were fulfilled for circumcising him [The rite was doubtless performed by Joseph. By this rite Jesus was "made like unto his brethren" (Heb. ii. 16, 17); that is, he became a member of the covenant nation, and became a debtor to the law--Gal. v. 3] , his name was called JESUS [see Luke i. 59], which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. [Luke i. 31.] 22 And when the days of their
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Cavils of the Pharisees Concerning Purification, and the Teaching of the Lord Concerning Purity - the Traditions Concerning Hand-Washing' and Vows. '
As we follow the narrative, confirmatory evidence of what had preceded springs up at almost every step. It is quite in accordance with the abrupt departure of Jesus from Capernaum, and its motives, that when, so far from finding rest and privacy at Bethsaida (east of the Jordan), a greater multitude than ever had there gathered around Him, which would fain have proclaimed Him King, He resolved on immediate return to the western shore, with the view of seeking a quieter retreat, even though it were
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Concerning the Communion, or Participation of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Concerning the Communion, or Participation of the Body and Blood of Christ. The communion of the body and blood of Christ is [1104] inward and spiritual, which is the participation of his flesh and blood, by which the inward man is daily nourished in the hearts of those in whom Christ dwells. Of which things the breaking of bread by Christ with his disciples was a figure, which even they who had received the substance used in the church for a time, for the sake of the weak; even as abstaining from
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

The Third Day in Passion-Week - the Last Controversies and Discourses - the Sadducees and the Resurrection - the Scribe and the Great Commandment - Question
THE last day in the Temple was not to pass without other temptations' than that of the Priests when they questioned His authority, or of the Pharisees when they cunningly sought to entangle Him in His speech. Indeed, Christ had on this occasion taken a different position; He had claimed supreme authority, and thus challenged the leaders of Israel. For this reason, and because at the last we expect assaults from all His enemies, we are prepared for the controversies of that day. We remember that,
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
Subdivision D. The Transfiguration. Concerning Elijah. (a Spur of Hermon, Near Cæsarea Philippi.) ^A Matt. XVII. 1-13; ^B Mark IX. 2-13; ^C Luke IX. 28-36. ^c 28 And it came to pass about eight days { ^a six days} ^c after these sayings [Mark agrees with Matthew in saying six days. Luke qualifies his estimate by saying "about." But if we regard him as including the day of the "sayings" and also the day of the transfiguration, and the other two as excluding these days, then the three statements
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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