Exodus 13:9
It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.
It shall be a sign for you
The Hebrew word for "sign" is "אוֹת" (oth), which often denotes a visible marker or symbol. In the context of the Exodus, this sign serves as a perpetual reminder of God's deliverance. Historically, signs were used to convey divine messages or promises, as seen with the rainbow in Genesis 9:13. This sign is not just a physical mark but a spiritual reminder of God's covenant and faithfulness.

on your hand
The hand symbolizes action and power in biblical literature. By placing the sign on the hand, it signifies that the actions of the Israelites should be guided by the remembrance of God's law and deliverance. This is a call to live out one's faith actively, ensuring that every deed reflects the covenant relationship with God.

and a reminder on your forehead
The forehead represents thought and intention. In ancient Near Eastern culture, the forehead was often associated with identity and purpose. By having a reminder on the forehead, it emphasizes that one's thoughts and intentions should be aligned with God's commandments. This dual placement on hand and forehead underscores the holistic nature of devotion—both in action and thought.

that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips
The phrase "on your lips" suggests constant verbal proclamation and meditation on God's law. The Hebrew word for "law" is "תּוֹרָה" (Torah), which encompasses teaching, instruction, and guidance. This implies that the Israelites are to speak of God's law regularly, ensuring it is an integral part of daily life and community discourse. It highlights the importance of verbal confession and teaching in maintaining faithfulness to God.

For with a mighty hand
The "mighty hand" is a metaphor for God's powerful intervention and deliverance. In Hebrew, "חָזָק" (chazaq) conveys strength and might. This phrase is a recurring motif in the Exodus narrative, emphasizing God's unparalleled power in liberating the Israelites from bondage. It serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty and the miraculous nature of their deliverance.

the LORD brought you out of Egypt
This statement is a historical anchor for the Israelites' identity and faith. The act of being brought out of Egypt is central to the Jewish faith, symbolizing salvation and freedom. The name "LORD" (YHWH) is the covenant name of God, underscoring His personal relationship with His people. This deliverance is not just a past event but a continual source of identity and motivation for obedience and worship.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The leader of the Israelites, chosen by God to lead His people out of Egypt. He is the one conveying God's instructions to the Israelites.

2. The Israelites
The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were enslaved in Egypt and are being led to freedom by Moses.

3. Egypt
The land where the Israelites were enslaved for 400 years. It represents bondage and oppression.

4. The Exodus
The event of God delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, demonstrating His power and faithfulness.

5. The Law of the LORD
Refers to the commandments and instructions given by God to His people, which they are to remember and follow.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Remembrance
The physical act of having a sign on the hand and forehead serves as a constant reminder of God's deliverance and His commandments. In our lives, we should find ways to continually remind ourselves of God's presence and His word.

God's Deliverance
Just as God delivered the Israelites with a mighty hand, He delivers us from sin through Jesus Christ. Reflect on the ways God has shown His power and faithfulness in your life.

Living Out God's Law
The law being on the lips signifies speaking and living out God's commandments. We are called to not only know God's word but to actively live it out in our daily interactions.

Symbolism and Practice
While the physical signs were important for the Israelites, the underlying principle is the internalization of God's word. Consider how you can internalize and practice God's teachings in your life.

The Role of Tradition
The practice of remembering God's law was passed down through generations. Reflect on the traditions in your life that help you remember and honor God's word.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can we create reminders in our daily lives to keep God's word at the forefront of our thoughts and actions?

2. In what ways has God shown His "mighty hand" in your life, and how can you use these experiences to strengthen your faith?

3. How does the concept of having God's law on your lips challenge you in your daily conversations and interactions with others?

4. What are some practical ways to internalize God's word, similar to the symbolic acts described in Exodus 13:9?

5. How can the traditions and practices of remembering God's deliverance be applied in your family or community to strengthen faith and obedience?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 6:8
This verse also speaks about binding God's commandments as a sign on the hand and as frontlets between the eyes, emphasizing the importance of keeping God's law at the forefront of daily life.

Psalm 119:11
Highlights the importance of hiding God's word in one's heart to avoid sin, paralleling the idea of keeping God's law on one's lips.

Matthew 22:37
Jesus speaks about loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind, which aligns with the idea of having God's law constantly in one's thoughts and actions.
Thought, Deed, WordAlexander MaclarenExodus 13:9
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
Brow, Egypt, Forehead, Law, Lips, Lord's, Mark, Memorial, Mighty, Mouth, Powerful, Reminder, Serve, Sign, Strong
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 13:9

     1105   God, power of
     1265   hand of God
     1450   signs, kinds of
     5154   forehead
     5164   lips
     7328   ceremonies

Exodus 13:1-10

     8644   commemoration

Exodus 13:1-16

     7410   phylactery

Exodus 13:3-10

     8467   reminders

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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