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The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:10
Remember. Utmost pains taken that the day should be honoured and remembered. I. REASON OF OBSERVANCE. It commemorated: 1. A great judgment. Nine plagues had passed; the members of each successive trial following one ano…
Matthew Henry on Exodus 13:11-16
The firstlings of beast not used in sacrifice, were to be changed for others so used, or they were to be destroyed. Our souls are forfeited to God's justice, and unless ransomed by the sacrifice of Christ, will certainl…
God's Claim upon the Firstborn. (b. c. 1491.)
GOD'S CLAIM UPON THE FIRSTBORN. (B. C. 1491.) Here we have, I. Further directions concerning the dedicating of their firstborn to God. 1. The firstlings of their cattle were to be dedicated to God, as part of their poss…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:12
Set apart. The expression is especially appropriate to the case of first-born animals, which would have to be separated off from the rest of the flock, or of the herd, and "put aside" for Jehovah, so as not to be mixed…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:13
Every firstling of an ass. The ass was the sole beast of burthen taken by the Israelites out of Egypt. (See Exodus 20:17.) Neither the horse nor the camel was among their possessions in the wilderness. This is agreeable…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:14
When thy son asketh thee. Compare Exodus 12:26, and the comment ad loc.
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:15
When Pharaoh would hardly let us go. Bather, "when Pharaoh hardened himself against letting us go." At his last interview with Moses, Pharaoh had absolutely refused to let them go with their cattle (Exodus 10:24-27), an…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:16
A sign … frontlets. See the comment on Exodus 13:9. It is the custom among the Jews to write this entire passage—Exodus 13:1-16—on two of the four strips of parchment contained in the tephillin. The others have inscribe…
Matthew Henry on Exodus 13:17-20
There were two ways from Egypt to Canaan. One was only a few days' journey; the other was much further about, through the wilderness, and that was the way in which God chose to lead his people Israel. The Egyptians were…
The Pillar of Fire and Fire. (b. c. 1491.)
THE PILLAR OF FIRE AND FIRE. (B. C. 1491.) Here is, I. The choice God made of their way, Exodus 13:17-18. He was their guide. Moses gave them direction but as he received it from the Lord. Note, The way of man is not in…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:17-22
Fire and cloud. "And the Lord went before them," etc. (Exodus 13:21). Israel might have been in Canaan within ten days. Reason why not is given Exodus 13:17. This however, not a reason for the forty years wandering: but…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:17-20
EXPOSITION THE DIRECTION OF THE JOURNEY.—The direct road from Tanis to Palestine—a road much frequented under the nineteenth dynasty—lay along the coast of the Mediterranean, and conducted to Philistia. If we look at th…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:17
Although that was near. Rather "because it was near" ( ὅτι ἐγγὺς ἧν, LXX.)—i.e.; "God did not, because it was near, lead them this way, but a longer one." Lest peradveature the people repeat when they see war. The…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:17-21
The way of the wilderness by the Red Sea. The direct road to Canaan lay through the land of the Philistines. God, however, did not lead the people by this way, but round by the Red Sea. "For God said, Lest peradventure…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:17-22
Israel's journey the emblem of the Christian's pilgrimage. I. GOD'S TENDER CARE FOR HIS PEOPLE. 1. Trials and temptations are proportioned to their ability to-bear them. "He led them not through the way of the land of t…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:18
God led the people about. Or "led the people a circuit," i.e; made them take a circuitous route to Canaan, the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea—i.e; by the southern wilderness, or what is now called "the wilderness…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:18-21
It is the method of the Divine action to accomplish ends by circuitous means. God "led the Israelites about." Instead of conducting them straight from Tanis to Canaan in the course of six or seven days, he carried them…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:19
Joseph's bones. A premise, and most of all a promise to the dead, is to be regarded as sacred. Amidst the haste of their departure the Israelites did not forget to take with them the bones of Joseph. They probably carri…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:19
Moses took the bones of Joseph—i.e; his body, which had been embalmed, and deposited in a mummy case (Genesis 50:26), most probably at Tanis, which was the capital of the Shepherd kings, no less than of Menephthah. He h…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:19
It is a Christian duty to carry with us on the path of life the bones of our dead. Joseph had sworn the Israelites to carry his bones with them out of Egypt at their departure; and they were thus in a special way bound…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:20
And they took their journey from Succoth and encamped in Etham. On the probable position of Etham, see the "Introduction" to this book. The word probably means "House of Turn," and implies the existence at the place of…
Matthew Henry on Exodus 13:21-22
The Lord went before them in a pillar, or appearance of the Divine Majesty. Christ was with the church in the wilderness, 1Co 10:9. Those whom God brings into a wilderness, he will not leave nor lose there, but will tak…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:21-22
EXPOSITION THE PILLAR OF THE CLOUD AND OF FIRE. Having stated, in Exodus 13:17, that "God led the Israelites," and determined their route for them, the writer here proceeds to explain how this leading was accomplished.…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 13:21
The Lord went before them. From Succoth at any rate; perhaps even on the journey from Rameses to Succoth. In a pillar of cloud. The pillar was seen—the presence of Jehovah, though unseen, was believed to be in it, and t…