Bible Commentaries
Exodus 13

Introduction

CHAP. XIII.

God establishes the law concerning the first-born: repeats his command concerning unleavened bread: he conducts the Israelites, by the way of the Desert, to the Red-sea: Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him: the Lord goes before the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night.

Before Christ 1491.

Verse 2

Exodus 13:2. Sanctify unto me all the first-born— The Lord not only appointed an annual festival commemorative of his redemption of Israel, and ordained a weekly remembrance of it, Deu 5:15 but also commanded all the first-born of the males (Exo 13:12 and Numbers 3:40.) to be sanctified; that is, (as the word קדשׁ cadesh always signifies,) to be separated, or set apart, from common and ordinary to higher and sacred uses. In this command, the reference to God's preservation of the first-born of Israel, when he destroyed the first-born of Egypt, is evident; see Exodus 13:15. The firstborn of man was to be dedicated to the Lord, set apart to the sacred ministrations of the priestly office. But it appears from Num 3:12 that the Levites were afterwards chosen instead of the first-born, who were to be redeemed at a certain rate, which was applied to the maintenance of the priests, Numbers 18:15-16. By this separation of the first-born is signified to us, that God's people, who are the congregation of the first-born, (ch. Exodus 4:22.Hebrews 12:23; Hebrews 12:23.) and are redeemed from death by the blood of Christ, should devote themselves as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is their reasonable service. Romans 12:1.

Verse 5

Exodus 13:5. It shall be when the Lord shall bring thee, &c. that thou shalt keep this service in this month— Many commentators observe, that the words of this verse prove that the Israelites were under no necessity to observe the passover, and consecrate their first-born, till they entered into the land of Canaan.

REFLECTIONS.— 1. God demands of his people a return for his mercies in their first-born. He claims, from his preservation of them, a right in them. Note; (1.) The life which God has rescued from imminent danger is doubly bound to be devoted to his service. (2.) They who truly love God will serve him with the best.

2. He bids them remember the day of their deliverance in the feast of unleavened bread, and instruct their children after them in the meaning of the ordinance; and very careful are they to this day to observe the letter of the precept in searching their houses for leaven: may we be as careful to enter into the spirit of the command, and search every corner of our hearts, that sin may be put away from us. Note; It is a chief duty with parents to acquaint their children from earliest infancy with the Scriptures; and Scripture histories may be made matter of as pleasing entertainment to them as of profitable instruction.

Verse 12

Exodus 13:12. Thou shalt set apart unto the Lord— Shalt cause to pass over. Margin of our Bibles. Shalt transfer the right from thyself to the Lord. See Numbers 3:12-48. Every firstling that cometh of a beast, i.e. a clean beast, was to be offered in sacrifice. For the rest, see Numbers 18:17.

Verse 13

Exodus 13:13. Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb— Or kid. Margin of our Bibles. It appears, from Num 18:15 that this was to be understood of all unclean beasts in the general. It is not easy to say why the ass particularly is specified; perhaps this creature, being the most numerous, and the most useful of their beasts of burden, is therefore mentioned, as they might be more inclined to preserve it. He-asses, according to Phornutus, were sacrificed among the heathen to Mars, on account of their turbulent nature and frightful braying. Selden conjectures, that, from this law of redeeming asses, the Gentiles took up that groundless and ridiculous calumny, which was current among them, that the Jews worshipped an ass. See Job 11:12. The heathens appear to have had some knowledge of this law of redemption of the first-born. The inhabitants of Tanguth in India redeemed their sons with a ram, which they offered after the manner of the Hebrews; and what makes it probable that the law of Moses had reached these regions is, that we find, in the language of the people who inhabit these coasts of India, many evident traces of the Hebrew language and original; as Huet has observed, Demonstr. Evang. proposit. iv. c. 6.

REFLECTIONS.— The first-born of beasts, as well as of men, are God's: the clean must be sacrificed, the unclean killed; or, as the children, redeemed. Note; Children are not innocents, but unclean things; and were it not for the redemption of Jesus must perish. Repeated injunctions are given to instruct their children, to encourage and answer their inquiries; talking with them is the best way of teaching them. Thus the remembrance will be preserved, and each succeeding generation count the deliverance their own. We reap the blessings of our fathers' mercies even in temporals, and how much more of the promises made to our fathers in spirituals, and accomplished in the glorious salvation of our Redeemer Jesus, which deserves, and shall have, a remembrance to eternity.

Verse 17

Exodus 13:17. Through the way of the land— Or, Towards the land.

Verse 18

Exodus 13:18. God led the people about through the way, &c.— Dr. Shaw is of opinion, that the first settlement of the Israelites was at Heliopolis; and that Kairo was the Rameses, the capital of the district of that name, where the Israelites had their rendezvous, before they departed out of Egypt. God is said here to have led them ABOUT through the way of the wilderness, &c. "There are accordingly two roads," says the doctor, (who, certainly, on these subjects is to be depended upon,) "through which the Israelites might have been conducted from Kairo to Pi-hahiroth on the banks of the Red sea. One of them lies through the vallies, as they are now called, of Jendily, Rumeleah, and Baideah, bounded on each side by the mountains of the Lower Thebais. The other lies higher, having the northern range of the mountains of Mocattee running parallel with it on the right hand; and the desert of the Egyptian Arabia, which lies all the way open to the land of the Philistines, on the left. About the middle of this range, we may turn short upon the right hand into the valley of Baideah, through a remarkable breach or discontinuation, in which we afterwards continued to the very bank of the Red sea. Suez, a small city on the northern point of it, at the distance of thirty hours, or ninety Roman miles, from Kairo, lies a little to the northward of the promontory which is formed by this same range of mountains, called at present Attackah; as that which bounds the valley of Baideah to the southward is called Gewoubee. This road then, through the valley of Baideah, which is some hours longer than the other open road which leads directly from Kairo to Suez, was, in all probability, the very road which the Israelites took to Pi-hahiroth on the banks of the Red sea.

Josephus then, and other authors who copy after him, seem to be too hasty in making the Israelites perform this journey of ninety or a hundred Roman miles in three days, by reckoning each of the stations which are recorded, for one day; whereas the Scriptures are altogether silent with regard to the time or distance, recording the stations only. The fatigue, likewise, would be abundantly too great for a nation on foot, incumbered with their dough, their kneading-troughs, their little children and cattle, to walk at the rate of thirty Roman miles a day." Travels, p. 307.

Through the way of the wilderness— Or, Towards the wilderness.

Went up harnessed— Well-girt, or ready-girt. The primary sense of the word חמשׁים chamushim, according to Parkhurst, is armed, equipped. So the LXX, ευζωνοι, equipt, διασκευασμενοι, prepared, furnished. Vulg. armati, armed. Targum, girded, harnessed. See Joshua 1:14; Joshua 4:12. The word is first applied to the fifth day of the creation, when the world was completely furnished and ready for the reception of man and animals. Hence, as a verb, it signifies to take a fifth part; and so has occasioned the mistakes which some commentators have fallen into of the children of Israel's marching five in a rank.

Verse 19

Exodus 13:19. Moses took the bones of Joseph— See Genesis 50:25. One would conclude from Act 7:16 that the bones of all the patriarchs, as well as of Joseph, were, upon this occasion, removed out of Egypt; and the Jews have a tradition, that every tribe brought the bones of the heads of their families with them. They tell us, too, that those of Joseph were placed in a new sumptuous cart, or open hearse, which they made to march under the guard and conduct of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Straitly sworn— Or, strictly sworn.

Verse 20

Exodus 13:20. From Succoth, and encamped in Etham— The Lord for wise and good reasons, not thinking proper to lead the people directly into Canaan through the land of the Philistines, which was but a journey of a few days, (see Exodus 13:17.) conducted them towards the wilderness of Shur, ch. Exodus 15:22.; upon the edge or extremity of which, next to Egypt, at the bottom of the Arabian gulph, lay Etham, where they made their second encampment. See Numbers 33:8.

REFLECTIONS.— God is their Deliverer, and now becomes their Guide. The direct way was short; but God led them not by the shortest, but the safest way. If his ways seem winding, we may be satisfied he is a sure Guide. The Philistines were before them, and they must not see war as soon as they escape from slavery; they are not fit for such service yet. God knows how to proportion our trials to our strength, nor will he suffer his people to be tempted above what they are able. Besides, he had much to do among them, both in mercies and judgments; and a wilderness was the fittest place for his designs. Let us, therefore, commit all our ways unto the Lord.

Verse 21

Exodus 13:21. The Lord went before them— There can be no doubt that the Jehovah here mentioned was the same blessed Person who appeared to Moses in the bush; who conducted the Israelites through the wilderness; whom they there tempted; and who, St. Paul tells us expressly, was Christ, 1 Corinthians 10:9. This glorious and divine Leader graciously went before, and conducted them in their march; the shechinah or symbol of the Divine Presence continually attending them: for fire and cloud were the constant and acknowledged symbols of the Divine Presence, It is called a pillar of cloud or fire, עמוד amud, a pillar or column, supported or sustained in a miraculous manner by Jehovah. By this pillar of cloud and fire, the Israelites directed all their motions: it deserted them not as long as Moses lived, nor till they passed over Jordan into Canaan; it was a continual and lively monitor of the presence and protection of Jehovah; see Isaiah 4:5-6. Nor can their absurdity be sufficiently admired, who would insinuate, that a phaenomenon of this kind, observed for so long a period, and by so many thousand people, could have been the contrivance of Moses, and a mere natural effect. No miracle, one would have thought, could have been more solidly and substantially established; for the children of Israel, murmuring and dissatisfied as they constantly were, shewed themselves always well-disposed to have detected Moses in an imposture, if he had used any: so that we cannot conceive how it is possible for a miraculous fact to be ascertained more clearly and indisputably. It is an ingenious conjecture of a commentator (Taubman) upon Virgil, that it arose from this miracle of God's appearing in cloud and fire, that the poets never made a deity to appear, but in a cloud with a brightness in it. See Parker's Occasional Annotation, 6.

Behold here God's care of his people in the way. His presence was with them: he appeared visibly to them in a pillar of a cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night; to be their Leader in the pathless wilderness, their covering from the heat by day, and their cheering light and warmth by night: nor did he ever leave them till they were safely lodged in Canaan. Blessed be God, the same care is promised to us. In our journey through this world, Jesus, by his word and spirit, is our Guide and Comforter, our Light and Protector; and under his direction and influence we shall be led by the right way: nor need we fear danger or miscarriage, when he saith, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Happy the soul that walks thus!

Reflections on the pillar of cloud and fire.

The sojourners of Goshen were now escaped from the land of Egypt, and about to enter into the vast wilderness of Arabia, which interposed between them and the promised land. Jehovah, who makes the clouds his chariots, and darkness his pavilion, was pleased to go before them in a marvellous pile of cloudy vapours, resembling a pillar, ascending from their camp. Here he dwelt, not for a short time as in the bush, but for the space of forty years. A most extraordinary thing! and none of the least of the standing miracles which he shewed to the chosen seed. The fame of this strange phaenomenon was spread abroad among the nations, who heard that the cloud of the Lord stood above the camp of the Israelites; it might, therefore, be very well supposed to move the question, "Who is this that comes up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke?" Song of Solomon 3:6. For this cloud differed so much from all others that ever were seen, that it may justly be reckoned a complication of miracles. It was miraculous, that its form was never changed, when there is nothing more variable than the appearance of the ordinary clouds which sail through the airy regions. It was miraculous, that it should always maintain its station over the tabernacle, when other clouds are carried about with tempests, and driven with fierce winds from the one extremity of heaven to the other. It was miraculous, that it should preserve its consistency forty years; whereas all other clouds are dissipated by the wind, exhaled by the sun, or dissolved in rain and dew, and in a very short time are blotted from the face of the sky. It was miraculous, that this cloud should move in such peculiar directions, as if it had been endued with instinct and intelligence; for it was carried about by the counsels of Jehovah, in a more immediate way than can be said of the other clouds of heaven. But especially it was miraculous, that, contrary to the nature of all other clouds, it should be brighter by night than by day, when it had the appearance of the shining of a flaming fire.

As to the particular meaning of this cloud wherewith the Lord covered his Israel, not in his anger, but in his love, it was without all doubt a visible symbol of a present Deity: God hereby condescending to adapt himself, as in many other things, to the rude taste of that ancient people; and perhaps to signify the dark and cloudy nature of the legal dispensation under which they were. But the principal reason I would suggest is the following: His appearing to Israel in a veil of cloud, might be a prelude to his appearing in a veil of flesh. What if we should say, this pillar of cloud and fire is an emblem of that glorious Person, in whom the brightness of Divinity is joined with the darkness of humanity? For as there were not two pillars, the one of cloud, and the other of fire, but one pillar both of cloud and fire; so there are not two persons of Immanuel, the one God and the other man, but one Person, who is both God and Man. An adorable mystery! strange indeed, and beyond measure surprising! But it is so far from being only a vain speculation, that it is deservedly esteemed a fundamental article of the Christian faith; and truly, without admitting it, the Scriptures themselves would be darker than this cloud ever was to the Egyptians.
John, the beloved apostle, and great New Testament prophet, who saw the visions of God, and who talks in many places in the Old Testament dialect, speaks of a glorious Angel arising out of the East, who certainly was Christ himself: he was clothed with a cloud, and his feet were as pillars of fire; a description which might very probably allude to this same cloud and fire. But if we take a more particular survey of the uses for which it served in the wilderness, we shall see with what admirable propriety they all may be affirmed of Jesus Christ, who, indeed, was the Angel that resided in the cloud, and is that to his church, in every age in their bewildered state, which the cloud was to the twelve tribes till they reached the promised land. For in whom but Jesus Christ can we suppose that great and precious promise made to the universal church to have received its accomplishment, "And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon all her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for, upon all, the lory shall be a defence." Isaiah 4:5. What then were those uses for which this cloud served the Israelites?

It was their guide, which went before them in the vast pathless desert, where they wandered in a solitary way. So great was the regard they paid to all its motions, which they continually watched, that when it moved, they struck their camp at any hour of the day or of the night; when it halted, they pitched their tents, and there abode till its next remove, whether the time was short or long. The times and seasons of their marching were not, as in other armies, adjusted by their councils of war, nor left to the regulation even of Moses himself; for God put them wholly in his own power. We doubt not that all its motions were properly timed, and mercifully proportioned to the strength of the weak, and the conveniency of all. Nor did it ever leave them, for all their provocations in the wilderness, till they arrived at the land which flowed with milk and honey. Just such a general, unerring, gentle and perpetual guide is Jesus Christ, by his example, word, and spirit, to all the travellers for the better country through the wilderness of this world; for "it is not in man that walks to direct his steps," Jer 10:23 by his own wisdom in the way which leads to life. Who can recount the wanderings of miserable sinners, till Jesus Christ was given as a Leader and a Commander to the people? He it is who teaches us to profit, and leads us in the way wherein we should go. Nor is it possible that any should miss eternal glory who walk after him in the wilderness, conforming themselves to the dictates of his holy word, with the same care as the Israelites observed the motions of the miraculous cloud. O ye followers of the Lamb, you shall not err under the conduct of your celestial Guide: you shall be led forth in the way which is right, even where there is no way, till you come to the city of habitation!

It was their guard, which protected them when their Egyptian pursuers were pressing on their rear; for it removed on that occasion from their van, and went behind them, forbidding, by its darkness, the approach of the hostile army all that night on which they travelled through the flood on foot. On this occasion, we are told, the Lord looked through the pillar, and troubled the Egyptian host at the hour of midnight. "The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows went abroad. The voice of thy thunder was in the heavens: the lightnings lightened the world, the earth trembled and shook. Thy way was in the sea, thy path in the mighty waters, and thy footsteps were not known. Thou leddest thy people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron;" Psalms 77:16-20. Such is the protection Jesus affords his militant people, who, being rescued from the bondage of sin, are marching forward to their goodly inheritance. Though Satan, with his infernal host, like the tyrant of Egypt, pursues them, and fondly thinks to reclaim the captives, the glory of the Lord becomes their rearward; Jesus is unto them for walls and bulwarks, forbidding the approach of mortal danger. He is their hiding-place, in whom they are preserved, like Israel in the cloud, being kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

It was their candle, which enlightened their darkness, which smoothed the rugged brow of the night, and served to abate the horrors of the wilderness after the sun was set; for it reserved its shining appearance to the season when the Israelites were most in need of its cheerful aspect. Nor dost thou, O thou true Light, suit thyself to the case of thy people with less condescension. Without thee, this world were a dark place, and, to the eyes of our mind, more dismal than the dreary wilderness would have been in the blackest night to the Israelites, without their kind officious cloud. Blessed be God for the sun, the moon, the stars: but more for Jesus Christ, who delivers from the blackness of darkness for ever; and who, like the cloudy pillar, is always most liberal of his lightsome manifestations when his people are sitting in the darkness of adversity. House of Israel, let us walk in this light of the Lord; while the way of the wicked, like the way of the Egyptians, is as darkness.

It was their umbrella, or screen, to shade them from the sultry beams of the sun in that torrid wilderness. A most grateful service! And, whereas an apostle speaks of our fathers being baptized in the cloud, it would seem, that on some occasions this beneficial cloud refreshed the Israelites, by shedding kindly dews upon their camp. So Jesus Christ is to his people as a refreshing dew upon the grass, and as a cloud of the latter rain. Under his shadow they fit down with great delight, and find cool shelter from the scorching beams both of Divine wrath and worldly tribulation. Happy souls, who have thus the Lord for their Keeper, and for their shade on their right hand. "The sun shall not smite them by day, nor the moon by night;" Psalms 121:6. Even that great and terrible day, which shall burn like an oven, will be to these favoured of the Lord as the times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

It was their oracle; for he spake unto them in the cloudy pillar. And it was their ornament; for he spread this cloud for their covering, or cloth of state, making darkness not only his own, but their pavilion. How fitly both these may be applied to Jesus Christ is not difficult to see. Who but Christ is the oracle of his church; in whom God speaks unto his people, both as a promising and prayer-answering God, without whom we should not have heard his voice at any time, but in the language of terror! Who but Christ is their ornament, making them terrible as an army with banners, and comely as Jerusalem? The pillar of cloud and fire was not half so adorning to their camp, as is thy gracious presence to every assembly and every dwelling-place of Mount Sion, O thou glorious Redeemer! Even now thou are the light of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel: but how much more when this imperfect scene shall pass away, and they shall know the import of that most gracious promise, "The Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and thy God thy glory." Isaiah 60:19.