April 15, 2024

Exodus 13:1-16 (HCSB)
13 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Consecrate every firstborn male to Me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is Mine.” 3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of His hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. 5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you must carry out this ritual in this month. 6 For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. 7 Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory. 8 On that day explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand. 10 Keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year. 11 “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord’s. 13 You must redeem every firstborn of a donkey with a flock animal, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn among your sons. 14 “In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘By the strength of His hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of livestock. That is why I sacrifice to the Lord all the firstborn of the womb that are males, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’ 16 So let it be a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for the Lord brought us out of Egypt by the strength of His hand.”

Sarah Ricciardi
Remember. We can toss that word around with tacked on phrases like, “take the trash out”, “turn the lights off”, “text me”. Yet there are precious truths we also fasten to this word “remember”. My parents would tell me, “It doesn’t matter where you are, we will always come when you need us.” And somehow 9-11’s frozen airways and thousands of miles apart didn’t seem so isolating. I knew they would find a way to reach me, if I only asked. Moses is called to remember and to charge all of Israel with doing the same. Remember how the LORD saved them? This remembering impacts their present actions (or maybe it's the present actions that aid their remembering). Eating unleavened bread for seven days. What we consume can cause us to consider. Consider what God has done, (insert your name and mine). Commit it to memory, Sarah, and then communicate it to the next generation. God knew they would forget. God knows we forget. Allow Him to breathe Hope into our present and future through the remembering.