The Story of Moses, the Man of God

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Ex. 13:1-131And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. 3And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4This day came ye out in the month Abib. 5And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. 6Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. 7Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. 8And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. 9And 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: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. 10Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. 11And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, 12That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord's. 13And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. (Exodus 13:1‑13)
WHEN THE children of Israel went forth out of Egypt they were given the passover feast as a perpetual remembrance of what God had done for them. Now they are given an ordinance that would remind them of the way the Lord had spared their firstborn from death.
If God in grace acts for His people, He establishes claims upon them, and it is these claims that we have brought before us here. A redeemed people henceforth belong to the Redeemer.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn... among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is Mine.” This act of sanctifying, or setting apart, to the Lord was expressly connected with the destruction of the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Israel had been spared that terrible night solely on the ground of the sprinkled blood of the slain lamb. Thus if God spared the firstborn because of the passover lamb, from then on He claimed them as His own. And so it is with beliers now. They belong to Him who has redeemed them, because He took their place, and bore their sins in His own body on the tree. He died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again (2 Cor. 5:1515And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:15)).
Of course, in Israel this was a law—they must own the Lord’s claim—but in Christianity it is the love of Christ that constrains us. When we think of all that He has done for us, of the great cost of our redemption, surely we should feel that we belong to Him. “Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:19,2019What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:19‑20). May we who are saved be like those saints in Macedonia, who “first gave their own selves to the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 8:55And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. (2 Corinthians 8:5).
Lord, we are Thine: Thy claims we own,
Ourselves to Thee we’d wholly give;
Reign Thou within our hearts alone,
And let us to Thy glory live;
Here let us each Thy mind display,
In all Thy gracious image shine;
And haste that long-expected day
When Thou shalt own that we are Thine.
“And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial before thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.” vv. 8,9. The remembrance of what the Lord had done for them was to be upon their hands—affecting all they did; for a memorial between their eyes—they were to keep before their eyes and hearts that they were a redeemed people; and in their mouths—the subject of their conversation. In other words, it was to affect all their life from then on. So the knowledge of Christ as our Saviour should affect our whole life.
ML-05/11/1969