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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
E X O D U S
CHAP. XIII.
In this chapter we have,
I. The commands God gave to Israel,
1. To sanctify all their firstborn to him,
2. To be sure to remember their deliverance out of Egypt
(v. 3, 4),
and, in remembrance of it, to keep the feast of unleavened bread,
3. To transmit the knowledge of it with all possible care to their
children,
4. To set apart unto God the firstlings of their cattle,
(ver. 11-13),
and to explain that also to their children,
II. The care God took of Israel, when he had brought them out
of Egypt.
1. Choosing their way for them,
2. Guiding them in the way,
And
III. Their care of Joseph’s bones,
| The Sanctification of the Firstborn. | B. C. 1491. |
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1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the
womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it
is mine.
3 And 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.
4 This day came ye out in the month Abib.
5 And 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.
6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the
seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.
7 Unleavened 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.
8 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.
9 And 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.
10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from
year to year.
Care is here taken to perpetuate the remembrance,
I. Of the preservation of Israel’s firstborn, when the firstborn of the
Egyptians were slain. In memory of that distinguishing favour, and in
gratitude for it, the firstborn, in all ages, were to be consecrated to
God, as his peculiars
(v. 2),
and to be redeemed,
God, who by the right of creation is proprietor and sovereign of all
the creatures, here lays claim in particular to the firstborn of the
Israelites, by right of protection: Sanctify to me all the
firstborn. The parents were not to look upon themselves as
interested in their firstborn, till they had first solemnly presented
them to God, recognized his title to them, and received them back, at a
certain rate, from him again. Note,
1. That which is by special distinguishing mercy spared to us should be
in a peculiar manner dedicated to God’s honour; at least some grateful
acknowledgment, in works of piety and charity, should be made, when our
lives, or the lives of our children, have been given us for a prey.
2. God, who is the first and best, should have the first and best, and
to him we should resign that which is most dear to us, and most
valuable. The firstborn were the joy and hope of their families.
Therefore they shall be mine, says God. By this is will appear
that we love God best (as we ought) if we are willing to part with that
to him which we love best in this world.
3. It is the church of the firstborn that is sanctified to God,
Christ it the firstborn among many brethren
and, by virtue of their union with him, all that are born again, and
born from above, are accounted as firstborn. There is an excellency
of dignity and power belonging to them; and, if children, then
heirs.
II. The remembrance of their coming out of Egypt must also be
perpetuated: “Remember this day,
v. 3.
Remember it by a good token, as the most remarkable day of your lives,
the birthday of your nation, or the day of its coming of age, to be no
longer under the rod.” Thus the day of Christ’s resurrection is to be
remembered, for in it we were raised up with Christ out of death’s
house of bondage. The scripture tells us not expressly what day
of the year Christ rose (as Moses told the Israelites what day
of the year they were brought out of Egypt, that they might remember it
yearly), but very particularly what day of the week it was,
plainly intimating that, as the more valuable deliverance, and of
greater importance, it should be remembered weekly. Remember it,
for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out. Note, The more
of God and his power appears in any deliverance, the more memorable it
is. Now, that it might be remembered,
1. They must be sure to keep the feast of unleavened bread,
v. 5-7.
It was not enough that they remembered it, but they must celebrate the
memorial of it in that way which God had appointed, and use the
instituted means of preserving the remembrance of it. So, under the
gospel, we must not only remember Christ, but do this in
remembrance of him. Observe, How strict the prohibition of leaven
is
(v. 7);
not only no leaven must be eaten, but none must be seen, no, not in all
their quarters. Accordingly, the Jews’ usage was, before the feast of
the passover, to cast all the leavened bread out of their houses: they
burnt it, or buried it, or broke it small and scattered it in the wind;
they searched diligently with lighted candles in all the corners of
their houses, lest any leaven should remain. The care and strictness
enjoined in this matter were designed,
(1.) To make the feast the more solemn, and consequently the more taken
notice of by their children, who would ask, “Why is so much ado made?”
(2.) To teach us how solicitous we should be to put away from us all
sin,
2. They must instruct their children in the meaning of it, and relate
to them the story of their deliverance out of Egypt,
v. 8.
Note,
(1.) Care must be taken betimes to instruct children in the knowledge
of God. Here is an ancient law for catechising.
(2.) It is particularly of great use to acquaint children betimes with
the stories of the scripture, and to make them familiar to them.
(3.) It is a debt we owe to the honour of God, and to the benefit of
our children’s souls, to tell them of the great works God has done for
his church, both those which we have seen with our eyes done in our day
and which we have heard with our ears and our fathers have told us:
Thou shalt show thy son in that day (the day of the feast) these
things. When they were celebrating the ordinance, they must explain
it. Every thing is beautiful in its season. The passover is
appointed for a sign, and for a memorial, that the Lord’s law
may be in thy mouth. Note, We must retain the remembrance of God’s
works, that we may remain under the influence of God’s law. And those
that have God’s law in their heart should have it in their mouth, and
be often speaking of it, the more to affect themselves and to instruct
others.
| God’s Claim upon the Firstborn. | B. C. 1491. |
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11 And 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,
12 That 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.
13 And 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.
14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come,
saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength
of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of
bondage:
15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go,
that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both
the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I
sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males;
but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for
frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD
brought us forth out of Egypt.
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 possessions. Those of clean beasts–calves, lambs, and
kids–if males, were to be sacrificed,
Exod. xxii. 30; Num. xviii. 17, 18.
Those of unclean beasts, as colts, were to be redeemed with a lamb, or
knocked on the head. For whatsoever is unclean (as we all are by
nature), if it be not redeemed, will be destroyed,
2. The firstborn of their children were to be redeemed, and by no means
sacrificed, as the Gentiles sacrificed their children to Moloch. The
price of the redemption of the firstborn was fixed by the law
at five shekels. We were all obnoxious to the wrath and curse
of God; by the blood of Christ we are redeemed, that we may be joined
to the church of the firstborn. They were to redeem their
children, as well as the firstlings of the unclean beasts, for our
children are by nature polluted. Who can bring a clean thing out of
an unclean?
II. Further directions concerning the catechising of their children,
and all those of the rising generation, from time to time, in this
matter. It is supposed that, when they saw all the firstlings thus
devoted, they would ask the meaning of it, and their parents and
teachers must tell them
(v. 14-16)
that God’s special propriety in their firstborn, and all their
firstlings, was founded in his special preservation of them from the
sword of the destroying angel. Being thus delivered, they must serve
him. Note,
1. Children should be directed and encouraged to ask their parents
questions concerning the things of God, a practice which would be
perhaps of all others the most profitable way of catechising; and
parents must furnish themselves with useful knowledge, that they may be
ready always to give an answer to their enquiries. If ever the
knowledge of God cover the earth, as the waters do the sea, the
fountains of family-instruction must first be broken up.
2. We should all be able to show cause for what we do in religion. As
sacraments are sanctified by the word, so they must be explained and
understood by it. God’s service is reasonable, and it is then
acceptable when we perform it intelligently, knowing what we do and why
we do it.
3. It must be observed how often it is said in this chapter that by
strength of hand
(v. 3, 14, 16),
with a strong hand
(v. 9),
the Lord brought them out of Egypt. The more opposition is given to
the accomplishment of God’s purposes the more is his power magnified
therein. It is a strong hand that conquers hard hearts. Sometimes God
is said to work deliverance not by might nor power
(Zech. iv. 6),
not by such visible displays of his power as that recorded here.
4. Their posterity that should be born in Canaan are directed to say,
The Lord brought us out of Egypt,
v. 14, 16.
Mercies to our fathers are mercies to us; we reap the benefit of them,
and therefore must keep up a grateful remembrance of them. We stand
upon the bottom of former deliverances, and were in the loins of our
ancestors when they were delivered. Much more reason have we to say
that in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we were
redeemed.
| The Pillar of Fire and Fire. | B. C. 1491. |
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17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go,
that God led them not through the way of the land of the
Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest
peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return
to Egypt:
18 But God led the people about, through the way of the
wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up
harnessed out of the land of Egypt.
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had
straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely
visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in
Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud,
to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give
them light; to go by day and night:
22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the
pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Here is,
I. The choice God made of their way,
He was their guide. Moses gave them direction but as he received it
from the Lord. Note, The way of man is not in himself,
He may devise his way, and design it; but, after all, it is God
that directs his steps,
Prov. xvi. 9.
Man proposes, but God disposes, and in his disposal we must acquiesce,
and set ourselves to follow providence. There were two ways from Egypt
to Canaan. One was a short cut from the north of Egypt to the south of
Canaan, perhaps about four or five 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,
1. There were many reasons why God led them through the way of the
wilderness of the Red Sea. The Egyptians were to be drowned in the
Red Sea. The Israelites were to be humbled and proved in the
wilderness,
God had given it to Moses for a sign
(ch. iii. 12),
You shall serve God in this mountain. They had again and again
told Pharaoh that they must go three days’ journey into the
wilderness to do sacrifice, and therefore it was requisite that
they should bend their march that way, else they would justly have been
exclaimed against as notorious dissemblers. Before they entered the
lists with their enemies, matters must be settled between them and
their God, laws must be given, ordinances instituted, covenants sealed,
and the original contract ratified, for the doing of which it was
necessary that they should retire into the solitudes of a wilderness,
the only closet for such a crowd; the high road would be no proper
place for these transactions. It is said
He led them about, some hundreds of miles about, and yet
(Ps. cvii. 7),
He led them forth by the right way. God’s way is the right way,
though it seem about. If we think he leads not his people the
nearest way, yet we may be sure he leads them the best way, and so it
will appear when we come to our journey’s end. Judge nothing before
the time.
2. There was one reason why God did not lead them the nearest way,
which would have brought them after a few days’ march to the land of
the Philistines (for it was that part of Canaan that lay next to
Egypt), namely, because they were not as yet fit for war, much less for
war with the Philistines,
Their spirits were broken with slavery; it was not easy for them to
turn their hands of a sudden from the trowel to the sword. The
Philistines were formidable enemies, too fierce to be encountered by
raw recruits; it was more suitable that they should begin with the
Amalekites, and be prepared for the wars of Canaan by experiencing the
difficulties of the wilderness. Note, God proportions his people’s
trials to their strength, and will not suffer them to be tempted
above what they are able,
1 Cor. x. 13.
That promise, if compared with the foregoing verses, will seem to refer
to this event, as an instance of it. God knows our frame, and
considers our weakness and faintheartedness, and by less trials will
prepare us for greater. God is said to bring Israel out of Egypt as
the eagle brings up her young ones
teaching them by degrees to fly. Orders being thus given which way they
should go, we are told,
(1.) That they went up themselves, not as a confused rout, but in good
order, rank and file: they went up harnessed,
v. 18.
They went up by five in a rank (so some), in five
squadrons, so others. They marched like an army with banners, which
added much to their strength and honour.
(2.) That they took the bones of Joseph along with them
(v. 19),
and probably the bones of the rest of Jacob’s sons, unless (as some
think) they had been privately carried to Canaan
(Acts vii. 16),
severally as they died. Joseph had particularly appointed that his
bones should be carried up when God should visit the
so that their carrying up his bones was not only a performance of the
oath their fathers had sworn to Joseph, but an acknowledgment of the
performance of God’s promise to them by Joseph that he would visit them
and bring them out of the land of Egypt, and an encouragement to their
faith and hope that he would fulfil the other part of the promise,
which was to bring them to Canaan, in expectation of which they carried
these bones with them while they wandered in the desert. They might
think, “Joseph’s bones must rest at last, and then we shall.” Moses is
said to take these bones with him. Moses was now a very great man; so
had Joseph been in his day, yet he was now but a box full of dry bones;
this was all that remained of him in this world, which might serve for
a monitor to Moses to remember his mortality. I have said, You are
gods; it was said so to Moses expressly
(ch. vii. 1);
but you shall die like men.
II. Here is the guidance they were blessed with in the way: The Lord
went before them in a pillar,
v. 21, 22.
In the first two stages it was enough that God directed Moses whither
to march: he knew the country and the road well enough; but now that
they had come to the edge of the wilderness
(v. 20)
they would have occasion for a guide; and a very good guide they had,
one that was infinitely wise, kind, and faithful: The Lord went
before them, the shechinah (or appearance of the divine
Majesty, which was typical of Christ) or a previous manifestation of
the eternal Word, which, in the fulness of time, was to be made
flesh, and dwell among us. Christ was with the church in the
wilderness,
Now their King passed before them, even the Lord on the head of
them,
Mic. ii. 13.
Note, Those whom God brings into a wilderness he will not leave nor
lose there, but will take care to lead them through it; we may well
think it was a very great satisfaction to Moses and the pious
Israelites to be sure that they were under divine guidance. Those
needed not to fear missing their way who were thus led, nor being lost
who were thus directed; those needed not to fear being benighted who
were thus illuminated, nor being robbed who were thus protected. Those
who make the glory of God their end, and the word of God their rule,
the Spirit of God the guide of their affections, and the providence of
God the guide of their affairs, may be confident that the Lord goes
before them, as truly as he went before Israel in the wilderness,
though not so sensibly; we must live by faith.
1. They had sensible evidences of God’s going before them. They all
saw an appearance from heaven of a pillar, which in the bright day
appeared cloudy, and in the dark night appeared fiery. We commonly see
that that which is a flame in the night is a smoke in the day; so was
this. God gave them this ocular demonstration of his presence, in
compassion to the infirmity of their faith, and in compliance with that
infant state of the church, which needed to be thus lisped to in their
own language; but blessed are those that have not seen and yet have
believed God’s gracious presence with them, according to his
promise.
2. They had sensible effects of God’s going before them in this pillar.
For,
(1.) It led the way in that vast howling wilderness, in which there was
no road, no track, no way-mark, of which they had no maps, through
which they had no guides. When they marched, this pillar went before
them, at the rate that they could follow, and appointed the place of
their encampment, as Infinite Wisdom saw fit, which both eased them
from care, and secured them from danger, both in moving and in resting.
(2.) It sheltered them by day from the heat, which, at some times of
the year, was extreme.
(3.) It gave them light by night when they had occasion for it, and at
all times made their camp pleasant and the wilderness they were in less
frightful.
III. These were constant standing miracles
(v. 22):
He took not away the pillar of cloud; no, not when they seemed
to have less occasion for it, travelling through inhabited countries,
no, not when they murmured and were provoking; it never left them, till
it brought them to the borders of Canaan. It was a cloud which the wind
could not scatter. This favour is acknowledged with thankfulness long
afterwards,
There was something spiritual in this pillar of cloud and fire.
1. The children of Israel were baptized unto Moses in this cloud,
which, some think, distilled dew upon them,
By coming under this cloud, they signified their putting themselves
under the divine guidance and command by the ministry of Moses.
Protection draws allegiance; this cloud was the badge of God’s
protection, and so became the bond of their allegiance. Thus they were
initiated, and admitted under that government, now when they were
entering upon the wilderness.
2. Some make this cloud a type of Christ. The cloud of his human
nature was a veil to the light and fire of his divine nature; we find
him
clothed with a cloud, and his feet as pillars of fire. Christ is
our way, the light of our way and the guide of it.
3. It signified the special guidance and protection which the church of
Christ is under in this world. God himself is the keeper of Israel, and
he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
Ps. cxxi. 4; Isa. xxvii. 3.
There is a defence created, not only on Sion’s assemblies, but on every
dwelling-place in Sion. See
Nay, every Israelite indeed is hidden under the shadow of God’s wings
(Ps. xvii. 8);
angels, whose ministry was made use of in this cloud, are employed for
their good, and pitch their tents about them. Happy art thou, O
Israel! who is like unto thee, O people?
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