Exo 13:1 And
יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Exo 13:2 “Set apart to Me all the
first-born, the one opening the womb among the children of Yisra’ĕl, among man
and among beast, it is Mine.”
ב קַדֶּשׁ-לִי כָל-בְּכוֹר
פֶּטֶר כָּל-רֶחֶם, בִּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל--בָּאָדָם, וּבַבְּהֵמָה: לִי,
הוּא.
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2 'Set
apart unto Me all the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the
children of Israel, both of man and of beast, it is Mine.'
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To put this into messianic context we read:
Col 1:15
who is the likeness of the invisible Elohim, the first-born of all
creation.1 Footnote: 1Heb. 1:6, Rev. 3:14.
Col 1:16
Because in Him were created all that are in the heavens and that are on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or rulerships or principalities
or authorities – all have been created through Him and for Him.
Col 1:17
And He is before all, and in Him all hold together.
Col 1:18
And He is the Head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the
first-born from the dead, that He might become the
One who is first in all.
Col 1:19
Because in Him all the completeness was well pleased to dwell,
Col 1:20
and through Him to completely restore to favour all unto Himself,
whether on earth or in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of His
stake.
Col 1:21
And you, who once were estranged and enemies in the mind by wicked
works, but now He has completely restored to favour
Col 1:22
in the body of His flesh through death, to present you set-apart, and
blameless, and unreprovable before Him,
Col 1:23
if indeed you continue in the belief, founded and steadfast, and are not
moved away from the expectation of the Good News which you heard, which was
proclaimed to every creature under the heaven, of which I, Sha’ul, became a
servant,
In this Torah portion the foundation for our salvation and deliverance is
established – the setting-apart of the first born.
1Co 3:11
For no one is able to lay any other foundation except that which is
laid, which is יהושע Messiah. (First born)
Perhaps the world is in such a mess because the Messianic “light bearers”
have failed to build on this ONE foundation.
How many amongst those who call themselves believers can truly identify
with the reality found in Col 1:24-29
Col 1:24
who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what
is lacking in Messiah’s afflictions, for the sake of His Body, which is the
assembly,
Col 1:25
of which I became a servant according to the administration of Elohim
which was given to me for you, to fill the word of Elohim,
Col 1:26
the secret which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now
has been revealed to His set-apart ones,
Col 1:27
to whom Elohim desired to make known what are the riches of the esteem
of this secret among the gentiles: which is Messiah in you,1 the
expectancy of esteem, Footnote: 1See Messiah in you in the
Explanatory Notes.
Col 1:28
whom we announce, warning every man and teaching every man in all
wisdom, in order to present every man perfect in Messiah יהושע,
Col 1:29 for which I also labour,
striving according to the working of Him who works in me in power.
Before the foundation of the world YHVH chose and called the assembly of
the first born – Eph 1:4
Heb 12:22
But you have drawn near to Mount Tsiyon and to the city of the living
Elohim, to the heavenly Yerushalayim, to myriads of messengers,
Heb 12:23
to the entire gathering and assembly of the first-born having been
enrolled in heaven, and to Elohim the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous
men made perfect,
Heb 12:24
and to יהושע the Mediator1 of a
new(renewed) covenant……
Exo 13:3 And Mosheh said to the
people, “Remember this day in which you went out of Mitsrayim, out of the house
of slavery. For by strength of hand יהוה brought you out of this place,
and whatever is leavened shall not be eaten.
Exo 13:4 “Today you are going out,
in the month Aḇiḇ.
Exo 13:5 “And it shall be, when יהוה brings you into the land of the
Kenaʽanites, and the Ḥittites, and the Amorites, and
the Ḥiwwites, and the Yeḇusites, which He swore to your
fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep
this service in this month.
Exo 13:6 “Seven days you eat
unleavened bread, and on the seventh day is a festival to יהוה.
Exo 13:7 “Unleavened bread is to be
eaten the seven days, and whatever is leavened is not to be seen with you, and
leaven is not to be seen with you within all your border.
Exo 13:8 “And you shall inform your
son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of what יהוה did for me when I came up from
Mitsrayim.’
Exo 13:9 “And it shall be as a sign
to you on your hand and as a reminder between your eyes, that the Torah of יהוה is to be in your mouth, for with
a strong hand יהוה has brought you out of Mitsrayim.
Exo 13:10 “And you shall guard this
law at its appointed time from year to year.
Exo 13:11 “And it shall be, when יהוה brings you into the land of the
Kenaʽanites, as He swore to you and
your fathers, and gives it to you,
Exo 13:12 that you shall pass over
to יהוה every one opening the womb, and every first-born that comes
from your livestock, the males belong to יהוה.
Exo 13:13 “But every first-born of a
donkey you are to ransom with a lamb. And if you do not ransom it, then you
shall break its neck. And every first-born of man among your sons you are to
ransom.
Exo 13:14 “And it shall be, when
your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say
to him, ‘By strength of hand יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim, out
of the house of bondage.
Exo 13:15 ‘And it came to be, when
Pharaoh was too hardened to let us go, that יהוה killed every first-born in the
land of Mitsrayim, both the first-born of man and the first-born of beast.
Therefore I am slaughtering to יהוה every male that open the womb,
but every first-born of my sons I ransom.’
Exo 13:16 “And it shall be as a sign
on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim.”
Exo 13:17 And it came to be, when
Pharaoh had let the people go, that Elohim did not lead them by way of the land
of the Philistines, though that was nearer, for Elohim said, “Lest the people
regret when they see fighting, and return to Mitsrayim.”
Parashat 16 - “Beshalach” “When
he set free or when he cast out” Shemot/Exodus13:17 – 17:16
יז וַיְהִי, בְּשַׁלַּח פַּרְעֹה
אֶת-הָעָם, וְלֹא-נָחָם אֱלֹהִים דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים, כִּי קָרוֹב
הוּא: כִּי אָמַר אֱלֹהִים, פֶּן-יִנָּחֵם הָעָם בִּרְאֹתָם
מִלְחָמָה--וְשָׁבוּ מִצְרָיְמָה.
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17 And
it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not by
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.'
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Are
we today still under Phaorah’s power?
Rev 13:7 And to it was given to do battle with the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given to it over every tribe and people and language and nation.
8 And all who are dwelling on the earth will be worshiping it, everyone whose name is not written in the scroll of life of the Lambkin slain from the disruption of the world.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear – CLV.
When
the time comes for us to return to the land we are not going to just pack our
bags and walk out of Egypt or this present world system.
As
believers we don’t like to admit that we are in bondage to anything, but if we
honestly consider our present position in this world, we realize that we need
to be set free from the hold that this world has over each one of us, whether
we admit it or not.
Once
again herein lies a very important truth for us to understand this Torah
portion as well as end time- events. Note that Pharoah had a legal right over
the people of his country. YHVH was not going to steal His people. Pharoah
eventually set them free because they had become too much trouble for him. It
was Pharoahs stubborn foolishness that got him killed and he no longer had any
right of ownership over the people of YHVH.
We
need to relook at our eschatological understanding of the end times in the
light of these truths. We are not going to return to the land of Israel until
the Pharoah of this present world system is destroyed – “ when he sets us free”
or “Be shalach”
NOTE WHO IS LEADING YISRAEL! YHVH LEADS
THEM OUT OF MITZRAYIM (Egypt).
The Midrash
Rabba states that “The tribe of Ephraim had erred and departed from Egypt 30
years before the destined time, with the result that three hundred thousand of
them were slain by the Philistines... and their bones lay in heaps on the
road... YHVH therefore said: If Israel behold the bones of the sons of Ephraim
strewn in the road, they will return to Egypt...”
“Lest the people regret when they see
fighting, and return to Mitsrayim.” The
Hebrew word for regret comes from a root word meaning to have compassion. This
verb appears in the text as a “niphal” verb and therefore conveys a passive
meaning. In other words the people would feel sorry or have feelings of
compassion when they saw war. Why? I believe it is possible if they took the
short route they would have seen the bodies of the Ephramites strewn across the
desert and would have felt very sorry for them.
The moral behind
this is that when a people fight the enemy in their own strength according to
their own wisdom they are bound to come to grief. Perhaps the Father wants to
save a remnant by protecting them from witnessing the destruction that comes
upon a people who seek to do warfare in their own strength and power.
Exo 13:18 So Elohim led the people
around by way of the wilderness of the Sea of Reeds. And the children of
Yisra’ĕl went up armed from the land of Mitsrayim.
Maybe their “arms” were not carnal weapons
of warfare, but the promises of YHVH and His Torah.
“armed”
2571 “Chamushim” this is the only place this word is used in the Tenach and its
meaning is uncertain.
Chamushim can mean
"armed"... Another interpretation: one in five (chamesh) among
the children of Israel came out of Egypt; four-fifths died during the three days
of darkness [because they did not want to leave Egypt].(Rashi)
Rabbi
Joshua interpreted it thus: fivefold they came out of Egypt, for five times
their number in converts were gathered into the people of Israel upon their
departure from Egypt. (Midrash Tanchuma)
Midrash Rabbah – “This is
comparable to a king who had a son to whom he wished to bequeath an
inheritance, but he argued: "If I give it to him now that he is small, he
will not know how to take care of it. I will therefore wait until my son studies
the writings and comprehends the value [of the property], then I will bequeath
it unto him." This is what YHVH said: I shall first give them the Torah,
and then bring them into the Land.”
Exo 13:19 And Mosheh took the bones
of Yosĕph with him, for he certainly made the children of Yisra’ĕl swear,
saying, “Elohim shall certainly visit you, and you shall bring my bones from
here with you.”
The Hebrew word for "bone" (etzem)
also means "essence." This verse can therefore be understood to mean
that Moshe took Yosef's very essence with him, and this served as inspirational
guidance for them as they crossed the desert. Yosef represents so much of who
and what the Messiah is and so in these last days we too can expect a Messianic
essence in all our preparation in returning to the land.
Exo 13:20 And they departed from
Sukkoth and camped in Ětham at the edge of the wilderness.
Note
they leave out detail recorded in Numbers chapter 33. Num 33:5 Then the children of Yisra’ĕl
departed from Raʽmeses and camped at Sukkoth.
I
believe that the Torah wants us to focus more on the events that took place at
the various locations. They carry a certain prophetic significance for an end-time
generation that will follow a similar pattern of redemption and return. Later on in Bamidbar 33 we will consider more
detail of the 42 places or stages of the wilderness journey.
Ramases – “child of the sun”. We will leave
Mitzrayim/Egypt because we no longer desire to submit ourselves to any form of
sun worship what so ever .
First
stop – Sukkoth.
- Sukkoth or temporary shelters – Tells us that for 42
months(Book of Revelation) we are going to be pilgrims and sojourners in
the truest sense of the word wandering through the wilderness waiting for
our Messiah to return and establish his kingdom on earth and in
Yerushalyaim - looking for a
city with foundations, whose
builder and maker is Elohim. - Heb
11:10 - a time of great
uncertainty.
- The
second stop was “Etham” which means contemplation or plowshare.
Luk 9:62 But יהושע said to him, “No one, having put
his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the reign of Elohim.