Holy Bible

Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn. Exodus 13:1, 2 The sanctification of the firstborn to the Lord J. S. Exell, M. A. I. THAT THE GOOD ARE REQUIRED TO SANCTIFY THEIR FIRSTBORN UNTO THE LORD. "All the firstborn" — that is to say, the most excellent of their possessions, the most valuable, and that which is viewed with the greatest regard. 1. This sanctification of the firstborn was required by the Divine commandment. 2. This sanctification of the firstborn was a grateful acknowledgment of the Divine mercy in sparing the firstborn from the midnight destruction. Heaven never asks more than it gives, or more than is consistent with the gratitude of a devout heart to bestow. 3. This sanctification of the firstborn was to be associated with the deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt. II. THAT THE GOOD, IS SANCTIFYING THEIR FIRSTBORN UNTO THE LORD, ARE NOT CALLED UPON TO GIVE UP THE SOLE USE OF THEIR PROPERTY, BUT TO REDEEM AND TO PUT IT TO A LAWFUL USE. Who would not desire his firstborn to be the Lord's? III. THAT THE GOOD ARE REQUIRED TO CONNECT THE SANCTIFICATION OF THEIR FIRSTBORN WITH SACRIFICE. "And all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem" (ver. 14). This redemption was to be by sacrifice. Parents need reminding of this duty. 1. Because they are liable to forget the service which past mercy requires of them. 2. Because they are apt to be selfish in the use of their property. 3. Because they are not sufficiently spiritually minded to see God in their property, and therefore forget His claims. 4. Because they do not like to pay the redemption price. IV. THAT THE GOOD ARE TO TEACH THE RIGHT OF GOD TO THE FIRSTBORN, TO THEIR POSTERITY (vers. 14, 15). Children are very inquisitive. They will ask questions, even about religious matters. At such times they should be carefully and solemnly instructed in Divine truth. The family is the best school for the young. They should early be taught the meaning of self-sacrifice, and the moral grandeur of giving to the Lord. Even the young have their firstborn, which they can be taught to give to the Lord; and if they grow up in the spirit of this obligation they will in after days, impart to it a truer meaning, and give to it a more solemn influence than before they were capable of. Lessons: 1. That the good must sanctify their best things to the Lord. 2. That this can only be done by the redemption of the Cross. 3. That the young must be early taught their obligation to the Lord. ( J. S. Exell, M. A. ) Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn J. S. Exell, M. A. 1. A command. 2. A duty. 3. A privilege. 4. A benediction. 5. A prophecy. ( J. S. Exell, M. A. ) The man-tithe J. B. Owen, M. A. I. OBSERVE THE FIRST RULE: "Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn of man." As the redemption of the firstborn of the more valuable animals was graciously commuted by the sacrifice of less valuable ones, so there was a commutation for the firstborn of man; not indeed by inferior substitutes as in the former case, but by his fellowman — by the institution of a priesthood, "sanctifying," or setting apart, the whole tribe of Levi in place of the firstborn of all Israel. But as this arrangement had not yet transpired at the period of the text, the explanation was deferred till then, that in the meanwhile the whole nation might fully realize the amount and weight of their liability to God; and further, that when Levi was sanctified, the whole Levitical priesthood — a priesthood of their brethren, "bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh" — might symbolize the High Priesthood of the Mediator who "was in all things made like unto His brethren," that He too "might also make intercession for the sins of the people." This lies at the root of the Levitical principle, the layagency in the church of God. Admirable is the advice of Jethro to his son-in-law, and incidentally it bears upon this subject. "This thing," that is, the whole burthen of the work, "is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone... Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens." Thus the work of religion, benevolence, and rule was divided, subdivided, and redivided still, from considerable districts down to classes of tens, as we should desire to see the work of God among ourselves distributed among our lay deacons and elders, district visitors, collectors and Sabbath-school teachers, who in their respective ministries should act on the suggestion of Jethro, "The hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves." II. Secondly, the text presents the rule of consecrated WEALTH — "Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn of beasts." On this point there is some difficulty. "All the firstborn of cattle" were given to the Lord by sacrifice; and yet in the forty-fifth verse of the third chapter of Numbers the whole of the cattle of the Levites were considered as a substitute for the firstlings of the general cattle, just as all the men of the Levites were accepted as the substitute for all the firstborn of men from the rest of the tribes. Possibly the cattle firstlings were redeemed, as the excess of human firstborn over the number of the firstborn of the Levites were, by the half-shekel atonement for each, which was payable at the census or periodical numbering of the people. It is probable that David's omission of this payment was the sin which incurred God's heavy displeasure in that unseasonable numbering of the people, which, in omitting the soul. tax for atonement, seemed numbered for David himself, and not for God. Be this as it may, the Lord claimed all the firstborn of their beasts, which were the staple property in the ruder forms of society. III. The text presents its demand for consecrated TIME. We need not dwell upon the Sabbath, or the Divine claim upon the sevenths of our time. Assuming we are all agreed that this, the minimum of God's requirement, is due from every man, we may deplore the manner in which, for the most part, even this holy debt is discharged. The abuse of the Sabbath and insubordination to its constantly recurring, bounden, and emphatic law, lies at the root of the national irreligion. There is a significancy in the proportion of the Divine demand of only a tenth of all other things, but a seventh of our time. ( J. B. Owen, M. A. ) The Divine right to the best things of man J. S. Exell, M. A. "It is Mine." This is the language of God in reference to each one of us. It is Mine. I. BECAUSE I CREATED IT. II. BECAUSE I PRESERVED IT. III. BECAUSE I ENDOWED IT WITH EVERYTHING THAT MAKES IT VALUABLE. ( J. S. Exell, M. A. ) The first born, types of Christ T. Taylor, D. D. I. AS THEY WERE GOD'S PECULIAR. 1. By common nature, 2. By common grace. 3. By a special right. (1) In His nature, Christ is Firstborn, as Son of God. (2) In His office, by special prerogative. (a) For the kind, in that He was Mediator, God and Man in unity of person, and the only Redeemer of His Church. (b) For undertaking of His office. (c) For the accomplishing His office, in His resurrection. He is called the First-begotten, or Firstborn of the dead, two ways: (i) In respect of His Father, who first begot Him from the dead; (ii) In regard of Himself, whose privilege it was to raise up Himself from the dead by His own power. II. The firstborn of Israel was the second, and NEXT TO THE FATHER OF THE FAMILY, yea, after the father instead of the father. So is Christ to His family, the Church; He performs all offices of a careful and tender father, and" takes on Him, not the affection only of a father, but even — 1. The name of a father ( Isaiah 9:6 ). 2. The office of a father. (1) He supplies the means of spiritual life, as they of natural. (2) He nurtures and teacheth His Church. (3) He provides for the present, and bestows the inheritance of eternal life. III. The firstborn HAD THE PRE-EMINENCE AMONG THE BRETHREN, and were chief in office and authority, rulers in the house after their fathers, and priests in the family, before the Levitical order was established. Herein they were special types of Jesus Christ; who in all things must have the pre-eminence, as first in time, in order, in precedency, and in the excellency and dignity of His person. IV. The firstborn HAD A DOUBLE PORTION IN GOODS ( Deuteronomy 21:17 ). Signifying — 1. The plenitude of the spirit and grace in Christ, who was anointed with oil of gladness above His fellows. 2. The pre-eminency of Christ in His glorious inheritance, advanced in glory and majesty incomprehensible by all creatures. Use —(1) Out of the occasion of the law of the firstborn, learn that the more God doth for any man, the more he ought to conceive himself to be the Lord's, and the more right and interest the Lord challengeth in him.(2) If Christ be the true firstborn, of whom all they are but types, we must give Him the honour of His birthright.(3) Here is a ground of much consolation.(a) In that Christ being the truth of the firstborn, from Him the birthright is derived unto us believers, as it was from Reuben unto Judah, and we partake of the same birthright with our head. For here is a difference between the type and truth of the firstborn. They had all their privileges for themselves: but Christ not for Himself but for us.(b) Being God's firstborn throughout, we are dear unto God.(c) God takes notice, and avenges all wrongs done to the saints, because they are His firstborn.(4) Seeing in Christ the firstborn we attain the birthright; let every Christian beware of profaneness, and passing away his birthright as Esau, who sold his birthright for pottage ( Hebrews 12:16 ).(5) Learn to grow in conformity with our Elder Brother Christ, with whom we cannot be equal, but like as brothers. We must be like Him in affection, like Him in affliction, like Him in the combat, and like Him in the crown. ( T. Taylor, D. D. ) Consecrated to the Lord When Bishop Selwyn spoke to Sir John Patteson, then a widower, of the desire of his splendidly gifted son, Coleridge, to join him in the New Zealand Mission, the father's first exclamation was: "I cannot let him go!" but he immediately added, "God forbid I should stop him!" And he closed the conversation by saying: "Mind, I give him wholly, not with any thought of seeing him again. I will not have him thinking he must come home to see me." A consecrated child — A young man was about to enter the foreign missionary work. A gentleman said to the young man's father, "It's hard to give up the boy." "Yes," replied the father, "but it's just what we've been expecting." "How so?" inquired the friend. "When he was a little baby," answered the father, "his mother and I went to a missionary meeting. An appeal, most earnest and touching, was made for men to become missionaries. We ourselves could not go. When we returned home the baby lay asleep in his crib. We went to the crib. His mother stood on one side, I on the other. We together laid our hands on his forehead, and prayed that it might be God's will for him to become a foreign missionary. We never spoke to him of what we did. But all through these twenty-five years we have believed that our prayer about him would be answered, and answered it now is. Yes, it is hard to give up the boy, but it's what we've been expecting." Remember this day. Exodus 13:3, 4 A day to be remembered G. Hughes, B. D. 1. God's commands and His servants' obedience are sweetly united together. 2. Deliverance of the Church from Egyptian bondage is justly chargeable on their memory. 3. Jehovah the Author of deliverance is to be minded with His work, and power of doing it. 4. Remembrance of Jehovah carrieth with it mindfulness of duty and service to Him (ver. 3). 5. Days and months of mercy are ordered by God to be remembered (ver. 4). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Days to be remembered J. S. Exell, M. A. I. THERE ARE DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF INDIVIDUALS WHICH OUGHT TO BE CELEBRATED. II. THERE ARE DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF CHURCHES WHICH OUGHT TO BE CELEBRATED. III. THERE ARE DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF NATIONS WHICH OUGHT TO BE CELEBRATED. ( J. S. Exell, M. A. ) Keep this service. Exodus 13:5-7 The ordinances of the Lord J. S. Exell, M. A. I. THAT THE ORDINANCES OF THE LORD MUST BE OBSERVED IN THE TIMES OF PROSPERITY (ver. 5). II. THAT THE ORDINANCES OF THE LORD MUST BE OBSERVED WITH TRUE INTELLIGENCE (vers. 8, 9). III. THAT THE ORDINANCES OF THE LORD MUST BE OBSERVED WITH PARENTAL SOLICITUDE. God has appointed the family the moral nursery of the young. Lessons: 1. To attend to all the ordinances of the Lord. 2. To attend to them at the most appropriate time. 3. To attend to them in right spirit and temper. ( J. S. Exell, M. A. ) Show thy son in that day. Exodus 13:8-10 Lessons G. Hughes, B. D. 1. The instruction of children is a duty upon parents. 2. God commands continuance of ordinances for instruction of posterity. 3. The reason of God's ordinances must be understood by parents and children (ver. 8). 4. Sacramental signs, and memorials of God, He is pleased to give His Church. 5. God would have these signal memorials at hand and before the eyes of His. 6. The Passover was a true sacramental sign and seal of God's covenant. 7. By sacraments rightly used God's covenant is confirmed on hearts and in profession. 8. God's mighty gracious redemption is a just cause of such memorials (ver. 9). 9. God's sacraments are His statutes and positive laws. 10. It is God s prerogative, to make anniversary memorials of His mercies (ver. 10). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Truth embodied J. A. Froude. As the soul is clothed in flesh, and only thus is able to perform its functions in this earth, where it is sent to live; as the thought must find a word before it can pass from mind to mind; so every great truth seeks some body, some outward form, in which to exhibit its powers. It appears in the world, and men lay hold of it, and represent it to themselves, in histories, in forms of words, in sacramental symbols; and these things, which in their proper nature are but illustrations, stiffen into essential fact, and become part of the reality. ( J. A. Froude. ) Importance of commemorative days and ordinances The following sentence is attributed to Voltaire: — "I despair of destroying Christianity in any country, so long as millions of human beings meet on Sunday to worship God." Many things have been fathered on Voltaire of which he never heard, but if he really said or wrote this he uttered an unusually sensible thing. It is curious that sceptical writers have regarded so little the testimony of Christian rites to the facts with which they are indissolubly connected. How did the Lord's Supper and the Lord's Day come to be established institutions? Rites and observances do not establish and perpetuate themselves. The origin of these two Christian institutions can only be explained by their connection with the events they commemorate. If the written records of the apostolic age could be blotted from the memory of man, the Lord's Supper would still bear testimony to Christ's death for man's salvation, as the Lord's Day would eloquently witness to His resurrection from the dead. All the firstborn. Exodus 13:11-13 Firstborn to be dedicated to God G. Hughes, B. D. 1. Jehovah is the beginning and end of His own ordinances. He sets them for Himself. 2. The Church must act these duties from God unto God Himself. 3. All that God requires must His people make to pass from them to Him. 4. Firstborn males of beasts God required in the law for special use to Himself (ver. 12). 5. Clean and unclean among creatures is a distinction made by God for men, not for Himself. 6. God hath a proprietary in all creatures be they never so unclean. 7. God hath ordered redemption for unclean by putting the clean in their stead. 8. Unclean unredeemed must be destroyed. 9. A price hath God set for man's redemption to gain a Church of the firstborn. 10. The law of the firstborn hath its truth and accomplishment in Christ Jesus, "the Firstborn of every creature" ( Colossians 1:15 ; ver. 13). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) When thy son asketh thee. Exodus 13:14-16 Meaning of ordinances to be explained G. Hughes, B. D. 1. Ancient ordinances may be justly questioned in succeeding ages to know the meaning of them. 2. Reason is to be given of our religion to such as reasonably demand it. 3. Children may ask of parents and they must inform them of the ordinances of God. 4. Redemption-mercies are to be recorded and reported as just ground of God's ordinance (ver. 14). 5. Opposition against redemptions are justly declared to make the work glorious, and God's people obedient. 6. Vengeance upon the enemies of the Church's redemption is fit to be known to quicken them to duty. 7. The Church's reason for its religion to God is rightly taken from its redemption (ver. 15). 8. God's redeeming mercies ought to work in the Church eternal memorials of Him (ver. 16). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Lessons G. Hughes, B. D. 1. After redemption of His Church God provideth for guiding them in the way to rest. 2. Nearest ways to rest with men are not always approved by God for His people. 3. God's foreknowledge of dangerous ways to His Church doth prevent them. 4. God will not put His people upon war or hard trials until He have fitted them for it. 5. God's special care of His Church is to keep them from a retreat to bondage after redemption (ver. 17). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Imparting knowledge Elihu Burritt. Knowledge cannot be stolen by or from you. It cannot be sold or bought. You may be poor, and be troubled by the sheriff on the journey of life. He may break into your house and sell your furniture at auction; drive away your cow; take away your ewe lamb, and leave you homeless and penniless; but he cannot lay the law's hand upon the jewellery of your mind. This cannot be taken for debt; neither can you give it away, though you give enough of it to fill a million minds. In getting rich in the things which perish with the using, men have often obeyed to the letter that first commandment of selfishness: "Keep what you can get, and get what you can." In filling your minds with the wealth of knowledge, you must reverse this rule, and obey this law: "Keep what you give, and give what you can." The fountain of knowledge is filled by its outlets, not by its inlets. You can learn nothing which you do not teach; you can acquire nothing of intellectual wealth except by giving. ( Elihu Burritt. ) Through the way of the wilderness. Exodus 13:17-18 The way of the wilderness D. Merson, M. A. I. THE WAY BY WHICH GOD OFTEN LEADS HIS PEOPLE MAY BE DESCRIBED AS THE "WAY OF THE WILDERNESS." There are several points of analogy or similarity between the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, and the path of God's people through this world. For one thing, the journey of the sons of Jacob was circuitous. There can be little doubt that, after their release from bondage, they looked forward to a speedy occupation of the Promised Land; but in this they were disappointed. They were not permitted to go direct and at once to their inheritance. Then, again, it was not a way of their own choosing. There were two routes, either of which they might have followed; one, the ordinary caravan route through the country of the Philistines, entering Canaan from the south; the other, by the Red Sea and the wilderness of Sinai, entering Canaan from the west. There was no geographical necessity for taking the more circuitous route through Sinai. Indeed, without an explicit command from God, it would have been the height of folly for any leader, even Moses, to have attempted to conduct such a vast host all unprovided for into the desert. Now, the discerning reader cannot fail to be struck with the similarity of all this to the Providential ordering of human life. The current of our earthly being seldom runs straight. There are often many windings before it reaches its goal; and it may be that few of those windings would have been in accordance with our wishes. How true is this of Moses, who, in his impatience for the release of his countrymen, struck the blow for freedom too soon. And instead of being permitted to go direct to the work, he had to undergo forty years of preparatory service among the solitudes of Midian. Take Joseph, and you see the working of the same principle. How strikingly is the hand of Providence seen in his life! His experiences in Egypt before his promotion may seem a strange preparation for his after eminence, and certainly not of his own choosing. God was "leading him about." The pit in Dothan, servitude under Potiphar, confinement in prison, were so many steps or turnings in a life that rose to such distinction. Then again take the apostle Paul. The great ambition of his life was to preach the gospel at Rome. The noble apostle got his wish. He was permitted to go to Rome, but he went as a prisoner. The chains might seem to confine his influence, but, for aught we know, they may have added to the impressiveness of his message and testimony for his Master. God was leading him about, an ambassador in bonds. So in our life. The course of Providence sometimes takes strange turns. Our life-path is seldom what at one time we expected it to be, any more than the journey from Egypt to Canaan was what the Israelites expected. We come to our Etham on the edge of the wilderness, and at that point the current of our life is altered and its winding course begins. The altered current may lead us into the desert of adversity, or into the wilderness of affliction, where for years we may have to endure. Many a Christian has been led home through the winding path of pain. It is God "leading us about." II. We now proceed to inquire into THE PURPOSE OF THIS ROUNDABOUT JOURNEY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS. When the sons of Jacob left Egypt, they were little better than a band of undisciplined slaves, and they had to be trained. The growth of every noble quality had been cramped and hampered by degrading bondage, and the wilderness was to be their training-school. There was, therefore, a moral purpose in the forty years' wandering. It was intended to train them to be and to do, to develop in them noble qualities, and train them for noble deeds. They could have marched to Canaan in eight or ten days; but eight or ten days would have been too short a period for the growth of character. No one can read their history without observing the change which forty years had produced on them. They gained new experiences, and developed those manly qualities needed to fight their way to the possession of Canaan. Now, is it not in this way still that God prepares His people for their mission? As a general rule the men who have made the deepest impression for good on the world's history have been led up to their throne of influence by a long path of preparation. Few leap into their position at a bound. The shortest way is not always the best. There is, perhaps, no station in life in which difficulties have not to be encountered and overcome before any decided measure of success can be achieved. Those difficulties are, however, our best instructors, as our mistakes often form our best experience. Horne Tooke used to say of his studies in intellectual philosophy, that he had become all the better acquainted with the country through having had the good luck sometimes to lose his way. And a distinguished investigator of physical science has left it on record that whenever, in the course of his researches, he encountered an apparently insuperable obstacle, he generally found himself on the brink of some novel discovery. The severe preparatory discipline which God's men have to undergo is for most part unknown to the world. We cannot tell how the Israelites spent thirty-eight years of their desert life, we only know the effect it had on them. We might further extend this thought to the discipline which God applies for the soul's sanctification. The ultimate end of all the Divine dealings with man in this life must be sought in the life to come. The soul has often to pass through the path of affliction or adversity ere it is fit for the fellowship of the pure in heart in the Promised Land. The reward will be more prized and the rest the sweeter on account of the experience gained when God led you about through the way of the wilderness. III. IN ORDER TO DERIVE FULL BENEFIT FROM THE EXPERIENCES OF LIFE, SEVERAL THINGS HAVE TO BE ATTENDED TO. Discipline, however suitable it may seem, wilt not of itself further the work of grace in the heart, unless it is accepted as from God. Confining ourselves to this narrative, we find two or three conditions without which Divine discipline will yield no moral profit. 1. In the first place, we must not harbour a spirit of discontent with our lot. To this spirit are traceable many of the calamities of the wilderness, and it barred the gates of Canaan against the generation that left Egypt. That generation did not benefit by God's dealings. Now all this is true in our life. We often miss the good that is meant for us by dissatisfaction with the channel through which it comes. The apprentice lad must not chafe if he is put to distasteful work and at a low wage: let him learn that this is the price to be paid for future advancement, and let him cheerfully accept his post. Murmuring at cross-bearing will do us no good, but rather harm, as it will prevent us from attaining to acquiescence in the Divine will. 2. Secondly, in order to secure the greatest good from our lot, we must banish from our company whatever tends to lead us astray. When the Israelites left Egypt they were joined by a group called the "mixed multitude." The Church's greatest danger lies not so much in attacks from without, as in temporizing with worldly-minded men, and harbouring in her midst those who are not of her in spirit. But this "mixed multitude," while it is typical-of nominal Christians in the Church, may be regarded as a type of those unholy desires and passions that are more or less to be found in the heart of every one of us. We all carry about with us a "mixed multitude" of unsubdued appetites which crave for gratification; and not more surely did the Israelites suffer from the presence of this base throng, than we shall have the peace of our life marred, and its usefulness impaired, by giving reins to those unholy forces. They need to be constantly kept in check, else they are sure to lead us astray. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us; and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. 3. There is one more condition that we must comply with, if we would finish our course with joy, and that is, we must loyally follow the guidance of our Heavenly Leader. ( D. Merson, M. A. ) Why the Israelites were guided by the way of the wilderness J. B. Brown, B. A. I. They had been sated with the magnificence of man's works; God led them forth into the wilderness TO SHOW THEM HIS WORKS IN THEIR NATIVE GRANDEUR, and to refresh their exhausted hearts and spirits by the vision of the splendour of His world. II. God led them forth by the way of the wilderness, that He might reveal not nature only, BUT HIMSELF. He led them into the wilderness, as He leads us, that He might meet with them, speak with them, reveal Himself to them, and teach them to know themselves in knowing Him. III. God.led them into the wilderness, THAT HE MIGHT THERE CULTIVATE THEIR MANLY QUALITIES, and fit them to hold the possessions they might win. ( J. B. Brown, B. A. ) God's path G. Hughes, B. D. 1. God does not order salvation to His as it pleaseth man, but as it pleaseth Himself. 2. God in wisdom sometimes translates His Church from the house of bondage to a wilderness. 3. Wilderness and Red Sea paths, are the way of God's people here below. 4. God makes the way to rest not always straight, but to be about. 5. Israel, or God's people, go the round that God doth lead them. 6. Orderly and well instructed are the Church's motions under God in wilderness-ways. ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) God's people in the wilderness T. B. Baker. I. THAT BY ISRAEL IN EGYPT WE MAY UNDERSTAND THE SPIRITUAL BONDAGE OF GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE AT LARGE. 1. Israel was in an enemy's country. So are the elect by nature. 2. Their bondage was rigorous. So was the Christian's. 3. Their departure, like the believer's, was opposed. 4. And when liberated, their enemies pursued them. II. SOME REASONS WHY GOD DID NOT ADMIT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL INTO THE PROMISED LAND, IMMEDIATELY ON THEIR GOING OUT OF EGYPT, AND WHY HE DOES NOT ADMIT HIS ELECT INTO GLORY IMMEDIATELY ON THEIR CONVERSION. 1. The Egyptians must be drowned — enemies subdued. 2. The Israelites must be humbled ( Psalm 66:10-12 ). 3. He led them some hundreds of miles about; yet it was the right way ( Psalm 107:7 ). 4. God's way is right, although it may appear round about ( Psalm 18:30 ). III. SOME REASONS FOR GOD'S CONDUCT IN KEEPING THEM IN THE WILDERNESS. 1. They were not fit as yet for severe warfare. 2. Their enemies were great, and themselves weak. 3. He had much to teach them. IV. THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY WENT UP. "Harnessed" — or by fives, or five in a rank, or rather by five bodies or squadrons, and so marched out, not in a disorderly or confused way, but in great order and regularity. 1. Their loins were girt ( Ephesians 6:14 ). 2. Their heart was secured ( Ephesians 6:14 ). 3. Their feet were shod ( Ephesians 6:15 ). 4. Having a shield, helmet, and sword ( Ephesians 6:16, 17 ). ( T. B. Baker. ) The way of God in conducting the life of the good J. S. Exell, M. A. I. THAT IT IS THE WAY OF GOD TO BRING THE GOOD TO A PLACE OF REST. This is the object of all life's discipline. II. THAT IT IS THE WAY OF GOD TO BRING THE GOOD AWAY FROM THE THINGS THAT WOULD BE UNFRIENDLY TO THEIR WELFARE. He selects the life path of the good — 1. Wisely. 2. Kindly. III. THAT IT IS OFTEN THE WAY OF GOD TO BRING THE GOOD A CIRCUITOUS ROUTE TO THEIR DESTINATION. The nearest way is not always the best. IV. THAT IT IS THE WAY OF GOD TO BRING THE GOOD ALONG UNWELCOME PATHS. Impossible to get to Canaan without perplexities. God is always with the good in their wilderness wanderings. V. THAT IT IS THE WAY OF GOD TO BRING THE GOOD INTO A BETTER AND MORE THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF THEMSELVES. Men get to know more in the desert. Some Christians are taken to heaven through a long route of pain. They long for home, but the journey is prolonged. It is hard to see the reason of their protracted existence. The Divine purpose is not yet accomplished in them. VI. THAT IT IS THE WAY OF GOD TO BRING THE GOOD INTO A WISE EXERCISE OF THEIR OWN STRENGTH. "And the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt." They walked in battle array. And so, while it is the way of God to conduct human life to its destination, it is also the duty of man to exercise his own wisdom and strength, so that he may do all to aid the plans of God concerning him. Lessons: 1. That God leads men from Egypt to Canaan. 2. That men must give themselves up to the guidance of God. 3. That life is often through a long wilderness. 4. However long the journey, men must trust in God. ( J. S. Exell, M. A. ) The roundabout way J. Macmillan, M. A. I. GOD LED THEM. "Man's extremity is God's opportunity." When He calls you up the slopes of the mount of sacrifice, it is to bring you within the sound of Divine voices at the summit; when He calls you to the "edge of the wilderness," or to a "desert place apart," it is to "speak comfortably" unto you "out of the cloud." II. GOD LED THEM NOT THROUGH THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES, ALTHOUGH THAT WAS NEAR... BUT HE LED THEM ABOUT BY THE WAY OF THE WILDERNESS OF THE RED SEA. He had not taken them into His confidence, they could not understand Him, they had no sympathy with His vast and gracious designs, therefore He did not "give an account of any of His matters." "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." Let no one hesitate to "go up and possess the land," for fear he be overpowered with temptations that beset the path of Peter or Paul or Luther, or of some venerable man of God who but too faithfully has given an account of his conflict with the world and the flesh and the devil. God will take you to heaven, but He has not promised to take you by the near way. It may be by a very long way. One thing I know, it will not be through the way of the land of the Philistines, or of any foes who would effect your ruin and drive you

Benson Commentary Exodus 13:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Exodus 13:2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. Exodus 13:2 . Sanctify — That is, command all the people to sanctify; unto me — To my use and service, in a manner I shall hereafter explain; all the firstborn — That are males, as the command is limited, Exodus 13:12 ; whatsoever openeth the womb — That is, every child which is the firstborn of his mother: so that if a man had many wives, either together or successively, his first child by every one of these was a firstborn, and, if a male, was claimed by the Lord. But if a female came first, and afterward a male, that male was not devoted to God, because it was not the firstborn. Hence the parents were not to look upon themselves as having an interest in their firstborn, if males, till they had first solemnly presented them to God, and received them back from him again. It is mine — By special right and title, as being by singular favour preserved from the common destruction. The firstborn of man, if males, were claimed for the sacred ministrations of the priestly office. But after the Jewish commonwealth was formed, the Levites were chosen to officiate in their stead, Numbers 3:12 ; and the firstborn were to be redeemed at a certain rate, which was part of the priest’s maintenance, Numbers 18:15-16 . And of beast — Which was to be offered to God, if a male: only an ass was to be redeemed. Exodus 13:3 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. Exodus 13:4 This day came ye out in the month Abib. Exodus 13:5 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. Exodus 13:5 . When the Lord shall bring you into the land, thou shalt keep this service — Until then they were not obliged to keep the passover, without a particular command from God. There shall no leavened bread be seen in all thy quarters — Accordingly the Jews’ usage was, before the feast of the passover, to cast all the leavened bread out of their houses; either they burned it, or buried it, or broke it small, and threw it into the wind; they searched diligently with lighted candles in all the corners of their houses, lest any leaven should remain. The strictness enjoined in this matter was designed, 1st, To make the feast the more solemn, and consequently the more taken notice of by the children, who would ask, Why is so much ado made? 2d, To teach us how solicitous we should be to put away from us all sin. Exodus 13:6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. Exodus 13:7 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. Exodus 13:8 And thou shalt shew 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. Exodus 13:8 . Thou shalt show thy son — When you shall be come into the land of Canaan, you shall instruct your children in the meaning of your killing the lamb, and abstaining from leaven, that so you and they may be excited to gratitude to God for his goodness. This was evidently the design of the institution. Exodus 13:9 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. Exodus 13:9 . Upon thy hand, between thine eyes — Proverbial expressions, denoting that these things were never to be out of their minds. The Jews, however, understood this literally, and hence the use of phylacteries among them, pieces of parchment inscribed with sentences of their law, which they bound upon their left hand, and placed upon their foreheads between their eyes. Exodus 13:10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. Exodus 13:11 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, Exodus 13:12 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. Exodus 13:12 . Every firstling of a beast shall be the Lord’s — That is, every firstling male of a clean beast, as of the cow, sheep, or goat kind, was to be offered in sacrifice; and the blood being sprinkled, and the fat burned on the altar, the flesh of them was to be given to the priests, Numbers 18:17-18 . Exodus 13:13 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. Exodus 13:13 . Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb — Or kid, Exodus 12:3 ; and the same is to be understood of all unclean beasts in general, see Numbers 18:15 . The ass seems to be particularly mentioned, because those animals were more numerous among them than other beasts of burden. If a man had not a lamb, he was to give the price of one. This lamb was to be given to the Lord; that is, to his priest. Exodus 13:14 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: Exodus 13:15 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. Exodus 13:16 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. Exodus 13:16 . For frontlets between thine eyes — As conspicuous as any thing fixed to thy forehead, or between thine eyes. That is, they were constantly to retain such a sense of their deliverance as if they had it before their eyes. Exodus 13:17 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: Exodus 13:18 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. Exodus 13:18 . There were various 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, Deuteronomy 8:2 . God had given it to Moses for a sign, Exodus 3:12 , Ye 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 they should march that way, else they had justly been exclaimed against as 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 for the doing of this it was necessary 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. The reason why God did not lead them the nearest way, which would have brought them in a few days to the land of the Philistines, was because they were not yet fit for war, much less for war with the Philistines. Their spirits were broken with slavery; the Philistines were formidable enemies; it was convenient they should begin with the Amalekites, and be prepared for the wars of Canaan, by experiencing the difficulties of the wilderness. God is said to bring Israel out of Egypt, as the eagle brings up her young ones, Deuteronomy 32:11 , teaching them by degrees to fly. They went up harnessed — The original word for harnessed here is variously rendered: it comes from a root which signifies five, hence some render it five in a rank. The same word is rendered prepared for war, Joshua 1:14 ; Joshua 4:12-13 . Targum, girded, harnessed. Vulg. armati, armed. So the Seventy, ??????? equipped, ????????????? prepared, furnished: thus in Joshua; but in this place of Exodus the Seventy render the word ????? ????? , the fifth generation, and translate the passage, In the fifth generation, the children of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 13:19 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. Exodus 13:20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. Exodus 13:21 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: Exodus 13:21 . And the Lord went before them in a pillar — In the first two stages, it was enough that God directed Moses whither to march; he knew the country, and the road; but now they are come to the edge of the wilderness, they would have occasion for a guide, and a very good guide they had, infinitely wise, kind, and faithful, the Lord went up before them; the shechinah, or appearance of the Divine Majesty, which was a previous manifestation of the eternal Word, who, in the fulness of time, was to be made flesh, and dwell among us. Christ was with the church in the wilderness, 1 Corinthians 10:9 . What a satisfaction to Moses and the pious Israelites, to be sure that they were under a divine conduct! They need not fear missing their way who were thus led, nor being lost who were thus directed; they need not fear being benighted who were thus illuminated, nor being robbed who were thus protected. And they 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. They had sensible effects of God’s going before them in this pillar. For, it led them the way in that vast howling wilderness, in which there was no road, no track, no way-marks, 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 eased them from care, and secured them from danger, both in moving, and in resting. It sheltered them from the heat by day, which at some times of the year was extreme, and it gave them light by night when they had occasion for it. Exodus 13:22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. Exodus 13:22 . He took not away the pillar of the cloud — No, not when they seemed to have less occasion for it: it never left them until it brought them to the borders of Canaan. It was a cloud which the wind could not scatter. There was something spiritual in this pillar of cloud and fire. 1st, The children of Israel were baptized unto Moses in this cloud, 1 Corinthians 10:2 . By coming under this cloud they signified their putting themselves under the conduct and command 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. 2d, And it signifies the special conduct and protection which the church of Christ is under in this world. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Exodus 13:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, CHAPTER XIII. THE LAW OF THE FIRSTBORN. Exodus 13:1-22 . Much that was said in the twelfth chapter is repeated in the thirteenth. And this repetition is clearly due to a formal rehearsal, made when all "their hosts" had mustered in Succoth after their first march; for Moses says, "Remember this day, in which ye came out" ( Exodus 13:3 ). Already it had been spoken of as a day much to be remembered, and for its perpetuation the ordinance of the Passover had been founded. But now this charge is given as a fit prologue for the remarkable institution which follows--the consecration to God of all unblemished males who are the firstborn of their mothers--for such is the full statement of what is claimed. In speaking to Moses the Lord says, "Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn ... it is Mine." But Moses addressing the people advances gradually, and almost diplomatically. First he reminds them of their deliverance, and in so doing he employs a phrase which could only have been used at the exact stage when they were emancipated and yet upon Egyptian soil: "By strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place " ( Exodus 13:3 ). Then he charges them not to forget their rescue, in the dangerous time of their prosperity, when the Lord shall have brought them into the land which He swore to give them; and he repeats the ordinance of unleavened bread. And it is only then that he proceeds to announce the permanent consecration of all their firstborn--the abiding doctrine that these, who naturally represent the nation, are for its unworthiness forfeited, and yet by the grace of God redeemed. God, Who gave all and pardons all, demands a return, not as a tax which is levied for its own sake, but as a confession of dependence, and like the silk flag presented to the sovereign, on the anniversaries of the two greatest of English victories, by the descendants of the conquerors, who hold their estates upon that tenure. The firstborn, thus dedicated, should have formed a sacred class, a powerful element in Hebrew life enlisted on the side of God. For these, as we have already seen, the Levites were afterwards substituted ( Numbers 3:44 ), and there is perhaps some allusion to this change in the direction that "all the firstborn of man thou shalt redeem" ( Exodus 13:13 ). But yet the demand is stated too broadly and imperatively to belong to that later modification: it suits exactly the time to which it is attributed, before the tribe of Levi was substituted for the firstborn of all. "They are Mine," said Jehovah, Who needed not, that night, to remind them what He had wrought the night before. It is for precisely the same reason, that St. Paul claims all souls for God: "Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God with your bodies and with your spirits, which are God's." And besides the general claim upon us all, each of us should feel, like the firstborn, that every special mercy is a call to special gratitude, to more earnest dedication. "I beseech you, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice" ( Romans 12:1 ). There is a tone of exultant confidence in the words of Moses, very interesting and curious. He and his nation are breathing the free air at last. The deliverance that has been given makes all the promise that remains secure. As one who feels his pardon will surely not despair of heaven, so Moses twice over instructs the people what to do when God shall have kept the oath which He swore, and brought them into Canaan, into the land flowing with milk and honey. Then they must observe His passover. Then they must consecrate their firstborn. And twice over this emancipator and lawgiver, in the first flush of his success, impresses upon them the homely duty of teaching their households what God had done for them ( Exodus 13:8 , Exodus 13:14 ; cf. Exodus 12:26 ). This, accordingly, the Psalmist learned, and in his turn transmitted. He heard with his ears and his fathers told him what God did in their days, in the days of old. And he told the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, and His strength, and His wondrous works ( Psalm 44:1 , Psalm 78:4 ). But it is absurd to treat these verses, as Kuenen does, as evidence that the story is mere legend: "transmitted from mouth to mouth, it gradually lost its accuracy and precision, and adopted all sorts of foreign elements." To prove which, we are gravely referred to passages like this. ( Religion of Israel , i. 22, Eng. Vers.) The duty of oral instruction is still acknowledged, but this does not prove that the narrative is still unwritten. From the emphatic language in which Moses urged this double duty, too much forgotten still, of remembering and showing forth the goodness of God, sprang the curious custom of the wearing of phylacteries. But the Jews were not bidden to wear signs and frontlets: they were bidden to let hallowed memories be unto them in the place of such charms as they had seen the Egyptians wear, "for a sign unto thee, upon thine hand, and for a frontlet between thine eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in thy mouth" ( Exodus 13:9 ). Such language is frequent in the Old Testament, where mercy and truth should be bound around their necks; their fathers' commandments should be tied around their necks, bound on their fingers, written on their hearts; and Sion should clothe herself with her converts as an ornament, and gird them upon her as a bride doth ( Proverbs 3:3 , Proverbs 6:21 , Proverbs 7:3 ; Isaiah 49:18 ). But human nature still finds the letter of many a commandment easier than the spirit, a ceremony than an obedient heart, penance than penitence, ashes on the forehead than a contrite spirit, and a phylactery than the gratitude and acknowledgment which ought to be unto us for a sign on the hand and a frontlet between the eyes. We have already observed the connection between the thirteenth verse and the events of the previous night. But there is an interesting touch of nature in the words "the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb." It was afterwards rightly perceived that all unclean animals should follow the same rule; but why was only the ass mentioned? Plainly because those humble journeyers had no other beast of burden. Horses pursued them presently, but even the Egyptians of that period used them only in war. The trampled Hebrews would not possess camels. And thus again, in the tenth commandment, when the stateliest of their cattle is specified, no beast of burden is named with it but the ass: "Thou shalt not covet ... his ox nor his ass." It is an undesigned coincidence of real value; a phrase which would never have been devised by legislators of a later date; a frank and unconscious evidence of the genuineness of the story. Some time before this, a new and fierce race, whose name declared them to be "emigrants," had thrust itself in among the tribes of Canaan--a race which was long to wage equal war with Israel, and not seldom to see his back turned in battle. They now held all the south of Palestine, from the brook of Egypt to Ekron ( Joshua 15:4 , Joshua 15:47 ). And if Moses in the flush of his success had pushed on by the straight and easy route into the promised land, the first shock of combat with them would have been felt in a few weeks. But "God led them not by the way of the Philistines, though that was near, for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent them when they see war, and they return to Egypt" ( Exodus 13:17 ). From this we learn two lessons. Why did not He, Who presently made strong the hearts of the Egyptians to plunge into the bed of the sea, make the hearts of His own people strong to defy the Philistines? The answer is a striking and solemn one. Neither God in the Old Testament, nor God manifested in the flesh, is ever recorded to have wrought any miracle of spiritual advancement or overthrow. Thus the Egyptians were but confirmed in their own choice: their decision was carried further. And even Saul of Tarsus was illuminated, not coerced: he might have disobeyed the heavenly vision. He was not an insincere man suddenly coerced into earnestness, nor a coward suddenly made brave. In the moral world, adequate means are always employed for the securing of desired effects. Love, gratitude, the sense of danger and of grace, are the powers which elevate characters. And persons who live in sensuality, fraud, or falsehood, hoping to be saved some day by a sort of miracle of grace, ought to ponder this truth, which may not be the gospel now fashionable, but is unquestionably the statement of a Scriptural fact: in the moral sphere, God works by means and not by miracle . A free life, the desert air, the rejection of the unfit by many visitations, and the growth of a new generation amid thrilling events, in a soul-stirring region, and under the pure influences of the law,--these were necessary before Israel could cross steel with the warlike children of the Philistines; and even then, it was not with them that he should begin. The other lesson we learn is the tender fidelity of God, Who will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able to bear. He led them aside into the desert, whither He still in mercy leads very many who think it a heavy judgment to be there. Exodus 13:19 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. THE BONES OF JOSEPH. Exodus 13:19 . It is certain that Moses, in the days of his greatness, must often have mused by the sepulchre of the one Israelite before himself who held high rank in Egypt. The knowledge that Joseph's elevation was providential must have helped him at that time, now many years ago, to think rightly of his own. And now we read that Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. In the Epistle to the Hebrews ( Hebrews 11:22 ) it is recorded as the most characteristic example of the faith of the patriarch, that instead of desiring to be carried, like his father, at once to Canaan, he made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones. To him Egypt was no longer an alien land. There only he had known honour without envy, and happiness without betrayal. There his bones could rest in quiet; but not for ever. Personal elevation, which had not rent the cord between him and his unworthy family, could still less sever the bands between him and the sacred race. Let him sleep in Egypt while his grave there was honoured: let the remembrance of him be kept fresh, to protect awhile his kindred; and when the predicted days of evil came, let his ashes share the neglect and dishonour of his people, if only they would remember his remains when the Lord would lead them forth. This confidence in their emancipation was his faith--which meant, here as always, not a clear view of truth, but an assuring grasp of it. 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." Many a Christian might well envy a confidence so practical, so thoroughly realised, entering so naturally into the tissue of his thoughts and calculations. And their actual remembrance of him goes to show that the tradition of his faith had never completely died out, but was among the influences which kept alive the nation's hope. And as the people bore his honoured ashes through the desert, these being dead spoke of bygone times, they linked the present and the past together, they deepened the national consciousness that Israel was a favoured people, called to no common destiny, sustained by no common promises, pressing toward no common goal. If Israel had been wise, they would have thought of him, the Israelite in heart, though glittering in the splendours of Egypt; and would have considered well that as little as men detected his secret life from his appearance, so little could theirs be judged. To the eye, they were free from the foreign trammels in which he was seemingly entangled, yet many of them in heart turned back to all which strove in vain to bind his affections down. The lesson holds good today. Many a modern religionist looks askance at the "worldliness" of high office and rank and state; little dreaming that the "world" he censures is strong in his own ambitious and self-asserting spirit, and is overcome by the gentle and tranquil spirit of hundreds of those whom he condemns. Bearing this hallowed burden, which might easily have become an object of superstitious regard, the nation moved from Succoth to Etham on the edge of the wilderness. And with them a Presence moved which rebuked all others, however venerable. The Lord went before them. It has already been pointed out that throughout the early history of this nation, just come out of an idolatrous land, and too ready to lapse back into superstition, God never reveals Himself except in fire. To Abraham and to Jacob He appeared in human form, and again to Joshua; but in the interval, never. So now they see Him by day in a pillar of cloud to guide them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. The glory of the nation was that manifested Presence, lacking which, Moses besought Him to carry them up no farther. Nothing in the Exodus is more impressive, and it sank deep into the national heart. Many centuries afterwards, the ideal of a golden age was that the Lord should "create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud of smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night" ( Isaiah 4:5 ). But it has been well observed that, amid the various allusions to it in Hebrew poetry, not one treats it as modern literature has done, with an eye to its marvellous sublimity and picturesque effects: "By day, along the astonished lands The cloudy pillar glided slow: By night, Arabia's crimsoned sands Returned the fiery column's glow." The Hebrew poetry is vivid and passionate, but all its concerns are human or divine--God, and the life of man. It is not artistic, but inspired. "The modern poet is delighting in the scenic effect; the ancient chronicler was wholly occupied with the overshadowing power of God."[24] FOOTNOTES: [24] Hutton's Essays , Vol. ii., Literary: The Poetry of the Old Test. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.