Context No. 2840 of 4322 · Exodus

Exodus 13:1-10: in context

1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.” 3Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4Today you go out in the month Abib. 5It shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, 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. 6Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. 7Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and no leavened bread shall be seen with you. No yeast shall be seen with you, within all your borders. 8You shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. 10You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

Fresh out of Egypt, Israel is given commands that are all about not forgetting. God claims the firstborn as his, and institutes the feast of unleavened bread as a yearly memorial: remember this day you came out of the house of bondage. Tell your son, it is because of what the LORD did for me. Keep it as a sign on your hand and a memorial between your eyes.

Every one of these commands is memory made physical, a feast eaten, a sign worn, words spoken, a story handed to the next child. God knows how quickly a rescued people forgets its rescue, so he builds remembering right into the calendar and onto the body. Faith is not left to whatever we happen to feel; it is rehearsed, retold, and worn, so that the deliverance stays fresh generation after generation.

What deliberate practices do I keep to remember what God has done, or have I left remembrance to chance and so drifted into forgetting?

Sources

Exodus 13:8: "You shall tell your son in that day, saying, It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt."
Deuteronomy 6:12: "Be careful that you don't forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
Luke 22:19: "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me."