A Promise of the LORD's Presence

"See, I am sending my angel before you to lead you safely to the land I have prepared for you. Pay attention to him, and obey all of his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sins. He is my representative he bears my name. But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canannites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them. Do not worship the gods of these other nations or serve them in any way, and never follow their evil example. Instead, you must utterly conquer them and break down their shameful idols.

You must serve the LORD your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will keep you healthy. There will be no miscarriages or infertility among your people, and I will give you long, full lives.

I will send my terror upon all the people whose lands you invade, and they will panic before you. I will send hornets ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. But I will not do this all in one year because the land would become a wilderness, and the wild animals would become too many to control. I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to fill the land. And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the southern deserts to the Euphrates River. I will help you defeat the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.

Make no treaties with them and have nothing to do with their gods. Do not even let them live among you! If you do, they will infect you with their sin of idol worship, and that would be disastrous for you."

Dedication of the Firstborn

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Dedicate to me all the first-born sons of Israel and every firstborn male animal. They are mine."

So Moses said to the people, "This is a day to remember forever the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. For the LORD has brought you out by his mighty power. (Remember, you are not to use any yeast.) This day in early spring will be the anniversary of your exodus. You must celebrate this day when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. This is the land he swore to give your ancestors a land flowing with mild and honey. For seven days you will eat only bread without yeast. Then on the seventh day, you will celebrate a great feast to the LORD. Eat only bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast in your homes or anywhere within the borders of your land during this time.

"During these festival days each year, you must explain to your children why you are celebrating. Say to them, 'This is a celebration of what the LORD did for us when we left Egypt.' This annual festival will be a visible reminder to you, like mark branded on your hands or your forehead. Let it remind you always to keep the LORD's instructions in your minds and on your lips. After all, it was the LORD who rescued you from Egypt with great power.

So celebrate this festival at the appointed time each year. And remember these instructions when the LORD brings you into the land he swore to give your ancestors long ago, the land where the Canaanites are now living. All firstborn sons and firstborn male animals must be presented to the LORD. A firstborn male donkey may be redeemed from the LORD by presenting a lamb in its place. But if you decide not to make the exchange, the donkey must be killed by breaking its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn son.

And in the future, your children will ask you, 'What does all this mean? Then you will tell them, 'With mighty power the LORD brought us out of Egypt from our slavery. Pharaoh refused to let us go, so the LORD killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why we now offer all the firstborn males to the LORD except that the firstborn sons are always redeemed.' Again I say, this ceremony will be like a mark branded on your hands or your forehead. It is a visible reminder that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt with great power."

Exodus 13