Meditate

13. Consecration of the Firstborn

13

The Lord said to Moses:²Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread

³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, because the Lord brought you out from there by strength of hand; no leavened bread shall be eaten.⁴Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.⁵When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this observance in this month.⁶Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival to the Lord.⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen in your possession, and no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory.⁸You shall tell your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’⁹It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the Lord may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.¹⁰You shall keep this ordinance at its proper time from year to year.

The Consecration of the Firstborn

¹¹ “When the Lord has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and has given it to you,¹²you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s.¹³But every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem.¹⁴When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.¹⁵When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’¹⁶It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem on your forehead that by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”

The Pillars of Cloud and Fire

¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.”¹⁸So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle.¹⁹And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, “God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.”²⁰They set out from Succoth, and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.²¹The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.²²Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

13. Submission to Authorities

Being Subject to Authorities

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Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.²Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval;⁴for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.⁵Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.⁶For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing.

73. Psalm 73

BOOK III

(Psalms 73–89)

Psalm 73

Plea for Relief from Oppressors

A Psalm of Asaph.

1

Truly God is good to the upright,

to those who are pure in heart.

2

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;

my steps had nearly slipped.

3

For I was envious of the arrogant;

I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4

For they have no pain;

their bodies are sound and sleek.

5

They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not plagued like other people.

6

Therefore pride is their necklace;

violence covers them like a garment.

7

Their eyes swell out with fatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

8

They scoff and speak with malice;

loftily they threaten oppression.

9

They set their mouths against heaven,

and their tongues range over the earth.

10

Therefore the people turn and praise them,

and find no fault in them.

11

And they say, “How can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

12

Such are the wicked;

always at ease, they increase in riches.

13

All in vain I have kept my heart clean

and washed my hands in innocence.

14

For all day long I have been plagued,

and am punished every morning.

15

If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”

I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.

16

But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

17

until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I perceived their end.

18

Truly you set them in slippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

19

How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept away utterly by terrors!

20

They are like a dream when one awakes;

on awaking you despise their phantoms.

21

When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22

I was stupid and ignorant;

I was like a brute beast toward you.

23

Nevertheless I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

24

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will receive me with honor.

25

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.

26

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27

Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;

you put an end to those who are false to you.

28

But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

to tell of all your works.