Some things are important enough to remember. But not just for you. You want your children and their children to remember. God things are like that. And these things require more than telling of tales. They demand symbols; rituals. Many in the Christian community think of the word ritual almost as a filthy word. They say things like, “Well, that’s just ritualistic.” Well, yes it is. And that, my friends is not a bad thing. I know we can do crazy, stifling things with ritual, but ritual can be healthy. And God communicates in rituals. Do you gather around a table to celebrate the Lord’s Supper? Ah, a ritual; and a powerful ritual if observed correctly; a ritual built upon the foundation of an ancient ritual; a ritual that reminds us of the ultimate sacrifice that allows us to sit at the banquet of God; a ritual that gives us an opportunity to explain to our children the significance of Jesus and the grace gifted to mankind. If we render the ritual routine, that has more to do with us than the ritual itself.
Exodus 13:1-16 may seem like two separate sections, but they are tied together by the author. Verses 1-2 speak of the dedication of the first opening of the womb to Yahweh. Then in verses 3-10 the Feast of Unleavened Bread is dealt with. And then the dedication of the firstborn is picked up again in verses 11-16. If these were intended to be thought of separately, verses 1-2 should have been set immediately before verses 11-16. Both sections begin with the command to observe the ritual when they get to the land of promise. These two rituals are also tied together with instructions of teaching subsequent generations; with binding the rituals on their hands and foreheads. The overall point of this section is remembering the exodus; that Yahweh brought them out of the house of slavery with a powerful hand. The exodus from Egypt has significance that cannot be allowed to drift into obscurity.
So, when they arrive in the land, in the month of Abib – the month of fresh ears – they are to have a weak long observance of eating unleavened bread. This is to be done as a reminder; as a thinking on the powerful hand of Yahweh bringing them out of Egypt. It is intended to be an opportunity to announce to their children that Yahweh’s mighty hand brought them out of the land of bondage and brought them to the promised land. And notice that the language becomes personal. This is not about what God did for Israel as a nation. It is that, but it is also about what Yahweh did for “me”. So, as their children are wondering why they eat only unleavened bread, why they take pains to remove leaven from the very corners of their houses, the parents say something like, “I was a slave in Egypt and God brought us out with such mighty acts that Pharaoh and all of Egypt was dropped to their knees. We had to leave in haste and so the bread didn’t have time to rise. We eat this bread to remember; to focus our minds on what the Lord has done for me; for you.” It is to be a sign to their hands or to their strength. It is to be a reminder on their foreheads. Later, this was taken literally and the Pharisees wore little boxes called phylacteries strapped to their wrist and their foreheads. It is meant metaphorically. The ritual is a bound to their strength and memory.
The second ritual is the dedication or the setting apart the firstborn males of man and animal to Yahweh. This is also to be observed when they arrive in the land. It is an ongoing observance that reminded the people that even though, because of the hardness of Pharaoh, God killed the firstborn of Egypt, but spared the firstborn of Israel. The firstborn belongs to Yahweh as another reminder that Yahweh stretched forth his mighty hand and brought them out of Egypt. The donkey was to be redeemed, probably because it was an unclean animal and important for work. And because God doesn’t do human sacrifice, the sons were to also be redeemed. When their children ask why every firstborn animal is sacrificed they again tell them the exodus story. This ritual was also to be like a sign on their hands and a band on their foreheads. They were experiential reminders; a means of allowing their children to taste and feel the exodus; to grasp at the sacrifice and reward.
We have rituals today and that is a good thing. The Lord’s Supper is intended to be more than crackers and wine. It is a ritual that allows us to taste and feel the story; to relive the moment of Jesus’ divine sacrifice that brings us into relationship with our holy and heavenly father. And even though repetition tends to dull significance, we will take that risk. We want our children to ask why we eat crackers and drink the juice so we can speak of sacrifice and blood and grace. The ritual breathes relevance. Walter.