The wilderness experience
The chapter Exodus 13 occurs in between Passover and liberation (chapter 12) and the miraculous crossing of Red Sea (Chapter 14). The chapter is not one that deals with actions but meaning and identity. We have already been saved but now God starts forming us to be His chosen people. Salvation is the beginning of a lifelong process known as discipleship. First, salvation comes and then instruction on how to live follows. The first thing God did was declare that all the firstborns belong to him. This is in relation to the tenth plague when the firstborns of Egyptians died but those of Israel lived. Firstborn symbolized life, vigor, and continuity. Their being dedicated meant that we had life because of the mercy of God. The method of redemption involved sacrificing animals and redeeming humans (substitute is offered). Life belongs to God because He redeemed it, not because we earned it. God commanded Israel to annually remember their deliverance. The symbols of remembering wer...