Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Yesterday, the Israelites finally got free from Egypt after 430 years, and pretty immediately

God wants to make sure the whole experience sticks with him, that they don't forget what just happened. He knows humanity pretty well, and he knows how easy it is to forget the truth when we're faced with lies, so he makes a few helpful commands. Remember the celebration he told them to have to commemorate the Passover each year? He wants them to follow that with a seven-day feast called the Feast of Unleavened Bread,

like the kind of bread they had to eat on the night of Passover.

I don't know about you guys, but so far I'm really resonating with all of this.

I'm glad I've been adopted by the God who ordains dinner parties and week-long feasts.

In 13.9, God says all of this shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between

your eyes. The Israelites took this quite literally. In fact, if you were to go to Jerusalem today,

you would see people from certain sects of Judaism wearing a small black box tied on their forehead

or strapped around their arms and hands. These little boxes have scripture written in them.

They're called philacteries.

This is one way they aim to remember the word of God.

God also tells them to consecrate the firstborns

as a reminder that their firstborns were spared

when the firstborns of Egypt weren't.

He wants them to remember what they've been rescued from

and celebrate his deliverance.

This remembering and celebrating will help them keep God at the forefront of their minds as they

live in their new homeland amidst the Canaanites who don't worship God. He wants them to do these

things annually. Then they'll also be passing these practices and stories onto their children.

When things go well, it's easy to forget God.. When things go well, it's easy to

forget God. And when things go poorly, it's easy to doubt God. So he calls them to remember,

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