Saturday, June 6, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Exodus 12-13
Key Verse
Exodus 12:37 — “And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.”
Devotional Thought
What does this passage ask of a reader today? It asks us to remember. On a Saturday in early June, when the trees are full and the year feels settled, Exodus 12-13 calls us back to a night of watching, when God told Moses and Aaron that this month would be the beginning of months. Israel had been in Egypt four hundred and thirty years. They were slaves, and then suddenly they were a people with a calendar, a meal, and a command to tell their children what it all meant. God did not ask them to understand everything. He asked them to take a lamb without blemish, to strike its blood on the doorposts with hyssop, to eat in haste with loins girded and staff in hand, and to be ready to leave.
The tenth plague fell at midnight. There was not a house in Egypt where there was not one dead, from Pharaoh’s firstborn to the captive in the dungeon. But the blood was a token, and where God saw the blood, He passed over. Notice that the deliverance was not in the lamb’s beauty or the family’s worthiness, but in the blood applied. The Israelites were still slaves that night. They were still afraid. They were still in Egypt. But they were marked, and the destroyer could not enter. That is grace before it is felt, mercy before it is understood.
Then God led them out, six hundred thousand men on foot besides children, a mixed multitude with them, carrying unleavened dough on their shoulders and Joseph’s bones as a promise. He did not lead them by the short road through Philistine country, lest they see war and turn back. He took them the long way, toward the Red Sea, and He went before them in a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. He never removed it.
This is the God who still leads. When you cannot see the way, remember the passover. When your children ask what this means, tell them. When the road seems longer than it should be, look for the pillar. The Lord who passed over His people in Egypt is the same Lord who goes before His people now, and He does not take His presence away.
Reflection
- The Israelites were commanded to tell their children, “It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s passover.” What would it look like for you to speak of God’s deliverance in your own life with that same plainness and gratitude?
- God led Israel the long way, not the near way, because He knew what they could not yet bear. Where might God be leading you the long way right now, and can you trust His pillar in the wilderness?
Prayer
Lord, You are the God who sees the blood and passes over. We thank You for the Lamb without blemish, for mercy we did not earn and cannot lose. Teach us to remember Your deliverance and to tell it plainly to those who come after us. When the road is long and the way is unclear, fix our eyes on Your pillar of cloud and fire. Lead us, as You led Israel out of Egypt, not by the shortest path but by the path You know we can bear. Keep us ready, loins girded and staff in hand, until You bring us home. Amen.