Exodus 13 “Guidance for a Nation”

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.’”
Exodus 13:1–2 (NKJV)

One of the most common questions is, “How can I know God’s will?” Two words are helpful if we would be led by God in daily life: consecration and guidance,

Consecration is the act of setting apart. When the plague came against the firstborn of the Egyptians, God spared the Hebrews. But as they left Egypt, God told them to consecrate or dedicate their firstborn to Him. Later, God would take the tribe of Levi in place of the firstborn of Israel and make them priests and Levites (Numbers 3:44-45). He would accept the livestock of the Levites in place of the firstborn livestock of the rest of the nation. The tribe of Levi would then belong to the LORD and serve Him in the tabernacle and later in the temple.

The second word is guidance. God would lead the nation through the dangerous wilderness with a cloudy pillar by day and a fiery pillar by night. Never did they need to worry about when to break camp. They didn’t have to plot their course to the Promised Land. They just needed to keep their eyes on the pillar. God would guide them every step of the way.

Consecration and guidance are important to us if we would know God’s will. These concepts are embodied in Romans 12:1-2.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1–2 (NKJV)

If we present our bodies to God as living, holy sacrifices (consecration), not being conformed to this world but being transformed by the renewing of our mind, then we will know the perfect will of God (guidance).

When we go out our door in the morning, we don’t have a cloudy pillar to lead us, but if we will consecrate ourselves to God, and allow Him to renew our minds through His Word, then He will guide us in His perfect will through the wilderness of this life. And He will bring us into the Promised Land!