A Story of God's Perseverance (Exodus 13:11-22)

“Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
         Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
         And do run still, though still I do deplore?
                When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
                        For I have more.

Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
         Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
         A year or two, but wallow’d in, a score?
                When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
                        For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
         My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
         Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
                And, having done that, thou hast done;
                        I fear no more.”

—John Donne, “A Hymn to God the Father”

God’s Distinction Between Egypt and Israel Defined (Exodus 12:29-42)

“The importance of the teaching of the faith within believing families is an Old Testament tradition (Deut 4:9–10; 6:4–9, etc.) that needs to be reemphasized in every generation of the Christian church. We, too, are a people of memory and hope, for it is memory that generates hope. When Israel ‘forgot’—as the prophets accused them—they went astray. When Christians ‘forget,’ the same thing happens. We simply lose the plot. We forget who we are, to whom we belong, and what story we are supposed to be in.”

—Christopher Wright, The Story of God Bible Commentary: Exodus