The Lord told Moses, “Dedicate all the firstborn male Israelites and animals to Me.” Moses said to his people, “Remember the day on which you left Egypt where you were slaves. This is the day that the Lord sent you by His great power. Land, you shall celebrate the festival in the first month every year. For 7 days, you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day, there will be a festival to honor the Lord. When the festival begins, tell your sons that you did all of this because of what the Lord did for you when you left Egypt. This observance shall be a reminder to continue reciting and studying the Law of the Lord because of His great power.
The Lord will send you into the land of the Canaanites. When He gives the land to you, you shall offer every first-born male and animal to Him. Every first-born male donkey and child belongs to the Lord, but you shall offer a lamb in its place. In the future, when your son asks what the observance means, you shall reply that the Lord brought us out of Egypt where we were slaves. When the king of Egypt refused to let them go, the Lord killed every first-born male human and animal. This observance shall be a reminder.”
God led the Israelites through the desert into the Red Sea so that they were armed for battle and couldn’t return to Egypt for the time to fight. Moses took Joseph’s body with him, as Joseph had said. The Israelites left Sukkoth and camped at Etham. During the day, the Lord was in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and during the night, the pillar of fire gave them light, so that they could travel night and day.