Exodus 13: 1-10: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month Abib. And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.”
Israel was the Lord’s firstborn and the Lord saved them from slavery. However, Israel needed to understand that they had an obligation to the Lord as well. They were not chosen because they were better or bigger than anyone else but because the Lord loved them (see Deut 7: 7, 8, “The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” However, the Lord required that they offer Him something in return for their freedom. The Lord required their firstborn in return for the fact that He saved their firstborn from the angel of death. Their firstborn were to be given to the Lord as living sacrifices rather than as dead sacrifices. Every year they were called upon to have a memorial feast to celebrate and praise the Lord because He saved them from slavery. When they came to their new land, the Promised Land, they were to remember that they had been slaves and the Lord gave them everything they owned. They were not just to remember this once a year but every day as they prayed and thanked the Lord.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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