Exodus 13: 11-16: “And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD’S. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem. And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.”
The most basic aspect of having a relationship with the Lord is having an attitude of gratitude. Before this the Lord had taken Israel from slavery but that was not to be the end of the story. They were going to the Land that the Lord had promised to Abraham over four hundred years before this day. However, the Lord had chosen them because He loved them and they were to remember that as long as they lived. When we are grateful for something it will change our actions as well. Israel is the Lord’s firstborn and they were to remember that with gratitude by giving the Lord the firstborn back. This applied to people and animals. An ass was a beast of burden so it was not to be offered as a sacrifice but a lamb could be given as a substitute for lambs had been used before as a substitute for the firstborn of Israel when their blood was used to cover the door of the homes that were safe from the angel of death. This was not just a duty to be performed, it was also something that would trigger questions from their children and this would lead to an opportunity to explain the Lord’s goodness to their children as well. However, it was important for them to understand that they were not to sacrifice the firstborn of their own children but the child had to be redeemed and a substitute sacrificed.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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