seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 13:11 “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”
14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”
Well here are a couple of verses I have never heard preached. Look at verse 12. If they don't redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb then they had to break the donkey's neck. In other words, if I had a firstborn donkey I would have to sacrifice a lamb for it.
Here's how the easy English commentary explains this.
The oldest sons in each family belonged to God. And the male animals, that were born first, belonged to God. But the Israelites must not kill their oldest sons as a gift to God. That was clear from Abraham’s experience. A male sheep replaced his son, Isaac. God made it possible for Abraham to ‘buy back’ his son (Genesis 22:13). Later, God told Moses that he had chosen all the men in the family called Levi. The young men had helped to give the people’s gifts to God. But the Levites would replace the other Israelites’ oldest sons (Exodus 32:28-29). And the Levites would serve God in place of the oldest sons (Numbers 3:11-13). Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. They gave birds to the LORD to buy back their baby son (Luke 2:22-24).
People had to kill the young animals that belonged to the LORD. But the donkey was different. It looks like a small horse with long ears. It works for people and it can carry people and goods. But it was not a clean animal, so God did not accept it. So the donkey could not be a gift that they gave to the LORD on an altar. But it belonged to the LORD, so they must ‘redeem’ it. ‘Redeem’ means ‘buy it back’. A young male sheep could take its place. But the Israelites might not replace the donkey with a young sheep. If they did not replace the donkey then they must kill it.
The oldest son, and the animal that is born first, belonged to God. The father must explain the reason to his sons. The father must remind them how the LORD used his great power. He had rescued the Israelites from Egypt by means of wonderful acts. Verse 9 had explained that they must always remember that. Every year they must eat flat bread that they made without yeast. Verse 15 says that they must always remember about the oldest sons. Those sons belonged to God because he had saved them. He killed the Egyptians’ oldest sons and animals. But God saved the Israelites’ oldest sons and animals.
People had to kill the young animals that belonged to the LORD. But the donkey was different. It looks like a small horse with long ears. It works for people and it can carry people and goods. But it was not a clean animal, so God did not accept it. So the donkey could not be a gift that they gave to the LORD on an altar. But it belonged to the LORD, so they must ‘redeem’ it. ‘Redeem’ means ‘buy it back’. A young male sheep could take its place. But the Israelites might not replace the donkey with a young sheep. If they did not replace the donkey then they must kill it.
The oldest son, and the animal that is born first, belonged to God. The father must explain the reason to his sons. The father must remind them how the LORD used his great power. He had rescued the Israelites from Egypt by means of wonderful acts. Verse 9 had explained that they must always remember that. Every year they must eat flat bread that they made without yeast. Verse 15 says that they must always remember about the oldest sons. Those sons belonged to God because he had saved them. He killed the Egyptians’ oldest sons and animals. But God saved the Israelites’ oldest sons and animals.
Check it out! When I was reading the commentaries I ran into this in GodVine. There is a price for redemption.
The first-born of man - shalt thou redeem - This was done by giving to the priests five standard shekels, or shekels of the sanctuary, every shekel weighing twenty gerahs.
It may be necessary to observe here that the Hebrew doctors teach, that if a father had neglected or refused thus to redeem his first-born, the son himself was obliged to do it when he came of age. As this redeeming of the first-born was instituted in consequence of sparing the first-born of the Israelites, when the first-born both of man and beast among the Egyptians was destroyed, on this ground all the first-born were the Lord's, and should have been employed in his service; but he permitted the first-born of a useful unclean animal to be redeemed by a clean animal of much less value. And he chose the tribe of Levi in place of all the first-born of the tribes in general; and the five shekels were ordered to be paid in lieu of such first-born sons as were liable to serve in the sanctuary, and the money was applied to the support of the priests and Levites.
It may be necessary to observe here that the Hebrew doctors teach, that if a father had neglected or refused thus to redeem his first-born, the son himself was obliged to do it when he came of age. As this redeeming of the first-born was instituted in consequence of sparing the first-born of the Israelites, when the first-born both of man and beast among the Egyptians was destroyed, on this ground all the first-born were the Lord's, and should have been employed in his service; but he permitted the first-born of a useful unclean animal to be redeemed by a clean animal of much less value. And he chose the tribe of Levi in place of all the first-born of the tribes in general; and the five shekels were ordered to be paid in lieu of such first-born sons as were liable to serve in the sanctuary, and the money was applied to the support of the priests and Levites.
So I didn't know the Israelite first born had to redeem himself. I didn't know that donkeys could be redeemed by substituting a lamb. Given the stubborn streak of the donkey.... I'm surprised preachers didn't use that as an example in a sermon.
