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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Exodus 13:11 - 13:16
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Concerning the First-Born.
v. 11. 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, the Lord here laying special stress upon His faithfulness, which causes Him to keep the promises of His goodness always,
v. 12. 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. The female children and the female young were not included in this order, but the male first-born, both of man and beast, was to be offered and consecrated to the Lord. Cf Exo_22:29-30; Deu_15:21.
v. 13. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb, clean beasts were to be substituted for the unclean; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck, for the unredeemed animal might not be kept; and all the first-born of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. The Lord later provided special regulations for the redemption of the first-born sons by means of a certain sum of money, Num_3:46-47; Num_18:15-16.
v. 14. And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, at some time in the future, 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;
v. 15. and it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man and the first-born of beast; therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the first-born of my children I redeem. The fathers of Israel are here represented as speaking collectively and as giving individual instruction to their sons, for the Lord did not want a mechanical observation of customs that were no longer understood.
v. 16. And it shall be for a token upon thine hand and for frontlets between thine eyes, they were to keep these facts in remembrance constantly; for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt. It is well-pleasing to the Lord if His children at all times keep in mind the great acts of deliverance wrought by Him.