All the Firstborn (13:1-15)

God declared that all the firstborn of the Israelites, both of men and animals, belonged to Him. This was closely connected to the 10th plague and the Passover. God had saved Israel’s firstborn from death and now they were to be dedicated to Him.

God had intended that the firstborn son in every family would be in the priesthood, The idolatry of the Golden Calf saw only the tribe of Levi respond to the Lord’s call and it was then that only Levi men could minister as priests.

The firstborn of people and animals belongs to the Lord or else you have a substitute. The death of the firstborn or giving of the firstborn to God seems to be at the very source of identity and separating Israel from Egypt and making Israel the nation that it is in worshipping God.

The first has to be offered up to what came before it. The image of the first or beginning of something has to be given to something that precedes it. For things to exist properly it has to exist in something which is beyond it to have unity of purpose. E.g. Dribbling in basketball has to be sacrificed to basketball in order for it to be useful.

It is sometimes necessary for the best of your people to sacrifice themselves – even to death – for the existence of their country. This sacrifice will anchor the existence of the family. It was sometimes Christian tradition to hope that one son would become a priest for example. This might mean that they won’t have a family. This giving up to the highest can anchor the rest of the family as they have time to focus on the prayer and higher things. It will also help to anchor society.  It is practical.  When the grain is harvested you don’t eat it, but you sacrifice it to lay aside for the next year. It creates a pattern in society of giving up your best to God. We are to give our money also up to God.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread (13:3-10)

The Israelites were freed from slavery in the month of Abib (Spring). God instructed them to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread following the Passover every year on the 14th day of Abib. The destination is to be the land now occupied by the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites. No leaven was to be found in the houses of the Israelites for 7 days as a memorial of what God did for the Hebrews in Egypt.

The principle of dropping everything to follow God now in haste is also echoed in the Gospels when Jesus calls His disciples. They are to come in haste and leave to follow God. You need to serve somebody. Israel figures out their laws before they conquer the land which seems back to front. Those occupying the land will be removed. See Genesis 15 we are told that they will get the land when the wickedness of the inhabitants is full.  In Leviticus 18 we discover some of their depraved practices –  incest, child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality.

A Mark on your Hand and Forehead (13:16)

The Jews were to carry out some rituals.

Tallit: Prayer Shawl – the tallit is a large rectangular shawl made of wool, cotton, or synthetic fibres. This is based on Numbers 15:38-39.

Tefillin: Phylacteries – the tefillin consists of two black leather boxes and straps to hold them on. One is worn on the biceps, and its strap, which is tied with a special knot, is wound by the wearer seven times around the forearm and hand. The box contains scripture verses. This is based on four bible verses:

• Exodus 13:9
• Exodus 13:16
• Deuteronomy 6:8
• Deuteronomy 11:18

This is a sign that marks the inside and the outside. This will be taken up by Christians in the Book of Revelation as the mark of the Beast. (See Revelation 13:16). The head is the place where you think and the hand the place of action and then the law will be on your lips – speaking.  It also is like the mark that is put on the lintels of the door. A mark is put on Cain to protect him from death and now God puts a mark on Israel’s door (the place that separates inside/outside) to protect them from death.

The Law of the Firstborn (13:11-16)

When the Israelites received the land of Canaan, they were to dedicate all the firstborn animals of their flocks and herds to the Lord and sacrifice them. Certain animals, like donkeys, could be “redeemed” by offering a lamb in their place. Firstborn children also needed to be redeemed. The Bible will explain more about that process later in the Old Testament. The dedication of the firstborn and the redeeming process was designed to remind the Israelites how God had spared their firstborn during the 10th plague in Egypt. This is just giving back to God the gift you have been given.

People in ancient cultures attached great value to the eldest son, assigning him distinct benefits and obligations. The firstborn male was important because he was believed to represent the prime of human strength and vitality (Genesis 49:3; Psalm 78:51) as the “opener of the womb” (Exodus 13:2, 12, 15; Numbers 18:15; Luke 2:23). As a result, the firstborn son became the primary heir of the family. The firstborn’s birthright involved a double portion of the household estate and the leadership of the family if his father became incapacitated or was absent for some reason (Deuteronomy 21:17). After his father’s death, the eldest son usually cared for his mother until her death and provided for his unmarried sisters.

Firstborn humans—and animals—were considered sacred to God (Genesis 4:4; Exodus 13:1–2; Leviticus 27:26; Numbers 3:11–13; Deuteronomy 15:19–23). After God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, He commanded the people to consecrate every firstborn male human and firstborn animal to Him (Exodus 22:29–30). The dedication was in memory of God’s great deliverance and a sign to their children that God had brought them out of Egypt (Exodus 13:11–16).

However, in the Bible we see a pattern of God using the second born son – like Abel, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Ephraim, and Moses. The firstborn seems to represent the flesh and the second born the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 15:45-47 we see the first Adam was natural and that the second Adam (Jesus) was spiritual.

There are great parallels between the Passover here and the Lord’s table instituted by Christ when celebrating Passover. There is the bread and the blood symbolised in wine. There is only one firstborn who dies. When the destroyer comes, He is the only one who dies. He is killed by strangers (Romans) who at that time were the tyrants/dictators like the Egyptians in Exodus. He is self-offered and killed by others. He is the one who protects on the door but also the redemption sacrifice for us all.

The Israelites were to remember that “by a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt”. When we consider the Holocaust do we think of the 6 million people who were killed or the spirit of those that came together to defeat them? Do we get stuck in an atrocity that happened in the past? There was something that overcame even that tyranny. Do we remember the misery or the spirit that overcame Hitler and the Nazis? The depth that humans can go down to great such horrors and could be you! We do need to find our way out of trauma and horror. We remember the past so that you don’t repeat those stupid mistakes. The remembrance of the Passover is a way to remember the horror and deliverance in a structured way. The spirit that triumphs over that is more powerful that the spirit that produces it.

The Substitute (13:13)

Instead of “killing” my child by sacrificing them to God then I will offer something lower on the hierarchy to substitute with something else. With Christ, it is not about sacrificing your children but yourself to the highest. The secret behind all these rituals is that you must give yourself up. Martyrs become the seed for the Church to exist and for society to find beacons to look at to model our behaviour.

Categories: Exodus