Exodus 13:11-16 –We are redeemed by God to serve Him

God delivered the people of Israel by taking the lives of all the firstborn of Egypt. Hence in these six verses in Exodus 13:11-16, He had demanded the right of ownership to all the firstborn sons of Israel. They must be given over to God. From the firstborn of the children of Israel to the firstborn of all their animals, except the donkey, they must be devoted to the Lord. In the case of an animal, they would be sacrificed on the altar as an offering. All the firstborn of any animal except the donkey. Why? Because donkeys were considered as uncleaned animals and had to be redeemed with the sacrifice of a lamb or be destroyed by breaking their necks.

Interestingly the firstborn sons of Israel were put in the same category as the donkey by God. For as soon as He had given instruction on the redemption of the donkey, the last part of verse 13 reads, “every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.” Why? God had categorized the donkey as an uncleaned animal. The idea of the donkey as an uncleaned animal was not to instruct about hygiene. It was an object lesson to help the people distinguish between what’s holy and what’s not.      

The whole instruction on the redemption of the firstborn sons of the Israelites and their animals, including the redemption of the donkey, was intended to provoke a talking point. How do we know? Verses 14-15 state so. God instructed them saying, “And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’   

How were the firstborn devoted to the Lord? They were given in service of the Almighty. One example was Elkanah and Hannah, the parents of the Prophet Samuel, who gave their son to serve God in the temple. Think of it this way, all of us believers are God’s firstborn through the works of Jesus Christ. And God has ownership over our lives. We must now offer ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. Paul said this is the only logical and reasonable act of worship on our part. Let us give our lives in active service of the Lord.