Exodus 13:1-16
Summary for Exod 13:1-16: 13:1-16 a Like the Passover celebration, the practice of dedicating the firstborn memorialized what God did in the Passover event. Because he spared the firstborn, they now belonged to him and must be redeemed. The annual sacrifice and eating of the lamb symbolized what God would do in providing a substitute in his Son, Jesus Christ; we who deserve death must be redeemed with a price, the life of the Son.Summary for Exod 13:1-10: 13:1-10 b This rehearsal of the customs surrounding Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread sets the stage for discussing the dedication of the firstborn (13:11-16 c).
13:5 d A land flowing with milk and honey refers to a land that was agriculturally rich, where there was pasturage for cattle and crops with blooms from which bees could make honey.
13:9 e The annual celebration of the Passover was a visible sign to identify oneself as the Lord’s possession. It was a mark of his ownership, the physical reinforcement of a spiritual reality.
• Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the Lord: The second part of the verse may be interpreted either as a statement to be recited (as in the NLT text) or simply as a description of the Lord’s work.
13:13 f A firstborn son had to be bought back, or redeemed. He could not be sacrificed to the Lord, as child sacrifice is condemned throughout Scripture (see Lev 18:21 g; 20:2 h; Ezek 23:37-39 i).
13:16 j Like the annual Passover celebration (13:9 k), dedicating the firstborn to the Lord was like a mark, a visible way to identify oneself as the Lord’s possession.
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