But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
But if your donkey has a firstborn, you must buy it back by offering a lamb instead. If you don't buy it back, then you must kill the donkey. You must buy back all your firstborn sons too. And no one should come to worship me without bringing an offering.
God is establishing that firstborn animals and children belong to Him, but can be 'bought back' through specific offerings, and no one should come to worship Him empty-handed.
📚 Historical Context
This command was given to Moses on Mount Sinai as part of renewing the covenant after the golden calf incident. The practice of redeeming (buying back) the firstborn stems from God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt, where He claimed the firstborn as His own after sparing the Israelites during the final plague. Donkeys were considered unclean animals and couldn't be sacrificed directly, so they required a lamb as substitute.
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