And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites ,.... Put for all the rest of the nations: as he sware unto thee, and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee ; to them as they were in their loins, and from thence might certainly conclude it would be given them. read more
Verse 11 11.And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee. He proceeds with what had been glanced at in the beginning of the chapter with respect to the consecration of the first-born, that in this way they should bear witness to the special blessing of God which preserved them when He destroyed the first-born of the Egyptians. But He commands the animals to (329) be brought to Him, in order that they should be slain in the tabernacle. It is a common figure of speech to say, that the faithful... read more
The Dedication and Redemption of the First-born. In commemoration of the great mercy whereby their first-born sons were spared, when all those of the Egyptians were slain, God required the Israelites to do two things:— I. THAT CHRISTIAN PARENTS ARE REQUIRED TO DEDICATE , NOT THEIR FIRST - BORN SONS ONLY , BUT ALL THEIR CHILDREN , TO GOD IN BAPTISM . All have deserved death. All have been in danger of it. All have been spared by the mercy of... read more
The sanctification of the first-born. This command has its basis in the fact that on the night when God executed his tremendous judgment against Egypt, the first-born of Israel was spared. Because this great mercy had been shown to Israel, the first-born of man and beast were ever afterwards to be reckoned as specially belonging to Jehovah. The first-born of the generation then living was his by direct purchase; all later first-borns were to be his by grateful dedication. It was required,... read more
Remember this day. The exhortation in these verses may very well be applied to Christians. They are to remember the fact add the might of their redemption. They are to commemorate it by observance of appointed ordinances. They are to beware of forgetting it in days of prosperity. They are to show their remembrance of it by a holy walk, and by due instruction of their children. I. REMEMBER THE FACT AND THE MIGHT OF YOUR REDEMPTION . 1 . The fact of it ( ... read more
The rightful use of Church ordinances. Church ordinances are The benefits derivable from them depend mainly upon their rightful use. We learn from the instructions hero given to the Israelites by Moses, that their rightful use consists especially— I. IN THE REGULAR KEEPING OF THEM . "Thou shalt keep this ordinance in his season from year to year." Spasmodic observance, enthusiastic and frequent at one time, perfunctory and infrequent at another, ten times this year, once... read more
How to declare God's salvation. I. BY THE REMEMBRANCE OF HIS MERCIES . 1 . "Remember this day in which ye came out from Egypt." 2 . The celebration of the Passover awoke inquiry among those who had not witnessed God's deeds ( Exodus 13:8 ).—True gratitude, heartfelt thanksgiving, will make the reality of God's love to be felt by those who have not known him. II. BY THE DOING OF HIS WILL . The Israelites, in sacrificing or redeeming the first-born,... read more
Dedication of the firstborn (13:1-16)Since God had spared the firstborn of Israel’s people and animals in the Passover judgment, these rightly belonged to him. The people were to acknowledge this by dedicating, or setting apart, their firstborn to God in an act of thankful worship (13:1-2; see also v. 15). This act also symbolized the consecration (or dedication) of the entire redeemed nation to God, since Israel as a whole was God’s firstborn (see 4:22). The people were reminded again to keep... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 13:11-16
Here we have, I. Further directions concerning the dedicating of their firstborn to God. 1. The firstlings of their cattle were to be dedicated to God, as part of their possessions. Those of clean beasts?calves, lambs, and kids?if males, were to be sacrificed, Exod. 22:30; Num. 18:17, 18. Those of unclean beasts, as colts, were to be redeemed with a lamb, or knocked on the head. For whatsoever is unclean (as we all are by nature), if it be not redeemed, will be destroyed, Exod. 13:11, 13. 2.... read more