The Grammar of Redemption: Sanctifying the Firstborn Text: Exodus 13:1-2
Introduction: The Logic of Grace
We come now to a passage that seems, on the surface, to be a simple piece of cultic legislation. But we must never read our Bibles that way. The Word of God is not a dusty legal code or a collection of disconnected rituals. It is a seamless garment, a unified story of redemption, and every thread matters. What we have here in Exodus 13 is not an interruption of the narrative of deliverance, but rather its theological capstone. The Israelites have just been sprung from Egypt by the mighty hand of God. The final plague, the death of the firstborn, was the terrible and decisive blow. And now, as the dust settles and they take their first breaths as free men, God speaks. And what He says is foundational to everything that follows.
God's first command to a redeemed people is not, "Try really hard," or "Be nice." It is, "Sanctify to Me every firstborn." This command establishes the central logic of the Christian faith: redemption results in consecration. Deliverance leads to dedication. Because God has acted mightily to save, His people now belong to Him in a new and profound way. This is not a transaction where Israel now "owes" God. This is the grammar of grace. God does not save us so that we can go live as we please. He saves us from our bondage in order to bring us into His service, which is perfect freedom.
Our modern world despises this logic. It wants a God who is a celestial vending machine of blessings, dispensing forgiveness and good feelings without making any claims on our lives. The secularist wants liberty without lordship. The sentimental Christian wants a Savior who is a friend but not a master. But the God of the Bible, the God who drowned the most powerful army on earth in the Red Sea, does not deal in such trifles. His salvation is a radical reordering of reality. He buys us out of the slave market of sin, not to turn us loose into the wilderness of autonomy, but to brand us with His name, to bring us into His household, and to set us apart for His holy purposes. What God redeems, God claims. And what God claims, God sanctifies.
This principle, laid down here on the shores of the Red Sea, is the bedrock of our identity in Christ. It explains why we are called saints, holy ones. It is the foundation of our worship, our ethics, and our mission in the world. To understand this command is to understand the very nature of our salvation.
The Text
Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me."
(Exodus 13:1-2 LSB)
The Divine Claim (v. 1)
We begin with the simple, declarative statement of God's authority.
"Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying..." (Exodus 13:1)
All of reality hangs on these introductory phrases that we so often skim past. God speaks. This is the prime reality. The universe was spoken into existence, and it is governed by divine speech. Redemption is initiated by divine speech. Our lives as Christians are to be ordered by divine speech. Moses does not convene a committee to brainstorm some religious observances to commemorate the exodus. The culture does not flow up from the people; it flows down from the Word of God. Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God, the great I AM, speaks, and that speech creates and defines the world for His people.
This is a direct assault on the autonomous spirit of our age. We believe that we are the ones who speak, who define, who create our own meaning. But Scripture begins with God speaking, and here, at the birth of this new nation, God speaks again. His Word establishes the terms of their existence. Before they have a king, a temple, or a land, they have the Word of the Lord. This is the constitution of the new kingdom.
The Foundational Command (v. 2)
Verse 2 contains the command itself, and it is packed with theological weight.
"Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me." (Exodus 13:2 LSB)
Let's break this down. The first word is "Sanctify." The Hebrew word is qadash. It means to set apart, to consecrate, to make holy. It does not mean to make something intrinsically better, but to designate it for a special, divine purpose. A sanctified object is an object taken out of common use and dedicated to God's exclusive use. A sanctified person is a person set apart from the world's purposes for God's purposes. So, the first thing God tells His redeemed people is that they are to be in the business of setting things apart for Him.
What is to be set apart? "Every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb." Why the firstborn? Because the firstborn represents the whole. In the ancient world, the firstborn was the heir, the strength of the father, the future of the family line. To claim the firstborn was to lay claim to the entirety. Furthermore, this command is directly and explicitly linked to the tenth plague. God is saying, "The judgment that fell upon Egypt was the death of the firstborn. The reason your firstborn were spared was not because they were innocent, but because they were covered by the blood of the lamb. I passed over them. I redeemed them from death. Therefore, they belong to Me by right of redemption."
This is a staggering claim. God's logic is this: I saved your firstborn from My own righteous judgment, therefore they are Mine. This is the logic of the gospel. We were all dead in our trespasses and sins, under the just condemnation of God. But God, in His mercy, sent His Son, the true Passover Lamb. By His blood, we are spared the wrath we deserve. And the result? We now belong to Him. As Paul says, "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Salvation is not a modification of your old life; it is a transfer of ownership.
Notice the scope: "both of man and beast." This is crucial. God's redemptive claim is total. It covers every aspect of the Israelite's life, from their children to their livestock. There is no sacred/secular divide here. Their family life and their economic life both fall under the lordship of Yahweh. The God who redeems your soul also redeems your stuff. He cares about your children, your business, your flock, your field. The modern evangelical tendency to compartmentalize faith, to keep Jesus in the "spiritual" box while running our families and businesses on secular principles, is a flat contradiction of this foundational command. If God owns the firstborn son, He also owns the firstborn calf. His claim is comprehensive.
And then God states the reason for the command with blunt finality: "it belongs to Me." This is the ultimate presupposition. God is not making a request; He is stating a fact. Ownership is the issue. God owns everything by right of creation (Psalm 24:1). But here, He is asserting a second right: ownership by right of redemption. He made them, so they are His. He saved them, so they are doubly His. This is the basis of all Christian ethics. We are not to sin, not primarily because it is harmful to us or to society, but because it is a violation of our owner's rights. We are to pursue holiness because the one who bought us is holy.
The Firstborn and the Christ
As with all Old Testament realities, this principle of the firstborn finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. This entire chapter is dripping with typology that points to Him.
First, Jesus is the ultimate Firstborn. Paul calls him "the firstborn of all creation" (Colossians 1:15) and "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18). This does not mean He was the first created being, as heretics have claimed. It is a title of sovereignty and preeminence. As the Firstborn, He is the heir of all things. He is the one to whom the entire inheritance belongs. Israel was called God's "firstborn son" (Exodus 4:22), but they failed in their calling. Jesus is the true and faithful Son, the true Israel, who perfectly fulfills the role.
Second, Jesus is the one who was truly sanctified, set apart for the Father's purpose. He says in His high priestly prayer, "For their sake I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth" (John 17:19). He was set apart from all eternity for the work of redemption. He was consecrated to be both the priest and the sacrifice.
Third, because we are united to Christ by faith, we too share in this "firstborn" status. The author of Hebrews speaks of the "church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven" (Hebrews 12:23). In Christ, every believer is granted the rights and privileges of the firstborn. We are made co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). We who were last are made first. We who had no inheritance are given an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.
Conclusion: Your Reasonable Service
So what does this mean for us, here and now? It means that the logic of Exodus 13 is the logic of your Christian life. You have been delivered from a bondage far worse than Egypt. You have been spared a judgment far more terrible than the death of the firstborn. You have been redeemed by the blood of a lamb infinitely more precious than any slain in Goshen.
Therefore, God's claim on your life is absolute. You belong to Him. Not just your Sunday mornings. Not just a tithe of your income. Not just your "quiet time." Everything. Your children, your career, your money, your body, your time, your thoughts, your ambitions. All of it has been bought and paid for by the blood of Christ.
The command to "sanctify" is still in effect. We are to take every part of our lives, every relationship, every dollar, every decision, and consciously set it apart for the glory of God. This is what Paul means when he urges us, "by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1). Our entire lives are to be an act of consecration.
This is not a burden; it is our glory. To belong to God is the greatest security in the universe. To be set apart for His purposes is the only path to true meaning and significance. The world tells you that you belong to yourself. That is the lie of the serpent, and it leads only to the slavery of Egypt. The gospel declares the liberating truth: You are not your own. You belong to God. Therefore, live like it.