The LORD said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.” (Exodus 13:1-2)
I feel a certain kind of sting in this command. According to the story told in Exodus, chapters 11 and 12, a plague of death had taken the firstborn son of every Egyptian citizen and the firstborn of the Egyptians' animals, too. Now the LORD claims the firstborn son of every Israeli family. In contrast with the Egyptians' firstborn sons and animals (those devoted to death) the Israelis' firstborn sons and animals are devoted to the Lord. They belong to God.
The firstborn sons and animals of the Israelis are to be redeemed by sacrifices made to the LORD. So there is a continuing reminder to whom all belong (the LORD) and an ongoing remembrance of the LORD's part in securing the release of the Israelis from the bonds of their slavery in Egypt.
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