Firstborn sons

In Exodus 13:11-15 the Bible speaks of the firstborn of every womb and to redeem the firstborn among your sons. Did this mean they sacrificed firstborn sons or that they dedicated their firstborn to serve the Lord? What does it mean to redeem each firstborn son?

During the tenth plague, the Lord killed all the firstborn males and the firstborn animals of the Egyptians (Exodus 12:29). In the first Passover, the Lord spared the Israelites; that included the firstborn males and the firstborn animals.

After the first Passover, the Lord instructed Moses to tell the people of Israel that, because he had spared the firstborn of men and animals, they belonged to him. Firstborn animals were to be sacrificed to the Lord. That was not the case with firstborn sons; God never commanded or desired human sacrifices (Deuteronomy 12: 31; 18:10). What God did command was the consecrating of firstborn males to him.

When God established the priesthood with the tribe of Levi, he also made it possible for Israelites from other tribes to redeem their firstborn males from special service to him (Numbers 3:39-51; 18:15-16). That redemption was an ongoing reminder of God’s grace in sparing the people of Israel from the destruction of the tenth plague.