You shall dedicate all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock to Yahweh your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. You shall eat it before Yahweh your God year by year in the place which Yahweh shall choose, you and your household. If it has any defect—is lame or blind, or has any defect whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. You shall eat it within your gates. The unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle and as the deer. Only you shall not eat its blood. You shall pour it out on the ground like water.
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Deuteronomy 15:19-23 sits inside this longer paragraph.
At the end of every seven years, you shall cancel debts. This is the way it shall be done: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not require payment from his neighbor and his brother, because Yahweh’s release has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may require it; but whatever of yours is with your brother, your hand shall release. However there will be no poor with you (for Yahweh will surely bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess) if only you diligently listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all this commandment which I command you today. For Yahweh your God will bless you, as he promised you. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. You will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you. If a poor man, one of your brothers, is with you within any of your gates in your land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother; but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, which he lacks. Beware that there not be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, “The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,” and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing; and he cry to Yahweh against you, and it be sin to you. You shall surely give, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because it is for this thing Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to. For the poor will never cease out of the land. Therefore I command you to surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor, in your land. If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. When you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your wine press. As Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you. Therefore I command you this thing today. It shall be, if he tells you, “I will not go out from you,” because he loves you and your house, because he is well with you, then you shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you; for he has been double the value of a hired hand as he served you six years. Yahweh your God will bless you in all that you do. You shall dedicate all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock to Yahweh your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. You shall eat it before Yahweh your God year by year in the place which Yahweh shall choose, you and your household. If it has any defect—is lame or blind, or has any defect whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. You shall eat it within your gates. The unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle and as the deer. Only you shall not eat its blood. You shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Parallel Translations
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You shall dedicate all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock to Yahweh your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.
You shall eat it before Yahweh your God year by year in the place which Yahweh shall choose, you and your household.
If it has any defect—is lame or blind, or has any defect whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God.
You shall eat it within your gates. The unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle and as the deer.
Only you shall not eat its blood. You shall pour it out on the ground like water.
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All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.
Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household.
And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.
Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart.
Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.
Show all 3 translations
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All the firstling males that are born of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God; thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thine ox, nor shear the firstling of thy flock.
Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household.
And if there be any blemish therein, lameness, or blindness, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.
Thou shalt eat it within thy gates; the unclean and the clean may eat it alike, as the gazelle, and as the hart.
Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it out upon the ground as water.
Cross-references (27)
- Exodus 13:2 (v19) “Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.”
- Exodus 13:12 (v19) that you shall set apart to Yahweh all that opens the womb, and every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have. The males shall…
- Deuteronomy 12:16 (v23) Only you shall not eat the blood. You shall pour it out on the earth like water.
- Deuteronomy 17:1 (v21) You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep in which is a defect or anything evil; for that is an abomination to Yahweh…
- Malachi 1:7-8 (v21) You offer polluted bread on my altar. You say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ In that you say, ‘Yahweh’s table is contemptible.’ When you…
Show all 24 cross-references
- Deuteronomy 12:5-7 (vv19–20) But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you…
- Deuteronomy 12:17 (vv19–20) You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, or of your new wine, or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your…
- Deuteronomy 14:23 (vv19–20) You shall eat before Yahweh your God, in the place which he chooses to cause his name to dwell, the tithe of your grain, of your new wine,…
- Leviticus 7:26 (v23) You shall not eat any blood, whether it is of bird or of animal, in any of your dwellings.
- Leviticus 27:26 (v19) “ ‘However the firstborn among animals, which belongs to Yahweh as a firstborn, no man may dedicate, whether an ox or a sheep. It is…
- Numbers 18:15 (v19) Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal, shall be yours. Nevertheless, you shall…
- Numbers 18:17 (v19) “But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat. They are holy. You shall…
- Deuteronomy 12:23 (v23) Only be sure that you don’t eat the blood; for the blood is the life. You shall not eat the life with the meat.
- Deuteronomy 16:14 (v19) You shall rejoice in your feast, you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite, the foreigner, the…
- Exodus 34:19 (v19) “All that opens the womb is mine; and all your livestock that is male, the firstborn of cow and sheep.
- Leviticus 22:19-25 (v21) that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats. But you shall not offer…
- Numbers 3:13 (v19) for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to me all the firstborn in…
- Deuteronomy 12:15-16 (v22) Yet you may kill and eat meat within all your gates, after all the desire of your soul, according to Yahweh your God’s blessing which he…
- Deuteronomy 12:21-22 (v22) If the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to put his name is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock,…
- Deuteronomy 16:11 (v19) You shall rejoice before Yahweh your God: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within…
- 1 Samuel 14:32 (v23) and the people pounced on the plunder, and took sheep, cattle, and calves, and killed them on the ground; and the people ate them with the…
- Ezekiel 33:25 (v23) Therefore tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “You eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. So should you…
- Hebrews 12:23 (v19) to the festal gathering and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made…
- Romans 8:29 (v19) For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
24 distinct cross-references across this passage (27 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv19, 22 For they are the Lord’s.
For they are the Lord’s.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv19–20 With the firstling of thy bullock: this is meant,…
With the firstling of thy bullock: this is meant, either,
1. Of the male firstlings; which, they say, is forbidden here, because some did plough with the firstlings of their oxen, and shear the firstlings of their sheep, before they were offered. But this seems absurd and incredible, because they were to be offered on the eighth day, Exo 22:30, when they were very unfit for such uses. Or rather,
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2. The second firstlings, of which see on Deu 12:17.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v19 Here is, 1. A repetition of the law concerning…
Here is, 1. A repetition of the law concerning the firstlings of their cattle, that, if they were males, they were to be sanctified to the Lord (Deu 15:19), in remembrance of, and in thankfulness for, the sparing of the first-born of Israel, when the first-born of the Egyptians, both of man and beast, were slain by the destroying angel (Exo 13:2, Exo 13:15); on the eighth day it was to be given to God (Exo 22:30), and to be divided between the priest and the altar, Num 18:17, Num 18:18. 2. An addition to that law, for the further explication of it, directing them what to do with the firstlings, (1.) That were females: "Thou shalt do no work with the female firstlings of the cow, nor shear those of the sheep" (Deu 15:19); of them the learned bishop Patrick understands it. Though the female firstlings were not so entirely sanctified to God as the males, nor so early as at eight days old, yet they were not to be converted by the owners to their own use as the other cattle, but must be offered to God as peace-offerings, or used in a religious feast, at the year's end, Deu 15:20. Thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy God, as directed Deu 12:18. (2.) But what must they do with that which was blemished, ill-blemished? Deu 15:21. Were it male or female, it must not be brought near the sanctuary, nor used either for sacrifice or for holy feasting, for it would not be fit to honour God with, nor to typify Christ, who is a Lamb without blemish; yet it must not be reared, but killed and eaten at their own houses as common food (Deu 15:22), only they must be sure not to eat it with the blood, Deu 15:23. The frequent repetition of this caution intimates what need the people had of it, and what stress God laid upon it. What a mercy it is that we are not under this yoke! We are not dieted as they were; we make no difference between a first calf, or lamb, and the rest that follow. Let us therefore realize the gospel meaning of this law, devoting ourselves and the first of our time and strength to God, as a kind of first-fruits of his creatures, and using all our comforts and enjoyments to his praise and under the direction of his law, as we have them all by his gift.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv19–23 All the firstling males that come of thy herd,…
All the firstling males that come of thy herd, or of thy flock, thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord thy God,.... According to the law in Exo 13:2. See Gill on Exo 13:2; See Gill on Exo 13:12; See Gill on Exo 13:13,
thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock: as to plough or tread out the corn with it, which were done with other heifers:
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nor shear the firstling of thy sheep; nor was the wool shorn of it to be made use of; one of the Jewish canons runs thus,"if any man weave an hand's breadth of the wool of a firstling into cloth, the cloth is to be burnt (l).''
(l) Misn. Orlah, c. 3. sect. 3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv19–20 All the firstling males thou shalt sanctify - Giving…
All the firstling males thou shalt sanctify - Giving them to God on the eighth day. And thou shalt do no work with the female firstlings of the cow, nor shear those of the sheep. Even these must be offered to God as peace-offerings, or used in a religious feast.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv20–21 Verse 20. Thou shalt eat it - in the…
Verse 20. Thou shalt eat it - in the place which the Lord shall choose] Thus God in his mercy made their duty and interest go hand in hand. And in every case God acts thus with his creatures; well, therefore, might Satan ask, Doth Job serve God for naught? No! nor does God design that any man should.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v19 Deu 15:19-20. All the firstling males thou shalt sanctify…
Deu 15:19-20. All the firstling males thou shalt sanctify — Giving them to God on the eighth day. And thou shalt do no work with the female firstlings of the cow, nor shear those of the sheep. Even these must be offered to God as peace-offerings, or used in a religious feast. Year by year — Namely, in the solemn feasts, which returned upon them every year.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v19 Compare Exo 13:11 ff. The directions of the preceding…
Compare Exo 13:11 ff. The directions of the preceding legislation (see Num 18:15 ff) are here assumed, with the injunction added, that the animals thus set apart to God Deu 15:19 were not to be used by their owners for their earthly purposes. It is further allowed that firstborn animals which had a blemish should be regarded as exceptions, and instead of being given to God might be used as food Deu 15:21-22. The application of the firstborn of cattle is here directed as in Deu 12:6, Deu 12:17; Deu 14:23 : they are to be consumed in the sacred Feasts at the sanctuary.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv19, 22 Firstlings. Some belonged to the priests. Others, of which…
Firstlings. Some belonged to the priests. Others, of which Moses speaks here, might be disposed of by the owners, chap. xii. 17. (Calmet) --- Thus females, which came first, belonged to them, but they could not work with them; (Menochius) with such at least as were the best, and fattened for a religious feast. Sheep designed for this purpose were not to be shorn; or, as the original term means, their wool was not to be "torn away." Bellon observes, that this is still the custom in some parts of the East, as it was formerly in Italy, according to Varro. Pliny ([Natural History?] viii. 48,) also remarks, that fleece was torn off in some places, (Calmet) and the same method is said to prevail still in Shetland. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v19 All the firstling males of thy herd and of…
All the firstling males of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord thy God--[See on Exo 13:2]; see Exo 22:30).
thou shalt do not work with the firstling of thy bullock--that is, the second firstlings (see Deu 12:17-18; Deu 14:23).
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Next: Deuteronomy Chapter 16
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v19 19-23. The firstling males — The firstborn of the…
19-23. The firstling males — The firstborn of the herd and flock, if males, were to be set apart — not used for ordinary purposes — to be devoted to the service of Jehovah.
Sanctify unto the Lord thy God — That is, these were to be used in the sacred feasts which were to be celebrated at the sanctuary, the place which the Lord shall choose.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–23 19. firstling] Heb. bekôr, firstborn both of men (e.g.…
19. firstling] Heb. bekôr, firstborn both of men (e.g. Deu_21:15 f., Exo_11:5) and of animals; either collectively or of the individual firstling. The root meaning is to break; and bekôr is defined (Exo_13:2; Exo_34:19) as that which openeth, or cleaveth, the womb. It covers, therefore, not the earliest births of every year in the herd or flock, but the firstborn of every dam. W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem. 443, compares the ambiguous Ar. fara‘. Another form, bikku̅ri̅m, is applied to firstfruits in general; bikkurah is the early fig (Mic_7:1, etc.).
males] ‘At least a preference for male victims is found among the Semites generally, even where the deity is a goddess,’ W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem. 280 n.; with instances from the Semitic and African races. He connects the distinction on the one hand with the prevalence of kinship through women and on the other with the fact that the cow fosters man with its milk.
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thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord] So P, Exo_13:2 (but with a different form of the same vb.); J. Exo_13:12, thou shalt cause to pass over to Jehovah; Exo_34:19, all that openeth the womb is mine.
19–23. Of Firstlings
All male firstlings of herd and flock are to be sanctified to Jehovah; those of the ox shall not work nor those of the sheep be shorn; their flesh shall be eaten before the Lord by the offerer and his household at the One Altar year by year (Deu_15:9 f.). A blemished firstling shall not be sacrificed, but eaten at home under the conditions laid down (Deu_12:20 ff.) for the profane slaughter and eating of animals (Deu_15:21-23).—Sg. throughout. Steuern. takes Deu_15:21 and Deu_15:22 f. as probably later additions on the ground that the former is covered by Deu_17:1, the latter by Deu_12:22 ff. But their repetition in this law is pertinent to its central purpose. For reasons why the law is placed just here see below on Deu_15:20.
The earliest law on firstlings is found in variant forms in J, Exo_13:11-16; Exo_34:19 f. and E, Exo_22:2 f. (see the notes in Driver’s Exod. 108, 235, 370 ff. with comparative table). These enjoin the passing over or giving to the Lord of all firstborn males, both human and animal; those of men and ‘unclean’ animals (i.e. unfit for sacrifice) may be redeemed. D does not give so full a law on the subject, for his only intention is to adapt the practice enjoined in these earlier laws to the new conditions in which sacrifice is lawful only at the one shrine. Hence he says nothing of the firstborn of men or of unclean beasts. And hence he omits the provision in Exo_22:29 f, that the firstlings of ox and sheep were to be taken from the dam after seven days and on the eighth given to the Lord; because, while this was practicable when there were many local shrines, it is no longer so when there is to be one altar. Hence also he substitutes the general direction that the offerings are to be made year by year. No more clear illustration could be afforded of the fact that D’s code was not intended as a complete legislation, but that its motive was simply to modify earlier codes or the consuetudinary laws of Israel to the new situation brought about by its central law of one sanctuary.—P’s law on the subject, Num_18:15-18, is similar to the others; but adds that the flesh of the firstlings of oxen, sheep and goats shall be the perquisite of the priests: an injunction irreconcileable with D’s, that it is to be enjoyed by the offerer and his family, and indicative, like so much else in P, of the growing power of the priesthood to absorb what had previously been the rights of the laity.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19–20 (19) All the firstling males. . . . thou…
(19) All the firstling males. . . . thou shalt sanctify—i.e., recognise them as the property of Jehovah by not using them for ordinary purposes. In Lev_27:26 we read, “No man shall sanctify it”—i.e., shall make it the subject of a special vow or dedication, because it already belongs to Jehovah. This is the only interpretation consistent with the context in Leviticus; for Deuteronomy 27 deals entirely with “voluntary” offerings, which are in a sense outside the Law. (See Notes at the commencement of Deuteronomy 28, 29).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv19, 21 Vers. 19-23. in Deu_12:6, 17 and in Deu_14:23, reference…
Vers. 19-23. in Deu_12:6, 17 and in Deu_14:23, reference is made to sacrificial meals, and to the appropriation of the firstlings of the herds and flocks thereto; Moses here reverts to this, and gives a fuller exposition of it. It is enjoined that, as all the firstborn were to be sanctified to the Lord, (Exo_13:2-13) they were not to work with the firstborn of their cattle, either by yoking the bullock to the plough or wagon or by shearing the sheep: these belonged to God, and were not to be put to any vulgar uses of men; year by year they were to be brought to the sanctuary, offered as sacrifices, and eaten before the Lord. If any of the firstborn animals were blind, or lame, or in any way blemished, such was not to be offered to the Lord, but might be used as food in their ordinary places of residence. (cf. Lev_22:19, etc.)
Vers. 19-23. The firstlings.
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The solution of the apparent discrepancy between this passage and Num_18:18 seems to lie in the custom of inviting the worshippers to share in the feasts provided by their offerings. View the sanctification of the firstlings as symbolical.
1. Of God"s claim on the first and choicest of what we have for his own service.
(1) Of our property.
(2) Of our affections.
(3) Of our powers of body and mind.
2. Of God"s right to redeemed life. The firstlings were redeemed by God for himself on the memorable night of the deliverance from Egypt. (Exo_13:12) God claims redeemed life as peculiarly his own. (Isa_43:1-4; 1Co_6:20)
1. Of God"s right to young life. A symbol of early consecration.
2. Of happy fellowship with God. The fellowship was a fruit of the dedication of the best. J.O.
Vers. 19-23. The firstlings for God.
The firstlings which were males were not to be reared for work, but kept for communion. They were to constitute, if perfect, a peace offering before God; if imperfect, they were to be eaten at home, imperfect fellowship between imperfect persons. Just as in the firstfruits God claimed the first share; so in the case of the firstlings of the herd or flock, and the firstborn among men.
I THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS GIFTS OF GOD, AND DEDICATED GRATEFULLY TO HIM. He is the Source of life; hence the firstlings should be the cause of quiet meditation and acknowledgment. Such increase should be the occasion of special fellowship with God, enlarging gratitude and dictating devotion.
II IMFERFECTIONS IN GOD"S GIFTS SHOULD BE ACCEPTED BY MEN AS MORE THAN THEY DESERVE. The imperfect firstling, in being made a feast for men only, and not a sacrifice for God as well, seemed to say that, however imperfect God"s gift may be sometimes, it should be gratefully accepted as beyond our desert. The blemished, the lame, the blind, when God sends them in his providence, we should not despise, but rather hail them as beyond our desert.
And if this was to be the case in the use of beasts, does it not throw clear light upon our conduct in the case of imperfect men? When children come into this world with any defect, let us not rebel against his will, but cherish the defective gift as reminding us how little we deserve, and by our love give such children compensation.
III THE DEDICATION OF THE PERFECT FIRSTLING POINTED TO THE CONSECRATED FIRSTBORN, JESUS CHRIST. He is indeed the Firstborn of every creature. To him the firstlings and firstborn pointed. He was dedicated in life and death to the Father. He became the great Peace Offering which makes God and man one. And this suggests
1. The Father"s delight in Jesus. How it burst forth from time to time in "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"! What delight in our Lord"s life! what satisfaction in his obedience unto death! God well pleased!
2. Our delight in Jesus. Jesus becomes the medium of communion. We have him in common with God. "Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ". (1Jn_1:3) The more we meditate upon him, the deeper must be our delight. R.M.E.
Vers. 19-23. The first for God.
As God is supreme, so his claim to recognition and obedience must have consideration prior to all other claims. Such priority is his indefeasible right; such priority best subserves the interests of men. The first day of the week he claims and hallows; the firstfruits of the soil he claims for religious offering; the first place in our affections he asks as his due; the firstborn, both of man and of beast, he marks as his own. This is his royalty.
I THE REPRODUCTIONS OF LIFE A CONTINUOUS CREATION OF GOD. It is acknowledged on every side that life can only spring from life. No arrangements of material atoms no processes of chemical change with which men are acquainted can produce life. It is a force unique in itself, and can only rationally be traced to the creative power of a personal God. The potency to reproduce life, which God has placed in all the species, is as clearly a demonstration of his creative energy as if he manifestly and alone created each individual being. We cannot escape from the conclusion that he is sole Life-giver. I kill," saith God, and I make alive.
II THE CLAIM OF THE FIRSTBORN ALONE IS A CONCESSION OF THE FULLEST RIGHTS OF GOD. He has a rightful proprietorship in all life. But he allows to man, as his liege vassal, dominion over the inferior races of his creatures. Acknowledgment of man"s subjection must, however, be made; tribute must be paid to the Heavenly King. This arrangement is an act of combined justice and kindness. For man"s highest good, he must be kept in perpetual remembrance of his dependence and his obligation. If the springs of gratitude in man"s nature should dry up, his loss would be immeasurable. Every memorial we have of God is a gospel.
III GOD"S CLAIM AND MAN"S ENJOYMENT ARE IDENTICAL. This devotement of the firstlings to God was no real loss: it was every way a blessing. It cherished in them a feeling of filial dependence. It took them up to the temple, year by year, and so brought them into close contact with eternal things. It served to link religion with the commonest affairs of daily life. It taught them that God found a pleasure in their enjoyments, and that his commandments were promotive of real delight. Thus the acts of Jehovah"s worship were not identified with fasting and austerity, but with eating and drinking in the sacred temple. The pleasure was all the greater because it was social. In the banquet and festivity the whole household partook.
IV IMPERFECT SACRIFICES PROHIBITED. Very evident is it that this demand of the firstborn was designed for spiritual instruction. However great God"s care for our bodily life appears, his desire for our souls" well-being is immeasurably greater. By such visible and impressive methods God sought to teach the Jews that perfection of nature was God"s design, and that such perfection would alone find a place in his heavenly temple. The best feelings and aspirations of our nature yearn after perfection. Nothing less will satisfy the mind of God; nothing less will satisfy us. "Then shall I be satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness.
V YET BLEMISHED LIFE IS BETTER THAN BARRENNESS. A lame or a blemished lamb a firstborn was not utterly useless. It served as food for man, it sustained human life. But it was deprived of the honor of being devoted to God. Imperfect service is not altogether useless in the world. If we do a kindness to a neighbor, though no love to God prompt the deed, some good will result. Continuance in good deeds will gradually lead to better feelings and to nobler purposes. He who serves well his fellow-men now, will ere long learn to serve God. Let us ever follow the best sentiments which arise within, though yet very imperfect. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v20 Eat it before the Lord thy God year by…
Deu_15:20
Eat it before the Lord thy God year by year.
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Memorial days
Year by year. It might seem at first sight, antecedent to experience, a surprising thing that the mere mechanical movement of the earth through the heavens should have any special relationship to mans mind and spirit. Yet we know that it has. Our memory associates special experiences with certain seasons and days. As the season or day returns the event is recalled, and sometimes the impressions awakened by it have, apparently, all their original sharpness. So, in this regard, the course of the heavens comes to be, as it were, a colossal memorandum book.
1. There is a sure evidence of the event seen in the fact of its commemoration.
2. We are taught how comparatively rare are these conspicuous and startling events which punctuate our public and private life. It is well for the sanity of the human mind that life is not filled with startling events. It would be like substituting pyrotechnics for the moonlight, or the stars for the silent skies. It is in the ordinary quiet on going of life that we find healthfulness of heart.
3. Life is always, serious. For we are ever treading on the edge of something unexpected, it may be something terrible. Let us walk circumspectly, and realise that we may always dwell under the shield of Gods providence and under the light of His promises.
4. We see the innate superiority of mind to all temporary events. You recall perhaps your wedding day, the hour, the place, the guests, the joy, through a score of years, a half century ago. Intervals of time fade from view in presence of this supreme experience, just as you look from one lofty peak to another and think not of field, valley, and river between. You see those shining points of life when you were at twenty, forty, or sixty years of age, and lesser experiences are hidden. The mind itself is superior to mere measurements of time, and so is constituted for immortality; is akin to Him to whom a thousand years are but as yesterday.
5. How deep in us is the element of affection which has its expression in the anniversary or festival. As we review the past our memory clings to those experiences in which the heart has a part, those which have touched its springs of joy and grief. We properly cultivate intellectual strength, power of will and endurance, but, after all, it is love that is supreme. Love brings us nearer Him who is perfect love.
6. A sweet illustration of the grace of God in the Gospel is furnished in the fact, with which every believer is familiar, that in these remembered events sorrow loses its sting and joy comes to be even more full in reminiscence than it was at first. Our sorrow only makes more glorious the preciousness and amplitude of Divine grace and sympathy, just as the glory of the sun, shot through a dark cloud, illumines and transfigures it by its splendour and its peace.
7. What a rest it is to the aged to recall the past when they are released from lifes active and strenuous struggles! They are like ships home from long voyages, moated in a quiet harbour, where the memory of storms that are past only enhances the serenity and peace enjoyed.
8. Whatever measurements may hereafter be had as to time and eternity in our immortal life, one thing is certain: we will keep one point in vivid remembrance--that of our entrance into life, when we first knew the joys eternal. (R. S. Storrs, D. D.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v19 12. The Firstlings and the Three Feasts
12. The Firstlings and the Three Feasts
CHAPTERS 15:19-16:17
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1. Concerning the firstlings (Deu 15:19-23)
2. Passover (Deu 16:1-8)
3. Feast of weeks (Deu 16:9-12)
4. Feast of tabernacles (Deu 16:13-17)
What is said in the closing verses of chapter 15 is supplementary to the law given concerning the first-born in Exo 13:2; Exo 13:12 and Numbers 18. They were not to be worked or sheared. “Before the Lord thy God shalt thou eat it, year after year, in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou and thy household.” Nothing which had a blemish, was lame or blind could be sacrificed. The spotless Lamb of God is here in view once more and the type is given how we are to feed on Him in the presence of God, in the sanctuary.
The feasts were mentioned in Exodus 12; Leviticus 23; Numbers 28-29. Here only the Passover, the feast of weeks and the feast of tabernacles are given. The critics claim that there is contradiction between this chapter and the laws concerning the feasts in the previous books of the Pentateuch. Such contradiction, however, does not exist. That only these three feasts are mentioned here is in full harmony with the character and message of Deuteronomy.
Obedience, as we have repeatedly learned from the study of past chapters, is the demand of Jehovah from His people. The three prominent feasts were absolutely obligatory. Three times in a year all the males were commanded to appear before the Lord to keep these three feasts. No such demand was made in keeping the feast of trumpets and the day of atonement. Because these three feasts were to be obeyed, they are mentioned in Deuteronomy. The objections of the critics spring (as all other objections and criticisms) from the lack of spiritual discernment. The contradiction they see is only another evidence of the perfection of His Word. “The place, which Jehovah thy God will choose” occurs six times in this chapter. This was not mentioned in Exodus, Leviticus or Numbers. This again is characteristic of the book. Over twenty-five times mention is made of the place which Jehovah will choose, the gathering place of His people in His presence, and this demands obedience. What these feasts mean typically and dispensationally may be learned by consulting the annotations of Leviticus 23. The fact is also to be remembered that they came out of Egypt (verses 3 and 12). They are commanded to rejoice on the feast of weeks (Pentecost) and on the feast of tabernacles (typical of the time of joy and blessing in the coming age); but the statement “thou shalt rejoice” is omitted in connection with Passover. Redemption is typified in that feast. This calls forth gratitude and praise to God. The solemnity of the death of the Lamb of God and the judgment our Lord had to pass through, must be the reason why the command to rejoice is absent.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v19 Of the Firstlings
Of the Firstlings
v. 19. All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord, thy God, as a sacrifice or its equivalent; thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep, use the animals consecrated to Jehovah for earthly purposes.
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v. 20. Thou shalt eat it before the Lord, thy God, year by year, in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou and thy household, as a sacrificial meal. Cf Deu 12:5-7; Exo 13:2; Exo 34:19.
v. 21. And if there be any blemish therein, as, if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, if it is not physically perfect, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord, thy God, in order not to profane the sacred meals.
v. 22. Thou shalt eat it within thy gates, every Israelite in his own city; the (Levitically) unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck and as the hart, which were not sacrificial animals, but could be used for food, Deu 12:15 to Deu 21:22.
v. 23. Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water, Deu 12:16 to Deu 23:24. They were to be holy, undefiled, as the people consecrated to the Lord, a fact which is true also with regard to the spiritual condition of the Christians, who also are a chosen generation, 1Pe 2:9.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv19, 22 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues speaking to the people of Israel.
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shear
to cut off wool or hair
before Yahweh
"in the presence of Yahweh"
year by year
"each year" or "every year"
lame
crippled or physically disabled
translationWords
firstborn
flocks
set apart
Yahweh
God
year
household
blemish
sacrifice
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv19, 21, 23 15:19 The firstborn males of livestock represented the firstborn…
15:19 The firstborn males of livestock represented the firstborn sons of Israel who had been spared from death in the tenth plague (Exod 12:12, 29; 13:2, 12; 22:29).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.