All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.
All that first opens the womb is the Lord's, and every male firstborn of cattle, whether ox or sheep, belongs to Him. It was given in close connection with the Passover ordinance at the time of the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn in Egypt, and Israel's hurried departure. It stands within the renewal of the covenant after Israel's sin in worshipping the golden calf, when the tables of stone were renewed and the covenant was confirmed again. It is part of the ritual and judicial law that Moses was commanded to write in a book, distinct from the Ten Commandments which God Himself wrote on the tables of stone, developing principles already contained in the covenant without adding one moral principle. As part of the rites of the earthly sanctuary it was an object lesson pointing to the Lamb of God, and with Christ's sacrifice that typical system passed away forever, while the moral law itself remained unchanged and is to be served from love and not from fear.
Covenant Setting and Wording
Exodus 34:19 stands within the renewal of the covenant after Israel's sin in worshipping the golden calf, a molten image contrary to the conditions binding upon them. That idolatry came within forty days of God speaking to them at Sinai, and the chapter belongs to that history. When the tables of stone were renewed the covenant was confirmed again.
It belongs to Moses' second forty days and forty nights with the Lord on Mount Sinai. He was called to come up to the top of the mount and fasted there, and that time was spent in intercession and worship, hasting and bowing his head, that God would not destroy the people for their sin. The tables were not given until the end of that communing. When he came down his face shone as he told Israel what the Lord had spoken.
It claims the firstborn as the Lord's in close connection with the ordinance for the Passover. That ordinance was given at the time of the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn in Egypt, and the hurried departure of Israel. It declares that every firstborn male among the cattle, whether ox or sheep, belongs to God.
Law and Fulfillment
All that opens the womb belongs to the Lord as one of the precepts of the law given through Moses, which comprises statutes and judgments as well as moral, civil, health, and ceremonial laws concerning sacrifices, offerings, and types. It is specifically part of the ritual and judicial law found in Exodus 34:10-27 together with Exodus 21, Exodus 23, and Exodus 24:3-8, distinct from the Ten Commandments spoken six days before. That ritual and judicial law was to be written by Moses in a book to accord with the form of the law on stone. It was communicated to Moses on the mount during forty days and forty nights of fasting, after God called him to come up to the top of the mount, because Israel had worshiped a molten image contrary to the conditions binding upon them, and the tables were not given to Moses until the end of that communing.
It is part of the covenant words in Exodus 34:10-26 which Moses was commanded to write in Exodus 34:27 after the tenor of the covenant made with Moses and with Israel. It is not part of the Ten Commandments on the tables of stone, which God Himself wrote on the second tables. Standing within Exodus 34:10-27, it belongs with Exodus 34:1 and Exodus 34:28 to show that God Himself wrote the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments, on the second tables of stone with His finger. Those two tables of stone are called the tables of the covenant. It shows part of what was added afterward to what Moses wrote in the book he sprinkled with blood. That addition does not enlarge or diminish that book by one moral principle, but simply develops principles already contained in the agreement between God and Israel and in the judgments of Exodus 21-23, made plain because the people were ignorant and sin-blinded.
As part of the written law including commandments engraved on stone, the law itself is to be distinguished from the ministration of that law, for the ministration changed while the same law remained, neither changed nor abolished. Its context in Exodus 34:11-26 is exalted by some as another decalogue of equal importance with the law of Exodus 20:1-17 in order to break the force of the Ten Commandments and to belittle, destroy, and dishonor the law, whereas the Bible recognizes but one moral law, the Ten Commandments. It belongs to the rites and ceremonies connected with the worldly sanctuary first pitched in the wilderness and afterward continued in the temple until Christ. Its law of the male firstborn is an object lesson pointing to the Lamb of God that takes away sin, showing Christ's power to forgive sin, transform character, and deliver from burdens. With Christ's sacrifice and offering at Calvary and the rending of the veil, that typical and shadowy earthly system passed away entirely and forever. Its history teaches that people serve God through love, not fear or compulsion, for if God's law had been received into their hearts as well as written on stone, they would not have turned back to Egypt or worshiped the golden calf.
All that first opens the womb is the Lord's, and every male firstborn of cattle, whether ox or sheep, belongs to Him. It was given in close connection with the Passover ordinance at the time of the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn in Egypt, and Israel's hurried departure. It stands within the renewal of the covenant after Israel's sin in worshipping the golden calf, when the tables of stone were renewed and the covenant was confirmed again. It is part of the ritual and judicial law that Moses was commanded to write in a book, distinct from the Ten Commandments which God Himself wrote on the tables of stone, developing principles already contained in the covenant without adding one moral principle. As part of the rites of the earthly sanctuary it was an object lesson pointing to the Lamb of God, and with Christ's sacrifice that typical system passed away forever, while the moral law itself remained unchanged and is to be served from love and not from fear.
Covenant Setting and Wording
Exodus 34:19 stands within the renewal of the covenant after Israel's sin in worshipping the golden calf, a molten image contrary to the conditions binding upon them. That idolatry came within forty days of God speaking to them at Sinai, and the chapter belongs to that history. When the tables of stone were renewed the covenant was confirmed again.
It belongs to Moses' second forty days and forty nights with the Lord on Mount Sinai. He was called to come up to the top of the mount and fasted there, and that time was spent in intercession and worship, hasting and bowing his head, that God would not destroy the people for their sin. The tables were not given until the end of that communing. When he came down his face shone as he told Israel what the Lord had spoken.
It claims the firstborn as the Lord's in close connection with the ordinance for the Passover. That ordinance was given at the time of the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn in Egypt, and the hurried departure of Israel. It declares that every firstborn male among the cattle, whether ox or sheep, belongs to God.
Law and Fulfillment
All that opens the womb belongs to the Lord as one of the precepts of the law given through Moses, which comprises statutes and judgments as well as moral, civil, health, and ceremonial laws concerning sacrifices, offerings, and types. It is specifically part of the ritual and judicial law found in Exodus 34:10-27 together with Exodus 21, Exodus 23, and Exodus 24:3-8, distinct from the Ten Commandments spoken six days before. That ritual and judicial law was to be written by Moses in a book to accord with the form of the law on stone. It was communicated to Moses on the mount during forty days and forty nights of fasting, after God called him to come up to the top of the mount, because Israel had worshiped a molten image contrary to the conditions binding upon them, and the tables were not given to Moses until the end of that communing.
It is part of the covenant words in Exodus 34:10-26 which Moses was commanded to write in Exodus 34:27 after the tenor of the covenant made with Moses and with Israel. It is not part of the Ten Commandments on the tables of stone, which God Himself wrote on the second tables. Standing within Exodus 34:10-27, it belongs with Exodus 34:1 and Exodus 34:28 to show that God Himself wrote the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments, on the second tables of stone with His finger. Those two tables of stone are called the tables of the covenant. It shows part of what was added afterward to what Moses wrote in the book he sprinkled with blood. That addition does not enlarge or diminish that book by one moral principle, but simply develops principles already contained in the agreement between God and Israel and in the judgments of Exodus 21-23, made plain because the people were ignorant and sin-blinded.
As part of the written law including commandments engraved on stone, the law itself is to be distinguished from the ministration of that law, for the ministration changed while the same law remained, neither changed nor abolished. Its context in Exodus 34:11-26 is exalted by some as another decalogue of equal importance with the law of Exodus 20:1-17 in order to break the force of the Ten Commandments and to belittle, destroy, and dishonor the law, whereas the Bible recognizes but one moral law, the Ten Commandments. It belongs to the rites and ceremonies connected with the worldly sanctuary first pitched in the wilderness and afterward continued in the temple until Christ. Its law of the male firstborn is an object lesson pointing to the Lamb of God that takes away sin, showing Christ's power to forgive sin, transform character, and deliver from burdens. With Christ's sacrifice and offering at Calvary and the rending of the veil, that typical and shadowy earthly system passed away entirely and forever. Its history teaches that people serve God through love, not fear or compulsion, for if God's law had been received into their hearts as well as written on stone, they would not have turned back to Egypt or worshiped the golden calf.