Exodus 25 -- Instructions 1

Exodus 25:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites to take an offering for Me. You are to take My offering from everyone who is willing to give. 3 This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and manatee skins; acacia wood; 6 oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx along with other gemstones for mounting on the ephod and breastpiece.

Here the Lord is instructing Moses on what materials will be necessary to make the tabernacle of the Lord and the items that will be inside of it.  You should notice that the Lord did not command Moses to take these items from the people, but he said that Moses should take from those who are willing to give. 

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.  

Today, the Lord does not force us to give Him anything.  He wants us to, but will not force us.  He wants us to give to Him because we want to and he wants us to be happy about it.  

Exodus 25:8 “They are to make a sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them. 9 You must make it according to all that I show you—the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.

The Lord did not make the Israelites guess as to how the tabernacle should be be built, but he gave them specific instructions.  The Lord wanted a place where He could dwell among His people.  Today, the Holy Spirit dwells in those who believe, but before the sacrifice of Christ, no one could have anything holy within them since they were full of sin, so God required a separate place to dwell.  He could no dwell within men as he does today.  Christ's sacrifice on the cross means that those today who are believers are covered by the blood of Christ and when our Heavenly Father looks at us, he will see Christ.

Exodus 25:10 “They are to make an ark of acacia wood, 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

Why acacia wood?  What I know of acacia is that it is a thorny tree that grows in parts of Africa and giraffes like to eat it... thanks Discovery Channel! -- Anywho, I did some looking up about acacia and found that they are all over the world, not just Africa.  The plants have some medicinal purposes, but I could not find anything specific about that.  In Egyptian myths, acacia is associated with life.  In Asian cultures, acacia bark is burned and used as an incense to keeps demons away and to put the gods a good mood. (Wikipedia) So, knowing in other traditions acacia is associated with life and is something to ward away demons, it seems to be fitting to use acacia wood for various things in the tabernacle.

Exodus 25:11 Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 13 Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. 16 Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 17 Make a mercy seat of pure gold, 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. 18 Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat. 21 Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the testimony that I will give you into the ark. 22 I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.

So, the Lord will appear on the ark, in the mercy seat between the two cherubim.  All of these things described are covered in gold.  Inside and out.  The ark would be heavy and since they were not allowed to touch it (we will see this later on) the poles were necessary to carry it. 

Exodus 25:23 “You are to construct a table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 24 Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding all around it. 25 Make a three-inch frame all around it and make a gold molding for it all around its frame. 26 Make four gold rings for it, and attach the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 27 The rings should be next to the frame as holders for the poles to carry the table. 28 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and the table can be carried by them. 29 You are also to make its plates and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them out of pure gold. 30 Put the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

Bread of Presence?  Anyone know this?

Exodus 25:31 “You are to make a lampstand out of pure, hammered gold. It is to be made of one piece: its base and shaft, its ornamental cups, and its calyxes and petals. 32 Six branches are to extend from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side and three branches of the lampstand from the other side. 33 There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and petals, on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and petals, on the next branch. It is to be this way for the six branches that extend from the lampstand. 34 There are to be four cups shaped like almond blossoms on the lampstand shaft along with its calyxes and petals. 35 For the six branches that extend from the lampstand, a calyx must be under the first pair of branches from it, a calyx under the second pair of branches from it, and a calyx under the third pair of branches from it. 36 Their calyxes and branches are to be of one piece. All of it is to be a single hammered piece of pure gold.

The sculpture of this piece must have been very skilled to make such an object out of a single piece of gold.

Exodus 25:37 “Make seven lamps on it. Its lamps are to be set up so they illuminate the area in front of it. 38 Its snuffers and firepans must be of pure gold. 39 The lampstand with all these utensils is to be made from 75 pounds of pure gold. 40 Be careful to make them according to the pattern you have been shown on the mountain.

I am suddenly reminded of this:

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and with a gold sash wrapped around His chest.

 I wonder if  there is any significance to this.  

What Many Christians Need to Know

So, yesterday I was reading an article about a women who had a miscarriage at 19 weeks and the article talked a lot about the family's experience as well as detailing how a 19 week fetus, and those of similar gestational age look human and are not just a "clump of cells."  Well this post is not about that article, but about the comments to that article.

Why arguing is pointless
As with most articles, whether talking about abortion, global warming or even the color of sheets that people most prefer, it seems that in the comment section there seems to always be a battle between Christians and Non-Christians.  It seems to always turn into an argument that both sides think they can win, but in reality neither side will gain any ground.  I cannot answer for the non-believers, but I can say this to those who believe:  Why bother arguing?  The Bible is clear:

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.

The unbeliever will always view God and anything about Him as foolish.  We cannot, in ourselves, do anything about that.  So, as a believer this is what we should do.  Arguing is futile.

Titus 3:6 But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.

It is God alone who can change the heart of the unbeliever.  He alone can call the sinner to Himself.  He may use us in that process, but in reality, arguing on a message board will not win anyone for Christ.

The Devil causes sin
This comment was on the message board SO much!  Saying this like "the devil causes sin in the world" or "the devil made me do it" is giving the devil way to much credit.  The devil cannot make us sin, he can only tempt us to sin.  The sin comes from our own heart.  We are all born with a sinful nature and it is by the grace of God we are brought out of that nature into a new nature in Christ.

The baby will be in heaven
Many Christians tried to give comfort for the family telling them their baby is in heaven and in God's arms.  Where does the Bible tell us this?  No where.  Each and everyone of us were conceived in sin and each and everyone of us must deal with the consequences of sin.  That goes for those who are in the womb as well as those who are living in the world.  If as a Christian we believe that the fetus inside the mother is a human with a soul, we must also believe that the child is sinful, even though he/she is not yet born.  As Christians, we also believe that God will justly judge all humans and give them the consequences they deserve.  I am sure that the unborn who have passed away will be judged in a just way just as us who live today.  I am not saying unborn children our young children who pass away before they themselves are conscience of such a decision as to follow Christ will not be in heaven, but I cannot say with certainty that they will be. 

Why would a loving God cause a baby to die?
This question was asked multiple times.  The answer, while partly given was never fully explained.  Yes, our God is loving, but he is also wrathful and jealous.  The nature of God is more than love.  The real reason, however, that a baby dies is because of sin.  Yes, this was pointed out by many people.  Sin causes death. 

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Death entered the world when Adam and Eve ate the fruit.  It was not completely Eve's fault.  She was tempted to sin, Adam was not.  Eve would not have eaten if the devil hadn't tempted her.   Adam was there the whole time the devil was speaking to Eve and did not even try to stop her.  The command had been given to Adam, and not to Eve.  Well, anywho, I am getting a little off topic here, let me get back to my point.  Sin entered the world through sin.  Before sin, there was no death.

Going back to the question, yes, the death of the child was the will of God, or it would not have happen.  This does not make God evil for allowing the child to die.  Death and sin was necessary for Christ to come.  If there was no death or sin, then Christ would not have come and we would still be living in the Garden of Eden without sin and with a perfect relationship with God.  This, however, would not have served God's purpose of man.  Man is here to glorify God.  God wants the greatest glory for Himself.  If everything had remained perfect, and there was no sin, how much would we appreciate what God had done for us?  We would not know despair or sadness to know what joy and happiness would feel like.  The greatest glory for God is having His son come and give Himself for us.  Remember, Christ was the plan from the beginning.  All of creation and everything that has happened was for Christ and the glory of God.  Sin and death was necessary for Christ to come.  One day, everything will return to paradise.  We will again live in perfect harmony with our God and creator.  It isn't here yet, but it is coming.

You can't judge me!
Um, if you are a Christian I can.  The Bible tells me to do that.  What we are not to judge is whether or not someone is a believer.  We cannot tell by looking at someone if they are or are not a Christian.  We should reserve this type of judging to God, and God alone. (I believe this is what James is talking about).    We are to judge the actions of our fellow believers.  If we see our brothers and sisters straying away from God, we are to point that out to them, lovingly, and bring them back to Christ. (This is talked about in Matthew).

One of the commenters stated how he hated Christians because they were hypocritical and did not approve (or allow) him to live in a sinful situation.  We are hypocrites.  We are not perfect.  Even though we are Christians, we are still sinners.  It is by the grace of God we can claim a relationship with Him and believe we can go to heaven, when what we deserve is Hell.  It is not a Christians place to tell him not to live in sin because he is not a Christian.  I do think this commenter is giving Christians too much credit in the equal marriage debate.  How much influence do we Christians have in politics?  How many of the politicians today are truly Christian?  If Christians had their way in all things, abortion would be illegal as would any sin that could be committed, but a vast majority of sins (according to the Bible) are legal and even protected under the law. 

Conclusion
So, I really should not read the comment sections on articles.  The get me so riled up, but I know it is pointless to argue with those who think I'm crazy no matter what I say.  I do believe we should share our faith, but I see no need to argue my believes with other people.  I do not need to prove my believes to anyone.  Just like the old argument, "Prove to me that God exist!"  I want to ask them to prove that He doesn't, but that to is just pointless. 

Exodus 24 -- Covenant Ceremony

Exodus 24:1 Then He said to Moses, “Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, and bow in worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.”

Moses was the only one to approach.  When we read about the temple, we learn that their is one high priest that can enter the holy of holys.   Here Moses is acting as a high priest by being the one who can enter closest to God.

Exodus 24:3 Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.” 4 And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain. 5 Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half the blood and set it in basins; the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey everything that the Lord has commanded.”
8 Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”

Blood is used as a sign of this covenant.  This reminds me of the need of Christ's blood to atone for our sins.  We too needed the blood of something (in our case someone, Christ) to bind us to God.  It is through Christ's blood that we are able to draw near to God.

Exodus 24:9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. Beneath His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire stone, as clear as the sky itself. 11 God did not harm the Israelite nobles; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.

Perhaps they saw the throne of God?  In Ezekiel, it is described as being sapphire stone:

Ezekiel 1:26 The shape of a throne with the appearance of sapphire stone was above the expanse. There was a form with the appearance of a human on the throne high above.

and

Ezekiel 10:1 Then I looked, and there above the expanse over the heads of the cherubim was something like sapphire stone resembling the shape of a throne that appeared above them.

Sapphire is also found in the foundation of the new Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:19) 

Exodus 24:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.” 13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God. 14 He told the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them.” 15 When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud covered it. 16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from the cloud. 17 The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop. 18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

Forty days and nights, just like the rains of the flood.  I wonder if there is any significance to that?  

Exodus 23 -- The Law 3

Exodus 23:1 “You must not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked to be a malicious witness.  2 “You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice. 3 Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.
5 “If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.
6 “You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. 7 Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty. 8 You must not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words of the righteous. 9 You must not oppress a foreign resident; you yourselves know how it feels to be a foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

These verses are showing how one must be honest.  You are not to lie.  You are not to cheat anyone based on how you like them or how much they have.  You are not to take bribes because that could cause you to sin.

Exodus 23:10 “Sow your land for six years and gather its produce. 11 But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat from it and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Do your work for six days but rest on the seventh day so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave as well as the foreign resident may be refreshed.

Rest on the seventh day.  Just as the Lord rested on the seventh day after creation we too are to follow His example and rest.

Exodus 23:13 “Pay strict attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.

The Lord repeats this often through out the Bible.  You are to only have one God.  No idols should be in your life.

Exodus 23:14 “Celebrate a festival in My honor three times a year. 15 Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before Me empty-handed. 16 Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. 17 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God.

The Lord set up three specific times for the Israelites to celebrate their God.  The Festival of Unleavened Bread to remind the Israelites of God's power when bringing them out of Egypt.  The Festival of Harvest and the Festival of Ingathering were to remind the Israelites that it is God who provides for them the food they need to survive, both now and when leaving Egypt.  From the notes in the Bible I am using, the Festival of Ingathering is also called the Festival of Booths, which serves as a reminder to the Israelites of the structures they lived in during the exodus.

Exodus 23:18 “You must not offer the blood of My sacrifices with anything leavened. The fat of My festival offering must not remain until morning.
19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.20 “I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and listen to his voice. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for My name is in him. 22 But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 For My angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. 24 You must not bow down to their gods or worship them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them and smash their sacred pillars to pieces.

Here the Lord is telling the Israelites that if they obey him and his laws that he will deliver their enemies and completely destroy them.  All they have to do is obey.  Do what God has told them to do.

Exodus 23:25 Worship the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you. 26 No woman will miscarry or be childless in your land. I will give you the full number of your days. 27 “I will cause the people ahead of you to feel terror and throw into confusion all the nations you come to. I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you in retreat. 28 I will send the hornet in front of you, and it will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites away from you. 29 I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you. 30 I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous and take possession of the land. 31 I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you. 32 You must not make a covenant with them or their gods. 33 They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against Me. If you worship their gods, it will be a snare for you.”

Obey God and you will prosper.  Drive out the people of the land and do not worship their Gods.  We know as we read further that the Israelites did not do this.  They disobeyed God.  They intermarried.  They worshiped other Gods... And they were punished.

Exodus 22 -- The Law 2

It has been a little while since I have posted.  Now that the holidays are over I hope to post a little more.  I have really not kept up with my readings either and really need to get back to reading and studying.

Exodus:22:1 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 2 If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, 3 but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4 If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.

Not only does a thief have to return or repay the owner of the animal he stole, he must pay at least double or if the animal is no long in his possession, whether dead or sold, he must pay 4 or 5 times what he stole.  IF he cannot pay, the man himself will be sold to make up for the lose of the animal.  IF we had such strict punishments today, how much less theft would we see?

Exodus 22:5 “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man's field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard.
6 “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.
7 “If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man's house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. 8 If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. 9 For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.
10 “If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, 11 an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor's property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. 12 But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. 13 If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.
14 “If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. 15 If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.

I'm not sure what is meant by "come near to God" or what kind of "oath by the Lord" these verses are referring to.  Matthew Henry's Commentary says this on the subject:  "It is called an oath for the Lord (v. 11), because to him the appeal is made, not only as to a witness of truth, but as to an avenger of wrong and falsehood. Those that had offered injury to their neighbour by doing any unjust thing, yet, it might be hoped, had not so far debauched their consciences as to profane an oath of the Lord, and call the God of truth to be witness to a lie: perjury is a sin which natural conscience startles at as much as any other. The religion of an oath is very ancient, and a plain indication of the universal belief of a God, and a providence, and a judgment to come."

Exodus 22:16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.

I a man sleeps with an unwed, single woman, he must marry her if her father consents.  If there is no consent, the man must still pay for her since he lay with her as a husband with a wife.

Exodus 22:18 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
19 “Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.

Here "lies with an animal" means engaging with the animal as a man would with his wife.  This is an abomination to the Lord who created man in His own image.  God also made each creature to reproduce after its kind. 

Exodus 22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

God is our one and only God and he is the only one worthy to receive our sacrifices.  Since we do not sacrifice using animals today, we can still show our devotion to God by not placing idols or other things in front of God.  We must only pray and worship the Lord, and no other. 

Exodus 22:21 “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

The Lord really dislikes the mistreatment of widows and orphans.  Those who do so will see the wrath of God.

James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Here James shows that the Lord wants us to care for and visit the orphans and widows, not neglecting them.

Exodus 22:25 “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Really?  This does not say you have to like your ruler, but you are not to curse them.  How many Christians today are saying nasty things about our current president.  We do not have to like him or his policies, but we should still honor him in his position.

Exodus 22:29 “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 30 You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

The Lord is requiring the first born of all the Israelites and their livestock.  He does not mean they must be killed or sacrificed but that they are set apart to God.  Since God spared each of their first born sons during the Passover and He also gave His first born son as a sacrifice to save all His people.

Exodus 22:31 “You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.