There are a lot of symbols in the Bible that God blended together for the redemption of the first-born of the womb, not only of human beings but also donkeys. They all point to the first and only born of Heaven: Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ).

The first part of this two-part Bible study on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread looks into two major lessons from four types leaven. This second part focuses on important lesson of redemption of the first-born.

The “strangest” order regarding the redemption of the first born is in regard to the redemption of donkeys.

Donkeys are the only unclean animal that require redemption. The Torah says that either a lamb or a goat is to be brought in place of the donkey or the donkey’s neck is to be broken.

There is no command in Torah to redeem the first born of camels, or any other kind of service animal with a blood offering. Donkeys are the exception.

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”” (Exodus 13:1–2 NASB)

Why does this only apply to males and not females? Why bother to sanctify anyone?

Numbers 8:5-19 explains the significance of the first born of all the men of Israel and how He transferred some of their status to the tribe of Levi as a whole.

God had purchased the first born sons of Israel when He redeemed all the people of Israel from Egypt by killing Egypt’s first born sons. These first born sons of all the tribes were to be set aside to serve as priests to God.

But in Numbers 8, God says that He has chosen the tribe of Levi for that role, rather than the first born sons of all of Israel for that sacred duty.

God’s instruction in Exodus 13 to sanctify the first born of all the tribes of Israel is still in effect. Numbers 8 didn’t over rule that edict.

God bought the first born; He paid the price for them.

I can understand how God made a 1-to-1 swap between the first born of all of Israel and the Levites. It also makes sense that God would refuse to accept an offering of any unclean animal such as pigs, but this donkey instruction doesn’t make sense on the surface reading.

““Now when the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, you shall devote to the LORD the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the LORD. “But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. “And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ “So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”” (Exodus 13:11–16 NASB)

God didn’t just kill the first born sons of the people of Egypt, He killed the first born of all their livestock as well. Hence,