Neville Goddard on Exodus 13:11-13 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Exodus 13 in context

Scripture Focus

11And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,

12That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD's.

13And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.

Exodus 13:11-13

Biblical Context

Exodus 13:11-13 describes dedicating the opening life of every creature to the LORD and redeeming the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb, while all firstborn of people are to be redeemed. The passage centers on holiness, sacrifice, and the discipline of redeeming natural energy rather than allowing it to run wild.

Neville's Inner Vision

See the land as a state of consciousness you enter when you acknowledge the I AM within. The 'firstborn' are your initial expressions—your earliest thoughts, impulses, and vitality—set apart for the LORD and kept holy by your focus. The instruction that the male firstlings belong to the LORD signals that your core energies are to be governed by the I AM. The stubborn donkey represents habitual reactions; redeeming its firstborn with a lamb is to redeem those impulses by offering a higher image—the lamb of pure imaginative faith. If you refuse redemption, that energy remains unchecked and must be broken from its unworthy tether; thus all firstborn of man are to be redeemed by alignment with the divine. The underlying law is practical psychology: consecrate, redeem, and align your inner world so that the promised land becomes your present state of awareness, not a distant place.

Practice This Now

Practice: in a moment of quiet, catch your first impulse to react, declare it holy unto the I AM, and imagine presenting a lamb as its symbol of redemption; then feel the state of consciousness as already fulfilled.