Nehemiah 10:36

Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as [it is] written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God:

Ver. 36. Also the firstborn of our sons] These God claimed as his due, Exodus 12:2; Exodus 22:29; Numbers 3:13, and called for, as best beloved of the parents; that, together with them, he might draw men's best affections to himself. They were to be redeemed, as were also the firstlings of all beasts not fit for sacrifice, Exodus 13:13, and the redemption money brought to the priests (who were God's receivers), that they might be the better encouraged in the law of the Lord, as Hezekiah phraseth it, 2 Chronicles 31:4 .

To bring to the house of our God, unto the priests] No man might offer his own sacrifice, though it were never so good, but present it to the priest, Leviticus 17:5, who was to offer as well the poor man's lamb as the rich man's ox. It is by Christ alone that we must draw nigh to God, &c.