Numbers 3:49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those who were redeemed by the Levites. The Levites were chosen by God to take the place of the first born sons. So instead of the firstborn males being used as redemption, being given back to God (?), the Levites were to serve Him. When they figured this out numerically, there were 273 males who didn’t have a “redeeming” Levite to cover for Him, so God told Moses to redeem those firstborn males with money. This is what he did in the verse here. I don’t know if this tradition continued every time they did a census or if it was a one time for everyone kind of deal. I just think it’s interesting how God used every day things to help Israel understand concepts, and when they were obedient, He used gentle ways to remind them of His sovereignty. We are blessed because the One True God’s own Son took our place, redeeming us, in the same way that the Levites were took the place of the firstborn males of Israel. That’s pretty cool. We are SO blessed!