Consecration of the Firstborn

                                                                    Exodus 13:1-2

 

August 30, 2024

 

Consecration of the Firstborn

The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”

In biblical times, the firstborn was given certain unique rights, responsibilities, and privileges. A married couple’s firstborn male child was given priority and preeminence in the family, and the best of the inheritance. The nation of Israel is identified as God’s “firstborn” in the Bible.  In Exodus 4:22, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, “  And in Jeremiah 3:9, “With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water,  in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”  In other words, Israel held a special place of privilege and blessing among the nations.

 

As a point of clarification, the term firstborn in relation to Jesus does not suggest that He is a created being. The Son of God has existed for all eternity along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is fully God (John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.“  He took on human flesh so that He could become our Savior to serve as the Mediator between humankind and God (1 Timothy 2:5). ^“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

When Scripture refers to Christ as the “firstborn,” the message is that Christ’s supremacy, sovereignty, and priority extend over all things and all other beings.  Taken from “Got Questions”.

 

I was the third born, does that mean I am not important to Jesus?  All I have to do is go to John’s gospel and read chapter 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

 

So how can we apply this Scripture to life on Planet Earth? It is eternally important to understand that God loves you, He formed you in your Mother's womb, and number your days before one of them happens.  And many who have by faith in Him invited Jesus to come into our lives have, by that choice, become the number 1 enemy of the devil and His angels.  But we have so many promises from our Lord and the Father, one that is so important is how we are wrapped in the Father and Jesus, found in John 14:20,  ^“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”   Another one that we often wish He had not said is John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  

 

I am also happy that Jesus has given us the ability to set our minds, and this is counsel I often need, to keep my eyes on Jesus, not on this world, to see His peace and not the garbage of the world.

 

From our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice