Article for December 29, 2024
Exodus 13:1–2 1The Lord said to Moses, 2“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.”
Make no mistake we all belong to God. However, God has made a decree that all firstborn males of animals that belong to the Israelites also belong to God for His special purpose. We who believe see Christ in this decree as He is the firstborn of God and Mary.
Jesus was both the animal and the son. Stay with me as I explain. God claimed the firstborn to be His possession. These firstborns, whether animal or man, had an important part in God’s plan. God’s plan at this time was to mature His chosen children and groom them to be holy to the world.
God wanted His people Israel to be a race of purity for the world to aspire to be like. All other people were to follow the example of the first chosen as these people were being raised to live in God’s favor.
You might say God recruited the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt and took them to the desert for some very hard training. If you thought an eleven-week boot camp was hard, well, picture a forty-year boot camp in the desert. God was not going to make their life easier. Rather, God was going to make their life better through hard training. In other words, they had to work for their inheritance through obedience to God their savior.
Exodus 13:3a 3Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. . . .
Comfort zones are not easily dispersed of. Many of the Israelites we read about wanted to go back to their Egyptian slavery. What is good for one is worth working hard to achieve. Most people only look at their woes when they should be thanking and praising God who cares for His followers. Take the time to remember all that God got you through. God is powerful but most can’t fathom His power because most look down instead of looking up.
Life can and will try to enslave us in worldly ways that do not align with God’s precepts. But remember God is the one who’s power saves us as the worlds power tries to kill us. What God gave the Israelites He also gives us. We have God’s word and the Israelites experiences to learn from. What we fail to learn makes us repeat history over and over, again and again. And sadly, we are good at repeating history
Exodus 13:11–13 11“When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s. 13Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it, you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.
Jesus, as I said, is like the firstborn animal and the firstborn male. The firstborn animal was used to sacrifice for the sins of God’s people Irael. These sacrificial animals were to be without blemish. A sacrifice to God must be pure. Jesus was without blemish and is pure.
We too are like these firstborn animals as a select few were to be redeemed. The donkey and lamb were among those animals to be redeemed. The donkey, which is a beast of burden and a lamb which needed a shepherd to keep it in line.
Jesus of course is like the firstborn of mankind and is redeemed. The redemption of the firstborn child of God was to show us God’s grace and mercy. Though Jesus was beaten, ridiculed, and nailed to a criminal cross, Jesus was redeemed through His resurrection.
We too will suffer and die, but we can hold on to sure hope of our resurrection as Jesus died to redeem us as firstborn to salvation. Jesus precedes us in His resurrection, but we share in His inheritance as a firstborn of God’s. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for each of us and will come again to take us to where He is.
Exodus 13:14–15 14And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’”
Jesus the firstborn of God who was born in humble means had no blemishes. But the scars Jesus holds now are the scars we gave Him through our sin. Jesus has overcome our scars, and therefore Jesus will cloth us in His righteousness. Praise and thank you dear Jesus Christ for you have perfected for us eternal life with you forever and ever. Amen.
Written by Pastor Curtis May
Comments