That reminds me of what God did for us His human creatures but let's go back in time to the prototypes first.
The worst plague of all for Pharoah and his Egyptian peoples was the death of all firstborn sons on the dreaded "passover" night. Pharaoh hadn't wanted to see Moses again so Moses bowed out of his presence.
God told Moses about the imminent last plague. An angel of death was going to sweep through the kingdom. God told Moses to tell all the Israelites to take a lamb without blemish or spot (Exodus 12:5); a perfect lamb, slaughter it and put its blood on the two side posts and the upper doorpost of the houses (Exodus 12:7). Then one and all of the family were to go inside the house and shut the door (Exodus 12).
When the angel of death came down the street and saw the blood properly applied, the angel would "pass over" to the next home. Any home that did not have the blood applied, the angel would enter and the firstborn son would be slain (Exodus 12:12-13).
Subsequently, God told Moses that each firstborn son of any family had to be dedicated to Him for His service (Exodus 22:28-29). Later on, God then consecrated Aaron and sons for the priesthood and the rest of the Levites to assist in the service of the Tabernacle and later in the temple (Exodus 8:17-18). Firstborn sons of all the other tribal families had to be "redeemed" by offering, 5 shekels (Numbers 3:44-48; 18:16; Leviticus 17:1-9; Exodus 34:19-20).
However, any family could still dedicate their firstborn to God. This we see in Samuel's case. Samuel's mother Hannah brought him to Eli the High Priest to be of service in the Temple (1 Samuel 1:21-28).
Hannah did this out of love and deep gratitude to God for the gift of her firstborn son Samuel whom God granted to her out of her many years of barrenness and longing for a child. In fact, she had devoted Samuel to God even before he was conceived. She kept her promise to God. Although Samuel did not become a priest, he was mightily used by God in his prophet capacity.
Jump over to the New Testament to God's big picture that He had been leading up to all those years. The baby Jesus was presented at the Temple by His parents on the eighth day of His life on earth according to what was ...
"...written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord; and to offer sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:21-24).
Jesus's earthly parents were obedient to God's Laws.
This brings us to God who dedicated His firstborn Son, Jesus Christ, to be in His service. Jesus became our Priest who mediated for us between His Father, God, and us, His human creatures. He is God's Priest Who is also our Offering. He became the Lamb of God who died in our place like all those little innocent spotless lambs in place of the firstborn sons of Israel in Egypt. He is the...
"...Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29 NIV).
It is..
"...the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son that cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7 KJV).
As we remember Jesus Christ's death and resurrection for us in the breaking of bread and drinking of the cup of wine on Lord's Day (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), or any other time for that matter, let us be very grateful to God who gave us His firstborn Son that He could redeem us back to Himself.
We are now in His service as "royal priesthood" and " a people belonging to God" (1 Peter 2:9 NIV). May we each engage in a lifetime royal priesthood of service to God. God gave His best for us; in return, let us remember to give Him our best. Praise Him!
~ERC April 2018~
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