Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. "You must give me the firstborn of your sons. Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day." Exodus 22:29-30
God moves from a stern warning about blasphemy into a reminder about what He expected from the Israel people in the way of firsts. Interestingly, you’ll see where they will connect and it’s all about reverence.
You’ll recall back to when the people of Israel were in Egypt. Pharoah refused to allow the people of Israel to go free despite the commands of God. So Pharoah watched his people suffer through ten plagues ranging from rivers and waters turned into blood to frogs, gnats, flies and locusts to disease on cattle and livestock to boils, hail and darkness and finally to the worst of them all, the firstborn.
You’ll recall in this final curse that "the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well." (Exodus 12:29) The firstborn of Israel were not harmed because they had followed the Lord’s instruction through Moses to "slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe." (Exodus 12:21-22) When the Lord saw the blood around the doorframe, He would pass over that household and thus the origin of the significant holiday that is still celebrated this very day.
You’ll also recall that the Lord told Moses to "…Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal." (Exodus 13:2) He also had Moses tell the people this message:
"After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your forefathers, you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons. "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand." Exodus 13:11-16
So in reverence to God for what He had done in delivering Israel from the hands of Pharoah and in symbolizing the day He took away the firstborn of Egypt to preserve the firstborn of Israel, the Israelites were expected to give God their first of everything…in other words…their best. They were to give their best grain…their best livestock and other animals…their best children. Keep in mind that human sacrifice was strictly forbidden by Israelite religion but the firstborn animals were slain as an atonement for the sins of the people…a protection and immunity resulting from the blood shed from the unblemished animals sacrificed.
Question: Do you give God your best in everything? Does He truly get your personal first fruits or do you only give Him what’s leftover?
As you ponder these questions, consider this as you continue to reflect and examine your faith and Christian walk this Lenten season. We are asked to give our best because God gave us His best.
We were destined for destruction because of our sins…sins that kept us as captured and oppressed as Israel was during their Egyptian captivity. And…just as shed blood was required to ensure the Israelites were passed over and spared death, so too did the Father send His own unblemished Lamb…the precious Lamb of God…His only Son Jesus. Indeed, God sent His only Son to be sacrificed on the cross for us all…His First Fruit given for us…His shed blood acting as our atonement and His victory over death to eternal life, our ticket of liberation from the hopelessness of this present day life to the glory of the eternal life that lies ahead. All because of Jesus and God’s willingness to sacrifice His best for us.
So I ask again: Do you give God your best in everything? Any answer short of yes should lead us to fall before Him, ask for forgiveness, receive His mercy, and then move forward with a renewed commitment to not let a day pass without laying our lives down for Him, giving Him the first of everything we have and sacrificing ourselves and our desires for His Will and Way. How will you respond to the Father today?
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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