THE CHRISTIAN WALK: GIVING GOD OUR BEST FIRST

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord said to Moses, "Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal."

Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.”

“Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land he swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.' This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with His mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.”

"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 13:1-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There is no question that God was with and for the Hebrew people who inhabited the nation of Egypt, a beloved people who he freed from oppression and captivity through mighty, miraculous works which showcased His unmatched power. His efforts led to Pharaoh and the Egyptian people releasing the Israelites so God could send them to the "land He swore to (their) forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey."

This was an act that God never wanted His people to forget and so He issued commands for the Israelites to do the following three things so that they, and the generations to follow, would remember His mighty act of deliverance.

1. Observe the Passover every year.

The Lord sent the following message through to His people:

"Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast. Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites—the land He swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you are to observe this ceremony in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.' This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with His mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year."

This seven day feast of bread made without yeast would come to be known as the Feast of the Unleavened Bread and the beginning of the feast would be marked by the Passover observance.

2. Dedicate every firstborn to God.

God provided another command to the Israelites, saying:

There is great significance within the firstborn requirement.

You’ll recall that the final plague God exercised against Egypt dealt with Him killing every firstborn in Egypt while He spared (or passed over) each firstborn child of Israel because of the blood of the lambs spread over the doorways of the Israelite homes.

Later, God Himself would give His firstborn in Jesus as a living sin sacrifice for all of mankind. The Blood of the Perfect, Unblemished Lamb, Jesus, covered all sins and assured that anyone who believed in Him would be "passed over" and delivered into eternal life, instead of being cast into the darkness, torment, and suffering of Hell for all eternity.

And so just as God would soon offer up His very firstborn, giving His best, His everything as a sacrifice to bring salvation to Christian believers, so too must the people of Israel do the same in giving their offspring to their Lord.

3. Pass down the tradition to future generations.

The scriptures show us that the Lord gives yet one more command to the Hebrews:

It’s a truth that tradition can and will die if it isn’t passed down to the next generation. And so, God wanted to ensure that the customs that He was starting with the Israelites would be carried on, forever and ever. This would only happen if the people of Israel taught their children about the significance of the prescribed celebrations, especially in regard to God’s demand that they be continue to be observed from generation to generation.

Well, we know all this was put in place well over 2,000 years ago and we need to know that God’s requirements haven’t changed any, equally applying to us today even if the application points are slightly different. Indeed, our culture today is drastically different than it was in the time of Moses and the Israelites as they departed Egypt for the Promised Land.

And so, here are the things we can and should take away from this message so we can best carry out His Will and Way as Christians:

1. Worship and celebrate the Lord in all things, observing and giving thanks for all His significant works of goodness, love and mercy - not just on Sundays at church or on significant days of celebration highlighted in scripture - but every day.

In other words, each day that we’re blessed with should be a mini-festival of praise and gratitude as we celebrate the Lord who sustains and strengthens us to make it through our daily challenges. For truly, God’s mercies are new every morning and great is His faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23) and so is this not reason to rejoice and praise Him always (Philippians 4:4)?

2. Give God our best first.

Doesn’t God deserve the best we can give Him?

Shouldn’t He receive our first fruits of everything?

Don’t we experience God giving us His best every day?

In God’s Word, specifically in the Book of Proverbs, chapter 3, we find this guidance:

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Vv.9-10

In other words, when we consistently give God our best, we can expect His best in return, an abundance of blessings from Him to His faithful ones.

And so, a few questions for self reflection:

Are you giving God your best each and every day?

Are you being a good steward of what He has blessed you with, whether that might be time, talent or treasure?

In the end translation, there should be no hesitation to give God our best for He didn’t hesitate to give us the ultimate gift of salvation which was purchased through the sacrifice of His Son, our Savior, Christ Jesus.

3. Teach children about spiritual disciplines and scriptural obedience.

How will our children know how to live in accordance with the commandments of God the Father and Jesus, His Son, unless we teach them?

How will they understand the significance of Christian celebrations and observances unless they (our children) receive instruction and enlightenment?

I’ve always been convinced that the best gift we can ever give our children is to teach them all about God and Jesus so they grow up with Them, already establishing a personal relationship before they reach adulthood. If we do this right, as God expects, then we can assure that Christian heritage and tradition are never lost and always carried out and observed as the Bible commands.

In closing, God gave us all His absolute, priceless best in Jesus and continues to bless us with His best each and every day. Truly, we do see that He gives us every good and perfect gift from above (James 1:17).

Friends, is this not reason to celebrate?

Is this not reason to honor Him in any way we can, no matter the time or place?

The answer to both is a resounding "Yes!" And we can always ensure we’re properly showing our gratitude, an attitude of thanksgiving, by honoring our God with the best we can give Him. And we shouldn’t just do this because He expects or commands it. Rather, we should give Him our best first because He deserves it, both now and for generations to come.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE CHRISTIAN WALK

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

GIVING GOD OUR BEST FIRST

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