Firstborn Son

“Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons.” Exodus 22:29

It’s not a new concept to me. But this morning, it jumped off the page at me and I wondered, what it is that God wants to do with the firstborn? Why was this important to him?

I remember well the birth of our firstborn son. I remember being in awe of God that he would create this new life within me and birth it into this world. I remember a new journey beginning with God – seeing him as a loving parent who loves, nurtures, disciplines, and encourages his children. I knew then that raising a child needed to be done hand-in-hand with God. Our son was a gift from God and we dedicated him to God. We were thrilled when at age 12 he asked to be baptized. We nurtured, watched and encouraged his spiritual journey having long discussions about the heart of God regarding matters in this world.

As I ponder what God has to say about the firstborn in Scripture, I see that it involves birthrights, inheritance, carrying on the family line. The firstborn becomes even more significant in Scripture when the Israelites are freed from slavery in Egypt. The last of the plagues was the angel of death passing over and taking the firstborn of man and animal from the Egyptians. The Israelites were spared because of the Passover lamb they sacrificed and the blood placed on their doorposts – the entrance to their homes. God had told Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’” Exodus 4:21-23 And that is what happened.

And then comes the instruction 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 And this is followed by, “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 a mighty hand.” Exodus 13:13-16 This became an important part of the old covenant – an important event to commemorate through the years – God’s deliverance from slavery and leading them to the Promised Land.

Zechariah bridges the old and new covenants with his prophecy: “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10

And then the big event occurred – the one that changed how we relate to God. “And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7 At age 12, Jesus was in the temple, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.” Luke 2:46-47 Jesus was a young adult when he went to the cross. You could say he was just entering the prime of his life.

Jesus was the “firstborn among many brothers,” Romans 8:29. He was our “Passover Lamb,” I Corinthians 5:7 And he brings us to Mount Zion: “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-23

The reason the firstborn is so significant in Scripture is that, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

God gave his firstborn Son so that any who receive him would be saved and spend eternity with him. I’m sure that it grieved his heart to do so – it grieves his heart at the need to do so. But his love for us was so great that he was willing to do this. I find myself unable to fully comprehend how great his love is for us.

Our firstborn son was a gift from God, he belonged to God, and we needed to hold him with an open hand – allow him to be used of God according to God’s purposes. And now, tears flow freely as I fall into my loving Father’s arms and understand once again that he knows my grief at losing my firstborn son. But he had purposes for his firstborn Son and he has purposes for my firstborn son – even in their deaths. While his Son’s death and resurrection provided the way for us to come to God: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” II Corinthians 5:21, our son’s death has and continues to point many to Christ. What joy and celebration in heaven as more of God’s lost children seek him and find him!

No, I don’t believe you have to be a firstborn son to be of use to God, but somehow, I feel a little closer to the heart of God in that we share that grief of losing our firstborn sons to death. And I have this hope and knowledge that death isn’t the end. Jesus rose on the third day and ascended into heaven where he promises that all those who believe in him will join him for eternity. I look forward to joining our firstborn son there soon. And I look forward to seeing God’s firstborn Son face to face and being able to join our son and others who are already there praising and worshiping our Lord and King.