My article from this week's edition of the Rockford Squire:
In the Old Testament law, it was a continual pattern that what was first was dedicated to God. So, when harvest time came, the first portion was offered to God. When animals were born, the firstborn belonged to the Lord. For clean animals, they would be sacrificed, and unclean animals would be redeemed by the sacrifice of a clean animal in their place or by being sold with the proceeds given as an offering.
We can see
this even before the giving of the law to Moses when Abraham devotes the first
tenth (or tithe) of his spoils in battle to God by offering it to the priest
Melchizedek, and a similar principle in the common practice of Christians (who
are not obligated to the laws of Moses) to give the first tenth of their income
in offerings.
While giving
one’s first and best to the Lord is a wise and beneficial act, and an excellent
reflection of the fact that everything one receives comes from God, it is not
as if this were some sort of transaction with the divine. One does not give in order to ensure future
blessing, to satisfy divine wrath, or to make up for sin. God’s Old Testament people gave, and we
continue to give in the present as an acknowledgement of what He has done for
us—not only in material things, but in a gift even greater.
The
dedication of the firstborn in Israel was an acknowledgement of his passing
over the firstborn of Israel in the final plague in Egypt, but more importantly
both the Passover and the dedication of the firstborn were pointing forward to
a greater firstborn—Jesus. He who was
the only-begotten Son of God would be the firstborn Son of Mary. The firstborn sons and animals of Israel were
set apart because the ultimate firstborn would die to pay for the sin of the
world, and they were redeemed because He would redeem humanity from sin on the
cross.
In His
resurrection, He would then be the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18). He rose on the third day because He was
guiltless of sin, and as evidence that His sacrifice on the cross accomplished
our redemption. He is the firstborn from
the dead, because all who rely on Him as their sacrifice, and are baptized into
Him, are made children of God and younger brothers and sisters of Christ, and
promised resurrection just as He is risen.
