Firstfruits and Firstborns

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.