This meant that the nation of Israel attached unusual value of the eldest son and assigned special privileges and responsibilities to him. Because of God's claim on the first offspring, the firstborn sons of the Hebrews were presented to the Lord when they were a month old. Since the firstborn was regarded as God's property, it was necessary for the father to redeem the child from the priest. - Num. 18:15-19 -
Early Hebrew laws also provided that the firstborn of beasts belonged to the Lord and were turned over to the sanctuary. The clean animals - those that could be eaten under the law of Moses - were sacrificed to the Lord. The unclean beasts were either destroyed, replaced, or redeemed at a price set by the priest. - Ex. 13:1-2, 11-16, 34:19-20; Lev. 27:26-27 -
In Israel, the firstborn son was loved in a special way by his parents and inherited special rights and privileges. His birthright was a double portion of the estate and leadership of the family. As head of the home after his father's death, the eldest son customarily cared for his mother until her death, and provided for his unmarried sisters until their marriage. He was the family's spiritual head and served as its priest. The inheritance rights of the firstborn son were sometimes transferred to a younger brother, Jacob, for example, stripped Reuben of his firstborn rights because of his incestuous conduct and transferred the birthright to his son Joseph. - Gen. 48:1-22; 1Chr. 5:1-3 -
In figurative language, the term firstborn stands for that which is most excellent. This expression is applied to Jesus in several New Testament passages. All of them point to Jesus' high standing and His unique relationship to His Father and the Church. Jesus is described as the "firstborn over all creation" indicating that He existed before creation and actually participated in the creation process. The virginal conception of Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. It is depicted by the expression, "brought forth her firstborn son".
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came be,
not one thing had its being but through him. - John 1:2-3 -
He is the image of the unseen God
and the firstborn of all creation. - Col. 1:15
Now all this took place to fulfill the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son
and they will call him Immanuel,
a name which means "God-is-with-us". - Matt. 1:22-23 - Luke 2:7 -
The phrase, "firstborn from the dead" refers to Jesus resurrection, which assures victory over sin and death to all who trust and love Him with all their soul, heart, strength, and mind.
Before anything was created, he existed,
and he holds all things in unity.
Now the Church is his body,
he is its head. - Col. 1:17-18 -
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the Firstborn from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. - Rev. 1:5-6 -
Apostle Paul's description of Jesus Christ as "firstborn among many brethren" refers to His exalted position as head of the Church - Rom. 8:29-30 - and the author of Hebrews foresees a joyful gathering with the whole Church in which everyone is a "firstborn son" and a citizen of heaven. - Heb. 12:22-23 -
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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