CONSECRATION OF THE FIRSTBORN This chapter includes: 1- Sanctification of the firstborn 1 - 16 2- Wandering of the people 17 - 18 3- The bones of Joseph 19 4- Camping in Etham 20 - 22 1- Sanctification of the firstborn “Sanctify to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and animal; it is Mine” (Exod. 13.2). That was the first commandment of the Lord to Moses, directly after the exodus. It is not a command or a commandment, as much as it is a gift and a promise. As by the exodus of the people from bondage, and their setting forth to the higher Jerusalem, the believer enters into the possession of God, to become a living member in His royal Kingdom; then, He says, “He is Mine”. A- Christ our Firstborn God requested the firstborn of man and animals, and later requested also the first fruits of the harvest, vine, and oil. The Lord had been particular in this issue as it is clear in (Exod. 13; Lev. 2310-14, 27.26-29; Num. 15.19-21, 18.13-20, 19.23). By offering the firstborn to the Lord, the whole lot would be sanctified, as though offered to the Lord. That was a symbol of the Lord Christ, our Firstborn, and the Firstborn and head of all creation (Rom. 8.29; Col. 1.15, 18). He presented Himself on our behalf, we, His lowly brothers, offering His life to God the Father as a sacrifice of obedience, and of unblemished love. It was accepted by His good Father, as a fragrance of pleasure. Hence, humanity was united to Him and became an object of pleasure and favor to God the Father. To clarify this, we say that God the Word became One of us. Although, according to the flesh, He came later than others, He was called, “The second Adam”, and was counted as the Firstborn, after the first Adam lost his first birth right because of his sin. So did Esau and Jacob received it; Reuben also lost his birthright because he profaned his father’s bed (Gen. 49.3; 1 Chron. 5.1). As Isaac was counted as his father Abraham’s firstborn and inherited every thing (Gen. 21.10) although he was younger than his brother Ishmael, nobody can have the first birth right to humanity in the presence of the Lord Christ, the only Holy One without blemish, who presented Himself to God the Father as the First fruit of humanity. In Him, all those who believe in Him, were accepted, and sanctified in Him, and every one of them heard from the divine mouth, “You are Mine” (Exod. 13.2). This becomes very clear in the case of the first fruits of a tree (Lev. 19.23) that are to be counted as uncircumcised, spiritually unsanctified, for three years; while, in the fourth year, all its fruits would become holy and would be offered to the Lord, who then says, “I am the Lord your God” (Lev 19.25). That tree is nothing but humanity, which had remained uncircumcised for three years in paradise: the first was when Adam and Eve had fallen; the second, during the time of the fathers in the shadow of the natural law; and the third year, in the shadow of the Mosaic Law. Then, in the fourth year, all its fruits would be accepted, in the time of grace, when the Lord Christ presented Himself as a Holy Fruit on our behalf. 89 It is noteworthy that the idea of first birth has been known to man, even before the Mosaic Law. Man rejoices by his firstborn son and the farmer by the first fruits of his harvests. That is why God, as He presented His only-begotten Son as a ransom for us, demands that we pay back love for His love. He wants us to present the firstborn of our sons to serve Him, beside those of our livestock and the first fruits of our harvest. He wants the best of what we have, not our leftovers. B- The Church of the firstborns In the old days, God demanded the firstborn males of His people, as a sign of His work of salvation with them, as He says, So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘what is this? That you shall say to him, ‘By the strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem’. It shall be as a sign on your hand, and as frontlets between your eyes, for by the strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt (Exod. 13.14- 16). Presenting the firstborns is the sign on the hand which is a practical sign, and between the eyes, so as not to be forgotten. Through these signs they would recall God’s works of salvation; how He killed the firstborns of the Egyptians because of the wickedness of Pharaoh, in order to set the Israelites as the “The Lord’s firstborn” (Exod. 4.22; Jer. 31.9). God had set his people as His firstborn, and when the True Firstborn came to the world, and the Church became united in Him, it truly became the “Church of firstborns”, as it is written in the Holy Scripture. C- The system of the firstborn The system of the firstborn has been known before the Mosaic Law, yet the latter came to regulate it in a detailed way that carried symbols of the heavenly Church of the firstborns. Leaving the study of this issue to the future, I want to present some of its prominent points: 1- The firstborn is given a double portion of everything (Deut. 21.17), as a reference to the abundance of God’s graces on us in the eternal inheritance. 2- The first male to be born is counted as a firstborn, even if his mother is not beloved by her husband (Deut. 21.15-17). The two wives (the beloved and the unbeloved) probably refer to the Jews and the pagan Gentiles. The believer is counted as a firstborn in the Church of the firstborns, without distinction, whether he is of a Jewish or a Gentile origin. 3- The firstborn of kings almost always inherit the throne (2 Kings 21.3). We, as sons of the King of Kings, are counted as kings also. 4- The firstborn is offered to serve the Lord (Exod. 13.12, 34.19) as a sign of dedicating the whole family to the Lord. The firstborns were then replaced by the Levites in serving God, which, God willing, we shall deal with in our interpretation of the Book of Leviticus. 5- The firstborn of animals was to be dedicated to the service of the Lord, with the exception of the unclean animals, that are to be redeemed with a clean animal, or have its neck broken (Exod. 13.13; Lev. 27.27). This is the case of the sinner, who is not redeemed except through the Lord Jesus Christ, or else he dies. 2- The wandering of the people 90 The people got confused when they found themselves walking in a route different than the one that leads to the land of the Philistines. As they were not yet trained to freedom, God intended to let them go through a bit of training in the wilderness, before they reach the land of freedom, as He says, “lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt” (Exod. 13.17). 3- The bones of Joseph “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, “Surely God will visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you” (Exod. 13.19). It is as though Joseph prophesied that his people would eventually come out of the land of Egypt, and settle down in the land of promise. His request to them carried a symbol of his yearning for the resurrection. He desired for his body to rest in the higher Jerusalem, when he carries the new nature fitting for the heavenly. St. Aphrahat comments on what Moses did saying, And the bones of the righteous man were more precious and better in his estimation than the gold and the silver that the children of Israel took from Egypt when they spoiled them. And the bones of Joseph were forty years in the wilderness; and at that time when Moses fell asleep, he gave them in inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun. … And he buried them in the land of promise, that there might be in that land a treasure, (even) that of the bones of Joseph (that were) buried therein1. 4- Camping in Etham We talked before of the departure from Rameses to Succoth, as a departure from the motivations of sin, together with a feeling of sojourn. Now, they have reached Etham, which, according to the scholar Origen, means a sign, and is the third station at the edge of the wilderness (Exod. 13.20). It is not possible for the believer to enter into the wilderness with all its passions and temptations unless he/she reaches the third station, which is experiencing the resurrection with the Lord Christ, and having God proclaim Himself to him/her, supporting him/her by day and lighting his/her way by night. The scholar Origen says that we should not stop here (in Succoth), but consummate the route. We should lift up the tent from Succoth and hasten to Etham. The word Etham means a sign, which is an appropriate name, as the scripture says, “God went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light” (Exod. 13.21). You do not see this sign in Rameses nor in Succoth, the first and second stages of the journey, but it comes with the third stage, where God’s proclamations begin. Recall what was written, when Moses said to Pharaoh, “We go three days journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God” (Exod. 5.3). Pharaoh did not want to let the children of Israel go to where God’s proclamations will be, nor did he allow them to proceed to enjoy the secrets of the third day. Listen to what the prophet says about the Lord, “On the third day He will raise us up, and we may live in His sight” (Hos. 6.2). The first day represents the Passion of the Savior. The second day represents His descent to Hades. The third day represents His resurrection. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. Let us follow the apostle’s words, showing us that these signs signify baptism; that whoever is baptized into Christ Jesus, is 1 Aphrahat. Demonstration VIII, On the Resurrection of the Dead. 8 91 baptized into His death (Rom. 6.3), and is raised with Him on the third day. The apostle talks about such a man, saying that God raises him up and lets him sit together with Him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2.6). Therefore, when you acquire the secret of the third day, God will lead you and show you the way to salvation1. If the apostle sees that the pillar of cloud gave shadow to the people, through the Baptism we gain the Spirit of adoption by the Holy Spirit. St. Basil the Great sees in it the shadow of the grace of the Holy Spirit that cools down the flame of our lusts, by putting our members to death (Col. 3.5)2. Thus, the pillar of fire would be a shadow of the enlightenment that we gain through Baptism, to walk along in the way of God the Savior, through the darkness of this life. 1 In Exode. Hom. 5:2. 2 St. Basil. On the Holy Spirit. Chap. 14.
Welcome