Video Transcript: God's Firstborn

That passage from Hebrews 12 that I quoted at the end of the previous lecture  speaks of God's covenant people reconciled through the blood of Jesus coming  to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the church of the Firstborn whose names are  written in heaven. That word firstborn is a significant one which helps us  understand the privileges and responsibilities of those whom God is reconciled  to himself by grace and entered into covenant with, so we should look at what it  means to be part of the church of God's firstborn. To start with when we need to  note that in the cultures of the ancient Near East, the eldest or firstborn sons  held the position of honor among their siblings. In Israel, their privileges included a larger inheritance a special blessing from the father, a position of leadership  within the family in an honored place at meals. In a family without sons, these  privileges and responsibilities fell to the eldest daughter. That probably helps  explain why tradition had it that the eldest daughter should be the first to marry.  Hence Laban's concern that despite Jacob's request Leah be married before  Rachel in Genesis 29. And King Saul's initial offer to David of his oldest  daughter Merab, rather than the younger Michal, I Samuel 18. The priority of the firstborn was upheld, even if the father actually preferred another son,  Deuteronomy 21:15-17 addresses this. If a man has two wives, and he loves  one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the  wife, he does not love. When he wills his property to his sons, he must not give  the rights of the firstborn to the son of, of the wife he loves, in preference to his  actual firstborn, the son of the wife, he does not love. He must acknowledge the  Son of His unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he  has. That son is a sign of the Father strength, the right of the firstborn belongs to him. There were exceptions to the rule, but these were certainly contrary to  expectations. Some exceptions were because of moral failure. Jacob gained the blessing of the firstborn only by misleading Isaac into believing he was Esau. A  God had intended all along with Jacob, instead of Esau received the blessing  but not by way of deception. Another exception was made for Jacob's firstborn  Reuben. I Chronicles 5:1 tells us that Reuben's rights as firstborn were given to  the sons of Joseph because Reuben had defiled his father's marriage bed.  Other exceptions were by God's direction and appointment. It took an order of  God for Abraham to give Isaac rather than Ishmael. The blessings due the  firstborn. Four generations later, Joseph tried to correct his father's apparent  mistake when Jacob prepared to give the younger of his two sons, Ephraim, the  blessing due to the firstborn Manasseh. But Joseph acquiesced when Jacob  evidently under God's direction persisted. And hundreds of years after this,  although Samuel's anointing of David for kingship was not technically a firstborn  blessing, Jessie was quite surprised that it wasn't given to his eldest son or at  least one of those older than David. But this too is by God's appointment, as  Samuel indicated and confirmed and other is confirmed in other biblical  literature. For example, Psalm 89:27, and I will appoint him, David, I will appoint 

him to be my firstborn, the most exalted, of the kings of the earth. Israel itself  was intended to be regarded as a sort of special exception among the nations of the world. It was certainly not the oldest of the nations but was declared by God  to be his firstborn. The first reference to this is God's instruction to Moses, to tell  to tell Pharaoh this very thing that Israel was his firstborn son. That's in Exodus  4:22. There was no mistaking the implications. In this milieu, it was a significant  honor for God to refer to Israel as his firstborn. And also a significant afront for  Pharaoh to try to steal the one selected to inherit God's will and blessings. God  would not stand for it, he told Moses to tell Pharaoh Exodus 4:22, I told you let  my son go so he may worship Me, but you refuse to let him go. So I will kill your  firstborn son. After repeated exchanges between God and Pharaoh and many  plagues to demonstrate God's right to Israel service, this is just what happened.  God exercised his claim on the firstborn of Egypt by putting them to death, then  everyone in Egypt and Israel knew that Yahweh was the Lord and Master of  both of both Egypt in Israel, and Pharaoh had no choice but to let the Israelites  go. It should be noted, however, that Israel's position is God's appointed  firstborn was not without danger to them as well. That is the people of Israel  we're not immune from God's judgment on the firstborn of Egypt, unless they  carefully followed his instructions and applied the blood of the Passover lambs  to the doorposts and lintels of their dwellings. Then their firstborn were spared  from death and became part of the victory victory parade that left Egypt as a  reminder of the knower of the deliverance that God had brought about, he  decreed an annual celebration of the Passover. And the dedication to him of the  first offspring the firstborn of every womb. By right, that certainly meant that the  lives of all Israelites were forfeit to God as the one who had redeemed them.  Exodus 13:1-2. The Lord said to Moses, consecrate to me, every firstborn male,  the first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me whether  human or animal. Israel was not surprised to find out that when Yahweh brought  them out of Egypt, they now owed him their firstborn, the firstborn of Israel that  were to be used in the practices in support of the worship of the Lord, they were  to be set apart to be made holy, so they can serve as ties to bind God to His  people. For as it was, there was a great gulf between them, the Gulf that could  be bridged only by God's continuing grace. However, what was unusual about  God's rules was the circumstances whereby the people could redeem the  firstborn to be sacrificed. God said that lambs could substitute on the altar for  firstborn donkeys. And he said that every firstborn son of Israel was to be  similarly redeemed. God didn't want Israel to sacrifice her sons that was an  abomination to Him, he would accept an animal in their place. And Israel was  happy to comply. Although at certain points in their subsequent history and  under the influence of pagan neighbors, some of Israel did sacrifice their  firstborn sons. That may have been what happened in Israel during the reign of  the wicked king Ahab. I Kings 16:34 reads, In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt 

Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son, Abiram. And he  set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the  word of the Lord, spoken by Joshua son of Nun speaking of Joshua since  centuries before, he had told the people of God's desire to preserve the ruins of  Jericho as a constant reminder that they have not conquered the Canaanites by  their own strength, but only with the supernatural help of the Lord. But Ahab's  scorn to the message proclaimed by Jericho's ruins, instead commissioned the  rebuilding of Jericho to enhance his own reputation. It was significant then that  Ahab's architect and builder lost his sons in the product project, whether by the  direct hand of the Lord or maybe because Hiel with Ahab's blessing practiced  child sacrifice. What God really wanted was that all firstborn sons, as  representatives of Israel strength be set apart for his service in their life rather  than by their death. After all, Israel's main duty was to live for God and not die  for him. And that's why God made provision for Israel to redeem their firstborn  sons a pattern of substitutionary sacrifice that had already been established in  Abraham's time when God provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac. But now  God was more specific about what Israel had to do. He told them in Numbers  3:45 takes Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, the Levites are to be  mine, I am the Lord. Ever afterwards, the Levites had special privileges, but also immense responsibilities, who was a result of their failures were punished more  harshly than those in the rest of the rest of Israel. Remember, for example,  God's Sentence of death on Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, when they offered  unauthorized fire before the Lord, Leviticus 10. And also Uzzah's death,  recounted in II Samuel 6, when he dared to touch the Ark of the Covenant  during its transportation from the house of Abinadab, to Jerusalem in the time of  David. All of God's regulations about the firstborn and the Levites, who  represented them, were designed to facilitate the knowledge and dedication  required of the whole community of God's people. The whole community was  really God's firstborn with all the privileges and responsibilities that signified. And Foremost among these privileges and responsibilities, was a wholehearted  worship of the Lord. Remember, that basic truth God had proclaimed to  Pharaoh, Israel, is my firstborn son, let my son go, so he may worship Me. We  might paraphrase God's message to Israel in his rules regarding the firstborn,  something like this. Remember that I own you. You'll remember that as you set  apart from my service, the firstborn of your children and animals, experience my  grace in the substitutionary sacrifices that I allow, remember and celebrate your  departure from Egypt that will keep you humble, independent. In fact, keep  these teachings always be for yourselves and your children so that you will, will  always worship Me and Me alone. It turns out that God's requirements are pretty similar today. The important difference is that Jesus Christ is taking the place of  all the firstborn who were set apart for God's service by Christ's one sacrifice.  He has rendered bloody sacrifice obsolete, for he is fully satisfied in himself 

God's requirement for holiness. Christ is the preeminent firstborn, in whom all  the qualities and riches of his father are constantly concentrated. And so the  Apostle Paul in Colossians 1 calls on the firstborn over all creation, his  inheritance is as broad as the universe. Furthermore, by the resurrection, which  followed his sacrificial death, he became the firstborn from the dead, and one  whose rule extends beyond the universe to death itself. What's more, through  Christ you and I can have full access to the full inheritance that belongs to  firstborn children. Before Christ, however, Israel's conception of their inheritance as the first born of God was centered on the promised land. Every tribe had an  assigned inheritance there and every family within every tribe. And if God's rules for life, there were followed, no families piece of the promised land could be  taken away. But now we've come to understand that that what we've been given  in Christ is much bigger and better than a piece of land. We share in the life of  Christ Himself. And that's an inheritance that will not spoil or fade or pass away.  And after Christ's second coming, we'll be introducing more glories yet. But this  also obligates us to pay even closer attention than Israel did of our duties as  God's firstborn children. Deuteronomy 14:2 captures the essence of what was  often emphasized Israel, you are a people holy to the Lord your God, out of all  the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord has chosen you to be his treasure possession of people holy to the Lord, and a treasure possession. Perhaps we  can understand this better if we focus on the duties of those who held special  offices within Old Testament Israel. I'm speaking of Israel's prophets, priests and Kings. Israel's Prophet said the task of conveying God's desires to the people. In fact, the prophet often prefaced his words by saying thus says, the Lord, then  would follow whatever God wanted His people to know, often words of reproof or sin and call to repentance and depending on the response to these things, either words of judgment or of forgiveness and pardon. Sometimes prophets reminded the people of God's Will as previously revealed through Moses and his  successors, but sometimes too, they were given new revelations specific for the  occasion. These might also include predictions of future events. The messages  of true prophets needing to be heeded while the false prophets needed to be.  Their messages need to be vociferously rejected. If, for example, a prophet  incited rebellion against God, Deuteronomy 13:5 says, or, if his ostensible  prediction from God didn't come true, Deuteronomy 18:22. In both cases, they  were to be considered false prophets. There were prophets in Israel's early  history, Moses, Miriam and Samuel were all called prophets. But the prophets  became particularly active after Solomon's death and during the decline in  faithfulness that marked the history of both Israel and Judah in the years before  God finally sent them into exile for their apostasy. So that's the office of Prophet  The second important office in Old Testament Israel was that of priests. The  priests had been divinely appointed role to be mediators between God and the  people. They represented God to the people and the people to God. And among

their responsibilities was to offer the appropriate sacrifices for sin and to  facilitate rituals of purification for what had become impure or defiled. Along with  the sacrifices and rituals, they had a special task of intercession, pleading the  cause of the people before God. They were also required to teach the people  the law of God so they might live as God intended. Before the time that Israel  was led out of Egypt, and given the 10 commandments and other laws of God,  the priestly functions had largely been performed by the heads of the families or  tribes. For example, after the flood, it was Noah, the head of his family, who built an altar and sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord and Abraham did the same.  sacrificing a ram to the Lord after God released Isaac from the altar of sacrifice.  Job also offered sacrifices to God on various occasions. But by Moses day, and  in Moses day, the Levites, and particularly the family of Aaron were consecrated  to be the priests for the whole community of God's people. So the office of priest King was the third office in ancient Israel, albeit one that was not functional  during Israel's first centuries in the Promised Land. That's because Yahweh  Himself was considered to be Israel's rightful king. Eventually, however, the  prophet Samuel was given permission by the Lord, to accede to the peoples  persistent requests for human king. God had long before established the  protocols for such a king. In Deuteronomy 17:14-20, hel had to be someone of  the Lord's choosing. And once appointed, he had to make sure to stay devoted  to the Lord by avoiding some common practices of kings in those days, the  accumulation of the large numbers of horses and wives, and he had to also  engage in another practice of writing out for himself and regular rereading of the  law of God. These things would help keep the king's heart pure and enable him  to ensure the peace, prosperity and welfare of the nation. David was widely  regarded as the ideal among the kings of Israel, he certainly had his share of  problems. But Israel was unified under his leadership. And he was said, at the  end to have done what was right and just for all his people. So these three  offices within Old Testament Israel find their ultimate expression within one  person who fulfills them perfectly. As Prophet Jesus proclaimed the Word of God more powerfully and perfectly than any who had come before. In fact, his very  life was part of the proclamation. Since as the Gospel of John claims he is the  very Word of God made flesh. And he made clear the message that God had  been proclaiming all along to and through Israel, our need to repent of sin and  return to God. But Christ has also given us a new understanding that he himself  is the only one through whom this return can happen. Christ is not only the  prophet to proclaim the necessity and possibility of reconciliation with God. He is the priest who achieved it. He did so with a perfect sacrifice for sin himself. He  was both the priest and the sacrifice. Jesus sacrifice took place once only but he still continues as our Great High Priest, the one through whom all acceptable  prayer and praise is Made to God. What's more, as Romans 8:34 tells us, he  now sits at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. The right hand of

God is the supreme position of authority in Heaven on Earth. In other words,  Jesus is King too. He continually expands his church by calling sinners to  repentance, and graciously forgiving them. And he rules over his church, by His  Holy Spirit in such a way as to enable the defeat of the power of sin within us.  And He preserves and protects his people and will continue to do so as a good  king, until the day when he has vanquished all opposition. Christ is our chief  prophet and teacher, our only high priest, and our eternal King. But by virtue of  our incorporation into the body of Christ, we also share in His anointing to these  offices, all believers are prophets, when we publicly confess our faith in Christ  when we speak to others about what God is doing in the world. And when we  speak out against evil and injustice of all kinds. All believers are priests when we bring ourselves as sacrifices of prayer and praise in service to God, and also  help others through prayer and example to have a relationship with God. And all  believers are kings, when we so rule our own lives, that we continually invite the  sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. And when we live in a way that other seeing  our good works, as scripture puts it may glorify our Father, in heaven, all this is  what God had in mind when he designated Israel his firstborn, and rescued  them from slavery in Egypt. This was one of the first installments of what we  now have in Christ in which will eventually culminate in glory, in the heavenly  Jerusalem, where untold 1000s of angels gathered before God and what  Hebrews 12:23 calls the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in  heaven. In the meantime, this side of heaven, we who have been reconciled to  God, we firstborn who are in covenant with God, need to learn more about  embracing God's priorities. That's the subject of the next three lectures.