Numbers
18:12-20
12 All the best of the oil and
all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to
the Lord, I give to you. 13 The
first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is
clean in your house may eat it. 14 Every devoted thing in
Israel shall be yours. 15 Everything that opens the
womb of all flesh, whether man or beast, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours. Nevertheless, the
firstborn of man you shall redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you
shall redeem. 16 And their redemption price
(at a month old you shall redeem them) you shall fix at five shekels in silver,
according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But
the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a
goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on
the altar and shall burn their fat as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to
the Lord. 18 But their
flesh shall be yours, as the breast that is waved and as the right thigh are
yours. 19 All the holy contributions that the people of
Israel present to the Lord I give
to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a
covenant of salt forever before the Lord
for you and for your offspring with you.” 20 And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no
inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am
your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
The price
must be paid for every firstborn of the flesh. There is a necessary price for
the first born sons of Egypt (their lives). There is a necessary firstborn
price for the sons of Israel (in Egypt a lamb). They still have to offer the
firstfruits to the Lord. These things all belong to God.
The price
for Jesus was set at two turtledoves or pigeons. The price for you was what?
Simeon and Anna are in the Temple waiting and prophesying, but it is also the
location where children would be brought for redemption. Jesus was brought by his
parents to be redeemed.
Each of
us need to be redeemed. We need to be saved from our sins. This means we also
have to redeem our children. But even though we live in a sinful world, and are
full of disgrace and wretchedness. This
text reminds us of two things.
First, We
need redemption just like all the first born. We need to be re-united to with
Jesus Christ. Second, is that Christ is still the first born belonging to God.
Jesus is the only son of God sent to save the World from our sins. He dies for
our sins. He is risen from the dead as the first born or firstfruits of the
Resurrection. All these belong to God and Jesus joins you with the one who
belongs to the Lord, strangely Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment