December 30, 2015

Wednesday: “(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”)” (Luke 2:23; NIV).

            The notion of the firstborn gains even more weight when we consider Israel’s history, especially the Passover. Yesterday, I quoted the Lord’s saying in Exodus 4 that Israel was His firstborn son, and in that context He was actually threatening the Pharaoh of Egypt with the tragedy that would occur at the Passover, namely, that every firstborn in Egypt would die because Pharaoh had so oppressed God’s firstborn Israel.

            The exception was the firstborns of faithful Israelites who painted their doorposts with lamb’s blood as the Lord demanded. Those firstborns became holy to the Lord. Their lives, spared in the great disaster belonged to the Lord. In Moses’ law there was a stipulation for redeeming them from such dedication. (Their place was taken by the tribe of Levi.)

            Interestingly, Luke says that Jesus was presented, but he never mentions an offering to redeem Him. Presumably, Mary (like Hannah, Samuel’s mother) gave Jesus back to the Lord, dedicated Him uniquely to the Lord’s service—or, at least, we’re meant to imagine that possibility.

            That fits, that Jesus would be uniquely dedicated to the Lord. This weekend, we’ll hear about the boy Jesus in the temple and His devotion to the Lord will come up. And, of course, Jesus’ acceptance of the cross reflects His dedication to the Lord and His purposes to the very end.