SCRIPTURE: Exodus 11
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). In biblical times, the firstborn son symbolized the father’s strength and authority [Deuteronomy 21:17], and was the one to carry on the father’s dynasty (inheritance). To lose your firstborn son was a devastating loss, more than the loss of any other child. When God strikes the firstborn sons of Egypt, He is declaring the downfall of Egypt, their strength and legacy.
God is making the claim that He is the God of the nations, of their past, present and future. He controls the generations. Keeping in mind that the Egyptian kings claimed that they were born of the gods, this is the ultimate claim of authority by God.
What is more, God makes this claim on Israel too. Their firstborn sons are spared, but they too belong to God, i.e. are under His authority. In Exodus 13:11-16, God requires that the Israelites buy back (redeem) their firstborn sons from Him with a sacrifice. This was to symbolize God’s power (He controls the future generations) and His grace (He rescued His firstborn son from Egypt). Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to Jerusalem to offer this sacrifice [Luke 2:22-24].
God claims the rights of firstborn for Himself – He is the first, the highest, the ultimate one to Whom all people owe everything. But God goes further, He pays the firstborn sacrifice Himself. He offers His own strength and authority through Jesus, in order to rescue humanity from sin, death and hell. God sacrifices His “one and only” or “only begotten (firstborn) son for all people, including pharaoh and the Egyptians.
The thought of all this death and sacrifice and misery is very overwhelming, and we have difficulty understanding and accepting something as horrible as all these firstborn sons dying (and all the future sacrifices of firstborn animals). Though we do not understand it, we must remember that God does not desire blood or death, it is the price we pay for our rebellion. We introduced death to this world, but God has turned it on its head, and now restores life through death [Romans 6:23].
PRAYER:
Lord, death was not Your intention. Thank You for paying the ultimate price to rescue us from sin, death and hell… Your firstborn Son.