Exodus: Unity of Law and Grace

Meaning of the First Born

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Pentateuch

Lesson: Meaning of the First Born

Genre: Lessons with Q & A

Track: 038

Dictation Name: RR171U38

Location/Venue:

Year: Early 70’s

This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. Having these promises, let us draw near to the throne of grace with true hearts in full assurance of faith. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, oh Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up. Let us pray.

Oh Lord, our God, who art the God and Father of our children, we commit unto thee our children and our children’s children to the end of time. That thou wouldst work in their hearts that which is pleasing in thy sight, that thou wouldst make of them instruments of thy kingdom and use them mightily to the glory of thy name. We thank thee for our calling. We thank thee that, by thy grace and mercy, we have been made a new creation in Christ. Make us ever zealous and faithful in His service. Bless us now by thy word and by thy spirit, and grant us thy peace. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Exodus 13:1-2. Our subject: Meaning of the Firstborn. “And the LORD Spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.”

The firstborn have a very important place in biblical faith. Some confuse the idea of the firstborn as it is in scripture with a very widely prevalent idea of primogenitor. Primogenitor means, of course, that the firstborn takes everything. In some circles and nations, this is still true. In England, for example, among the nobility, the eldest son inherits the estate whether or not he is qualified. The same rule prevailed among most European royal and noble lines. But this is not the biblical view. According to numerous texts in the Bible, the firstborn male belongs to God and was to be redeemed. The firstborn belongs to God and their life was redeemed only by a payment, and with redemption came responsibility, and an irresponsible firstborn son could be set aside for another. And this is true in a number of cases as Ishmael, Esau and Reuben.

The firstborn stood for the whole, and he was a tithe to God. The validity to God’s claim was recognized by the act of redemption, namely it was acknowledging that the firstborn male belonged to God, and he had a priestly role in the family.

The firstborn received, according to biblical law, if Godly, a double portion of the inheritance, as we see for example in Deuteronomy 21:15-17. This double portion meant responsibility for the care of the parents and leadership in dealing with problems in the family and among relatives. The redemption price, according to Numbers 18:16 was five silver shekels. Today, the current price among orthodox Jews in the United States if five silver dollars.

Because the firstborn represented the whole family, he had a priestly function, because the priest is the people’s representative to God. The Levitical priesthood functioned in relationship to the sanctuary, and to civil government, to church and state in modern terms. Although Levi was not the firstborn, those above him had been set aside. The family priesthood functioned in relationship to the members and towards God. As Rule{?} observed, and I quote, “It was an important principle, because the firstborn were naturally the representatives of the entire community. It was part of God’s covenant that, ‘Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation.’ This, we know, was a foreshadowing of the priestly character of the Christian church as a body. It was therefore important to keep up the idea that the priesthood was a representative priesthood, and the rule as to the firstborn emphasized this. When soon afterwards the Levitical priesthood was formally established, the fact that the Levites were accepted as substitutes for the firstborn, showed that they, in their turn, were representatives of the nation, according to Numbers 3:12-13, and Numbers 8:13-18.”

Now, non-biblical primogenitor makes a difference between the son in that the, the sons, in that the landed property goes to the eldest sons, with no qualification on his part other than prior birth, being the firstborn, and it confers power and status. Biblical primogenitor, if we can use that term for what scripture requires, confers responsibilities on the son. He belongs to God, and under God exercises a religious function, a priestly office and towards the family, responsibilities. Non-biblical primogenitor is a natural and civil fact, and it has primary orientation to property and to family powers. But in scripture, there is a dramatic difference in that the firstborn, in terms of whoever is made the firstborn, is a religious fact, and two or three sons can be set aside to designate a younger son as a firstborn. It is a religious fact. Hence, God declares, “Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn,” in verse 2 of our text. The firstborn of Egypt had been slain to signify that Egypt was now set apart for judgment and for ruin. God had set them apart for this. God had seen to their destruction.

Now this command to set apart all the firstborn in Israel would immediately bring to mind, on the part of all the Hebrews, what had just taken place in Egypt. Earlier, God had declared to Pharaoh in Exodus 4:22-23, “Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.” Pharaoh was thus very clearly warned, but there is another aspect to this. The firstborn has a responsibility towards all other sons and daughters, his brothers and sisters. God in declaring Israel to be His firstborn, was giving Israel a responsibility to Himself, and towards all other peoples. Failure to discharge this responsibility meant a priestly failure and judgment. We forget that when the first colonists came over here, many of them sought to create God’s new Zion, God’s new Israel, and declared that their colonies were to be like a city set on a hill, and that they saw a responsibility to all nations. So they declared themselves to be, though they were poor and though they were as they said in a howling wilderness, which New England indeed can be, that they were assuming, for themselves and their posterity, the status of the firstborn of God, His chosen. Which means that the judgment of God is upon this land, if it fails to discharge a Godly responsibility towards its people and all peoples.

Solomon, in his prayer at the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings 8:41-43 asked God to give particular attention to the prayers of aliens from far countries who came there to worship because they had been converted, and that they were to be so richly blessed when they came, that going back, they would be mighty witness to the Lord. This tells us that in Solomon’s day, Israel was manifesting the concern of a firstborn for the other sons, for all God’s people. We see the same thing in Psalm 87, which has in mind all the foreigners whose true citizenship is in the heavenly city, in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God.

Much later, the Phariseeism arose, the election of God rather than, of Israel by God, rather than of individuals out of every people, tongue, and nation came to replace the earlier faith. This meant that instead of saving those whom God chose out of all nations, God saved Israel and you could have no relationship to God except through Israel. This was Phariseeism. It required membership in Israel as necessary for salvation. And the result was judgment. A like era among the peoples of Christendom is now bringing judgment, which only a true priesthood can escape. In Hebrews 12:22-24, we are told, “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”

The true church is here described as the church of the firstborn. A church, that is, which is mindful of its priestly responsibility to all other peoples. The firstborn remember, stands in biblical law for the whole, and if we are the firstborn of God, in Christ, then we, as a nation and as a Christian people, as the church of the firstborn, have a responsibility to all men and nations, or we deny our priestly character.

Thus, the name firstborn means responsibility. The true church is more than a group coming together to worship. It is an assembly, an army dedicated to bringing all things into captivity to Christ, to the end that it may be proclaimed as revelation 11:15 declares, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

All things are to be brought into captivity to Christ, and of course, this is what we seek to do here at Chalcedon, through one area of study after another. To find ways to bring every area of life and thought and all people into captivity to Christ.

Humanistic perspectives on primogenitor make the firstborn the privileged son, whereas the biblical requirement is that he be the responsible son, and if not responsible, to be set aside. Hence God declares, “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.” They were all God’s tithe. His first fruits, so that whether the domestic animals or the grain, the first fruits all belonged to God. Hence, the first cheese and the first fruits of the field were brought to God. In other words, all of life must be God-centered, and most certainly the family.

There is another aspect to this. God had spared the firstborn of Israel, not because of any merit on their part, but as an act of sovereign grace. He did it, remembering His promise He declares to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As a result of his judgments, His judgments on Egypt, ten plagues, Israel was now saved and delivered. Israel, as a totality, now owed its life and service to the Lord. Hence, in the person of its firstborn, it had to give itself to God’s kingdom, and we too, when we come to the Lord, when we bring our children to Him in baptism, we declare ourselves and our children to be His firstborn. To be members of the general assembly and church of the firstborn. The responsible people upon the face of the earth, that it is we who must assume the mature responsibilities of life. It is we who, in our appointed sphere, must be responsible men and women. It is we who must recognize that the future depends upon us, not upon others, because all those who are not members of the general assembly and church of the firstborn are members of the congregation of the living dead. Of those whose life and whose works are doomed, that have no future. And if our families and if our people, our nation and if the world as a whole is to have a future, it is to be through the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which means the responsible ones of God. Hence His requirement, “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn.” They are mine. They are my property and they must serve Me in whatever their calling, and whatever their place in life. In the sight of God, we are now His firstborn. Let us pray.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we thank thee that of thy grace and mercy, thou hast made us in Christ members of the congregation of the firstborn. Fill us with thy grace, give us ever increasing knowledge of thy word that we may indeed assume our responsibilities. Be mindful of the fact that thou hast given the responsibility for this world, for thy kingdom, for our loved ones, into our hands. We thank thee that thou hast chosen us. By thy grace empower us, and make us in all our ways responsible in Christ to thee. In His name we pray, amen.

Are there any questions now about our lesson? Yes?

[Audience] Well, in Great Britain, the state has replaced the whole system, because even the titles are no longer hereditary but are life titles, granted by the state, and the inheritance taxes have taken away the share of the firstborn so that they can no longer maintain their estates as they were handed down.

[Rushdoony] In every country virtually, the state has made itself the firstborn. In the United States, before the family can touch an estate, the federal and sometimes state civil governments take over, assess it, and claim their share on the basis of their assessment, so that the modern state indeed claims to be the firstborn. It is, in many, many ways, a very religious kind of civil government we face today, but its religion is anti-Christian. Any other questions or comments? We should note the fact that one of the fewest terms ever given any attention in the church today is church of the firstborn. You can read regularly all kinds of studies about the meaning of the church, but nothing about the meaning that is given to it in Hebrews. General assembly and church of the firstborn. Tremendous title. One of the greatest titles given to the church in all of scripture, and yet, in our time, virtually unknown and unused.

Whether we use that title or not, its meaning, of course, is the most important fact, and we do need to stress the fact that we are a responsible people. This is God’s ordination and this is why, in the parable of judgment, our Lord stresses this fact of responsibility for all those who are members of His kingdom and are suffering. So that none can say, “When was I sick, naked, in prison, hungry, and where were you? What responsibility did you manifest towards me in the person of my people?” That’s what it means to be a member of the church of the firstborn, to be the firstborn of God in Christ. So, it is a very awe-inspiring term that is applied to the church. Any other questions or comments? Well, if not, let us conclude with prayer.

Our Father, it has been good for us to be here. Thy word is truth, and thy word tells us the way wherein to walk and by thy Spirit gives us power to walk therein. We give thanks unto thee for our children and our children’s children. We thank thee that in thy grace and mercy, thou dost set them apart to be thine own. Rear them, we beseech thee into the fullness of their responsibility. Make them a joy to us, and fruitful to thy kingdom, and a blessing to all whom they serve, and with whom they work. And now go in peace. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost bless you and guide you, keep and protect you this day and always. Amen.

End of tape.