Consecration

Consecration
Words of Faith 10-28-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 13
[11] "After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your forefathers, [12] you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. [13] Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
[14] "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. [15] When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.' [16] And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."

Once in the land of Promise, the firstborn sons and male animals were to be consecrated to the Lord. This meant they were actually given over as a "sacrifice" to the Lord. Of course, since human sacrifice was unacceptable, the Hebrews' sons were to be "redeemed" or bought back. Animals were included because they also benefited from the redemption God provided in the 10th plague. Since donkeys were considered ceremonially unclean animals, they could not be sacrificed. Still, they could be redeemed by offering a lamb in their place.
To "redeem" means to "buy back for a price." This would have teaching value in the home. The Egyptian firstborn were slain as a judgment, and the Israelite "firstborn" were either slain (the animals) in substitutionary sacrifice or redeemed at a price (the sons). The next generation would remember the mighty hand of God by keeping this command for consecration and redemption.
Luke reports to us that after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord in accordance with the Scripture and to offer a sacrifice. In keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: a pair of doves or two young pigeons were offered (Luke 2:22-24). This was the most humble offering of redemption that could be made by a poor couple.
In the New Covenant, Jesus has been offered as our Passover Lamb. He was our substitutionary offering. The Lord exhorts us to offer ourselves to the Lord because we are the firstborn of God, every one of us. We are born of the Spirit.
“I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).
Have you consecrated yourself to the Lord as one of the firstborn of God? There is no alternative price to be paid. We are called simply to become a living sacrifice to the Lord, no longer conforming to the world but being transformed by the work of God's Spirit.

Lord God, there is so much around me that is worldly. I consecrate myself to You. I offer myself to live for You. Transform me by the work of Your Spirit. Renew my mind. Conform me to Your image and not that of the world. In Jesus' Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.