Firstborn

Firstborn
Words of Faith 8-1-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 1
[24] After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. [25] When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, [26] and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my Lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. [27] I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. [28] So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life, he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.

The big day finally arrived, and Hannah was ready. After weaning Samuel, Hannah and Elkanah took him to Shiloh to offer him to the Lord as a lifelong Nazirite. He would live in the Tabernacle and serve the Lord among the Levite priests.
We are not told whether the family waited for an official annual festival. They packed up ample provisions and brought a three-year-old bull, in the prime of life, for their sacrifice to the Lord. Flour and wine were probably brought for the festival as well.
The bull was sacrificed at the Tabernacle, and Samuel was brought before Eli, the priest. Since it was customary for a child to be nursed until he was about three years of age, young Samuel would not have been an unusual burden for Eli and the priestly staff at Shiloh. Samuel would be old enough to start learning the rudiments of tabernacle service.
As Hannah committed her first Son to the service of the Lord, she used a familiar oath formula: "As surely as you live" when she addressed Eli. She solemnly affirmed that she was indeed the same woman he first had met a few years earlier and that the boy Samuel had been given in answer to her prayers. Samuel would now be given back to the Lord for the rest of his life. Eli responded to Hannah's brief remarks by worshiping the God they both served.
It is difficult for us to imagine delivering a three or four-year-old child over to a religious institution of any sort for life-long service. Surely, the young man would affirm the Nazirite vow and service for himself in such a case. But this was indeed the leading of the Lord in the hearts of Hannah and Elkanah.
There is no evidence that this was a common practice in ancient Israel, but the image was familiar and celebrated by every family. Every firstborn was ceremonially presented back to the Lord and given to the Temple, but then "redeemed" or "bought back" through a special gift. "Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey... Redeem every firstborn among your sons" (Exodus 13:13).
There was even a provision in the Law for a simpler redemption offering if the family was poor. This was actually the offering made by the parents of Jesus to "redeem" Him (Luke 2:24). Wow. Even Jesus the Redeemer was "redeemed" as a baby from the required Temple service, only later to come and be the Lamb of God.
What do we do with this? We certainly don't want to reinstate the practice of committing our firstborn to the service of the church without consulting them or allowing them to be called by God at their discernment. But all this reminds us of several things.
First, without the Lord, we would have no children. God made it clear even in the Exodus and the plague of the firstborn that it is only by His protection and covering of the blood of the lamb that we have our children.
Second, we see the powerful sacrifice made by our heavenly Father when He presented His firstborn, only-begotten Son for service in the holy Temple, where He was not only the High Priest but also the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
The point here is certainly not to push our firstborn offspring toward full-time Christian service or to cut a deal with God if we are having difficulty bearing children. The point is to cherish and value the gift from God that we have in children and to recognize that the greatest gift to us is the person of Jesus, our redeeming Savior.

Father God, everything I enjoy and am blessed with is a gift from Your hand. Thank You for the gift of family. Thank You for the gift of service among Your people. Thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus, Your firstborn, Your only Son, whom You gave for my redemption. In His Name, I worship and pray. Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
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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