FIRSTBORN
According to the Law of Moses (the Torah), a father’s firstborn is entitled to receive a double share of his father’s inheritance compared to other siblings. This is important to understand because it foreshadows the work God intended to do in accordance with spiritual versus material inheritance in the world. Since the material inheritance anticipated that the firstborn would be chosen to be consecrated to God for divine service, this also highlights God’s expectation that the first born-again souls, the firstborn of the Spirit, would be the firstfruits of the harvest and therefore the first souls to reach the Promised Land to be consecrated to Him and serve Him. You may also want to read THE ELECT VERSUS THE GENTILES.
Note: Deuteronomy 21:15–17 prohibits a husband with more than one wife from declaring the first son of the favoured wife to be his firstborn, if the unfavored wife has an older son. (This would explain why Jacob did not choose Joseph, his first son from his preferred wife Rachel but rather his 11th son overall, Judah, his 4th son from Leah, skipping over Reuben, Simeon and Levi due to their respective sins, the latter two relating to cruelty/violence).
As mentioned, the firstborn had a special role in the sacrificial service because they were to be consecrated to God and provide divine service to Him. Therefore, the Torah requires that the firstborn of humans and animals be “sanctified” or purified.
The Nation of the Elect as the firstfruits of the coming harvest was to be a Nation of priests to lead the pagans to the heavenly Promised Land, but things did not go as God had planned.
SANCTIFICATION THEN AND NOW
Hebrews 9:22– “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
In biblical times, animal sacrifices were performed to pay for people’s sins. This act was intended to sanctify the flesh or purify it, enabling a person to draw near to God in prayer or, in the case of a priest, to draw near to God’s Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle. The New Covenant provided by Christ on the cross eliminates the need for further animal sacrifices since Jesus gave His life to pay for the sins of all souls who call upon Him by faith.
This sacrifice having paid to redeem the souls – thus paying the accumulated debt of sin – frees the souls from the Law of death for sin that applies in this world and from any rights that the Kingdom of Darkness would have over them. The redeemed souls are then consecrated to Christ and are protected by the Holy Spirit.
The role of Priest passes from the firstborn to the Levites
In order to free the Elect from their slavery in Egypt, God killed Egypt’s firstborn after Pharaoh had been warned by all the previous plagues, but spared the firstborn of His people. Shortly, after their Exodus from Egypt, God’s people rebelled against God and built a golden calf to worship while in the wilderness when Moses was receiving the tablets of the Law from God on Mount Sinai (a period of 40 days). After this, the men from the tribe of Levi stood up and offered to take care of the situation and carry out God’s wrath. So here is what God asked of them:
Exodus 32:26-28: So [Moses] stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
The Torah describes the Levite tribe as having inherited the role of divine service which previously belonged to the firstborns thereby becoming the priesthood of the Elect – The Levites were chosen because of their faithfulness and their capacity to carry out sacrificial service when required:
Numbers 3:11-13 – “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore, the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.’”
The ultimate role of the High Priest Transferred to Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ as the Firstborn of God in the flesh, became the High Priest of all born-again souls when He offered Himself as a sacrifice to redeem them from the world. After His resurrection, He became the first of the firstfruits’ harvest, the first spiritual child of God to overcome the world and the flesh and the One to lead the way to the heavenly Promised Land.
As Jesus was a descendant of the tribe of Judah, he therefore fulfilled the mission of the Nation of the Elect because he opened the way allowing the redemption not only of the Elect but also of those previously Pagan, in order to leave no aspiring soul without recourse. Jesus therefore accomplished God’s plan for the salvation of all souls which was established from the beginning.
John 10:14-16 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
FIRSTFRUITS OF THE HARVEST
The Law of God which granted to the firstborn by birthright double the inheritance of other children was a legal right granting in principle a certain status without a soul needing to earn this right or even choosing to be dedicated to God.
The inheritance of divine service of the firstborn was transferred by God to the Levites after the golden calf incident and later, to Jesus Christ who became High Priest to all Believers.
Likewise, the principle of the Firstfruits of the harvest based on the birth order of the first to become true believers (the Hebrew people) evolved to include souls who through their free will spiritual choice also desired to be consecrated to God and inherit His gift of eternal life thereby joining the first group.
These developments in no way cancel God’s promises to the Elect but rather open the way to include aspiring souls who were previously pagan, as God had intended from the beginning.
After Christ’s ascension, God called Saul of Tarsus, a pagan (gentile), to serve and follow him. Saul, became the apostle Paul who replaced Judas since he was called by Jesus unlike Matthias. Judas, who was from the Chosen Nation but who was not a true believer and ultimately betrayed Jesus, lost God’s inheritance. Any soul can lose God’s promise if they choose to refuse it, in which case that inheritance will be passed on to the next soul who truly desires it.
CONCLUSION
From the Word of God, we see that those who are the first believers called to perform the divine service of God and to be devoted to Him, can have their inheritance transferred to others if they take it for granted and do not do God’s will.
Furthermore, if those who are called by God to become the firstfruits of the spiritual harvest do not accept Christ by faith as their Savior and are not cleansed by the Holy Spirit, they risk losing the opportunity to access the Promised Land and become immortal.
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