Week 3, Day 17 - Redemption of the Firstborn

"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, 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. Redeem with a lam every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among you sons." Exodus 13:11-13

REFLECT

If you ever walked through Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., you probably stopped and stared at the sight of thousands of pure white crosses spread across the grassy knolls - so solemn, peaceful, orderly. It was a sight Diane and I will never forget. But when you let yourself think of what those crosses represent, one for every human life sacrificed in war, then it really sinks in. That was somebody's next-door neighbor, somebody's friend, somebody's son or daughter. It is truly sobering.

In Arlington, the uniformity of the crosses reminds us that, though individual identity is important, more important still is the act of sacrifice itself. In battle, all is confused and bloody and repugnant - but after the war is peace.

When the Israelites heard the word "redemption," they always thought back to that great act of liberation when God took all of his people out from under the oppressive hand of Pharaoh. On the night of the Exodus when the firstborn of Egypt died, the firstborn son in each Israelite household was redeemed with a Passover lamb.

So as God took the people toward a new land, he stipulated that they should sacrifice to him the very first of everything they hand and did. Sacrifice the first sheaves of grain harvested from the field, sacrifice the firstborn of the cattle, and sacrifice the firstborn child. Child? But, wait a minute. Jehovah was not the kind of God who asked for human sacrifice as a sign of commitment to him as the gods of surrounding cultures did. No, God instead said to the people: You should consider your firstborn as sacrificed to me (just so you always keep in mind that you should offer me the very first of what you have and do), but I will let you buy back the life of your firstborn child. I will let you redeem your child. So for generations, God's people "offered" their firstborn child, but received the child back through sacrifice. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son..."

At the end of the film "Saving Private Ryan", a dying captain Miller sitting slumped against a stone wall tells a young private Ryan with his last breath, "Earn this." That is the one part of the movie I disliked. We will never be able to earn our redemption, but we can live up to it through the regenerating power of God's Spirit living within. Our redemption has been secured with the offering of God's only Son.

MAKE IT REAL

Practice sacrifice today by letting others go before you. Serve your family, loved ones, friends, even strangers.

Day 18