Consecrate to Me All the Firstborn: Exodus 13:1-22

Exodus 13:1-22: "1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 'Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.' 3 And Moses said to the people: 'Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. 5 And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. 8 And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, "This is done because of what the LORD did for me when I came up from Egypt." 9 It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. 11 And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD's. 13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, "What is this?" that you shall say to him, "By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem." 16 It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.' 17 Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, 'Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.' 18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, 'God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.' 20 So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people."

All the firstborn of Israel are consecrated to the Lord. Having celebrated this past week the Presentation of our Lord and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is sometimes called Candlemas, this reading should be especially poignant. For it is the purification rite that the Blessed Virgin under went that is a result of this consecration of the firstborn. Everyone that opened the womb must be redeemed, that is, they must be bought back from God. This was done through the sacrifices listed in the Old Testament.

But this consecration of the firstborn, really points to our Lord Jesus Christ. For He is consecrated to His Heavenly Father, and because of this, He does His Father's will. For the Christian, our Lord Jesus is called the Firstborn out of all the dead. When the Blessed Apostle St. Paul states this, he is recalling this narrative from Exodus 13. For our Lord Jesus has opened up the womb of the tomb. He is the Firstborn of out the dead, that means that all those who are baptized with the waters of Holy Baptism, also come out of that womb of the tomb. Therefore, just as He was raised from the dead, and arose out of that tomb alive, so to all those who come out of the womb of Holy Baptism, are eternally alive in Christ Jesus.

This is why the Church is often referred to Holy MOTHER Church, for she gives birth to her children through the waters of Holy Baptism. A woman's womb, is like a tomb, for inside the baby grows alive while the outside world is unaware, especially before the baby's life is detected and known. In that time, it is as if the baby does not exist, as if it was dead to the world, however, that baby is alive and growing. So it is to in Holy Baptism, for in the waters of Holy Baptism the baby, or the one being baptized, is spiritually drowned in those waters, and all that is in him from Adam, and all that he has added thereto is drowned and killed in those waters of Holy Baptism.

Having therefore killed off the sin, death, and devil that lived in that child, he is now able to arise again to a new life in Christ. On the cross, our Lord Jesus took upon Him all of our sin, death, and the marks of the devil, and crucified it with Himself, so that He could place them eternally in the grave, and leave them their dead and rotting, so that they could no longer harm us or have an eternal effect on us. Having accomplished this task He rose alive again from the tomb, and opened the womb of eternal life.

However, He did not stop there. He did not only become the Firstborn out of all the dead, who are now living. But He gave that gift to all those who believe. He made us co-heirs of His triumph. So that now we also are considered in the Father's eyes as firstborn out of the dead, and His children. Therefore, we rightly call Him Father, for He is our eternal Father. Having then been consecrated to the Lord our Heavenly Father, through the waters of Holy Baptism, we do His will, trusting in His mercy and grace, and living according to His commandments, and listening to and hearing His holy Word, which is preached into our ears to keep reminding us that we are His children, and He provides us with all that we need to support this body and life. Especially has He gifted us with forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation.

May the Lord God Heavenly Father keep you in your baptismal grace, and bring you to His home in Heaven, when your Holy Baptism is consummated at your death.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Israel Is My Son, My Firstborn: Exodus 4:1-31

Exodus 4:1-31: "1 Then Moses answered and said, 'But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, "The LORD has not appeared to you."' 2 So the LORD said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A rod.' 3 And He said, 'Cast it on the ground.' So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Reach out your hand and take it by the tail' (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 'that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.' 6 Furthermore the LORD said to him, 'Now put your hand in your bosom.' And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, 'Put your hand in your bosom again.' So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 8 'Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.' 10 Then Moses said to the LORD, 'O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.' 11 So the LORD said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.' 13 But he said, 'O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.' 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: 'Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.' 18 So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, 'Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.' And Jethro said to Moses, 'Go in peace.' 19 And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, 'Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.' 20 Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. 21 And the LORD said to Moses, 'When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD: 'Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.'"' 24 And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, 'Surely you are a husband of blood to me!' 26 So He let him go. Then she said, 'You are a husband of blood!'--because of the circumcision. 27 And the LORD said to Aaron, 'Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.' So he went and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 So Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. 30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped."

Moses is a very reluctant preacher. So reluctant is he to do what the Lord God is sending him to do, that Moses makes the Lord angry. This anger comes after our Lord God gives Moses three signs that will prove that Moses talked to God, and the Moses was sent by God. In a sense these three signs are Moses' installation into the office of prophet. Moses is afterall the first prophet specifically sent by God to His people. Each of these signs imparts to Moses some divine power that will be useful to him in his calling as prophet. This especially makes sense when we consider that Moses has always been considered a type of Christ; he is a prefigurement of what the Messiah would be. Moses is both entrusted with the Word of God, that is, he is sent to proclaim it, like our Lord Jesus was. He is also given authority to work miracles, and in this sense he is like our Lord Jesus, who has all authority to work miracles so that by them He might lead His people out of the slavery of darkness and sin, just like Moses will use the miracles to lead the people of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt.

Each of these three signs that our Lord works through Moses in his calling, has some particular symbolism attached to it. Let us examine this. Look at the first sign, the turning of Moses shepherd staff into a serpent, and then back again. This staff is the emblem of Moses current vocation of shepherd, in putting down the staff on the ground, it symbolizes that he is putting off his old vocation. That the staff turned into a serpent represents the task that is before him, for the serpent represents the oppression put upon the people of Israel by Pharaoh. Even more than that it represents the serpent that deceived our first parents Adam and Eve. This serpant, represents the evil that exists in the world, and that is prevailing in Egypt. When Moses picks the serpent of the tail up, his former staff is now called, "the rod of God." This represents the power and authority that Moses receives from God to extinguish this serpent, that is, this evil, from ruling over the Israelite people. It also represents the fact that Moses is no longer a shepherd, at least in the sense of tending animals. He will now shepherd the people of God, by proclaiming to them what their Lord God says to them, and by protecting them from the evil oppression of Pharaoh, by doing many signs and wonders that will lead them out of Egypt, so that they can meet with God.

The second sign, is the leprous hand, which happens when Moses puts in hand in his bosom, and is cleansed again, when he puts his hand back into his bosom. In the same way that the staff represented Moses calling, the leprous hand represents that which rules and directs the calling. The bosom, is where the heart is, and it is what drives men to do what they do. It is also what drives our Lord to do what He does. He loves us, just as He loves His people Israel, and desires to rescue them. The fact that Moses puts his hand to his breast, symbolizes that he will now have the care of these people at heart. We will see this in later chapters, when our Lord God would desire to destroy the entire Jewish nation because of their disobedience, but Moses is always pleading on their behalf. The people of Israel, will become for Moses, like a baby suckling at his mother's breasts, or like a shepherd that gathers a lamb into his arms, or David bore the reproach of all the nations in his breast, or our Lord Jesus, who desired to gather Jerusalem into his arms as a mother hen her chicks.

That the hand became leprous represents the condition of the people of Israel currently. They have been tainted and made leprous in their beliefs because of their living in Egypt, and their contact with the Egyptian nation. They lost among themselves what it means to serve the One True God, and have been influenced in their beliefs by the Egyptians. It also represents their current servitude and oppression in the land of Egypt. That the hand when put back into Moses bosom came out clean and whole, symbolizes that God will purify the people of Israel, through the work of Moses, so that they learn to love Him as their God alone again. It also represents the fact that the Israelite nation will be freed from the slavery that they are enduring in Egypt currently.

The third sign is the changng of the water of the Nile into blood. This is reminiscent of our Lord Jesus' first miracle where He turned water into wine. This sign represents the authority given to Moses to destroy the gods of the Egyptians. For the Nile River was considered by the Egyptians to be the source of all life, since from it animals, land and humans were nourished by it, and were in essence given life. If Moses had power over the waters of the Nile, then he would have power over all the false gods of the Egyptians. And this would serve as a comfort to the people of Israel, for they would know that their Lord God would deliver them. These signs served as a testimony to this fact. And we shall see that from these plagues, these signs and wonders done by God through Moses, that the Israelite people would grow in faith and trust in God, and the Egyptians, especially Pharaoh, would grow in hatred toward God.

And this is why our Lord God gives us signs and wonders, so that we may have a testimony of His presence among us. This is why He doesn't just leave us with His Word, even though this in itself has power enough of itself, to free us from the bondage of sin and death. But our Lord Jesus, gives us signs and testimonies of water, bread and wine, so that we may see, taste, and feel that our Lord Jesus truly does forgive us of our sins. Through these means He graciously invites us to be His people. He calls us out of the bondage of slavery and oppression of sin and death, to be His people by these signs and wonders.

That Moses bawked at the signs and wonders, and reveals his unwillingness to do what the Lord God is calling him to do, draws the Lord God's anger. For Moses shows his unbelief. The Lord has the same anger at us, when we despise, neglect, or defile these holy signs which He has given to us by making them into something they are not. Such as, saying that they are a work of man, or that they only are symbols, and that they are not true works of God. Sadly, this happens more than it should, for people are always trying to make salvation their own thing, and not God's work. They would prefer to receive the gifts of Him on their own terms, and not on His.

Moses may have angered the Lord God, but He shows His grace, in that He allows Aaron, Moses' brother, to be the spokesman for him. Aaron would be the voice of Moses, and Moses would be the God of Aaron. This shows the relationship of the Lord God to the prophets, for the Lord God gives them the very words to say, just like Moses would tell Aaron what to say, and the prophets say what the Lord God says, just as Aaron would say what Moses told him to say. Today, the ministers of God, also say what the Lord God has given them to say, and they learned what to say from the Apostles, who learned what to say from our Lord Jesus, Who says what the Father has given Him to say. So, we see from this that our Lord speaks through the men of God, whom He sends. Those whom He has not sent, do not say what He says, instead they say what the itching ears of mankind want to hear: platitudes, a laundry list of good works to do, in order to be saved, political rhetoric, and the like, but none of it is what our Lord God wants his ministers to say.

Therefore, we must heed the signs that our Lord God has given us. We must listen to the men of God whom He has given us. So that through these signs, given out by these men, we might be led out of the bondage and oppression of slavery to sin and death, and might live in the freedom of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Son of God: St. Luke 3:23-38

St. Luke 3:23-38: "Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God."

I imagine there are some people who get to these sections in Scripture, the ones with a long list of names, and think, "filler . . . skip." But these genealogies do relay more than just a person's bloodline. Today we get the bloodline of our dear Lord Jesus from the Evangelist St. Luke.

Let us begin by pointing out the differences between St. Luke's genealogy and St. Matthew's genealogy (St. Matthew 1:1-17): Here are two major differences. First, St. Matthew descends from Abraham to Jesus; St. Luke ascends from Jesus to God. Second, St. Matthew includes in his genealogy a reminder of certain people's sins (Tamar, who bore Perez by playing the harlot to get Jacob to sleep with her; Rahab, whose trade was a harlot, gave birth to Boaz, the grandfather of David; Bathsheba, who isn't even called by name, but rather given the title of "her of Uriah," who gave birth to Solomon the son of David; there is also included the listing of all the wicked kings of Judah, who disobeyed God). Therefore, one could say that St. Matthew's geneaology is full of sinners. This is not so with St. Luke, St. Luke leaves out the infidelities in our Lord Jesus' lineage. Both St. Matthew's and St. Luke's geneaology is by design. St. Matthew wishes to portray that the Savior of mankind has come that was promised to Abraham. St. Luke, however, is portraying the righteousness of Christ.

This is why St. Luke's genealogy takes place directly after the baptism of our dear Lord Jesus. In the same way that He purified the waters of the Jordan, and thereby purified all water for baptism, drowning the Old Adam in the River Jordan, He now purifies His whole lineage, all the way back to God. The genealogy starts with the Son of God, our Lord Jesus, and ends with the son of God, Adam. The first son of God, Adam, was made by Father, the second Son of God, was begotten by the Father. Adam was created in the image of God, but on account of his sin, that image was corrupted and distorted. Our Lord Jesus restores that image, it was for this reason that He descended from the Father, in order that He might ascend back to the Father, bringing Adam (and all who are is descendants by adoption into Christ) with Him.

Therefore, this genealogy ties back into the baptism of Our Lord Jesus, because just as the voice from heaven declared that our Lord Jesus was His "beloved Son," so too are we His beloved Sons by adoption, through this baptism. Hence, when people ask you, "Who is your father?" You may rightly reply, "My Father is God the Father in heaven."

This is the gift of our dear Lord Jesus to us. Adam destroyed the Father/son relationship he had with the Father, but our Lord Christ restores that Father/Son relationship. And He transfers to us that relationship. We are all now God the Father's sons, on account of our baptism. And make note that I did not say "sons and daughters," this is both theologically and Scripturally incorrect. The inheritance belonged to the firstborn son. Our dear Lord Jesus is the firstborn Son, and through baptism, He makes us co-heirs with Him. He makes us all "sons." Both male and female.

But this should not cause anyone any great consternation, for by calling all those who are adopted into this sonship, "sons," our Father in heaven is claiming us as His own. He is saying to us, that He loves us as much as He loves His Firstborn Son, our Lord Jesus. And just as our Lord Jesus is perfect and holy, so too are we, on account of Him, perfect and holy through our baptism. So that, even as our Lord Jesus is called the Son of God, we too are called sons of God. And thereby receive all the benefits of sonship, that is, eternal life with our Father in heaven.

Rejoice this day that our Father in heaven as called us His sons through the waters of baptism, and pours out upon us His grace.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas