Parashat Re'eh / פרשת ראה
- Sat, 11 August 2018 = 30th of Av, 5778
- ל׳ בְּאָב תשע״ח
Shabbat Shalom. Today's pesukim plus the Maftir reading (on Shabbat), have a logical connection to them altogether. The regulation regarding the הַבְּכ֡וֹר Firstborn are given first. They are not to be worked as all the rest of the herd, nor sheared. They are consecrated and are to be for sacrificial services, however they cannot be blemished or lame. The rest of the pesukim deal with what is called Shalosh Regalim. The Three Pilgrimage Festivals, in Hebrew Shalosh Regalim (שלוש רגלים), are three major festivals in Judaism. Obviously, the reminder of the regulations for the Bikur are necessary before the statutes of the Shalosh Regalim are given.
The Firstborn is a very important concept in Judaism.
Exodus 13:1 Adonai spoke to Moses saying, 2 “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, from every womb of Bnei-Yisrael, both men and animals—this is Mine.”
Had the incident of the golden calf never happened, the Levites would not have been chosen in place of the Firstborn. The Firstborn sons of Israel were the original priesthood. However, this did not negate the importance of the Firstborn.
We as Messianic believers should recall that our Messiah, Yeshua was the "Firstborn" of Miriam, and the Torah requires that the Firstborn of the womb be redeemed. This Torah principle was observed by His family:
Luke 2:21 When eight days had passed for His brit-milah, He was named Yeshua, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days of their purification were fulfilled, according to the Torah of Moses, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present to Adonai. 23 As it is written in the Torah of Adonai, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to Adonai.” 24 So they offered a sacrifice according to what was said in the Torah of Adonai: “a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons.”
As important as this is to establish the Torah faithfulness of the Messiah and His family, there is yet another aspect of this that is equally if not more important to all of us.
Yeshua was the Firstborn, and only begotten Son of God!
Proverbs 30:4 Who has gone up into heaven, and come down? Who has gathered the wind in the palm of His hand? Who has wrapped the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name and what is the name of His son—if you know?”
The regulations of the Torah show us who the Messiah is and who He will be. The Firstborn, consecrated only Son of God, set aside for atonement. Yeshua Himself revealed this spiritual reality to one of the members of the Sanhedrin:
Yochanan 3:13 No one has gone up into heaven except the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life! 16 “for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not put his trust in the name of the one and only Ben-Elohim.
Hallelujah!
No comments:
Post a Comment