The Firstborn

Num 8:17  For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
Num 8:18  And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.
Num 8:19  And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.

 

All the firstborn of Israel, man and beast are sanctified unto the LORD. Instead of being given to the LORD's service, the son's of Levi, the Levites were given as a sanctified people unto the LORD's service. They were to serve in the sanctuary and to make an atonement sacrifice for the children of Israel. They were chosen and knew how to prepare themselves to enter the sanctuary.

 

I remember the story of a barren woman, named Hannah. She prayed that if the LORD would give her a son that she would give him to the LORD. She had a son and called him Samuel.

 

1Sa 1:27  For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
1Sa 1:28  Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

 

The son was "lent" to the LORD, he was given to minister and to serve the LORD. Samuel was a prophet and the last judge of Israel, before they chose a king to rule over them.  1 Chronicles 6 (6:28) lists Samuel’s ancestors as coming from the Kohathite branch of the tribe of Levi, though not from the priestly line of Aaron. Thus, when his father Elkanah is called an “Ephraimite” it is an indication of WHERE he lived, not his tribal origins. Samuel was a Levite, a prophet and a judge.

Jesus was a firstborn son of the virgin Mary. He was not a Levite, but of  King David's tribe, Judah. Jesus is born to be king and priest after the order of Melchizedek, (Gen 14:8) a priest of the Most High God, with no known beginning or end. As followers of Jesus we are servants of the Most High God, born again into his family. We shall be kings and priests in his kingdom. We are servants now to be the light of God's truth in a sin darkened world. We are the chosen of God for his service. LORD here I am, unworthy in myself, but sanctified by the blood of Jesus.

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