1.26.26 – The Firstborn

I introduced the topic of the firstborn with you this past week in the Torah portion Bo ("come") as the focal point of the Shabbat morning Zoom call. I hope you were able to listen to that and get some 21st-century gleanings that are practical for you in preparation for Resurrection Day and the adoption of the firstborn sons of God (Rom. 8:23).

There are many challenges that we face in every religious circle. One of the most subtle is using terms that we do not fully understand; and oftentimes we use terms that do not fit the context or culture of God's Word. Let us peel off another layer of what it means to be God's firstborn (bechor).

If you take just a few minutes to review the entire book of Genesis in your mind, you will notice how obsessed the Torah is with the firstborn (bechor). The entire book of Genesis seems to revolve around this question of who gets firstborn status—from Abraham all the way down to Joseph. And what is really strange is that the actual firstborn never gets firstborn status. For example, Isaac gets firstborn status even though Ishmael was born first. Jacob gets firstborn status even though Esau was born first. What is up with that? Inquiring minds want to know :-)

I was trying to understand the unique role that a firstborn child plays in the family unit. Practically, he is the one closest in age to the parents and the rest of the kiddos. He/she is a transitional figure or generational bridge, which means he is in the best position to take the parents' values and bring them to the next generation. Ironically, the very word itself, bechor (firstborn), actually implies that role.

Click on the link below and I will show you :-)
https://hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_Eight/Hebrew_Gematria/hebrew_gematria.html

The word bechor is made up of the letters bet-kaf-resh. In the system of gematria, uniquely, every Hebrew letter has a numeric value. Beit is 2, kaf is 20, and resh is 200. They are all multiples of two, increasing in the ones, tens, and hundreds. These letters in this order imply expansion. Now watch what happens when we connect this to the Hebrew word for father. Av ("father") in Hebrew is alef-bet. Alef is 1 and bet is 2. What we see here is the beginning of expansion from one to two. The father is trying to transmit his values to the next generation :-)! Then the bechor (the firstborn) takes that two and expands it to become 20, which becomes 200. The bechor is the vehicle through which the father's values multiply and spread to future generations.

The bechor is less about who was born first and more about the legacy of transmitting values from one generation to another—about who actually carries the mission forward. That is why Isaac is the bechor and not Ishmael, and why Jacob is the bechor and not Esau. Which brings us to the nation of Israel, Abraham's seed.

God tells Pharaoh, through Moses, "Israel is my firstborn son" (Ex. 4:22). What an odd thing to say! Israel, obviously, is not the first nation. Many nations existed before Israel, yet they are God's bechor—the nation charged with taking God's values and expanding them to the world:

"I, the LORD, have called you (Israel) to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations."
(Isa. 42:6)

He says, "You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
(Isa. 49:6)

"Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations."
(Isa. 51:4)

"Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance."
(Isa. 60:1–3)

"He (Yeshua) is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!"
(Luke 2:32)

"For the Lord gave us this command when he said, 'I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.'"
(Acts 13:47)

Read Isaiah 42:7–25 :-)

You see, the Torah is not obsessed with birth order. It is obsessed with legacy—with who chooses to carry the mission forward. At one point in time, you and I were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, but now through Messiah Yeshua, we have been made partakers of the covenant given through Abraham (Eph. 2:11–22) and are grafted into the Olive Tree, Israel (Rom. 11:11–25; Jer. 11:16).

We have a calling and responsibility greater than dying and going to heaven. The question that God poses to each of us is, "Are you my bechor?"

Have a great second day of the week!

Shalom!
Alan

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