Musing - What is Meaning of “FirstBorn”?

 Hebraic Musing - What is Meaning of “FirstBorn”?  

I have pondered this ever since my 2003 ordination by the Filipino Assemblies of the FirstBorn (FAFB)!

If the fellowship is to be known as “The FirstBorn”, then it helps to fully understand the significance of the term.  Many other denominations are known by single words like “Assembly”, “Baptist”, “Nazarenes”, “Catholic”, “Methodists”, “Pres…”, “Angl…”, etc.  

The word “FirstBorn” appears over 100 times in our Bible! 

First mention or first use of the word FirstBorn has to do with God’s favor, thus the definition is established.  “But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.  The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering…” Genesis 4:4 NIV

The FirstBorn have a special place in Biblical times.  Moses was told by the LORD to confront Pharaoh, the enemy.  “Then say to Pharaoh, This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, ‘Let my son go, so he may worship me.’ But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.'" Exodus 4:22-23 NIV  Important point because the Egyptians also attached significance to primogeniture and birthright.  The death of Pharaoh and the Egyptian's firstborn at the first Passover is direct recompense for God's identification of Israel as his own firstborn.

And in Num. 3:13. “…for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the LORD.”

Rom 8:29-30.  “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

Heb. 11:28 speaking of Moses – “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.”

FirstBorn are the ones whose names are written in Heavenly Places!  “...to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,...” Heb. 12:23

According to Hebrew midrash – “Originally, the firstborn of every Jewish family was intended to serve as a priest in the temple in Jerusalem as priests to the Jewish people but they lost this role after the sin of the golden calf when this privilege was transferred to the male descendants of Aaron.”  Are you serving in the role of “priest” as Peter describes you and me?  “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,…” 1 Peter 2:9

Who is Jesus?  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”  Colossians 1:15-16   Some think those words were from a song that was popular in Paul’s time!

Christianity applies the concept of firstborn to Jesus of Nazareth as "firstborn from the dead."  “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.  You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.”  Hebrews 12:22-23 NIV   Does the word “you” in these two verses apply to you?

Points to Ponder

Are you a FirstBorn?  (by the LORD’s definition)

Are you a member of the “Church of the FirstBorn”?

♫  My heart will sing like Your firstborn Son.  Not my will, but Yours be done. … ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   May 31, 2022

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of Christian faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com

Musing/Insight #1 – Tree of Life (Arbole de Vida)

 

Hebraic Musing/Insight #1 – Tree of Life  (Arbole de Vida)

Re-edited reprint of the first of the weekly Hebraic Insights/Musings from January 2009

Both Ezekiel 47:12 and Revelation 22:1–2 have interesting and allegorical significance that requires some Hebraic insight to fully appreciate.  What does this mean?  “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”  Rev.22:1-2 NIV

I have been viewing that last sentence in isolation. It simply mentions a tree in heaven that had leaves with healing power. I assumed that the Tree of Life Missions team* adopted that reference because their vision and purpose was to heal the nation of Honduras.

But how can a tree be on 'each side of the river'?  Applying Hebraic thought and imagery to the combined verses (1 & 2) we have a picture of a Torah Scroll found in every Synagogue which every Jew would recognize.  The two dowels, one on each side of the Torah scroll, are called Eitz Chayim (Trees of Life). Opening the scroll reveals the pages of parchment (the pages are referred to as leaves) between the trees upon which the Torah (or Pentateuch in Greek) is written.

God’s written word on those pages is truth, which in Hebrew is symbolized by water.  The Hebrew letter MEM is a symbol of water and represents truth and truth is flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb; and that truth is found in the Torah, the Pentateuch, the first five books of our Bible.

God teaches truths to His people, and those truths are words of life.  And if those words are accepted, applied, and written on people’s hearts, then a nation will be healed, whether it is Israel or Honduras or your nation.

You may want to read Revelation 22:1–2 again with appreciation of these Hebraic Insights, or symbolism.

Note the similarity to the visions of the temple that Ezekiel recorded in chapter 47!  “Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezek.47:12 NIV

Point to Ponder

Can we fully appreciate the OT & NT without knowing Hebraic symbolism?

Does an understanding of the Hebrew symbolism preach?

What does it take to heal a nation?

Where does “Truth” come from?

Simchat Torah! (Joy of the Torah!)

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   Re-edited May 24, 2022

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com

*  This teaching/learning came in a Torah Study while I was wearing my Honduras missionary shirt emblazoned with “Tree of Life Ministries” and with “Rev. 22:2” on the collar.  The shirt came from a mission work in Honduras called “Arbole de Vida” (in Español) where my son was ministering at a school called Plan Escalon (Plan to escalate/elevate the students and thereby the nation of Honduras). 

Musing – Does the Bible Encourage Working for a Living?

 Hebraic Musing – Does the Bible Encourage Working for a Living?

Have you heard that we are to give to the poor and needy?  And these Bible verses seem to say so:

·         “But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” 1 John 3:17 NKJV

·         “Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” Psalm 41:1

·         “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given.” Prov.19:17

Unfortunately, Socialism, Communism and welfare programs have been justified by quoting those Biblical references.  BUT to what extent do they enable laziness and an unwillingness to care for oneself or “pay one’s own way”?  In my travels I’ve encountered problems with socialism in workplaces, for example, in Yugoslavia a supervisor could not get the communist-government mandated employees to produce, nor could they be terminated! 

The Bible requires us to discern genuine needs in order to avoid dependency and enablement.  Timothy is advised to use discretion in determining needs.  “If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.”  1 Tim. 5:16  NIV

For simplicity sake, in our workplaces there are two distinct roles for all workers:

·         Leaders, supervisors, bosses & owners (entrepreneurial types)

·         Employees who are like biblical bondservants (committed to work for benefit of the enterprise).

How is a bondservant commanded to behave?  Here’s a classic biblical reference to employee/workers.  “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”  Colossians 3:22-23   In other words – “You who are servants obey your owners.  Work hard for them all the time, not just when they are watching.  Work for them as you would for the Lord because you honor God.  And thus you become a witness for Christ!”

What does the Bible say about being lazy?  Here’s clinchers for those who are capable but are willing to let the government, welfare or others care for them:

·         “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” 2 Thess. 3:10  NKJV

·         "Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger.”  Proverbs 19:15

·         “The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.” Prov.12:24

·         “Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks.”  Eccl.10:18

Does the Bible encourage and command us to work for a living?  Consider these:

·         “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.”  Proverbs 10:4 

·         “He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.”  Proverbs 12:11 

·         “In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty.”  Proverbs 14:23 

“The rich rules over the poor, ….” Prov.22:7   But there is biblical advice to rulers about how to rule. 

·         “Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” Colossians 4:1    

·         “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.“ Luke 6:31

Point(s) to Ponder

How can your work be a testimony of your faith?

When we obey the authority figures in our lives, aren’t we ultimately serving Christ?

How to never have to work another day in your life!  … Find a job you enjoy.

Why not become a “Workaholic” for the Lord?

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men,” Colossians 3:23

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd              May 17, 2022

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”    InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com

Musing – God is Omnipotent, but are there things He Cannot Do?

 Hebraic Musing – God is Omnipotent, but are there things He Cannot Do?

As the Creator, God cannot also be the creation.  Therefore, He has to limit Himself and give us the space to exist and live.  What does that mean?  He will not take away our freedom of choice.  As His creation we have limits; we are confined to time, space, matter and energy constraints.  If He tampers with those constraints He would be taking away our choices?

What can God do if He does not like our choices, or how we exercise our God-given free will?  For God to stop the evil that His creation does, He has these four unpleasant options:

1.   He might give leave some with freedom of choice, good or evil, (Me of course).  But I want others to have their freedom removed.  God would have to abandon logic which would result in chaos.

2.   Or to avoid chaos, let’s wish for good behavior for all people.  If He removed freedom of choice and left only good choices, no choice, then life and fellowship would be bland, meaningless and purposeless.

3.   God could obliterate all creation as we know it and create a different universe with different rules of logic.

4.   God can continue with His current strategy and allow humans the freedom to do both good and evil in spite of the pain we inflict on each other.

In a logical universe, even God cannot make sense of non-sense.  He is stuck when He gave us our freedom to choose good or evil, and it has resulted in the chaos we call life.

BUT God has a problem!  Habakkuk 1:12 identifies it.  “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”  Is God self-limiting, or is it simply “He cannot” tolerate wrong?  Paul understood this and told Timothy – “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 2 Tim.2:13 NIV   We, the creation, cannot change the Creator.

Almighty God may have reasons for not answering our prayers/requests? 

·      Maybe we are rudely demanding an answer?   If so, then which one of us do we think is God?

·      Maybe the answer would be beyond our own ability to understand. 

·      Another explanation for divine silence might be the God deems us unable to safely handle some of the answers out there.  Do we really want to know the future? 

·      Do we sometimes blame God for our troubles? “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.”  James 1:13 NIV

A burning question – If God cannot change situations for fear of overstepping His role as Creator, then why pray for Him to change situations, to violate the laws of time, space, matter and energy?  Can we expect Him to fix the consequences of our bad choices?

When we pray, are we to expect God to interfere with His creation?  Or should we be asking for guidance and faith to deal with circumstances?   (I wish I knew the answer.)

This way of viewing God and His self-imposed limitations reminds me of child-raising counsel I’ve given to parents – “Your children are living life which is like running the bases in a baseball game.  Don’t move home plate; don’t change the rules or boundaries.  If you do the result is distrust, chaos and rebellion.”  The children of God need to learn to live by the rules.

 Points to ponder

Are we responsible for the results of our own decisions/choices?

Does the world depend on God’s Word for daily existence?  Or…
Are the problems of this world the result of ignoring God’s guidance, His rules and His Word?

Since we cannot change God, who has to change?

Now I begin to understand why Father God had to be willing to sacrifice His Son, Jesus, for us!

♫  I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today… He walks with me…♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                               May 10, 2017
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.com

Note – Inspired by & excerpted from Athol Dickson’s “The Gospel according to Moses” – Pp. 42&52 topics

Musing – Are We Wasting Sacrifices? “Talking Gold, living Brass”

Hebraic Musing – Are We Wasting Sacrifices? “Talking Gold, living Brass”

What Spiritual gifts has God given to us? 

Gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to us.  “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:  for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge …, to another faith …, to another gifts of healings …, to another the working of miracles,… prophecy, …discerning of spirits, … different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”  1 Corinth. 12:7-11 NKJV 

“God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will.” Hebrews 2:4    We receive and have these gifts!  And “How much better to get wisdom than gold!”   Prov.16:16  Those gifts are more precious than gold!

And God expects us to use the gifts He has given us.  “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:6-8   Note that we are expected to utilize these gifts “according to the grace that is given to us.”  How much grace have we received?

Are we fully utilizing God’s gifts to us?   An example from 1 Kings of “Talking Gold, but Living Brass”.* 

Who was King Rehoboam?  His Father was Solomon who had plenty of Gold!  And his Grandpa was David!  BUT Rehoboam did not exercise Kingly Authority, and thus provoked God.   “And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. ….”    However we learn in v.22 “Now Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him (the LORD) to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done.  For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree…  They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.” 1 Kings 14:21-24 NKJV

Jerusalem, God’s city, suffered a great loss.  It seems that Rehoboam did not fight for God’s city.  “It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.  And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made. 27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king's house.   And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom.”  1 Kings 14:25-28  NKJV   What was the evil?  When Shishak came; he was rewarded by being given the Gold shields, etc., to get along rather than fight for the LORD’s city.  God had provided the guards with gold shields, but now they settled for brass shields!

Observe the Great Coverup in v.27.   The Brass Shields instead of Gold were shiny, looked like gold (but brass tarnishes!).  Might some of our ministry look genuine, but tarnished?
But the guards carrying brass instead of gold knew the difference!  Now it’s a show and not real.  Do we ever…
And WORSE – The Family knew the difference – for 12 years putting up a front.
They never recovered the gold!   His son and the whole nation suffered.

The Problem. “And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.”  1 Chronicles 12:14

Points to ponder

If we don’t proclaim Jesus today, then all the many many sacrifices
made by men of God throughout the Bible, and all those before us, were wasted!

Live and Speak Biblical Truth in order to Reach the World for Christ

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      May 3, 2022
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”    Weekly “Hebraic Musings” at   InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com

*  Inspired by message “Talking Gold, living Brass” from David Shepherd at Conservative Baptist Network meeting -11/14/21  Also preached by Dr. Bailey Smith & Adrian Rogers     “”Wasted Sacrifices”