Numbers 18:17

"But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savor unto the LORD."

In Numbers 18 the LORD is directing Aaron, the priest, concerning the offerings that were to be brought to the tabernacle. In other passages God had declared that these things were being brought to Him. That they were holy unto Him. Here, He tells Aaron that the things that were brought would be theirs. God is looking out for the welfare of the priests and their families. For they were not given any land in Israel, the LORD was to be their inheritance. Here He was assuring them of the food that they would need to survive from day to day.

Prior to this verse, the LORD commanded that everything that was first born was theirs. Again, He had previously declared that the first born were all His. This was because He worked to spare the lives of the first born in Egypt. He redeemed their lives by the death of a lamb, whose blood was to be put around the door. Here he tells Aaron that the first born of various creatures, and the first born of mankind, were to be redeemed. They were to take, in exchange for the first born, some amount of money, which was to be valued according to the value of the beast. They money would then become the LORDs. There was a set amount to be taken to redeem a first born human.

But, the first born of certain creatures were not to be redeemed. Specifically, the first born of a cow, a sheep, or a goat was not to be redeemed. According to this verse they were to be sacrificed to the LORD. They were wholly sacrificed. Nothing was to be left of them but ashes. Completely, entirely sacrificed unto the LORD. They were ordained to this end because of their birth order. They were literally born to die.

This is a clear reminder of our LORD Jesus Christ. Of all of the humans that have been born, there was only One who was born to die. Just as these animals were set aside to one end, so was the LORD Jesus Christ. His Father sent Him to die. And He was obedient to His Father unto death, even the death of the cross.

For what reason was this? Scripture clearly tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin. Sin is not cleansed by works or by any other goodness that could be done. The soul that sinneth, it shall die, says the LORD. Death itself is because of sin. In Old Testament times, the death that was required to atone for sin was the death of animals. Certain animals were identified by God as being acceptable for this purpose. But the blood of bulls and of goats does not take away sin, it only covers it. And so animals had to be sacrificed on a daily basis. The deaths of these animals were a sign post of a death yet to come by which all sin would be cleansed, not just covered.

The death of the LORD Jesus Christ was that death. His death was for the sin of mankind. His blood shed didn't cover sin, it washed it away. As the animal sacrifice made the bringer of it acceptable in God's eyes, covering his sin, so the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has the power to bring us out from under God's judgment against our sin, and into the glorious light of His favor. Just as our sin is evidence of a nature with which we are born, from which we cannot possibly escape, the death of Jesus Christ has a similar, far reaching impact. For those who come to Him for the great, free salvation that He offers find themselves in His eternal favor, bound for eternity in His presence. Those who refuse His death for them are guilty of rejecting God's great salvation, and find themselves still under His wrath, and bound for eternity in Hell.

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift, even the LORD Jesus Christ.

HJK