Have you been consecrated to the Lord? Have you been dedicated to the Lord? Have you been baptized in the Lord? Do you know where the consecration of the firstborn originated? Do you know why God commanded it to be done?
We do not think much about consecration in today’s culture, especially to God. Yet it was part of the Jewish culture from the time of the Exodus. As God freed the Israelites from Egypt, he commanded Moses to consecrate the firstborn male to him (Exodus 13:2).
If we look back to Abraham, we see when God made the covenant of circumcision. This covenant included the changing of his name. God renamed Abram as Abraham. He then promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. God also renamed Sarai and called her Sarah. He said that Sarah would have a son in her old age and was to name him Isaac and God would establish his covenant with him as well.
So, on the eighth day after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary took the baby to the temple to consecrate him to the Lord. He was circumcised and named on the eighth day. Jesus was consecrated to God as the firstborn male. Joseph and Mary were dedicated to following God’s commands and did so shortly after Jesus’ birth.
I pray we all commit to following God’s commands. I pray we dedicate our children to God. I pray each one of us will follow through on our commitment and teach our children about God. Commit yourself to following God’s commands. Dedicate your children to God. Teach your children about God.
Luke 2:22-24 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
Marty Pressey 