Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

[Jim Farmer]

Exodus 22:29-30 29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. 30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

God here is talking about sacrificing oxen, sheep, fruits and wine to him. And firstborn sons! Because He mentions firstborn sons in between the wine and the oxen, I think He is making it clear that what He means is that they must be sacrificed the same as the wine and the oxen - I see no room for any other meaning.

But why did God stop Abraham from sacrificing Isaac? And why wasn't the baby Jesus sacrificed. Well, I suppose He was - but not on the 8th day, but rather on the 33rd year.

Exodus 13:2 reinforces this - Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.

I am so looking forward to my wife delivering my first son. It would break my heart if I had to sacrifice him. Have other True Christians sacrificed their sons?

[Joanna Lytton-Vasey]

Re: Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

Brother Jim, if you read a little further in Exodus 13 you will find this:

Exodus 13:12-13

That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord's.
And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.


I'm not accusing you of being an ass, Brother - it's the second part of verse 13 that I think means you can sacrifice a lamb instead. That's what we did when our first boy was born. It was quite inconvenient, as Luke was born in December and my husband had to get hold of a winter lamb (at enormous expense), so you might want to think about the sheep breeding season in your country when planning to seed your wife.

[Jim Farmer]

Re: Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

Why break the donkey's neck? And what does God do with all those dead lambs? Why does He want them? And what about poor people who can't afford a lamb? It sounds almost pagan to me.

And what is this about a 'matrix'? I learned about matrices in math in my school days, but not how to open them. There was also a science fiction movie called "The Matrix" some years ago. It starred Keanu Reeves. Keanu Reeves' mother is half Chinese, half Injun. Surely God isn't a fan of Reeves!

It just doesn't make sense. I don't want to sacrifice my son!

[Joanna Lytton-Vasey]

Re: Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

Why break the donkey's neck?

As I understand it, you only have to do that if you don't sacrifice a lamb in its place. But I may be wrong (I usually am ) because in this sense, it seems that Our Dear Lord treats the firstborn of the humble donkey and the firstborn of man in a similar way. Maybe it has something to do with Jesus riding on one?

And what does God do with all those dead lambs? Why does He want them?

I asked my husband about this earlier and he said "It is not your place to question God, woman. The only real mystery here is why He would want you." Which is correct and I am sorry for it.

And what about poor people who can't afford a lamb?

Frankly, Brother, that is their problem, not ours.

The matrix business is puzzling, though.

[Jim Farmer]

Re: Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

It's a wonder there are any sheep left. If a lamb is sacrificed
a) when it's the first born of a sheep, and
b) to redeem the first born of a donkey, and
c) to redeem first born sons
that's a lot of lambs being sacrificed!

[Jim Farmer]

Re: Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

Luke 2:24 tells us that 2 pigeons (or turtledoves) were sacrificed when Jesus was born. Why wasn't a lamb sacrificed? It's interesting that a sacrifice was made to God for the birth of His own son.

[Joanna Lytton-Vasey]

Re: Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

It's a wonder there are any sheep left. If a lamb is sacrificed
a) when it's the first born of a sheep, and
b) to redeem the first born of a donkey, and
c) to redeem first born sons
that's a lot of lambs being sacrificed!

Well bear in mind that there are precious few True Christians™ compared with the number of sheep in the world. Also, there are sheep-infested lands without a single True Christian™ - New Zilnd and Austria, for example. So if the Godly U.S.A. ever runs out of sheep, it can always obtain them from those countries, either via trade agreements or (if necessary) invasion.

Luke 2:24 tells us that 2 pigeons (or turtledoves) were sacrificed when Jesus was born. Why wasn't a lamb sacrificed? It's interesting that a sacrifice was made to God for the birth of His own son.

I find it reassuring that God leads by example and does not expect us to obey any of His laws that He is not prepared to follow Himself. I expect the pigeons were to make a point that His son, Jesus, is very different from our own wretched brats. It would be presumptuous of us, and probably heresy, to replace the lamb with a pair of pigeons.

[Jim Farmer]

Re: Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

This painting depicts both the sacrifice of the pigeons and the circumcision of Christ (well, before circumcision - no blood on the knife on the priest's lips, and Jesus isn't crying - and the pigeons are still alive), on what is coincidentally the anniversary of the sacrifice and circumcision.

[Pastor Ezekiel]

Re: Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

The title of this thread is blasphemous.

It should read "Will I have THE PRIVILEGE of sacrificing my son to God?"

Because worshiping God in precisely the way that He prescribes is a privilege. Never forget that.

Imagine that your employer decides you work too hard. He calls you into his office, hands you a ticket to Hawaii's nicest resort, and says, "Call me when you are standing on the beach at sunset, and tell me how you're feeling."

That's how God rewards us for obeying and worshiping Him. We get to spend eternity in Heaven! Glory!

[Jim Farmer]

Re: Will I have to sacrifice my son to God?

An excellent point, Pastor. Thank you.