Religion & Spirituality
To establish Himself as the strength of Israel, God required every firstborn male—which was considered the ‘strength’ of the herd or family—to be presented to Him (Ex. 13:2). As the firstborn son was set apart for God, the parents had to redeem or ‘buy back’ their son from service to the Lord with 5 shekels of silver (Num. 3:12; 18:15, 16). God set a precedent that the future leaders of the families and clans would belong to Him from the day they were born. God expects men to lead with humility and love for others. This presentation would be a perpetual reminder that the nation belonged to God and they would find peace in trusting Him not their own strength. Human peace comes through submission to God (John 16:33; 2 Thess. 3:16). As lovers of God, Joseph and Mary came from Bethlehem to Jerusalem forty-one days after Jesus’ birth to redeem him from service to the Lord at the Temple. Being poor, instead of a lamb, Mary gave two turtledoves; one for her purification and one for her sin offering (Lev. 12:6-8; Luke 1:47). While Joseph gave Jesus as his son of peace, as God’s Son, Jesus would become the Prince of Peace for the whole world (Is. 9:6; John 3:16)!