Today’s Devotion
Topic: Freedom!!!
Text: Exodus 13: 11- 16
11 “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He promised on oath to you and your ancestors,12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. 14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with His mighty hand.” Amen
Freedom is not free. It requires sacrifice. There is a price we pay before we attain it, and a price we pay just to maintain it. If we do not apply this principle, freedom attained will be the reason for more conflicts and “re-enslavements”. By covenant, Israel was required to sacrifice the firstborn offspring of every womb to the Lord. This was to serve as a reminder of how God delivered them out of Egypt with His mighty hand by killing the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. They also had the responsibility to pass the tradition and sacrifice on to posterity.
But the question is why the firstborn offspring? The first born offspring has a lot of significance:
i. It was by the same measure of sacrificed firstborn offsprings that God compelled Egypt to “let the children of Israel go”. Sometimes when we understand the price that was paid to attain the freedom we enjoy, we will not take it for granted.
ii. Secondly, the firstborn offspring of everyone represents the pride, joy and strength of his/ her youth. Offering your firstborn offspring implies contributing your quota by offering your best to maintain the freedom attained, just as others had done before you.
iii. Finally, as long there remains the union between a male and a female, there are going to be firstborn offsprings. If the covenant is passed on through firstborns, we are in a way ensuring that posterity will know how the freedom was achieved and hopeful not take it for granted.
Beloved, it is never useful to take freedom for granted. Especially our liberty in Christ and our freedom as a Sovereign Nation. Let us contribute our best (firstborn offspring) to aid national development. We must also teach our children responsibility and sacrifice both for fellow man and for the nation.
This must be a sign on our hands (hard work) and a symbol on our foreheads (Identity) that we are the people who do not take the deliverance of God for granted. We sacrifice our best for God and Country. Begin to pray for the country of your birth. Pray against injustice, crime, violence and discrimination. Pray for peace and tolerance. And remember, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for His inheritance” (Ps 33: 12).
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL GHANAIANS HOME AND ABROAD. GOD FAVOURS YOU!
(www.yonghana.org; Like our Facebook page: Y Outreach Network)
