alem, to present Him to the Lord, and to offer sacrifice.
This was according to the Jewish law, and as man’s substitute Christ
must conform to the law in every particular. He had already been
subjected to the rite of circumcision, as a pledge of His obedience to
the law.
As an offering for the mother, the law required a lamb of the first
year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin
offering. But the law provided that if the parents were too poor to
bring a lamb, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a
burnt offering, the other for a sin offering, might be accepted.
The offerings presented to the Lord were to be without blemish.
These offerings represented Christ, and from this it is evident that
Jesus Himself was free from physical deformity. He was the “lamb
without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:19. His physical structure
was not marred by any defect; His body was strong and healthy. And
throughout His lifetime He lived in conformity to nature’s laws. Physically
as well as spiritually, He was an example of what God designed [51]
all humanity to be through obedience to His laws.
The dedication of the first-born had its origin in the earliest times.
God had promised to give the First-born of heaven to save the sinner.
This gift was to be acknowledged in every household by the consecration
of the first-born son. He was to be devoted to the priesthood, as a
representative of Christ among men.
In the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, the dedication of the firstborn
was again commanded. While the children of Israel were in
bondage to the Egyptians, the Lord directed Moses to go to Pharaoh,
king of Egypt, and say, “Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, even
My first-born: and I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve
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32 The Desire of Ages
Me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even
thy first-born.” Exodus 4:22, 23.
Moses delivered his message; but the proud king’s answer was,
“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know
not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” Exodus 5:2. The Lord worked
for His people by signs and wonders, sending terrible judgments upon
Pharaoh. At length the destroying angel was bidden to slay the firstborn
of man and beast among the Egyptians. That the Israelites might
be spared, they were directed to place upon their doorposts the blood
of a slain lamb. Every house was to be marked, that when the angel
came on his mission of death, he might pass over the homes of the
Israelites.
After sending this judgment upon Egypt, the Lord said to Moses,
“Sanctify unto Me all the first-born, ... both of man and of beast: it
is Mine;” “for on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of
Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the first-born in Israel, both man and
beast: Mine shall they be: I am the Lord.” Exodus 13:2; Numbers
3:13. After the tabernacle service was established, the Lord chose the
tribe of Levi in the place of the first-born of all Israel to minister in the
sanctuary. But the first-born were still to be regarded as the Lord’s,
and were to be bought back by a ransom.
Thus the law for the presentation of the first-born was made particularly
significant. While it was a memorial of the Lord’s wonderful
deliverance of the children of Israel, it prefigured a greater deliverance,
to be wrought out by the only-begotten Son of God. As the blood
sprinkled on the doorposts had saved the first-born of Israel, so the
[52] blood of Christ has power to save the world.
What meaning then was attached to Christ’s presentation! But the
priest did not see through the veil; he did not read the mystery beyond.
The presentation of infants was a common scene. Day after day the
priest received the redemption money as the babes were presented to
the Lord. Day after day he went through the routine of his work, giving
little heed to the parents or children, unless he saw some indication of
the wealth or high rank of the parents. Joseph and Mary were poor;
and when they came with their child, the priests saw only a man and
woman dressed as Galileans, and in the humblest garments. There
was nothing in their appearance to attract attention, and they presented
only the offering made by the poorer classes.
Dedication 33
The priest went through the ceremony of his official work. He took
the child in his arms, and held it up before the altar. After handing it
back to its mother, he inscribed the name “Jesus” on the roll of the
first-born. Little did he think, as the babe lay in his arms, that it was
the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. The priest did not think that
this babe was the One of whom Moses had written, “A Prophet shall
the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me;
Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you.” Acts
3:22. He did not think that this babe was He whose glory Moses had
asked to see. But One greater than Moses lay in the priest’s arms; and
when he enrolled the child’s name, he was enrolling the name of One
who was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. That name was
to be its death warrant; for the system of sacrifices and offerings was
waxing old; the type had almost reached its antitype, the shadow its
substance.
The Shekinah had departed from the sanctuary, but in the Child
of Bethlehem was veiled the glory before which angels bow. This
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unconscious babe was the promised seed, to whom the first altar at the
gate of Eden pointed. This was Shiloh, the peace giver. It was He who
declared Himself to Moses as the I AM. It was He who in the pillar
of cloud and of fire had been the guide of Israel. This was He whom
seers had long foretold. He was the Desire of all nations, the Root and
the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star. The name of
that helpless little babe, inscribed in the roll of Israel, declaring Him
our brother, was the hope of fallen humanity. The child for whom
the redemption money had been paid was He who was to pay the
ransom for the sins of the whole world. He was the tru
