Jacob blessed his sons and the blessings of the firstborn were distributed among some of them. But the Lord Jesus is different; He is a prophet, a priest, and a king at the same time. Since we are united with Him, we are also priests, and one day we shall be kings and reign on earth with Him for eternity. The firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance, but what we have received is much more than double. 1 Corinthians says that all things are ours (1 Corinthians 3:21). Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” We should be overflowing with thanksgiving and notice Abba’s love. He shall lead His sons, you and me, into glory. He has predestined us to glory. What He has prepared for us is more than what we can imagine. Today, we should gain all the rewards.
Hebrews 12:14-16 reads, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.”
Brothers and sisters, we really don’t have to wait for too many years before we see the Lord. He will come quickly. Hope that you and I can gain all the rewards and blessings meant for the firstborn; otherwise, we will receive only a little.
Revelation 1:5-6 reads, “And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Being a priest is very honourable: we are especially close to God, enjoying Him the most, and we can be a great blessing to people. We should at least live out the priesthood. It’s so precious that the first thing of being a priest is that we are especially close to God. Hence, we ourselves need to draw near to Him and experience Him first. We need to “eat the sacrifices”—to enjoy the Lord Himself, for He is our bread of life. We first need to draw near to him.
Moreover, priests need to bring people before God. Romans 15 says that we are the priest of the gospel, bringing people before God. After bringing people to believe in the Lord, the most important thing and the greatest blessing is to lead them to draw near to God, to know Him and experience Him.
Priests need to offer sacrifices. Nowadays, we no longer need to offer oxen or lambs. Hebrews 13: 15 says “Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips…” Of course, we praise God not only with our lips, but it is from our hearts. God wants the firstborn of Israel to serve Him. Romans 12:1 says that we should “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” We should worship and serve the Lord. This is why it is so important that we worship every day. I especially want to remind you here, that we need to enter into singing and worship. This is my daily “diamond time”.
Moreover, the Bible says in Malachi 2:7 that “the lips of a priest should guard knowledge.” We need to pursue diligently, be filled with God’s words, and share with others. It is very precious that God tells us so much about the firstborn. We are indeed the most precious in God’s heart.