There were some important requirements that needed to be fulfilled according to Jehovah’s laws. This devotional reading looks at Yeshua’s circumcision, Mary’s purification offering, and the redemption of the firstborn.
Nuggets
- It was important that Yeshua enter the covenant community.
- Mary and Joseph were both told what the Baby’s name was going to be.
- Purification is important to Jehovah.
- Specific instructions were given regarding the purification offering.
Jehovah had given specific instructions as to what should happen when a baby boy was born. This didn’t change just because His Son was born.
Let's Put It into Context
To read devotions in The Battle for the Heart theme
Devotions in the The Birth and Early Childhood of Christ series
Circumcision of Jesus
“Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived” (Lk. 2: 21 NLT)
Circumcision
It was important that Yeshua enter the covenant community.
When John the Immerser was born, we talked about the circumcision ceremony being where the newborn son entered into the covenant community. The circumcision ceremony is called B’rit Milah (בְּרִית מִילָה).
The religious ceremony was performed on a son’s eighth day after birth. It was a covenant ceremony, a family celebration, a public declaration of identity, and the official welcoming of a son into God’s covenant people all rolled into one celebration.
Normally, covenant celebrations were celebrated in the home by the community. But we have to wonder how much not being in Nazareth changed this ceremony.
True, any family that lived in or may have come to Bethlehem as Joseph did may have come to the ceremony. But we really aren’t sure the reason was Joseph’s family didn’t make room for them in their house. If it was because Mary was a betrothed but unwed pregnant woman, they wouldn’t have gone to the circumcision ceremony either.
It was important that Yeshua complete the circumcision. It was part of God’s covenant with Abraham. It is the part of the Jew’s responsibility to show agreement with the covenant. It was the physical sign of the covenant that showed the child belonged to Jehovah.
Yeshua was to be a member of the community and fully entered into it.
Think about it. Abraham and Ishmael were the first to be circumcised (Gen. 17: 23 NLT). The first son that we are told was circumcised was Isaac (Gen. 21: 4).
Isaac, too, was to be sacrificed by his father, just as Yeshua was. Through that testing, we saw the love that Jehovah has for us.
Remember, the number eight represents a new beginning. Yeshua was ushering in a new covenant.
Was Named Jesus
Mary and Joseph were both told what the Baby’s name was going to be.
- “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus” (Lk. 1: 30-33 NLT).
- “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Mt. 1: 21 NLT).
Yeshua’s name – His Hebrew name – is important. Modern versions translate it as Jesus.
Not really. Yeshua means Joshua.
It is my opinion that Jehovah wanted His Son to be known by only one name. “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Ac. 4: 12 NLT).
Yeshua means God saves – which is Yeshua’s mission.
It was Jehovah that designed the Plan of Salvation. He determined what He needed to pay the price for our sins. He chose Yeshua to carry out His plan. He put the plan into motion.
Everything about Yeshua was concentrated on completion His mission of salvation.
Jesus Presented in the Temple
“Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. The law of the Lord says, ‘If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.’ So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord — ‘either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons’” (Lk. 2: 22-24 NLT)
Purification
Purification is important to Jehovah.
Leviticus 12 records the law for purification after childbirth. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. If a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her menstrual period. On the eighth day the boy’s foreskin must be circumcised. After waiting thirty-three days, she will be purified from the bleeding of childbirth …’” (Lev. 12: 1-4 NLT).
There are some don’t-touch instructions and separate instruction is the child is a girl. But these are important for our discussion.
Doing the math, the purification offering took place 40 days after birth. Hmmm. Forty days seems to pop up occasionally. This was the amount of time
- it rained during the Flood (Gen. 7: 4, 12, 17).
- Yeshua was tempted in the wilderness (Mt. 4: 2; Mk. 1: 13; Lk. 4: 2).
- the mountaintops were visible before Noah opened the ark’s window (Gen. 8: 6).
- Moses remained on Sinai receiving the law (Ex. 24: 18).
- Moses spent interceding after the golden calf (Deut. 9: 18, 25; 10: 10).
- spies explored Canaan (Num.. 13: 25).
- Goliath challenged Israel (I Sam. 17: 16).
- it too Elijah to travel to Horeb (I Kgs. 19: 8).
- Jonah warned Nineveh (Jon. 3: 4).
- Yeshua remained on earth after His resurrection (Ac. 1: 3).
There are other occasions where the number 40 is used, but these are the ones that specifically apply to 40 days. The number 40 is used in patterns.
Although the number 40 is not given a formal definition as a symbolic number, in many cases it signifies something is being tested, purified, judged, prepared, or brought to a transition point.
Offering
Specific instructions were given regarding the purification offering.
“When the time of purification is completed for either a son or a daughter, the woman must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove for a purification offering. She must bring her offerings to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. The priest will then present them to the Lord to purify her. Then she will be ceremonially clean again after her bleeding at childbirth. These are the instructions for a woman after the birth of a son or a daughter. If a woman cannot afford to bring a lamb, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the burnt offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest will sacrifice them to purify her, and she will be ceremonially clean” (Lev. 12: 6-8 NLT).
Wait! What???
I thought Mary presented the offering of a pigeon or turtledove because she was poor. This doesn’t say anything like that.
Read what it says again. The mother was to bring 1) a one-year-old lamb and 2) a young pigeon or turtledove.
That wasn’t an either/or type of deal. The lamb was to be a burnt offering. The bird was to be the purification offering.
Both were needed.
Stop. Hold the phone. Look at Leviticus 12: 8. “If a woman cannot afford to bring a lamb, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons. One will be for the burnt offering and the other for the purification offering …” (Lev. 12: 8 NLT).
Go back to what Luke said. “So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord — ‘either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons’” (Lk. 2: 24 NLT).
Firstborn
But then Yeshua was also a firstborn. That also required Him being offered to Jehovah and bought back.
“This is what you must do when the Lord fulfills the promise he swore to you and to your ancestors. When he gives you the land where the Canaanites now live, you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the Lord, for they belong to him. … However, you must buy back every firstborn son” (Ex. 13: 11-13 NLT).
We have to go to Numbers 18: 16 for that. “When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs” (Num. 18: 16 NLT).
More math. Five shekels were 20 gerahs per shekel. Later, Jewish sources identify the required five-shekel redemption payment with five sela, or 14.335 grams of pure silver each. That is roughly 72 grams or 2.3 troy ounces of silver.
The Hebrew phrase mibben-chodesh, however, means from the age of one month, establishing that the redemption requirement began at one month of age rather than requiring the payment on one exact day. That means, by approximately 40 days, Yeshua was already eligible for the redemption payment.
Therefore, Mary could do the purification offering and they could pay the firstborn price at the same time. But we aren’t specifically told whether Joseph paid the five shekels during the Temple visit.
Making the Connections
We may tend to think the Old Testament focused on outside purity. Laws regarding purification and instances of the offerings being presented cement those in our minds.
That is a wrong assumption. Old Testament purity laws didn’t always assume the Israelites/Jews had sinned.
While the Old Testament did establish that external/ritual purity was important, it did introduce inner purity and restoration.
- “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jer. 31: 33 NLT).
- “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” (Ezek. 36: 26 NLT).
Yeshua brought the relationship between the two into sharp focus, insisting that outward purity cannot substitute for a purified heart. The New Testament increasingly focused on cleansing the inside.
Does this mean that outward cleansing is no longer necessary? On the contrary!
Yeshua focused on our inward appearance matching our outward appearance. This is very close to the biblical concept of integrity.
Part of the inward – and outward – corruption comes from being tainted with worldly corruption.
We may have the tendency to combine purity and holiness. While they overlap, they aren’t identical. To simplify it,
- Purity means freedom from contamination.
- Holiness means set apart for Jehovah.
Do you see it? Salvation is given to those who are set apart for Jehovah – those He has made holy. But we are not totally pure even after salvation. We continue to sin.
And we will continue to sin until the point where purity and holiness combine.
The progression throughout Scripture is the following.
- External cleanness
- Ceremonial cleanness
- Moral cleanness
- Clean heart
- Undivided devotion to Jehovah
Purity is freedom from contamination – outwardly, morally, and ultimately inwardly – so that a person is undivided, genuine, and fit for relationship with Jehovah.
Heart Check
Think about the battle Yeshua is engaged in for your heart. Ask yourself the following questions.
- Am I more concerned with appearing pure before others than with allowing Yeshua to purify my heart?
- Do I sometimes mistake outward religious observance for genuine purity of heart?
- Am I willing to let Yeshua expose the contamination in my heart, or do I prefer to deal only with what others can see?
- Does what people see on the outside truly reflect what is happening inside my heart?
- Am I completely devoted to Jehovah, or are there areas of my heart I am still holding back?
How Do We Apply This?
- Examine our hearts to determine whether they are pure by Jehovah’s standards.
- Pursue purity in order to be obedient to Him.
- Live with integrity – where our outward appearance matches our inward condition.
- Guard our hearts to ensure purity.
- Give Jehovah our whole heart.
Father God. You never change. What You expected of Abraham, You expected of Mary, Joseph, and Yeshua — and us. Help us be obedient as they were. Amen.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.