Poor In Spirit

The beatitudes form the beginning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matt 5. The beatitudes are those statements Jesus made that begin “blessed are”. They are very familiar. And because they are familiar, it is easy to read them, and think we understand them. And of course at some level we do understand. But sometimes they speak more to us if we dig a little. So that's the plan  – dig into the first of the Beatitudes “Blessed are the poor in spirit”.

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Beatitude comes from the Latin word beatus, meaning happy or bliss. Beatitude has nothing to do with “BE-attitude”, and “blessed” may not be the best translation. Blessed is translated from Makarioi, meaning “Happy, blessed, to be envied” - Strong's G3107  [1]

Christ was a Jew, speaking to a Jewish audience, probably in Hebrew, probably not Greek. And the people who came to hear Him would have been familiar with the OT from weekly synagogue services. Christ did not invent a new rhetorical device for the Beatitudes. So when He said “blessed is the man”, they would have recognized the term. In Hebrew, it is “Ashre ha ish”. Ashre is used 45 times in the OT. Consider Psalm 1, in many Church of God hymnals it reads “Blessed and Happy is the man”. Most translations say either blessed OR happy.

I went through those 45 verses that contained the word ashre (easy with online tools), Strong's H0835 to see how it's used. Ashre is translated as happy (18) or blessed (27) . See Appendix 1 for more details on ashre, and Appendix 2 for details on baruch, another word translated blessed. As far as I can tell, the primary meaning for ashre is happy. In the overwhelming majority of verses, a human is called happy or blessed for obedience or righteousness. Some examples:

Psa 34:8 Blessed is the man that trusts in Him.
Psa 41:1 Blessed is he that considers the poor
Psa 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies

Psa 128:2 Happy is every one that fears the LORD
Pro 14:21 Happy is he that has mercy on the poor.
Pro 29:18 Happy is he that keeps the law

It doesn't matter if ashre means happy vs blessed, because some of the Beatitudes aren't like the Psalms. They go beyond. Consider these.

Happy are the poor in spirit
Happy are they that mourn
Happy are they that hunger
Happy are they that are persecuted

I imagine these statements came as a surprise to that Jewish audience. These beatitudes are in a familiar motif (Happy are ...), but are challenging to hear, even now 2000 years later. The statements in the OT talk about blessings in this life. These beatitudes are speaking of the future – for example, the meek haven't inherited the earth yet.

I've just gotten through the first word... Though I do have more research on the word blessed.

The first of the beatitudes is this.

Mt 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Nearly all English translations read exactly this way. How are we to understand the phrase “poor in spirit”? It seems like one of those things that we understand until we try to explain it to someone else. So let's dig deeper to see what poor in spirit means.

Poor, translated from ptochos  – Strongs G4434 [2], literally means poor, like beggar or pauper. Spirit is translated from pneuma – Strongs G4151 [3], which like the Hebrew ruach can mean breath or spirit, depending on context. Someone “poor in Spirit” isn't referring to someone lacking the Holy Spirit. Lacking the Holy Spirit wouldn't make someone happy or blissful or blessed. The phrase “poor in spirit” does not occur as such in the OT, but we find something close in Pr 29:23.

Pr 29:23 JPS A man's pride shall bring him low; But he that is of a lowly spirit shall attain to honor.

Many translations say “humble in spirit” instead of “lowly in spirit”. I like using lowly because it parallels the first part of the verse, that is “low” and “lowly” are translated from the same word shafel.

Pr 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him shafel, but a shafel ruach will obtain honor.

From context, it's safe to say that shafel ruach does not mean “low breath”, but rather “low in spirit”. Likewise, “ptochoi pneuma” does not mean “poor breath”.

Here we have shafel contrasted with pride, so humble does seem like a good fit too. Low in spirit is the opposite of pride. Humble is the opposite of pride.

If you thought “poor in spirit” meant humble, you could be proud of yourself...

First Page Shem Tov

Did Jesus say shafel ruach to the assembled crowd? I think so. Remember He was talking to a Jewish audience, the phrase occurs in the OT a few times, and it occurs in rabbinic writings of Christ's time. Plus, there are manuscripts of the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew. Scholars have determined that these are NOT direct translations from the Greek. For example, in the Beatitudes, several verses are missing from some manuscripts. Some argue that Matthew first wrote his gospel in Hebrew, then in Greek -  Wiki(Matthew) [4]. Some argue that it was a translation from another language - Wiki(Shem_Tob) [5] . Whatever the case, the “Shem Tov” Hebrew Gospel of Matthew is pre 14th century.

 

Shem Tov doesn’t have the Hebrew behind the Greek. Shem Tov has a completely different word, the word shafel. And the word shafel means low - Nehemiah Gordon [6].

In other words, the Hebrew Matthew says “low in spirit” not “poor in spirit”, which would match the language in the OT.

But Wait, There's More

“Low in spirit” is an idiom, that is, a phrase that cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its words - wordnik [7]. Here are some English idioms. You can know the meaning of the individual words, but not the meaning of the phrase.

bee's knees

blue in the face

piece of cake

cold turkey

fifth column

Biblical Hebrew has idioms too. In Ex 4:14, God is "hot of nose" toward Moses. Every translator knows that means angry.

We CAN look at how the phrase was used by Jewish writers 2000 years ago. Two examples.

A person should only teach someone who is wise and humble and low spirited. [6]

the way of learned men is to be humble and low-spirited, (as if they’re two different things). [6]

How do these writers differentiate between humble and low-spirited?

How does he lower his spirit? If a man curses him, he says shalom (peace). If a man strives with him, he is silent. [6]

One lesson is knowing that a person CAN lower his own spirit, in this context it means to control ones desires. Another is that “this phrase, low of spirit, has this connotation not only of humility, but humility in the pursuit of peace.” [6] You might say he is more than humble.

This describes someone who swallows their own pride, suppresses their own desires for the sake of peace. Even if he knows he is right - peace is more important. Hence the saying “you can be right, or you can be happy” - Goodreads [8.] It's all too easy to get defensive, our sense of justice wells up when we feel we've been wronged. But someone who can “lower their spirit” even in the face of unfairness is a peacemaker.

Yeah, but! I'm not a doormat! Maybe the offense is too big to overlook, too egregious to ignore. Maybe it rises to the level of commandment breaking. What then?

Consider the ultimate example of what Jesus did. He was right. The Pharisees and the government were wrong. Using this terminology, He lowered His spirit and allowed Himself to be crucified. On the cross, He said “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”. (Luke 23:34)  He subordinated His own wishes for the sake of those who hated Him.

Also consider Jesus overturned the money changers tables and drove them out with a whip. (Mark 11:15, John 2:14-16) And a day is coming where Jesus will execute judgment.

Is 11:4 And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked

Rev 19:11 With righteousness He judges and wages war.

When do we lower our spirit? When do we fight? There is not one answer for every situation.

We spend a lifetime learning the difference. In this life, there are probably more times we should lower our spirits for the sake of peace. If you find yourself arguing over how to load the dishwasher or which way the toilet paper roll goes on the holder, stop and consider lowering your spirit. If it's too late to stop the argument, the path to peace probably involves one or both of you lowering your spirit.

But if you're a baker asked to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, you may have to fight. As Solomon wrote:

Ecc 3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Ecc 3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Being low in spirit seems to be the way to achieve humility and peace. Here are some additional verses to reflect on concerning "low in spirit".

Matt 5:10 Happy are those who pursue peace, for they will be sons of God.

Rom 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

Pr 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath

Eph 5:21 submit to one another

Php 2:3Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Pr 16:32 Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

James 4:6 God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble

Psalm 34:14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Rom 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

1 Co 6:7 Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated?

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References

1. https://biblehub.com/matthew/5-3.htm

2. http://lexiconcordance.com/greek/4434.html

3. http://lexiconcordance.com/greek/4151.html

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbinical_translations_of_Matthew

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shem_Tob's_Hebrew_Gospel_of_Matthew

6. https://www.nehemiaswall.com/hgp-plus-14

7. https://www.wordnik.com/words/idiom

8. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/314270-you-can-be-right-or-you-can-be-happy

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Appendix 1

I went through every verse that contained the Hebrew word ashre, Strong's number H0835, 45 verses in all. Ashre is translated as blessed or happy. As far as I can tell, the primary meaning for ashre is happy, but I would like to hear from an actual Hebrew scholar about this.

I then lifted the phrase containing “blessed/happy is” from those verses to see who is being blessed or happy for what. Sometimes the blessing is in the verse, most times not. For example Psa 41:1 “Blessed is he that considers the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” Some verses I rearranged so the “blessed/happy is” part came first. For instance, Pro 14:21 “He that despises his neighbor sins: but he that has mercy on the poor, happy is he.” became “Happy is he that has mercy on the poor.”

In nearly all cases, the subject of ashre is human, receiving the blessing in this life for living righteously. An interesting counter example is Job 5:17 “Happy is the man whom God corrects”. Correction does not feel like happiness at the time, and the reward may not come in the flesh.

H0835 Translated as Blessed

Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly
Psa 2:12 Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Psa 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven
Psa 32:2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputes not iniquity
Psa 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD
Psa 34:8 Blessed is the man that trusts in Him.
Psa 40:4 Blessed is that man that makes the LORD his trust
Psa 41:1 Blessed is he that considers the poor
Psa 65:4 Blessed is the man whom You chooses
Psa 84:4 Blessed are they that dwell in Your house
Psa 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You
Psa 84:12 Blessed is the man that trusts in You.
Psa 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound
Psa 94:12 Blessed is the man whom You chasten
Psa 106:3 Blessed are they that keep judgment
Psa 112:1 Blessed is the man that fears the LORD
Psa 119:1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way
Psa 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies
Psa 128:1 Blessed is every one that fears the LORD

Pro 8:32 Blessed are they that keep my ways.
Pro 8:34 Blessed is the man that hears Me

Isa 30:18 Blessed are all they that wait for Him.
Isa 32:20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters
Isa 56:2 Blessed is the man ... that keeps the sabbath from polluting it

H0835 Translated as Happy

1Ki 10:8 Happy are your men ... that hear your wisdom.

Job 5:17 Happy is the man whom God corrects

Psa 127:5 Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them (children)
Psa 128:2 Happy is every one that fears the LORD
Psa 137:8 Happy shall he be that rewards you as you have served us.
Psa 144:15 Happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.
Psa 146:5 Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for his help

Pro 3:13 Happy is the man that finds wisdom
Pro 14:21 Happy is he that has mercy on the poor.
Pro 16:20 Happy is he that handles a matter wisely
Pro 28:14 Happy is the man that fears always
Pro 29:18 Happy is he that keeps the law

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Appendix 2

The Hebrew word barak or barukh, Strong's H1288, also means blessed, and is translated that way over 300 times. It appears the root meaning is kneel. I picked just the references in Psalms to get an idea of its usage, that is to see if there are statements similar to the ashre statements for H0835. Nearly all instances of barukh refer to God. In English, bless means to bestow something on someone – how then do we bless God?

H1288 translated as Blessed in Psalms

Psa 18:46 Blessed be my rock
Psa_28:6 Blessed be the LORD, because he has heard the voice of my supplications.
Psa_31:21 Blessed be the LORD: for he has shewed me his marvelous kindness in a strong city.
Psa_37:22 For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth
Psa_41:13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting
Psa_66:20 Blessed be God, which has not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
Psa_68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits
Psa_68:35 Blessed be God.
Psa_72:18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things.
Psa_72:19 Blessed be his glorious name for ever
Psa_89:52 Blessed be the LORD for evermore
Psa_106:48 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting
Psa_113:2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
Psa_118:26 Blessed be he that comes in the name of the LORD
Psa_124:6 Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.
Psa_128:4 Blessed be the man that fears the LORD.
Psa_135:21 Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwells at Jerusalem
Psa_144:1 Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:

That Time the Pope Tried To Change the Bible

Henry VIII 

Henry VIII was king of England from 1509 to 1547, coronated at age 18. To put the time period into perspective, this was 100 years before the King James Bible was published. His older brother Arthur was in line to become king, but died young, leaving a widow named Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) -  Britannica(Catherine-of-Aragon) [1]. Henry wanted to marry Catherine, but because of Lev 18:16 had to get special dispensation from the church to do so.

 

Lev 18:16. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother’s wife. It is your brother’s nakedness.

The only exception is called Levirate marriage, where if a man dies childless, a brother marries the widow to produce a child to carry on the name of the dead man. This does not appear to have been Henry's motivation. His motive for wanting Catherine of Aragon was political - she was VERY well connected. She was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, famous for financing of Christopher Columbus, and expulsion of the Jews from Spain, both in 1492. AND Catherine was the aunt of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire.

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Catherine of Aragon

But Henry had a problem, which became known as King Henry's Great Matter. Though Henry and Catherine had six children together, only one daughter named Mary survived. Meaning Henry did not have a male heir to continue his dynasty. When Catherine was getting beyond child bearing age, Henry wanted an annulment of the marriage so he could marry a woman who could give him a male heir. He also thought God's curse was on them.

 

He convinced himself that his first marriage had been against the divine law; that is, against the biblical injunction (Lev.) forbidding marriage with a brother’s widow. The deaths of the children proved God’s judgment on the union. Britannica(Henry-VIII) [2]

Lev 20:21. And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.

It's not clear to me how Henry interpreted this verse to mean God's curse was on him. After all, he and Catherine weren't childless. Anyway he tried for years to get the church to grant an annulment. But remember Catherine's nephew was Emperor Charles. Pope Clement VII was essentially imprisoned by Charles during the Sack of Rome in 1527  till ransom was paid, so Clement was not willing to cross Charles to help Henry - Wiki(Sack_of_Rome) [3]. Charles denied responsibility for the Sack of Rome. Nonetheless, he did have great influence over Clement after that.

Biblical Knowledge in 1520

Let's consider how much Bible knowledge people had in the early 16th century. Most people did not own a copy of the Bible then. Most couldn't read anyway. The King James translation was 100 years in the future. The only English language Bibles were the Wycliffe (1382) and Tyndale (1526, 1535) translations. Wycliffe was before the Gutenberg printing press (1450), so copies were made by hand. The Tyndale Bible was the first English Bible to be printed, interestingly, in the days when Henry was involved in his Great Matter. Tyndale was executed for translating the Bible into English.

Betrayed to church officials in 1536, he was defrocked in an elaborate public ceremony and turned over to the civil authorities to be strangled to death and burned at the stake. His last words are said to have been, "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes." Wiki(Tyndale_Bible) [4]

During the 1500s, the very idea of an English language Bible was shocking and subversive. This is because, for centuries, the English Church had been governed from Rome, and church services were by law conducted in Latin. Most people in Europe were unable to speak Latin, and so could not understand the Bible directly. The Church therefore acted as the mediator between God and the people, with Priests interpreting the bible on behalf of their congregations - British Library [5].

The Bologna Scroll

Back to the story. King Henry's men met with the Pope's men in Bologna, northern Italy. The pope's men told the King he could not get the annulment. Henry's responded by separating the Church of England from the Catholic Church. And since King Henry was the head of the church, he annulled his own marriage, then married Anne Boleyn. Henry also dissolved the monasteries and confiscated their assets.

What happened at that meeting in Bologna? Henry's men argued that the marriage had to be annulled because he had married his brother's widow, which was against Torah. The Pope's men countered by showing that the Torah doesn't say that. They brought out a scroll, which they said belonged to Ezra, yes THAT Ezra, which would make the scroll over 2000 years old. This scroll has no text for Lev 18:16-18, just five blank lines. Actually, it's erased, whether by a sponge or a razor. The text is not there. Which made Henry's marriage legitimate, and gave no room for an annulment. Modern high resolution photographs of that page clearly show the text that was erased, but it was apparently enough to convince Henry's men that the Torah did not say that. Apparently they forgot to erase Lev 20:21 which says the same thing.

It wasn't Ezra's scroll, and it's not clear how they got possession of an authentic Torah scroll. Scholars date the Bologna scroll to about 1200AD, and today it is the oldest complete Torah scroll in the world, just not 2000 years old.

How do we know all this? Because the Bolgona scroll was found in 2013 by the Italian scholar Mauro Perani. It had been lost since 1889 when it was “mistakenly cataloged in the University of Bologna Library as a 17th-century Sefer Torah” - Biblical Archaeology [6]. Here is a screenshot of the page in question - Academic Studies Press [7]. 

An impressive case is visible in Section 32, containing Leviticus chapter 18, where the five verses after verse 15, i.e. vv. 16–20, are cancelled in the following five lines, not substituted by any correction, and the text continues with verse 21 (Figure 10). As Saverio Campanini claimed, this erasure was not made by a scribe, but probably by emissaries of the papal party, as part of the disputations during the sixteenth century related to the divorce of King Henry the Eighth.  [7]  p35

So for the sake of politics, the Pope (or his men) changed the text of the Bible. For the want of a male heir, Henry made England a Protestant nation. This changed the course of history. Having the Bible available in the common language also changed the course of history.

Great Bible

 

From 1538, every parish in England was required by law to purchase a copy of an English Bible and place it in ‘some convenient place’ for all to see and read. More than 9,000 copies were printed by 1541 -  Wiki(Great_Bible) [8].

 

So What?

Why are we interested in this? People have attacked the Bible for a long time, maybe not for political ends like this time. Theologians attack the Bible by teaching the law is done away. Scholars attack the Bible, producing translations based on unreliable manuscripts, or inventing theories like the “Documentary Hypothesis” to cast doubt on the God inspired authorship. How about school libraries banning the Bible? - CNN [9]. Do you remember the Jesus Seminar of the 90's? A group of 50 scholars voted on what Jesus really said and did.

In The Five [sic] Gospels, the authors were able to state categorically that “eighty-two percent of the words ascribed to Jesus in the gospels were not actually spoken by him” - The Conversation [10].

It is absolutely ridiculous, even offensive, to think that a group of "scholars" today can more accurately determine what Jesus did and did not say than the authors of the gospels, who wrote in the same century in which Jesus lived, taught, died, and was resurrected -  Got Questions [11].

Most of the original leaders of the Jesus Seminar have died. They have a website, but it appears nothing has been added to it in 6 years - Virtual Religion [12]. The Jesus seminar has faded, but the Bible is still going strong.

The latest attack on the Bible comes from AI (Artificial Intelligence).

Yuval Noah Harari, the senior advisor to the WEF and its chairman Klaus Schwab, argues that using AI to replace scriptures will create unified “religions that are actually correct.” - Technocracy News  [13].

I fear that this may succeed for a season.

Not to be left behind, PETA is jumping on the AI bandwagon.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights nonprofit organization, has taken altruism one step further and used artificial intelligence to rewrite Genesis as a vegan manifesto, leading Bible scholars to fume over whether vegetarianism is indeed a Biblical concept - Israel365news  [14].

"In the beginning, God created heaven and the Earth. And the Earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep,” the PETA version begins. “He created animals of all shapes and sizes to live harmoniously with humans. Everyone marveled at their beauty and grace, and not a single thought of fur coats crossed their minds.” -  peta.org [15]

The Bible prophesies a famine of the word. AI may be how it comes to pass. We need to remember what a valuable gift the Bible is. While it gets increasingly difficult to judge if a news story is true, remember that God has given us a book that is true and reliable. Let us internalize what it says so we won't be fooled by an AI “corrected” Bible.

Is 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

References

1. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Catherine-of-Aragon

2. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-VIII-king-of-England/Loss-of-popularity

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_(1527)

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyndale_Bible

5. https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item101093.html

6. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/a-sefer-torah-in-the-bologna-library-may-be-the-oldest-known-torah-scroll

7. https://www.academia.edu/40647752/The_Oldest_Complete_Extant_Sefer_Torah_Re_discovered_at_the_Bologna_University_Library_Codicological_Textual_and_Palaeographic_Features_of_an_Ancient_Eastern_Tradition page 35

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Bible

9. https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/21/us/utah-davis-school-district-reversal-bible-school-libraries/index.html

10. https://theconversation.com/getting-the-gist-of-a-historical-jesus-the-jesus-seminar-30-years-on-44465

11. https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-seminar.html

12. https://virtualreligion.net/forum/new.html

13. https://www.technocracy.news/competing-with-god-wef-calls-for-ai-to-rewrite-the-bible-create-religions-that-are-actually-correct

14. https://www.israel365news.com/373228/peta-produces-an-ai-vegan-bible

15. https://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/peta-goes-biblical-with-chatgpt-vegan-rewrite-of-the-book-of-genesis

As If Firstborn

The subject of Firstborn or First fruits is one of the themes of Pentecost.

Throughout the bible, God makes it clear that the firstborn (of man and beast) and the firstfruits (of crops or produce) are set apart and belong to Him (Ex. 13:12, 22:29-30, Num. 18, Neh. 10:35-37, etc). Be Stirred Not Shaken [1]

But in reading the Old Testament, you see that God frequently elevated someone other than the firstborn for important roles. So by the time of the New Testament, it might be puzzling to read the emphasis on Jesus being the firstborn of many brethren (Rom 8:29).

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Old Testament examples where first born skipped over

Let's look at some of the places in the Old Testament where the firstborn is not chosen. How common was it? What patterns will emerge?

We only get four chapters into Genesis before we encounter conflict concerning the firstborn.

Gen 4:3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

We know how that turned out. I will return to this story later.

A few chapters later, we read the story of Noah and his sons after the flood. Normally, Noah's sons are given in the order “Shem, Ham, and Japheth”, as if they were triplets born in Noah's 500^th year. But AFAICT that the actual birth order was Japheth, Shem, Ham (Gen 11:26 Gen 9:24) . It looks like Ham was pulling a power play, not only over his brothers, but over his father as well. 

Sarah, Isaac, Abraham. Ishmael, Hagar

Consider Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was firstborn of Abraham, but not Sarah. Abraham knew the promise God had made, that he would have more descendants than the stars in the sky. Since no children were born for years, they tried to “help” God. Perhaps they reasoned that God intended them to use their ingenuity to solve a problem. With the advantage of hindsight, we see it as a lack of faith. 

Or how about Esau and Jacob? Before the twins were born, God chose Jacob over Esau. Yet Rebekah and Jacob scheme to get the blessing and the birthright. Again, with hindsight, it looks like lack of faith.

The irony of Jacob’s life story is he spends his entire life  manipulating and swindling his way into the blessing God already intended to give him. Bible Project [2]

I like Esau's reaction when meeting Jacob after 20 years. I wish Esau's descendants felt the same.

Gen 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. ... 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”

In Jacob's own family, his wife Leah was the firstborn but Jacob loved Rachel. This translated to envy among the sons of Leah against Joseph. Their envy really came out after Jacob gave Joseph a special coat, and after Joseph revealed his dreams. The blessing and the birthright did not go to Reuben, the first born because he disqualified himself. The birthright passed to Judah the fourth born, and the blessing went to Joseph, the 11^th born - The Story About Dinah Is Not About Dinah [3].

And we're not even out of Genesis yet.

Moving to Exodus, let's look at an incident with Moses. He was not the firstborn, both Miriam and Aaron were older. Sibling rivalry came out long after childhood, they were all in their 80's.

Num 12:1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it.

The Lord heard it. and sorted them out immediately. 

Let's skip forward a bit and look at two more examples, David and Solomon, then review what lessons we might draw.

God sent Samuel the prophet to anoint a king to replace Saul. In Bethlehem, Jesse brought seven sons before Samuel, but none of them would do. Samuel had to ask Jesse if he had any more sons. Then they all waited while someone fetched David the eighth son, whom Samuel anointed immediately. All of David's brothers saw the anointing by Samuel, but during the Goliath incident Eliab the firstborn still treated David as his baby brother.

1 Sam 17:28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

Not a very respectful way to speak to an anointed king.

With Charles coronation, we saw the succession of kings go to the eldest son, this is known as primogeniture. Prince William is now first in line to the British throne. Prince George, first son of Prince William is second in line to the throne after his father. And so on, it's all mapped out - Independent [4]. Firstborn son was and is the usual rule, but not so for David's successor Solomon. David had six sons with other wives before Bathsheba – Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah are the most familiar.

Absalom followed his pride and greed and tried to seize his father’s throne. Learn Religions [5]

After the death of his elder brothers Amnon and Absalom, Adonijah considered himself the heir-apparent to the throne. Wikipedia [6]

King Charles, Princes George and William

Zero Sum Game

Let's consider the reaction of siblings that were “passed over”, that is firstborn who did not get the birthright. Most were envious. Absalom, and Adonijah tried to take over the throne. Esau threatened to kill Jacob. Jacob's sons sold Joseph into slavery. Cain murdered Abel.

The Cain and Abel story reveals things about envy, and it reveals God's perspective. Cain was upset that God did not regard his offering. We are not told exactly why. Cain engaged in what is now known as zero sum thinking.

A zero sum game is one where for one person to gain, another must lose. For example, six people sharing a pie. Naturally, cut it in six equal pieces. But suppose I want a bigger piece. The only way I can get a bigger piece is is someone else gets a smaller piece. Many situations are indeed a zero sum game. Sometimes you really do have one pie and six people. But sometimes, ZSG doesn't apply. Just because God regarded and blessed Abel doesn't mean that there isn't any blessing left for Cain. God explained to Cain that blessings are not a zero sum game.

Gen 4:6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

Despite this instruction from God, it appears Cain envied Abel and killed him. Perhaps he thought now God would have to bless him instead.

Envy

Being passed over as firstborn often led to envy.

We can examine ourselves for what we envy in others, maybe it's looks or a big house. But Envy has two sides. Some part of us likes envy, when we are the one being envied. It can make us feel good when someone envies OUR house or OUR fancy car. Whatever it is that you want others to envy is probably the thing that you envy in others. The Bible words for this

• Envy is coveting

• Wanting Envy is pride of life

Summary

We saw cases where the firstborn was passed over because they disqualified themselves. Or they didn't accept the responsibility that came with the birthright, or they didn't value it.

We saw cases where people tried to get the birthright as if they were entitled.

We saw cases where those passed over envied the one chosen – nearly all of them.

We see that Christ restored the rightful place of the firstborn.

Typology

We saw several cases where later born children were chosen then treated as firstborn. This pictures the church. We have no pedigree to claim firstborn status. I would argue that physically that would belong to the Jewish people. We aren't in line to succeed an earthly throne like King Charles or Prince William. We aren't the rich and powerful of this world. And we don't belong to a big influential Church. Yet all of these were passed over and WE were chosen. We believe God and obey Him because He chose us.

1 Pt 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Co 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

Today, WE are God’s firstfruits, spiritual Israel…those who have answered His calling, are keeping His commands, observing the sabbath and holy days, and striving to live a godly life (James 1:18, Rev. 14:4). [1]

May we accept the responsibility of the firstborn. May we value our calling over this world.

References

1. https://bestirrednotshaken.com/holy-days/what-does-it-mean-to-offer-your-firstfruits-to-god-today
2. https://bibleproject.com/podcast/power-grabs-and-patriarchs/
3. https://jlfreeman-1.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-story-about-dinah-is-not-about-dinah.html
4. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/royal-family/line-succession-british-throne-b2334722.html
5. https://www.learnreligions.com/absalom-facts-4138309
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adonijah