Collectively, our country has a cultural memory that has shaped each of us. In 2026, we will remember the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Each year, as we watch the news and remembrances from that tragic day, the emotions from that event come flooding back. Positively, the State of Texas has a cultural identity. If you put on a pair of cowboy boots with jeans, welcome to the club. You are a Texan. As we all know, a shared experience creates a shared culture and reflects our shared experiences. What is true of a country or a state is also true of God’s people. In Exodus 13, we see that Israel has been delivered and rescued to worship. As a result, the children of post-Exodus Israel were commissioned to teach the next and each subsequent generation why they currently and must continue to worship the Lord. Exodus 13 also teaches that worship is not a one-dimensional activity; rather worship is an activity requiring three responses. The first response is to….
Gratefully acknowledge and give back
In Exodus 13:1, God instructs Israel that the firstborn of every family and animal is the Lord’s. What this looks like practically is explained in Exodus 13:3-16 where a very detailed description is provided. And, within this detailed description, we learn that every firstborn male animal that is clean is to be sacrificed and every male son will be redeemed (Exodus 13:12-13). Brothers and sisters, it is true that we live in a different time period than the delivered Israelites; thus, God’s people are no longer required to sacrifice animals. However, just as the Israelites were commanded to worship by giving back their “first”, we too are to give sacrificially. Our salvation through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection demands and commands a meaningful response and a costly worship; NOT as a means of saving grace, but as a response to saving grace. As born-again believers, we instinctively feel the intensity of this command when it comes to our children. Unfortunately, when it comes to our finances, we feel much less compelled to sacrifically give. However, as 1 Corinthians 16:2 tells us, we are to give tithes and offerings faithfully (first day of the week), systematically (10%) and generously (as the Lord has prospered).
Now, twenty-first Century Christian culture defines worship subjectively; as a feeling we get when the music gives us goosebumps and causes the hair on the back of our necks to stand up. Conversely, the God of the Bible defines worship objectively; it is a response of gratitude and giving our firstfruits to the Lord because of the salvation He has given us. Is it any wonder that we prefer culture’s understanding of worship to God’s!? Brothers and sisters, we have a choice. Will we follow our culture’s definition of worship or will we gratefully acknowledge God’s deliverance to us through salvation and generously give back as God commands? And, will we teach the next generation(s) to do the same?!
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