We are born in the flesh, and then we are born again spiritually. Our first birth is cursed because we are all “shapen in iniquity; and (born) in sin” (Psalm 51:5) and because of this, we cannot receive the blessing of Father God.
The reason firstborns are under attack is because they are pacesetters. They are the family's glory and honour. If the devil can attack them, he can get the rest of the children in the family. Again, the firstborn has influence over the other children in the family; hence he is meant to be the mentor to them.
In verse Exodus 13:2, God says, “Consecrate every firstborn male to me, the firstborn from every womb among the Israelites, both man and domestic animal; it is mine.” This is the first place where God is giving that instruction to the Israelites as a whole.
Death of the firstborn of Egypt
The Egyptians also attached significance to primogeniture and birthright. The death of Pharaoh and the Egyptians' firstborn sons at the first Passover is direct recompense for God's identification of Israel as his own firstborn.
A firstborn (also known as an eldest child or sometimes firstling) is the first child born to in the birth order of a couple through childbirth.
In general, firstborn children have been found to be responsible, assertive, task-oriented, perfectionistic, and supporters of authority. Firstborns can harbor some resentment toward siblings because parental attention has to be shared.
The word “first-born” (Greek word “prototokos”) signifies priority. In the culture of the Bible times, the first-born was not necessarily the oldest child. First-born referred not to birth order but to rank. The first-born possessed the inheritance and leadership.
That night, God sent the angel of death to kill the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. God told Moses to order the Israelite families to sacrifice a lamb and smear the blood on the door of their houses. In this way the angel would know to 'pass over' the houses of the Israelites.
The father presents the baby on a silver platter to the kohen, symbolically returning his firstborn son to God. The kohen then offers to accept five silver coins instead of the child, and once the payment is made the son is redeemed.
The Christian New Testament refers to the second coming of Jesus in a passage from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4: “For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
But a statistical study of centenarians by researchers at the University of Chicago has found some other potential predictors of extreme longevity. Women and men who were the first born in large families, the study found, were two to three times more likely to make it to 100 than later-born children.
First borns are trailblazers for parents and for the children to follow. Parents are usually hardest on their first borns in terms of discipline and they loosen up as they move further down the family. First borns usually don't react well to the arrival of the second born.
If you are a firstborn...
According to the study, the best possible match is a firstborn female with a lastborn male, because their needs are in harmony with each other. A firstborn with another firstborn, Leman writes, is likely to be a power struggle.
Firstborns will have anxiety issues due to the pressure of living up to the expectations of parents. Expectations may include being the intelligent, most competent and responsible one among the siblings. Feeling worthless may occur when these expectations are not convened.
As the oldest daughter enters adulthood, she may experience sadness and depression without identifying a reason for either. This state can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as personality disorders and free-floating anxiety.”
On the Children's Depression Inventory, first-born children (M = 9.32) scored significantly lower than second-born children (M = 12.14), r(274) = 2.78, p <. 01. First borns scored significantly lower than third borns (M = 12.24), i(206) = 2.25, p < .
God created the family, and children are a gift from Him. In fact, the Bible says that offspring are a reward from Him! Because of this, God cares about how children are raised and nurtured. Children are a gift from God.
God tells us that children are a precious gift from Him, made in His image. As such, God wants His gifts to be valued and cared for in His name. As parents, we are our children's stewards during their earthly life. The Word of God has a lot to say about children and how we parent them.
According to the Hebrew Bible, God commands Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. After Isaac is bound to an altar, a messenger from God stops Abraham before the sacrifice finishes, saying "now I know you fear God". Abraham looks up and sees a ram and sacrifices it instead of Isaac.
These angels (mal'akh) are also variously referred to as memitim (מְמִיתִים, 'executioners, slayers'), or Angel of the Lord. The latter is found in Job 33:22, as well as in Proverbs 16:14 in the plural, "messengers of death".
The Massacre of the Innocents is an incident in the nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
Parshat Shemot quotes God as telling Moshe in Exodus 4:22, “Israel is My son, my firstborn.” After being raised as the adopted son of Pharoah's daughter, Moshe's fugitive status didn't do a lot for his self-confidence.
Jesus was the firstborn of the spirit children of our Heavenly Father, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, and the first to rise from the dead in the Resurrection (Col. 1:13–18).
In concluding the study, co-author and psychologist at the University of Padova in Italy Paola Bressan noted that to the best of her knowledge, “no study has either replicated or supported” the findings from the 1995 study that stated babies resemble their fathers.