Firstborn Question and Response

Episode Chapters

1. Intro
   0:00 – 1:19
2. How Should We Understand the Duties of Firstborns? Rijke (Japan)
   1:19 – 1:22
3. I’ve been listening to the firstborn series, and I can’t help but feel there’s something missing from the discussion. I live in Japan, and culturally, the concept of firstborn is alive and well in Japan, though the firstborn idea in Japan has more to do with duties and responsibilities than with privilege. It is the firstborn’s duty to provide for and protect the family, to represent the family, to stand or fall for the family. I see these duties all through scripture. I’m in the middle of a sermon series on Passover, and the duty of the firstborn to represent the family in punishment and in the need for redemption is strong in the Passover story. Tim’s work on this theme seemed to be all about privilege and status, without emphasizing the expectations of who gets the right of the firstborn in terms of duty. How would you reconcile these two ideas?
   1:22 – 7:27
4. Are Women the Second-Born Siblings of Men? Ludy (Netherlands) Laura (Ireland)
   7:27 – 7:30
5. I have a question for the firstborn series. I've been pondering for a while now what Paul means in 1 Timothy 2:12-14 when he says a woman can't teach or assert authority over a man. Then he links that to Adam being formed before Eve. And yet, whenever God chooses someone to lead his people and have authority, he does not seem at all concerned with who was born first. So I'm missing something here. I know there's a lot of debate about these verses, but I haven't found much on this particular question. So I'm curious to know: what's your take on this? Ludy (Netherlands)
   7:30 – 8:11
6. My question goes back to Eden. Is the theme of the firstborn present in the relationship between Adam and Eve? On page one of the Bible, we see God commissioning both male and female image-bearers to rule his creation. Page two introduces an order of human creation in that Adam was created first and God created Eve from part of Adam, which the Apostle Paul actually references in 1 Timothy 2. So is it appropriate to consider Adam and Eve through the lens of this theme? Laura (Ireland)
   8:11 – 20:31
7. Why Does Jacob Favor Joseph’s Younger Son? Craig (Australia)
   20:31 – 20:34
8. I am hoping that you could unpack Genesis 48 where Jacob, while blessing Joseph's children, takes Manasseh and Ephraim as his own, then crosses his arms and puts Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. What is the significance of this act? What are the repercussions in the greater story? And how does it fit into the narrative of the firstborn?
   20:34 – 24:59
9. Were Joshua and Caleb Rivals? Daniel (Tennessee)
   24:59 – 25:02
10. In Numbers 13, twelve brothers are chosen to spy out the promised land. Joshua (from the tribe of Joseph) and Caleb (from the tribe of Judah and Esau (Num. 32:12)) are singled out as the only two faithful obedient ones. My question: Is there a sibling rivalry dimension between Joshua and Caleb and their descendants? It seems that in the short term, Joshua is elevated as the favored sibling and leader of Israel. Yet in the long term, one could say Caleb’s line becomes the favored tribe as David and Jesus come from the line of Judah.
    25:02 – 30:16
11. Why Is Korah the Rebel Honored in Psalms? Tara (Florida)
    30:16 – 30:19
12. I was reading the story of Korah’s rebellion in Numbers 16 and thought it fit into the theme of the firstborn. Is this accurate? Also how does the fact that several psalms are annotated as being “of the descendants of Korah” fit into the theme? It seems that even though God enacted his justice on Korah for his rebellion, God still elevated him by giving him and his descendants honor within the Bible.
    30:19 – 36:02
13. Is Jonathan an Anti-Cain? Garrett (Texas)
    36:02 – 36:05
14. I had a question about 1 Samuel 20. In verse 11, Jonathan, the firstborn son of the king, invites David to come out into the field, which mirrors language from Cain and Abel. But, unlike Cain, Jonathan makes a covenant with David and tries to protect him from his father Saul, who is himself an iteration of Cain. Is Jonathan an anti-Cain and an anti-Saul?
    36:05 – 39:59
15. How might John see the theme of the firstborn at play in Genesis 1, based on the first chapter of his gospel account? David (Massachusetts)
    39:59 – 40:32
16. My question is about the theme of the firstborn in John's prologue and its view of Genesis 1. John connects Jesus's identity to the Word that was with God in the beginning and the Light which came on the first day of creation. How might John be seeing the theme of the firstborn at play in Genesis 1 where the human is the latecomer, but the Word and the Light were the first manifestations of God's creation? How might this relate to the relationship between humans and Wisdom in Proverbs 8 or the relationship humans are supposed to have in embodying the Word of God as in Jeremiah 31?
    40:32 – 48:35
17. Is John the Baptist Like an Older Sibling to Jesus? Lizzie (Texas)
    48:35 – 48:38
18. I noticed that in some ways, John the Baptist has the role of firstborn, while Jesus is perceived by others sometimes as the second born in comparison. They both have miraculous births, but John comes first, and Jesus also starts his ministry later. I feel that John shows a good example of a firstborn giving up his authority, like in the Gospel of John (3:29-30), where John says Jesus "must increase, but I must decrease." Do you think the gospel writers intend for us to see this connection between John and Jesus?
    48:38 – 56:26