Reading/listening to Exodus and came to this statement as God tells Moses what he is to say to Pharaoh.

The statement that Israel is God’s first-born son is significant on several levels.

It does speak of the unique place of Israel in God’s plan, and insight into the plague on the first-born sons of Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let Israel go.

But it also implies that God will have other sons whom He will also call to himself. Though Israel is his first-born, Israel is not his only son. The first-born has a special place in the family, and special responsibilities in regard to administration of the father’s assets, but not the only place in the father’s heart. This is powerfully significant in light of Romans 9-11 and the place of Gentiles in God’s plan as not replacing Israel, but being called alongside Israel and grafted into the vine (family of God).