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First Fruits, Tithes and Offerings

God called His people to bring the first yield – the first fruits – from their harvest to Him as an offering.  This was to demonstrate the peoples’ obedience and reverence for God.

It was a time of thanksgiving for God’s provision.

It was to be a reminder that all things we have are His – all things we have come from Him.

The ‘first fruits’ of the earth, in the Old Testament, were dedicated as an offering to God.

“You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.” – Exodus 23:19

“You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.” – Exodus 34:26

“You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow … the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.” – Deuteronomy 14:22-23

The tithe was an offering of one’s agricultural income to the Lord as an expression of thanks and dedication.

The tithe is the tenth of our income that we give to God.

When Melchizedek king of Salem met Abraham after Abraham’s battle victories,  Genesis 14:20 writes: “Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

First fruits and tithing can be considered not only the actual crops of the field, but all increase.

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying … ‘This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.’ ” – Genesis 28:20-22

“You shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field.” – Exodus 23:16

“As an offering of first fruits you shall bring them to the Lord.” – Leviticus 2:12

“Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.” – Leviticus 27:30

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.’ … Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the Lord, from all the best of them, the sacred part from them. … But you shall not profane the sacred gifs of the sons of Israel, or you will die.“ – Numbers 18:25-32

“Take some of the first of all the produce of the ground … and you shall set it down before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God … you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.” – Deuteronomy 26:1-11

“The sons of Israel provided in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of all.” – 2 Chronicles 31:5

“Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase.” – Proverbs 3:9

“And it shall be with regard to an inheritance for them, that I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel –  I am their possession.  They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.  The first of all the first fruits of every kind and every contribution of every kind, from all your contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the first of your dough to cause a blessing to rest on your house.” – Ezekiel 44:28-30

“That they might bring the first fruits of the ground and the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to the house of the Lord annually, and bring to the house of our God the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks as it is written in the law … we will also bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the oil …and the tithe of our ground.” – Nehemiah 10:35-37

“ ‘Will a man rob God?  Yet you are robbing Me!  But you say, “How have we robbed You?'” In tithes and offerings.  You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’  says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.  Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,’ says the Lord of hosts.  ‘All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,’ says the Lord of hosts.” – Malachi 3:8-12

“And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.  A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.  Calling His disciples to Him, He said to the, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.’ “ – Mark 12:41-44

What started as a specific instruction for bringing crops to the temple priest was expanded later on in Scripture.  There are many New Testament references to ‘first fruits,’ all of which are metaphorical applications of the Old Testament commandment to offer the first fruits of one’s increase to the Lord.  It no longer refers to literal fruit – first fruits means any income, wealth or blessings that a Christian has received.  It is important to honour the Lord with our first fruits and tithes as we give Him thanks for the abundance He has blessed us with.

The New Testament references are all beautiful spiritual applications of first fruits.  At His resurrection, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” – 1 Corinthians 15:20.  Jesus was God’s first fruits – His one and only son, and the best that humanity had to offer.  God gave Jesus up for us, in the same way that we should sacrifice the best we have for Him.

“But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming …” – 1 Corinthians 15:23

When we receive Christ, we receive our eternal salvation first of all in terms of the first fruits of the Spirit – “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit” –  Romans 8:23

Furthermore, we ourselves are, to Him, a sort of first fruits pledge of future growth.  “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.” – James 1:18

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and a holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” – Romans 12:1

This thought is also applied to the first converts of a new mission field.  Paul speaks of the ‘the first fruits of Asia’ (the western part of Asia Minor) – “Greet also the church that meets at their house.  Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.” – Romans 16:5.  And ‘the first fruits of Achaia’ (southern Greece) – “I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first fruits of Achaia)” – 1 Corinthians 16:15

He also speaks of believing Jews as having preceded Gentiles into the kingdom as a holy first fruit to the Lord – “For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.” – Romans 11:16

“… that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” – Acts 26:23

‘First Fruits’ believers are a testimony to God’s power in salvation.  They are His first born, redeemed by Christ’s blood.

The last of the New Testament references to first fruits relates to the 144,000 Israelite witnesses in the coming great tribulation.  “These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.” – Revelation 14:4

Beautiful and pointed though these metaphors may all be, they in no way lessen our responsibility to honor God with our own first fruits, tithes and offerings.

It is also an opportunity to worship the Lord and in so doing, support the work of others.

We must approach God with open hands – not clenched fists.

Giving our first fruits back to God reminds us that He is first in our lives.  It shows God that we are obedient to Him and that we are indeed thankful for all His many blessings.

click here for: Book of Malachi – End Times Prophecy