Firstfruits

 

“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.”

—Exodus 23:19

More practical than connoisseur, my father balked at the idea that the first run from his farm’s sugarbush was the “best” maple syrup of the season. He reacted because all of the runs of sap produced good syrup. And, all product relied on the same productive quality: hard physical labor. Even so, that first production run of maple syrup bears the name “Fancy” because of its somewhat lighter quality.

The Bible has much to say about the “first,” when comparing it to the “best.” We read of the “firstborn,” the “first day of the week” (Resurrection Day), and of course, “firstfruits.”

The prophet Malachi has much to say about the offerings God’s people were bringing into the Temple to present to Him. Please take note the warning that God gave His people, as found in Malachi 1:12-13, and as paraphrased by Eugene Peterson in The Message.

“Instead of honoring me, you profane me. You profane me when you say, ‘Worship is not important, and what we bring to worship is of no account,’ and when you say, ‘I’m bored—this doesn’t do anything for me.’ You act so superior, sticking your noses in the air—act superior to me, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies! And when you do offer something to me, it’s a hand-me-down, or broken, or useless. Do you think I’m going to accept it? This is GOD speaking to you!” ¹

This passage of Scripture reminds me of what the mother of a children’s choir member I once taught said to me when I required better attendance at rehearsals than I received:

“It’s only church, for heaven’s sake!”

She really didn’t understand. Far too many of us need to pause and consider what we offer to God. “Good enough” is simply not acceptable to Him.

One of the first stories in the Bible reveals the offerings that Cain and Abel brought to God. According to Genesis 4:3-5:

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

This failure to bring God the very best—the firstfuits—and to offer God precisely what He required resulted in jealousy instead of humility and repentance. And, this jealousy led to the first murder in history!

Whether it is the first hour of our day, or the first day of our week, the first chunk of our paycheck, or the first consideration of our labor, if we call ourselves Christians, all of those “firstfruits” belong to the Lord.

From beginning to end, the Scriptures repeat that admonition. In Revelation 2:4, God spoke to one of the earliest congregations:

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.”

This first month of another new year gives us a great time to review our offerings, along with our attitudes toward all that we have and do. Have we determined that the best of the things we have and do belong to God? Can we say with the ancient hymn:

“Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.” ²

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1 Peterson, Eugene. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, Carol Stream, IL: Nav Press, 2002.

2 Be Thou My Vision, ancient Irish hymn, translated by Mary E. Byrne. Text in the Public Domain.