October 13, 2011 – Firstfruits, not Leftovers
9 Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income; 10 So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine. – Proverbs 3:9-10 AMP
The Jewish Festival of Firstfruits is described in Leviticus Chapter Twenty-Three. It is one of the First Jewish festivals of the Hebrew year. The offering of firstfruits includes a wave offering, a burnt offering, and a grain offering. It is a feast to praise God for the bounty from the land. It was also in Joshua’s time the day when manna stopped falling from the sky on a wandering Israeli nation and also the first day they enjoyed the first fruit from the Promised Land after crossing the Jordan River (Joshua 5). Today’s passage, however, is about giving God our first and not our last.
I think many times this passage is either presented in a misleading way or even sometimes ignored. At one church we used to attend the pastor took up an annual firstfruits offering. This offering was drawn from the Jewish festival bearing the same name, and he would draw parallels to the Festival. The problem was that none of the members were farmers reaping a barley harvest. The congregation was much like all congregations today: consisting of ordinary people living from one paycheck to the next. On the day of the offering, the congregation was expected to plop down gobs of money. What was this offering used for? It was used for the pastor’s pet projects, like buying playground equipment or adding spaces to the parking lot. He used this offering to meet his own desires, which were disguised as the “needs” of the church. One would think that with a perception of respecting the Jewish faith that he would in turn observe other Jewish laws on finances as well. For example, by Levitical law every three years the tithes of the congregation were to be set aside for not only use by the priests, but also for the feeding of the widows, orphans, and strangers (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). This pastor did not observe this financial requirement. In fact, he shut down a food kitchen which was used to feed needy families under the pretense of inadequate staffing and abuse. I guess that requirement of feeding the needy failed to meet his ends.
In the same way the aforementioned pastor has abused the concept of firstfruits and his position just as Eli’s sons abused their priesthood in First Samuel Chapter Two, some of us simply ignore it. Abraham gave the first tithe in the Bible (Genesis 14:20). Abraham gave a tenth of the spoil from battle to Melchizedek. The problem is that many times today our tithe consists of one tenth of what we have left over after we pay our bills. Like Abraham, our tithe is meant to be based on all of our income as this passage says, and not that which is leftover after our creditors have taken their share. The best part of this passage is verse ten, because if we honor God with our first and best we shall be blessed with plenty.
Now there is no question that our tithe belongs in our local church. But anything that we give above and beyond that need not be confined within those walls, or even elsewhere on church property. There are ministries that outreach locally and even globally to those in need. You can donate food, time, as well as money to a local homeless shelter or orphanage. You can donate money to a ministry providing food, shelter, and clothing to children in third world countries. Just let God guide you and He will show you where He wants you to place your resources.
Our first ten percent is a first fruit in and of itself and should go to our church. If you want to help those in need afterwards, then by all means do it. Your first fruit to Him could be feeding a needy family down the street instead of buying playground equipment. It could be donating money to a church down the street that is raising funds to locally repair homes damaged by a natural disaster rather than giving to your own church for new parking spaces. I am by no means saying it is wrong to give to those causes inside your church, especially if you believe in them. But I am saying to be on the lookout and ask God what He wants you to do. He will tell you what is pleasing to Him and what a pork barrel fund is for a pastor. Make sure you always give God your first and best in everything, especially in the area of your finances. As for those in ministry seeking a slush fund for personal gain, they don’t even deserve our leftovers.
9 Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income; 10 So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine. – Proverbs 3:9-10 AMP
The Jewish Festival of Firstfruits is described in Leviticus Chapter Twenty-Three. It is one of the First Jewish festivals of the Hebrew year. The offering of firstfruits includes a wave offering, a burnt offering, and a grain offering. It is a feast to praise God for the bounty from the land. It was also in Joshua’s time the day when manna stopped falling from the sky on a wandering Israeli nation and also the first day they enjoyed the first fruit from the Promised Land after crossing the Jordan River (Joshua 5). Today’s passage, however, is about giving God our first and not our last.
I think many times this passage is either presented in a misleading way or even sometimes ignored. At one church we used to attend the pastor took up an annual firstfruits offering. This offering was drawn from the Jewish festival bearing the same name, and he would draw parallels to the Festival. The problem was that none of the members were farmers reaping a barley harvest. The congregation was much like all congregations today: consisting of ordinary people living from one paycheck to the next. On the day of the offering, the congregation was expected to plop down gobs of money. What was this offering used for? It was used for the pastor’s pet projects, like buying playground equipment or adding spaces to the parking lot. He used this offering to meet his own desires, which were disguised as the “needs” of the church. One would think that with a perception of respecting the Jewish faith that he would in turn observe other Jewish laws on finances as well. For example, by Levitical law every three years the tithes of the congregation were to be set aside for not only use by the priests, but also for the feeding of the widows, orphans, and strangers (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). This pastor did not observe this financial requirement. In fact, he shut down a food kitchen which was used to feed needy families under the pretense of inadequate staffing and abuse. I guess that requirement of feeding the needy failed to meet his ends.
In the same way the aforementioned pastor has abused the concept of firstfruits and his position just as Eli’s sons abused their priesthood in First Samuel Chapter Two, some of us simply ignore it. Abraham gave the first tithe in the Bible (Genesis 14:20). Abraham gave a tenth of the spoil from battle to Melchizedek. The problem is that many times today our tithe consists of one tenth of what we have left over after we pay our bills. Like Abraham, our tithe is meant to be based on all of our income as this passage says, and not that which is leftover after our creditors have taken their share. The best part of this passage is verse ten, because if we honor God with our first and best we shall be blessed with plenty.
Now there is no question that our tithe belongs in our local church. But anything that we give above and beyond that need not be confined within those walls, or even elsewhere on church property. There are ministries that outreach locally and even globally to those in need. You can donate food, time, as well as money to a local homeless shelter or orphanage. You can donate money to a ministry providing food, shelter, and clothing to children in third world countries. Just let God guide you and He will show you where He wants you to place your resources.
Our first ten percent is a first fruit in and of itself and should go to our church. If you want to help those in need afterwards, then by all means do it. Your first fruit to Him could be feeding a needy family down the street instead of buying playground equipment. It could be donating money to a church down the street that is raising funds to locally repair homes damaged by a natural disaster rather than giving to your own church for new parking spaces. I am by no means saying it is wrong to give to those causes inside your church, especially if you believe in them. But I am saying to be on the lookout and ask God what He wants you to do. He will tell you what is pleasing to Him and what a pork barrel fund is for a pastor. Make sure you always give God your first and best in everything, especially in the area of your finances. As for those in ministry seeking a slush fund for personal gain, they don’t even deserve our leftovers.
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