Giving: First Fruits

Last week we started to talk about giving, and looked extensively at tithing. I believe we now have more knowledge on this topic, and we will enjoy tithing and the benefits of the same.

Today I want us to look at first fruits as a type of giving, and then later look at giving as a whole and learning about how to give cheerfully. If you missed on the teaching on tithing, I would urge to go back to the blog and read it, as most of the principles we will be talking about today will be a build-up to what we shared on regarding tithing.

2.     First fruits

This is simply the first increase of produce. Despite being extremely important to us and to God, it is also one of the most ignored areas of giving. For many, it is the same as tithing, and for others it is optional. Though it shares some similarities with tithing, it is not the same as tithing.  Let us learn more about first fruits from the scriptures.

Genesis 4:3-4

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. ⁴ Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. ⁶ So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?  ⁷ "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."  ⁸ Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

This is the first time the principle of first fruits is expressed, in the Bible. From this story of Cain and Abel, we learn several things:

• Cain and Abel gave the first fruit of their produce to the Lord. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, while Abel brought the first born of his flock and of their fat. As you can see, this is different from the tithe. As we said, the tithe is a tenth of your produce or earnings. If Cain and Abel brought a tenth of what they had earned, we would have been told so. The fact that it is just the first of their produce tells us that it is different from tithing. From this, we can learn something: while tithing is the tenth of your produce or earnings, first fruits are the first produce.

• As we saw while talking about tithing, tithing was given to and for man’s benefit, way before the law existed. This is the same thing for first fruits. This principle started with Cain and Abel, who were not under any law. There is no record of God introducing a law on giving the first fruit, either to Adam and Eve, or to Cain and Abel. We are just told that they gave. Of course, it must have come from God, He must have told them to give, otherwise on our own capacities as human beings we can never discern or align to God’s perfect will. Just like Abraham, these two were led by God to do so. You may say that it is a law, since God said so. If this were the case, Cain would have been punished for giving an unacceptable offering. The fact that he was not punished tells us that it was not like the law that was later given to the children of Israel, with which came stern consequences if they did not give. Later on we will talk about why Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted, and Abel’s accepted. 

As we saw in the last sermon on tithing, the law was given, among many other reasons, to help us understand God’s will or God’s standards. Though we are not under the law, we can understand God’s will and God’s standards from the law. Looking at the law, let us learn more about first fruits:

Leviticus 23:10-11, 14, 20

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.  ¹¹ 'He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

¹⁴ 'Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin.

²⁰ The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.

Numbers 18:8, 12-19

⁸ And the LORD spoke to Aaron: "Here, I Myself have also given you charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever.

¹² "All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their first fruits which they offer to the LORD, I have given them to you. ¹³ "Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it. ¹⁴ "Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. ¹⁵ "Everything that first opens the womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. ¹⁶ "And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, according to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. ¹⁷ "But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. ¹⁸ "And their flesh shall be yours, just as the wave breast and the right thigh are yours. ¹⁹ "All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it  is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you."

Deuteronomy 26:1-4, 10-11

"And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 "that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. ³ "And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, 'I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.' ⁴ "Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.

¹⁰ …'and now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.' Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God. ¹¹ "So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.

From the above texts, we learn that:

• The first fruits are the increase of the produce. Today, it is the first increase of every earning you get, wherever God positions you. As we have seen from the book of Deuteronomy, God told the children of Israel to start giving first fruits once they set foot in the land of Canaan, and present it to His house. As we have seen in Leviticus, He was talking about a “sheaf” of the first fruit. In modern day language, it simply means that whatever you receive from God in whatever new location He gives you, you have to give a portion of it in thanksgiving. Let me put it in practical terms. If you get a job or business, not having had one previously, you ought to give a portion of the first salary to God, as a thanksgiving offering for what you got. It is God who gives the measurement, so once you know about the principle; ask Him how much you should give, of your first produce, as a thanksgiving offering to Him. If you get a new job, the first increase to what you had previously is what you will give to God. For example, if you had a job paying you Kshs. 2,000 a month, and you get a new one paying you Kshs. 3,500, you ought to give Kshs. 1,500 to God, as that is your first increase. If you are in a job and get a promotion, this signifies new “territory,” and therefore your first increase belongs to the Lord. If you are in business, and you move in to a new venture, you should give a portion of your first earnings, as the Spirit leads. Do not limit the Spirit. Some are led to give 50%, others the whole of it, others 20% and so on. After that, you can continue with your earnings, giving tithes monthly, weekly or however often you get your earnings. The first fruit you give once, until you acquire new “territory,” while the tithe you give frequently, as often as you get your earnings. If you are a farmer, give a portion of your first produce to the Lord, as He leads, and this should be taken to His house. After that, you continue to enjoy your produce, and whatever increase you get belongs to God. For example, if in the first harvest you got 4 bags of maize, the Lord can lead you to give a bag or two, in thanksgiving, to Him. Might even be less. In the second harvest, when you get 5 bags of maize, the increase will be 1 bag of maize, which you ought to take to the house of the Lord. In the third harvest, if you get 6 bags, you ought to take 1 bag to the house of the Lord. In the fourth harvest, if you get 10 bags, you ought to take 4 bags to the house of the Lord. So it’s always a buildup to what you got the previous time, and the buildup always belongs to the Lord, as this is the increase. This is the principle of the first fruits.
  
  What this does is that it declares that since what you have given is holy, the rest that you have left will also be holy. This is the same principle that is applied in numerous places in the Bible, even calling us, believers the first fruits of God’s creatures (Jas 1:18), and Jesus the first fruit of those who fell asleep (1 Cor. 15:20). Let me repeat, the first fruit is what you give once, as the increase of your produce. Tithe is a tenth of all your earnings, that you give as often as you earn. The most important thing to note is that we ought to follow the leading of the Spirit. What I am doing is pointing out principles as pointed out in the scriptures, and expounding on them, but the Holy Spirit has the final say in your life. Remember, He never operates apart from His word. However you feel led, it has to align with the word of God. The first place to start is to get knowledge of these things, and then with that the Spirit can now guide you into more knowledge, and in your obedience.
  
  In Leviticus 23:14, we see that the measurements God gave for the first fruits were different from a tithe, so we cannot equate a tithe to first fruits. He mentioned measurements such as two-tenths, and one-fourth. We know that a tithe is a tenth of all earnings or produce.

• The first fruits were offered just like the tithe, where they were taken to the house of the Lord, and given to the priest. The priest heaved the offering before the Lord, thus consecrating it (making it holy). From this, we thus conclude that just like the tithe, the first fruit is a holy thing. Romans 11:16 tells us that “For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.” Because the first fruit is holy, the lump (the remainder after the first fruit is given) is also holy. So one of the benefits of giving a first fruit is that whatever you have left is consecrated to the Lord, and thus declared holy unto God. I do not know about you, but I want everything I have and continue earning to be consecrated to God, so for that reason I will give the first fruits of my earnings.
  
  Again, there is the temptation to assume that since all the scriptures we talked about were in the OT, so since we are not under the law we ought not to give first fruits. As we have seen, Cain and Abel were not under the law, yet they gave their first fruits. The principle still remains. The principle is that the first fruit consecrates whatever you have left.
  
  According to Numbers 18 as seen above, the first fruits, just like the tithes, is supposed to be food for the priests. It is given to the house of the Lord, where the Lord has ordained His name, as food for the priests and Levites. Even today, first fruits are taken to the house of the Lord, supposed to be food for the priests/ ministers of the Lord serving there.

• Building up to this, according to Numbers 18, the only thing that was supposed to be redeemed for money was first born children. All the rest were taken to the house of the Lord, to be food for the priests and the Levites. Today, whatever earnings or produce we receive in our new territories must be taken to the house of the Lord. Do not redeem something unless you are fully convinced by the Spirit to do so. For example, if you get a first born child, you ought to dedicate them to the Lord, as we have seen in the scriptures, and redeem them, as the Spirit leads, with an offering. This will be your first fruits. Whatever other things you get, take them to the house of the Lord, as the Spirit leads. You may say, “But isn’t this remaining under the law?” Notice, we are using the law to understand God’s principle, will and purpose. For example, just because we are not under the law, does it mean that we go killing, stealing and so on, as they were written under the law, and we have been delivered from the law? No. The law helps us to understand the standards and principles of God, and the Spirit helps us to walk in them, ensuring that we remain under grace.

Let us look at a few more benefits of first fruits:

Proverbs 3:9-10

Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase.  ¹⁰ So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

Ezekiel 44:30

"The best of all first fruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest's; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

2 Chronicles 31:4-10

Moreover he [Hezekiah] commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the LORD.  ⁵ As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first fruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.  ⁶ And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God they laid in heaps.  ⁷ In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month.  ⁸ And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel. ⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.  ¹⁰ And Azariah the chief priest, from the house of Zadok, answered him and said, "Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance."

• Like we said when talking about tithing, just like tithing, first fruits do not cause you to be blessed, but rather they position you to enjoy what God has released upon your life. In the OT, of course their obedience is what qualified them to be blessed. In the New Covenant, Jesus’ obedience and our faith in Him and in Abraham is what caused us to be blessed (Eph. 1:3, Gal. 3:9, 13-14, . We are blessed, and give first fruits to enjoy and walk in the blessing. We do so to position ourselves in God’s will and purpose, for us to enjoy what He has released for us.

• According to Proverbs 3:9, we see that giving of first fruits is also a way of honouring God. When you give first fruits, you are basically telling God, “I honour you.” A thousand words can express the same, but the giving of one first fruit says it loudest. A child can tell the parents they honour them, but if they never obey them, it does not make sense. A child who never tells their parents they honour them, yet obey them at all times, these parents will really feel like they are honoured. Actions speak louder than words. Show your honour to God by obeying His word, by giving your first fruits.

• 2 Chronicles 31 shows clearly that there is a difference between tithes and first fruits, where we see the children of Israel giving tithes and first fruits, and laying them before the chief priest. What the chief priest said after that is remarkable, that since they started bringing the offerings into the house of the Lord, the ministers of the temple had enough to eat and plenty left, FOR the Lord had blessed His people. This again emphasizes that we do not give to be blessed, but we give because we are blessed. Still, giving paves way for you to receive more. The children of Israel had so much that when they started giving in the 3^rd month, they finished in the 7^th month. All this time they were laying up heaps of their offerings at the temple, their first fruits and their tithes. Yet they never lacked. As we saw when talking about tithing, fear only comes to cripple your faith and hinder you from receiving from God. Fear does not even make sense. You are afraid that if you give you might not have enough left, would you have this fear if you had nothing to give in the first place? The God who gave you that thing that you are afraid to obey Him and give it back in His name is the God who is able to sustain you. Again, if He gave you 100% of what you have, and is asking for the first increase He gives you, the rest you keep, or a portion of the 100%, is He not able to give you more? We do not give with the motive of getting, but the reward of getting helps us fight off the fear of giving, that the devil brings through our flesh and thoughts. If you are waiting for what you have to be “enough” for you to give, then you might have to wait for a long while, as “enough” is never really “enough.” Obedience will pave way for you to receive more from God, and position you to see the manifestation of the blessing that has been poured out on you, in abundance (Eph. 1:3, Gal. 3:14). Giving of first fruits, as we also saw in tithing, will help you fight off the spirit of mammon that brings about greed and love of money. The spirit of mammon will always tell you to keep, while the Spirit of God will always tell you to give. Who do you want to obey? As we said, whoever you obey, you will become that one’s slave. You should take advantage of the first fruit offering, as, unlike the tithe, it may take longer to come by, especially if you are employed. I am not saying it will take long, I’m saying it will take longer than the tithe, as the tithe is more often.

Look forward for the next increase, so that you can express your honour to God by obedience in giving first fruits, exercise your faith and trust in God, position yourself to enjoy God’s blessings and make them manifest, position yourself for your barns to be filled and your vats to overflow with new wine and many more benefits that come through, and keep away  the spirit of mammon and fear by obeying God’s word. 

In the next part of this teaching we will talk about why Cain's sacrifice was rejected, and which lessons we can pick from this. We will also talk about what our attitude should be in giving, and how we can come to a place of enjoying giving, in general, also talking about how to know when the Spirit is leading you to give, as opposed to being hindered by fear. 

Blessings. 

-- Sam Gitonga. 


(17/08/14 Sunday Service Sermon, Teaching Transformation Ministry.) 

Brother Sam Gitonga is a Youth Leader at Teaching Transformation Ministry. We are located along the Thika-Ruai Flyover Junction (at the Thika Rd./ Bypass intersection), Next to Eastgate Restaurant.