Our First Fruits

In the Old Testament, bringing first fruits to the Lord was a practice that symbolized gratitude, acknowledgement and trust in God’s provision. It was a way for individuals to offer the first and best of their harvest or income as an act of thanksgiving. By giving the first fruits, people recognized God’s sovereignty over all aspects of their lives and demonstrated their willingness to honour Him with their resources. The practice of bringing the first fruit offering before the LORD goes all the way back to the first pages of the Bible when the brothers Cain and Abel brought the fruits of their work. Cain being a farmer, brought some fruits from his harvest and his younger brother being a rancher, brought the fat portions of his cattle. However, God accepted the sacrifice of Abel, whereas, Cain did not experience the same acceptance. Cain was angry that his brother was accepted and he was not and his face was downcast.

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Genesis 4:6-7 (NIV)

While Cain was worried about his offering not being accepted by God, the LORD was warning him about something more urgent. The crouching animal that lays at the doorway of our hearts who is ready to pounce on our weakness, in Cain’s case his inability to do what is right. Cain pays no attention to God’s warning and invites his brother to go out to the fields with him, where he murders Abel. Interestingly, even though God is warning Cain to resist the temptation of letting sin into his heart, Abel does not get any such warning about his brother’s intentions. It is God’s grace that protected Cain even after he was banished from His presence and his clan turned out to be one of the most artistic and creative people amongst their contemporaries.

A similar pattern of God’s grace is observed throughout the scriptures where the person doing the right thing gets killed, whereas, the offender is left to live on even after committing the egregious act. Stephen who was a faithful apostle of Christ was stoned to death for his faith, yet the guy presiding over his execution was spared by God to carry on in his destructive ways. However, sometime later, on the road to Damascus, Jesus blinded Paul only to give him true sight, making him one of the most powerful workers for God in the process.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

People have their own interpretations of why God looked upon Abel with favour and apply their learnings when bringing their tithes and offerings before Him, so as not to suffer the same fate as Cain. For some, the takeaway seems to be that God wanted the first fruits and not some leftovers which they believe is what Cain would have given. So they bring the first fruits of their lives not out of love but out of fear of God’s wrath. They give Him their first salaries, their first crops and even dedicate their first child for God’s work. Some think that Abel placed utmost importance on his sacrifice to God while for Cain it was only an afterthought. So they prepare their hearts to give Him nothing short of the absolute best in their lives. They point to countless verses from the Old Testament that prescribe the first fruit offerings to justify their stand.

“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Exodus 23:19 (NIV)

Often this turns out to be a monotonous activity for people, as some simply look for opportunities to donate their ten percent and be done with it. Without doing their due diligence, they give their offerings to some random person thinking that they are helping God in extending His Kingdom. This type of attitude reveals their true intentions as they are treating their tithes as payment towards an insurance policy or unemployment benefits. In all of this, they don’t even stop to think what God wants from them or the plan He has for their lives. Both Samuel and David speak about this subject in their respective books.

Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 15:21 (NIV)

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Psalm 51:16-17 (NIV)

We give to God the first fruits of everything in our lives but hide the most important part of ourselves. He wants our heart in its true state. That’s the one thing He desires from us and yet we keep hiding our true self from Him. We put on a fake show of obedience and try to honour him with our outward deeds but our hearts are kept safely at a distance from Him lest He might soften our hardened hearts. So the caution that was given to Cain by the LORD, holds true for us as well. We must resist the temptation of sin and do what is right by coming to God with our honest hearts.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.

James 4:7-8 (NIV)

If we are hiding something from Him or some part of ourselves from Him then we are still under the influence of satan. Rather than hiding behind our first fruit offerings as a proxy for our hearts, let us bring to God our honest worship. Let our offering be not a formality that we get done towards the start of the month, but bring our true selves in His presence. Let us take heed to God’s advice to Cain and rule over sin rather than letting it dominate our thoughts. Above all, let us give God the first priority in our lives and allow Him to guide our paths.

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.

Genesis 4:7 (NIV)