THE PRINCIPLE OF FIRSTFRUITS (Prov 3:9-10)

Proverbs 3:9-10 (KJV)
⁹  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: ¹⁰  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

The Principle/Law: Firstfruits determine ownership: whoever owns the firstfruits owns the whole.

In the Old Testament God required the firstfruits to be offered to Him. That’s the first part of the harvest of grains, grapes, olives, and other crops. It included the firstborn from among the herds and flocks, and even included an offering made on behalf of every firstborn son. It also included the tithe (10%) of all income.

Why? To signify that the LORD was the ultimate Owner of all; the firstfruits determined His ownership.

So if you wanted the LORD’s blessing, direction, provision, and protection on all your crops, herds, family, and finances (both business and personal), then you offered to Him the firstfruits, expecting Him to take responsibility and to bless the whole in return.

If, on the other hand you kept the firstfruits for yourself, you were saying to God that you would bear full responsibility for the whole.

Good luck with that.

Can you protect your herds from all predators, diseases, infertility, and stock prices? Can you handle everything that affects your crops such as diseases, locusts, thieves, drought, and flood? Can you raise your kids without the LORD taking the lead in your family? Is it a good idea to teach your children and neighbors that the LORD is secondary?

Don’t miss the point; don’t miss the blessing. Remember that God does all things well. He will always be wiser, stronger, kinder, more generous, and more loving than we are. We need this Partnership with the Almighty. We must have His guidance, protection, wisdom, blessing, and His grace.

So in terms of tithing, we give God 10%, and He blesses the whole.

But remember it’s the Principle of Firstfruits, not the principle of the Tithe.

If I want God’s blessing upon the whole, then I am required to give Him the FIRST 10%; that’s what sanctifies the whole, because it puts God First.

But wait; not only can I give Him the first of my blessings, I can also give Him the first of my problems, struggles, and needs. The Principle still holds; if He gets the firstfruits, He takes responsibility for the entire situation.

I can put Him first in my time, first in my affections, first in my loyalty, first in my marriage, first in my family, first in my finances, first in my possessions, first in my plans and goals, first in my 7-day week and my 24-hour day.

Whatever I put Him first in, I put Him in charge of. So with a clear conscience I get to live my life facing whatever comes whether good or bad, as a Partner (jr. partner) with God Almighty (Sr. Partner).

In fact, I can view my Christian life and work in these terms. My job is to find ways to drag the firstfruits of everything into the Kingdom of God, making Jesus Christ the Lord over it. If I can get the first parts to the Lord, the rest will follow.

If I can get people born again into His family, they are all His for all eternity. If in my preaching and teaching I can get people to put Him first in their hearts, then their service, time, lifestyle, and pocketbook will follow. If I can pray about a situation early and often, then all involved may be blessed from beginning to end.

And if I can put Him first in my own life, then I will keep the “First Commandment”, which is to love the LORD my God with all my heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. (Mark 12:28-30)

Ultimately, God isn’t asking if we’re willing to share our stuff with Him; He asks us if we are willing to put Him First in our lives.

But what gives God the right to your firstfruits and therefore the whole of all you have? Why should He come first in everything?

Well, everything comes from Him in the first place doesn’t it? What good thing do you have that you did not receive from the Lord?

But there is a deeper reason:

He has the right to demand that you put Him first because He has put you first.

He gave the Firstfruits of His own family, His Firstborn, His only begotten Son for you. And through the sacrificial offering of His own Firstfruits, He has also given you the whole of all blessing that we receive “in Christ”.

So we serve Him because He first served us.

We give to Him because He first gave to us.

We love Him because He first loved us.

We sacrifice for Him because He first sacrificed Himself for us.

We keep the First Commandment to love Him with everything we’ve got because He has already loved us with all His Heart, all His Mind, all His Soul, and all His Strength.

In light of the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving Him the firstfruits is the least we can do.

~Johnny
8-28-17

Blog: www.johnnydtaylor.com
Email: johnny@johnnydtaylor.com
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Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
King James Version, public domain.