“Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.” - (Ex 22:29-30)(KJV)
In the book of Genesis, we see Cain’s offering of “fruit of the ground” rejected by God. God will not accept even our feeble attempts at honoring Him if not done His way. The Genesis text records His rebuke of Cain – “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” (Ge 4:7). The clear implication is that Cain’s sacrifice was not satisfactory, but we are not completely sure why – other than we –know- that Abel gave of the firstlings of his flock, and the fat. This week’s text sheds additional light!
It would seem that Cain’s offering was simply a sample of his harvest – whereas our God- as we see here, requires that we offer the FIRST FRUITS of everything that we receive from His hands back to Him. Abel clearly showed the Law written in his heart by giving of the firstlings of his flock. God does not accept our sloppy seconds. He is to be served as He is worthy, with the very best that we can give back to Him. In fact, the scripture is even more urgent, in that it tells Israel not to DELAY offering the first of their fruits (and the word liquors is better understood as juices – from oil/grapes etc.). He does not want rotten first fruits either!
In later ordinances (Exodus 23:15-17) we see that the Lord actually codified these Laws into two feasts – the feast of FirstFruits, and the Feast of Ingathering. As its name indicates, the Feast of Firstfruits marked thanksgiving to God for the firstfruits of the harvest — in this case, the grain and cereal harvested in the spring in ancient Palestine. At this festival, the Israelites offered the very first sheaf of the harvest and were not allowed to eat anything from the crop until they gave its initial portion to the Lord (Lev 23:9–14). Fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits was the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost (from the Greek term pentekostos, or fiftieth), which was the grand celebration at the end of the grain harvest. On this occasion, the offerings of food and animals to the Lord were more lavish (Lev. 23:15–22), an appropriate way to thank Him for the tremendous bounty He had provided. The Feast of Firstfruits actually took place during the week-long Passover celebration (Lev. 23:4–8), on the first day after the Sabbath that occurred in the midst of the week (vv. 9–11). Pentecost occurred fifty days after that Sabbath (vv. 15–16) and marked the culmination of what started at the Feast of Firstfruits.
We now begin to see shades of additional meaning… Our Lord Yeshua, was the FirstFruit of all Humanity. He rose from the dead on that very same day that the Feast of First Fruits was to be celebrated! The Apostle Paul sets his seal on this in 1 Cor 15:20 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” The giving of the Holy Spirit on the very day of Pentecost ushered in the period of the Harvest and the Ingathering to the Lord of those that He labored to save… and His laborers are still working in those white fields, till the End of this Age!
Not only that, we see further color in the requiring of the redemption of the firstborn male child of every Israelite. When God asked Moses to first observe the Passover, He told Him explicitly “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.” (Ex 13:2) Why? He Himself explains it… “And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: 1And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem. 16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt (Ex 13:14-16).
This ordinance was given to remind the Israelites every year of the terrible price paid for their redemption in Egypt. It also should remind us of the price paid for our redemption – the sacrifice of God’s Only Begotten Son! He gave us His Firstborn, is it any wonder that He requires our best?
As we have pointed out in our study on Tithing, God requires you give Him everything you have including your firstborn! Jesus commands His disciples to sell everything they have and follow Him. He even says (metaphorically Lk:14:26) if you do not hate even your own life, you cannot be His disciple! This is NOT meant to be taken literally, but means that we should value God over everything we are attached to… money, possessions, relationships, our own fleshly desires… in our all consuming passion for Him!. We can do that only through the indwelling of His Spirit! Tithing was a practice instituted to support the Levitical priesthood (who had no inheritance in Israel), but Giving to God is much, much bigger than that!
A last point of interest, all Jewish males were to be circumcised on the eighth day. (Genesis 17:12) We see the reinforcement of this commandment in the dedication of the offspring of the oxen and the flock. Seven days with its mother, then offered to God (or redeemed with money) on the Eighth day. What a beautiful parallel that constantly reminds Israel of God’s Covenant and Redemptive work for them.
He writes – He has done this so that – “It shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. (Ex 13:9). He has written all this down for us long before we were born to let us know that He is God and there is no other!
Our God is the provider of food for us and our flock, and of the rains from heaven which give our fields nutrition. Children are a gift from Him. He is ever present among us, and loves to remind us of His constant care and ultimate plan for our glorification as His children! Let us honor Him with the sacrifice of praise, by obedience to His commandments, through service to His people, and with the offerings of our best!
Hallelujah!