Giving God the First Fruit
Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first-fruits of all your increase … So shall your barns be filled with plenty and your wine presses shall burst forth with new wine.
Proverbs 3:9-10
Recognizing God with the First Fruit
This verse is as true today as it was in the culture of the Old Testament. The principles are timeless and the promises are boundless. There are two specific commands that are given in this verse. First, honor God and secondly to give God the first fruits of all your increase. It was commanded by God that the children of Israel bring their first fruits as a sacrifice. In Exodus 23:16, this was a festive celebration, wherein the people of Israel rejoiced and gave thanks unto God. In our Church culture, we relate this to the tithe that we bring unto the Lord for His blessing. Please note that we are to celebrate in giving because this is the Lord’s first fruit and the command is to honor the Lord.
Yet long before the writings of Moses and Solomon, the patriarch Abraham had already given an example to follow in presenting the first fruits. Abraham was focused on honoring God. The Lord blessed him abundantly in the land that he considered himself a stranger and sojourner. This is not something that is done through constraint or that is forced upon an individual. It is to be done willingly and with the goal of paying recognition to Almighty God for His abundant blessing. The Lord blesses and so we in turn, bless the Lord. Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first-fruits of all your increase.
When we relate this to our personal lives, it is the giving of credit where credit is due. If it had not been for the blessings bestowed upon us, how would we be able to claim any success in life? How could we say that our hands have accomplished great things? How would you and I, mere mortals be able to point to our successes and say, “my hands have produced this work?” No, the sensible person would not do that. We would gladly recognize where the blessings have come from. “If it had not been the Lord, who was on my side, where would I be?” That would be the confession for the person of faith.
This is not what we are seeing in our “grab it and go culture.” Not only is this culture denying God as the Great Grantor of every good and perfect gift, this culture is taking those same gifts and offering them to the gods they have made. Those who have achieved fame and fortune must find some way to express their accomplishment so they do so by holding ceremonies that praise themselves.
The Bible warns us that in the last days, men shall become lovers of themselves more than lovers of God. In 2 Timothy 3:2-5, Paul warns that men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good … traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God … having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. That, for the most part, describes the culture in which we live. But the practice of tithing counters that culture by giving honor to God. It is far more than dropping money into the offering plate. This is the practice of humbling ourselves and turning our attention to the One Who has given us everything. Then giving Him back that holy portion lest we should become like those who are caught up in the “grab it and go culture.”
The Bible tells of a pagan king in the Old Testament that was warned in a dream that he should change his way of living and give thanks to God. King Nebuchadnezzar was monarch over the known world in his day. According to Daniel Chapter 4, God warned Nebuchadnezzar in a dream that if he did not change his ways, he would be driven from among men and become insane for seven years. Daniel gave him a simple remedy to demonstrate his sincerity to God. Daniel 4:27, the king was told to stop sinning and do what is right … break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor … perhaps then you will continue to prosper. Well, that advice was followed for a short time, but then Nebuchadnezzar had one of those urges to praise himself. He began to boast about all his greatness and what his hands had done and before he could finish his self-ranting, an angel from heaven announced to that he was sentenced to seven years of insanity. All it would have taken to avoid the tragic outcome would have been for him to humble himself and honor God. Honoring God is not complicated. Solomon simply says, take your substance and give a portion to God. Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first-fruits of all your increase.
The First Fruit is More than The Tithe
Each opportunity that we are given to present our tithes and offerings is an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks to God for His blessing upon our lives. Yet it is more than that. Notice there is a promise accompanying this act. So shall your barns be filled with plenty and your wine presses shall burst forth with new wine. As is stands, those who honor God will in turn be honored by God. There are two promises that follow the obedience to the two commands. The first promise is that your barns will be filled. In other words, the capacity of a person’s life will be filled. This could mean a job becoming more productive. This could mean a home receiving God’s abundance. It could mean the beginning of an entirely new career. When a person is obedient to God’s Word, God will honor that. It may not happen instantly, but it will happen. I call this God’s improvement plan for you to become more fruitful and productive. As we give, God turns around and blesses our giving. How incredible is that!
There is a second promise in the verse. God will cause the wine presses to burst forth with new wine. That statement could also be rendered, your wine vats will overflow with good wine. It should not be so incredible that the Giving God we serve, will give good things to those who seek Him. As a matter of fact, Psalm 84:11 promises that no good thing will God withhold from those who walk uprightly. Those who honor God will also be honored by God. This is the law of the First Fruit. When the two commands are followed to honor God and give the first fruits, the two promises will be accomplished where God will fill the believer’s life and cause their wine presses to burst out with new wine. But wait, I don’t have a wine press. So, how could this verse apply to me? Here is where the Law of the First Fruit becomes interesting.
The Lord gave the Apostle Paul the revelation of how the first fruit applies to New Testament believers. It is not required that you have barns or that you own a wine press. You simply need to Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first-fruits of all your increase … So shall your barns be filled with plenty and your wine presses shall burst forth with new wine. When believers engage in honoring God and living their lives through giving they will be honored with God’s rewards.
In Romans 11:16, the Apostle Paul simply states, if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches. What does that mean? Paul used that illustration to demonstrate that God would bless the rest of Israel with the Gospel, since the first fruit had begun with the Jews. Within that same context, we can see that if God demonstrates His favor on what is presented to Him, that means He also shows His favor on the whole from whence it was taken. What many believers both in the New and Old Testament did not realize is that when the tithe was presented, that automatically sanctified the entire crop. If the first fruit is presented then the entire “lump” from whence the first fruit came, is also blessed. Since Abraham was blessed, that means that his descendants will also be blessed. What a tremendous concept of God’s rewards!
The blessing of the first fruits is that God considers everything we possess to be under His Covenant promises. Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first-fruits of all your increase … So shall your barns be filled with plenty and your wine presses shall burst forth with new wine. As we present our gifts to honor God, the Lord blesses that token and also the lump that it came from. The same God that blesses the tithe also blesses the ninety percent that remains because He is God over the Blessed. Three truths can be gleaned from this verse.
First, recognizing God through giving is the best way to honor God. While it is certainly appropriate to praise the Lord with our lips, it does not change the fact that we are to honor God with our actions. No one would have anything to give unless God has first given. Why not honor God? Is there any better way to honor God than to give back to Him what He gave to you? Yes, honor God.
The second profound truth is that God rewards those who honor Him. Some people are living on the blessing system. Any way you bless me Lord is alright with me is the go-to process for those who don’t understand the deeper meaning of tithing. Those who honor God with their substance have entered into a Covenant with God in giving. They will reap the rewards as God sows back into their lives of His bounty. Even the devil recognized that God was blessing Job for his faithfulness. Satan asked the Lord, “are you blessing Job for no reason? … but now take away your blessing and Job will curse you to your face.” If the devil recognized that Job honored God and was blessed for that faithfulness, why can’t we grasp the concept? Honor the Lord with your substance and watch how God rewards faithfulness.
The third profound truth is that honoring God with the tenth brings favor and reward on everything else. That is God’s Abundant rewards system. To put it in the words of the old hymn, “You can’t beat God giving – no matter how you try.” God eagerly awaits anyone who will honor His Word and recognize His Covenant. The offering of the first fruit is truly the way to live for those who choose to walk in obedience to Christ.
God bless you until next time.