What other scriptures support the practice of giving firstfruits to God? The Heart Behind Firstfruits Nehemiah 10:36 shows a people freshly committed to covenant life: “We will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our livestock… to the house of our God, to the priests ministering there”. The same impulse—to give God the first and the best—threads through the rest of Scripture. Firstfruits in the Law • Exodus 23:19 — “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.” • Exodus 34:26 — Repeats the mandate as Israel prepares to re-enter covenant after the golden-calf incident, emphasizing renewed devotion. • Leviticus 23:10-14 — The “sheaf offering” opened the harvest season; Israel could not eat the new grain “until the very day you bring this offering to your God.” • Numbers 18:12-13 — Firstfruits belong to the LORD and are assigned to the priests; giving sustains ministry and honors God’s ownership. • Deuteronomy 18:4 — Firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, and wool support the priests and Levites, keeping worship central. • Deuteronomy 26:1-11 — A liturgy of gratitude: worshipers place firstfruits in a basket, recount God’s rescue, and rejoice before Him. Historical Practice in Israel’s Story • 2 Chronicles 31:4-10 — Under Hezekiah, Judah “generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil, honey, and all the produce of the fields,” filling storehouses. • Nehemiah 12:44 — Post-exilic leaders appoint men “over the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits, and tithes,” showing organized, ongoing obedience. Wisdom Literature’s Call • Proverbs 3:9-10 — “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your harvest; then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.” The principle is linked to divine blessing and daily trust. Prophetic & Priestly Reinforcement • Ezekiel 44:30 — “The first of all the firstfruits… shall belong to the priests,” previewing faithful worship in a restored temple vision. New Testament Echoes While the New Testament shifts the imagery toward Christ and believers, the pattern of giving God the first and best remains: • Romans 11:16 — “If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch,” applying the firstfruits principle to Israel’s remnant. • 1 Corinthians 15:20 — Christ Himself is “the firstfruits” of the resurrection, guaranteeing the full harvest to come. • James 1:18 — Believers are “a kind of firstfruits,” offered to God in new creation life. • Revelation 14:4 — The redeemed are presented “as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb,” spotlighting wholehearted consecration. Bringing It Home Today Across Scripture, firstfruits giving consistently means: • God gets first place, not leftovers. • The act is tangible gratitude for redemption and provision. • It fuels worship and ministry. • It anticipates greater harvests—material in the Old Covenant, spiritual and eternal in the New. Seen through this sweep of passages, Nehemiah 10:36 is no isolated command but part of a rich, continuous call to honor the Lord with the first and best of everything He supplies. |
    |