What other scriptures highlight the concept of offering firstfruits to God? Leviticus 19:24 in Focus “In the fourth year all its fruit must be consecrated as an offering of praise to the LORD.” Firstfruits Established in the Torah • Exodus 22:29 — “You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.” • Exodus 23:19 — “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the LORD your God.” • Exodus 34:26 — “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.” • Leviticus 2:12 — “You may present them to the LORD as an offering of firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma.” • Leviticus 23:10, 17 — “…bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain of your harvest… as firstfruits to the LORD.” • Numbers 15:20-21 — “From the first of your dough you are to present an offering to the LORD…throughout your generations.” • Numbers 18:12-13 — “I give to you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give to the LORD as the firstfruits of their harvest.” • Deuteronomy 18:4 — “You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first shearing of your sheep.” • Deuteronomy 26:2 — “Take some of the first of all the produce…put it in a basket, and go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His name.” Firstfruits Practiced in Israel’s Worship • Nehemiah 10:35-37 — “We will also bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the house of the LORD year by year…” • Nehemiah 12:44 — “Men were appointed over the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits, and tithes…” • 2 Chronicles 31:5 — “The Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and all the produce of the field.” Wisdom and Prophetic Echoes • Proverbs 3:9-10 — “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest; then your barns will be filled with plenty…” • Jeremiah 2:3 — “Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest.” • Ezekiel 44:30 — “The best of all the firstfruits and of every gift…will belong to the priests. You are also to give your first batch of dough to the priest, so that a blessing may rest on your house.” Firstfruits Fulfilled in Christ and the Church • Romans 11:16 — “If the first part is holy, so is the whole; if the root is holy, so are the branches.” • 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 — “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” • Romans 8:23 — “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption…” • James 1:18 — “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.” • Revelation 14:4 — “These…have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.” Living the Principle Today • Recognize God’s ownership of every harvest—material and spiritual. • Give Him the first and best, not the leftovers. • Trust His promise of provision (Proverbs 3:9-10) as you mirror His generosity. |
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