What other scriptures highlight the significance of giving God our first and best? Setting the Scene: Nehemiah 10:35 “We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the LORD each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.” The returned exiles pledge to give God the first and best of what the land produces. This principle is woven all through Scripture. Echoes from the Law • Exodus 23:19 — “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.” • The command is explicit: the “best” and the “first” belong to Him. • Leviticus 23:10 — “When you enter the land … bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest.” • The entire harvest is acknowledged as God-given by dedicating its opening portion. • Numbers 18:12-13 — “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the LORD as the firstfruits.” • The Levites’ provision depends on Israel’s faithfulness in firstfruits—spiritual worship supports spiritual ministry. • Deuteronomy 26:1-11 — Israel presents a basket of firstfruits while rehearsing God’s saving acts. • The practice links giving with gratitude and redemptive history. Wisdom Literature’s Counsel • Proverbs 3:9-10 — “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your harvest; then your barns will be filled … your vats will brim over.” • A direct promise connects honoring God first with His abundant supply. • Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof.” • Because everything already belongs to Him, returning the first and best simply recognizes reality. Prophetic Reminders • Malachi 1:6-14 — The LORD rebukes priests for offering blemished sacrifices: “Try offering them to your governor!” • Anything less than the best dishonors His great name. • Malachi 3:8-10 — “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse… Test Me in this.” • Withholding firstfruits is equated with robbing God; generosity invites His open-heaven blessing. • Ezekiel 44:30 — “The first of all the firstfruits… shall be for the priests, so that a blessing may rest on your household.” • Giving first ensures a household-level blessing. New Testament Fulfillment and Practice • Matthew 6:33 — “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” • The principle of first continues—now centered on Christ’s kingdom. • 1 Corinthians 15:20 — “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” • God Himself gave His best—His Son—as the firstfruits guaranteeing a greater harvest of resurrected believers. • Romans 12:1 — “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” • In Christ, the “first and best” expands beyond produce to our very lives. • 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 — Cheerful, generous giving is still met with divine sufficiency “for every good work.” • The heart posture mirrors the Old Testament firstfruits spirit. Bringing It Together Scripture consistently treats the first and best as God’s rightful portion—from crops in the Law, to wholehearted devotion in the prophets, to Christ Himself in the Gospel, and finally to our daily lives in the church age. Honoring Him first acknowledges His ownership, expresses gratitude, fuels worship, supports ministry, and positions us to experience His promised blessing. |
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