We hear the term in church or in Christian circles that God wants our “first fruits”. What does this mean? We see the first example of what God wants in the book of Genesis 4. Here, the Lord accepts the offering of Abel but not of Cain (4:5). Though we do not know why one was accepted over the other, we know Abel made an offering to God from the best of his flock (4:4) while Cain offered vegetation from the ground. Did God base his acceptance on “what” the men had to offer? No. Since all was God’s creation, and as he can produce anything he wants, the problem of Cain’s offering was his heart.
When we look at the character of God throughout the scriptures, we see that he is not concerned with materials. As stated, God does not need anything from us materially, instead he wants us to place him first in our lives. This concerns our finances, our time, our efforts along with anything else we can provide for this world. We see this throughout the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.
“What are all your sacrifices to Me?”
asks the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I have no desire for the blood of bulls,
lambs, or male goats. (Isaiah 1:11)
Here, God no longer wants the sacrifices of his people (Jewish people) because they continued to sin and no longer held him in their heart, pursuing what is right instead of their own sinful desires. It is a larger subject to discuss but the role of the sacrifices as a whole was the expression of their love for God and their obedience. For generations his people fell into the pit of considering sacrifices as an act for the payment for sin, instead of reconciliation. Like our own personal relationships with one another, to reconcile is to make things right again. It’s a time of admitting fault with a yearning to reconnect. The sacrifice by the Jewish people was in the form of an animal, and not just any animal, an animal with the greatest value to them. Giving God what is of the greatest value with no hesitation meant he was first in their life, despite what they would give away. Even more sad, the people who held out, never allowed God to replenish and add to what they sacrificed to him.
Later in the Gospels Jesus reiterated the same principle.
Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning His disciples, He said to them, “I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving t0 the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed—all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44)
“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
What we provide God is where our heart is. Does this mean if we pay a bill before a tithe that God will not accept it? No. First fruits simply means that in our hearts we recognize all comes from God and our act of giving is not an obligation but an action that strengthens our relationship with God to keep him in front and center in our lives.
