Read: Leviticus 23:9-14 NLT – Celebration of First Harvest – Then the – Bible Gateway
“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest.” Leviticus 23:10 NLT.
Isn’t it always a pleasure to get that first cup of fresh coffee just brewed. How about that first slice of pizza coming out of a brick oven, or those warm gooey chocolate cookies cooling on the tray. Nothing beats the taste of those fresh products. They are in the freshest and best state they will be in and we appreciate being able to enjoy them before they become day old. They are the first and best.
Have you ever thought about God wanting our first and best? Ancient Israel hadn’t thought of it either until they were about to settle in the Promised Land. God gave them instructions for the festivals they were to celebrate in worship to Him. There were seven in total with the Festival of First Fruits occurring on the second day of the feast of Unleavened Bread. This would be the month of Nisan on the Jewish calendar in the spring of the year. Israel was to dedicate the first portion of the earliest barley crop to God. The first fruits belonged to God. It symbolized consecrating the entire future harvest to the creator God for all things belong to Him. Israel anticipated a successful future crop through faith in the Lord God.
Israel was to bring the first and best to the Lord of their crops during the Feast of First Fruits, but this also filtered down to all that God had blessed them with. They were to give the first and best of their entire substance to support the work of the Temple and the priests. “You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time.” (Dt.18:4 nlt) The Lord is the creator of everything and all that we have is from the hand of God.
The Lord God wants the first and best from all who follow Him. It is a form of worship as it was for ancient Isarel that each of us give back a portion of what God has blessed us with. We need to remember it’s all His anyway, we are only stewards of what he has given us to manage. It’s not just our finances and material goods God wants, he doesn’t need the money, but He also desires the first and best of our time and talents as well. May we give the Lord that first fresh cup of coffee.
Word for the Soul 