FIRST FRUITS                                                                                       

The Principle of the First

Proverbs 3:9-10   Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.    NIV

Exodus 13:1-2    Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 "Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me."     New Living 

 

THE FIRST MUST BE SACRIFICED OR REDEEMED.

Exodus 13:12-13   You are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.     NIV

Malachi 3:8-12   "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.  "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the Lord Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the Lord Almighty.      NIV

THE FIRSTFRUITS MUST BE OFFERED.

Exodus 23:19    Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.      NIV

Genesis 4:2-5 When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. 3 When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5 but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.     New Living 

THE TITHE MUST BE FIRST.

Leviticus 27:30    'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.      NIV

Exodus 13:14-15     "And in the future, your children will ask you, 'What does all this mean?' Then you will tell them, 'With the power of his mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery. 15 Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the Lord killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the Lord—except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.'   New Living