“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord our God” (Exodus 23:19 NKJV).
Some friends and I visited a tea estate in Darjeeling, India. This district is one of the most famous tea producing regions in the world, and this plantation is well-known.
The owner of the estate was present, and when employees informed him of my visit he came down to greet us and invited us to have a cup of tea with him.
Before he served the tea he told us a little about the various grades and the methods of production which he employs. The very young top leaves of the tea bush are cut once each week for a period of ten months. Then the bush is allowed to rest for two months.
The very finest flavor, according to this expert, is found in the first cutting of each year. Those are the tenderest leaves with the most delicate aroma and taste.
Having thus educated us, he then poured us each a cup of that cutting, called the “First Blush” of the season.
After we left the estate I was amused at the reaction of my companions. They immediately began laughing at the “colored water” we had been served, plainly preferring a stronger more robust flavor. Those leaves which sold at a high price to other markets were useless to them.
A basic principal of Old Testament worship was that the firstfruits belong to God. What were those firstfruits?
The phrase is often applied literally, meaning that which is first produced. The first male calf, the first male child, and the first grain harvested from the field are all firstfruits. God taught Israel that this portion of their production was to be given to him.
In New Testament worship and service, we are to honor God early and often. We should not put off spiritual matters until the end of the day, when we have finished all other priorities, and give him the scant remains.
Let us give him the firstfruits of our time, talents and resources.
But the meaning of the word does not end there. “First” sometimes indicates chronological order. However, it may also indicate value or importance. That which is first in our lives may not receive our immediate attention, but that does not detract from its value to us.
This definition of firstfruits is given in Numbers 18:12:
“All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you.”
The first of the harvest was to be the best of the harvest. Only the best could be offered to God.
We too must give God the best. When ancient Israel offered defective animals to God as a sacrifice, the prophet Malachi proclaimed:
“And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably? says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:8).
Christians today do not offer animal sacrifices in worship. But we understand that the same principle applies. Worship is the honoring and exalting of God.
One does not honor another by giving them defective presents. We would not so treat our loved ones at Christmas, nor our employers or governmental authorities. And we must not treat God in that way either.
When we give to God let us give him our first and our best. Let us show him our respect and our love. He cannot be worshiped with anything less.