“Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10
By giving the firstfruit (the first and the best), it means we are glorifying the Lord with our wealth. Malachi 1:13-14, the Lord reveals that the value and amount of our offering to Him illustrates how much we love and fear the Lord. The fear of the Lord that is expressed through our giving will bless us in abundance, like what Abraham experienced, Genesis 22:11-18.
Giving the firstfruit is also an example of the Father God. Our Father has given us what is best, the most precious, Jesus Christ for us, 1 Corinthians 15:20. A few of the characters in the Bible that gave offerings based on the principle of the firstfruit are: Abel, who offered a sacrifice of the first born of his flock, Genesis 4:4, and the widow from Zarephath who put Elijah first by giving him her last servings of food, 1 Kings 17. This widow is the only widow in Israel who survived the great famine of the land, Luke 4:25-26.
There are many that think firstfruit is given one time, like when we receive our first income – when we start a business or a new job. But Nehemiah 10:35 says: “And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord.” It turns out that we need to bring the firstfruits every year to the Lord.
Be determined to be obedient in doing the Lord’s command to give the firstfruits. Do it wholeheartedly, trust in the Lord’s guidance and give thanks. He will take care, bless, increase and expand to a very large capacity, because He is a God of increase, Psalm 115:14.
The impact of giving firstfruits is that we will experience God’s abundant blessing, Proverbs 3:9-10. We will never be in lack. Other blessings include how our household and all that is in it will be blessed by the Lord, Ezekiel 44:30. We will also go to the next level of faith. Giving an offering with an amount we are used to may not feel too difficult, but giving a large amount needs a higher level of faith to be able to believe and trust our lives to the Lord. When we pass this test of obedience, we will enter a new dimension of faith and we will receive abundant anointing from the Lord. Other than the blessings mentioned, we will also be able to rebuke the spirit of mammon, Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13. Money is the Lord’s main rival in the hearts of people. By boldly giving our firstfruits, we are rebuking the spirit of mammon.
When we boldly step into a deeper place by giving our firstfruits, we will see breakthrough after breakthrough happening in our lives. Amen.
Taken from an article from GBI Gatot Subroto, Jakarta