Exodus 34:26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 26:2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there.
Deuteronomy 26:10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the LORD your God and worship before the LORD your God.
Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Honour the Lord with thy substance, for as it should be a man’s own that he gives, and not another’s. A man’s “substance” are his wealth and riches. They should honour him with them by giving to the poor, especially his poor saints; for as an oppressing of them is a reproaching of him, so having mercy on them is honouring him, and especially by contributing to the support of his worship, and for the spread of the Gospel. God must have the best, and in the first place. (Gill)
The firstfruits were presented by every Israelite to the priests, in token of gratitude and humble thankfulness to Jehovah, and consisted of the produce of the land in its natural state, or prepared for human food. The “firstfruits” also carried with it the idea of the best. The injunctions also show that the honouring of God does not consist simply of lip service, of humility and confidence in him, but also of external worship, and in corporeal things. They are not peculiar to Israel, but are binding on all. They oppose all selfish use of God’s temporal gifts, and lead to the thought that, in obeying them, we are only giving back to God what are his own. (Unkown)
Giving, generosity, and unselfishness are attributes of a godly life and one that sees life this side of eternity in proper light. If we see that all that we have are gifts from God, why is it that we think they are ours, hoard them selfishly, and give them sparingly? Giving is a command but certainly should be a ready desire, an expectant want, and a willing ear to be guided by the Holy Spirit through quiet whispers to our hearts. The heart and mind must agree on giving. In order to do this one must not take hold of possessions too firmly. We have been given many blessings to be able to share with others. And it is a blessing to the soul of those who give generously. Can you out-give God? Learn to be a good steward of what is His and ask Him to guide your heart and mind toward an ever-increasing generosity toward others.
