Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits
of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats
will brim over with new wine. ~Proverbs 3:9-10
“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.” ~Malachi 3:10
Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly, and whoever reaps generously will also reap generously. Each man
should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ~1 Corinthians 9:6-7
Do you ever wonder why God places so much importance
on our giving of the first part of what we receive as income? Why isn’t it good
enough to just give what we think we can afford after all our bills are paid? Why
the first portion?
It may be difficult for we who live in a less agrarian
society to understand the significance of giving the first of your increase. We
are used to receiving a paycheck every week or two, or perhaps once a month.
Since we receive it all at once, It’s hard to know exactly what the, “first
fruits,” are. Perhaps a couple of examples of what is meant here will help us
understand better what is being asked for, or actually commanded.
Let’s suppose you are the proud owner of a ewe. For
those of you who are not sheep farmers, that’s a female sheep who has had a
lamb. Now, she has just had her first It’s her first lamb, and, according to the
Law, it belongs to God. It’s a beautiful little thing, perfect in every way. It
could produce a lot of wool for you to sell in its future. Now, you have to
decide, you know that you are supposed to give that lamb to God, but what if
your ewe gets sick this year and dies and doesn’t produce any more lambs? What
if something else happens. The future is so unknown! What is known is that you
have this beautiful little lamb. Can you trust God for another to replace it?
Let’s say you bring in the first of your crops. They
look pretty good. You know that the rainy season is nipping on the heals of the
harvest. Will God really hold off the rain so that you can get it all in before
it starts? If you can’t collect all of your harvest, your family might starve. You
may not have enough to sell so that you can provide for your family’s needs. Those
first stalks of grain and bunches of grapes would bring in a very good price at
the market. Can God really be trusted to protect and provide for a whole year
until the harvest comes again? Can you afford to give away that first valuable portion?
Do you see how, in both of these cases, God is calling
for a demonstration of trust and dependence on Him? That is how you honor Him
with what you give. You are telling Him, Lord, I know you’ll take care of me. I
want to honor You with the first of what you have provided because You have
promised that you’ll take care of me and I know I can trust that promise.
Realize further, that when you brought your offering
to God in the temple, the priest was going to take his share, while you may be
drooling wishing you could eat it. And then the priest was going to put the
rest on the altar where you could watch all your hard-earned income go up in smoke!
In one way, if you’re not trusting God, but feeling obligated to fulfill the law,
that experience could be quite distressing. But if you are trusting God, you
can be a cheerful giver and think of your offering this way, you’re so rich you
have money to burn!
What is amazing to me is that, while He calls us to
honor Him, if we will, He promises to bless us. David testifies to God’s
faithfulness when he says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen
the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25) God is
faithful when we honor Him. He has promised to do so, and you can take His
promises to the bank.
Prayer: Lord, I really want to give you the best of everything I have You are worthy. And I can completely trust you to take care of me. Let me show you my trust, by the ways I give of my time, my talents, and my treasures, in Jesus' name, amen.
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