Troublesome Topic: The Firstfruits Taught Faith and Trust
Lesson 4 of 7God told His people He wanted the first part of what was produced. I’m sure it was very difficult to take the first calf of each cow to the temple and sacrifice it, not knowing if the next one would be as healthy, or if there would even be a next one. The very first part of a grain harvest belonged to the Lord. We can be sure that those farmers who obeyed the laws about the firstfruits eagerly watched the nightly weather report because a rain at that stage of the process would ruin the rest of the crop.
Why couldn’t they just harvest the entire crop and then give some of it to God? They were expected to do that too in the form of a tithe. But this was one more tool God used to teach them faith and trust.
He knew that to learn faith they must be forced to exercise faith.
We learn in the same way.
Besides teaching faith and trust, the Firstfruits also taught that God comes first. If God comes first, then don’t give Him your leftovers. If someone claims that God is his Lord, but gives God the leftovers, he has created a contradiction and sent a mixed message. In that case I think we can believe the action, more than the words.
The next lesson in the full and medium series on Covenants is: A Weekly Sabbath Day Taught Faith and Trust.