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Bringing First Fruits Leviticus 23:9–14, 22
ceive God’s steadfast love and provision (the narrative of Ruth tells of harvesters who put into practice God’s demand; see Ruth 2).
The Israelites are required to embody the same love God has for the poor and foreigners in society, not to ignore them or hoard their crops. This passage also indicates that God has not provided only enough for Israel, but more than enough so that Israel can be a blessing to oth- ers. God has chosen to give pro-
visions to Israel so that He can give to others through them.
What causes us to hesitate and assess people before giving to the poor and needy who ap- proach us seeking assistance?
Our everyday needs can sometimes become obstacles for expressing gratitude to God for His blessings and provisions in our lives.
How often do we let paying the bills, buying necessities, and splurging a bit on ourselves take priority over thanking God for
our finances and giving cheer- fully back to Him through tithes or generous and sacrificial of- ferings?
God’s demands for the Is- raelites are what He also ex- pects from all His children. As provider of all that we have, God is pleased when we con- sciously remember His provi- sions and gratefully display our gratitude in giving. He is espe- cially pleased when we teach our children and family to do the same.
By the end of this lesson, we will: EXPLORE the biblical call for offering the first fruits; AVOID giving God leftovers; and COMMIT to give God the first and best in everything we offer.
In today’s lesson, we will ex- plore how gratitude is shown through setting aside an offer- ing for God. Besides money, what can you set aside as an of- fering to God?
Leviticus details the laws God gave to the Israelites. While some might sound for- eign to modern ears, following them had a great amount of importance for the Israelites then.
Laws provided guidance for daily living, intended to main- tain Israel’s identity as God’s people. The word “covenant” is key here. God and Israel had formed a covenant relation- ship tracing back to the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and now with Moses and Is- rael.
The setting of the book is post-exodus from Egypt and pre-entrance into the land that God had promised their ances- tors. The Israelites are jour- neying there, and as they journey toward the destiny God has determined, He pre- pares them for life in the new land.
The Scripture Reads:
Leviticus 23:9 Then the LORD said to Moses,
10 “Give the following in- structions to the people of Is- rael. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest.
11 On the day after the Sab- bath, the priest will lift it up be- fore the LORD so it may be accepted on your behalf.
12 On that same day you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb with no defects as a burnt offering to the LORD.
13 With it you must present a grain offering consisting of four quarts of choice flour moistened with olive oil. It will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. You must also offer one quart of wine as a liquid offering.
14 Do not eat any bread or roasted grain or fresh kernels on that day until you bring this offering to your God. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from genera- tion to generation wherever you live.
22 “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not har- vest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God.”
God Provides for Israel (Leviticus 23:9–10)
This section opens with God speaking through His mediator,
Moses, to the Israelites, as God has done throughout their jour- ney out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land.
While the last part of verse 10 is God’s instruction to Israel, the first half of the verse de- scribes His goodness to Israel. In this way, the covenant rela- tionship between God and Israel is on display; God will fulfill His covenant, which He had con- firmed to Moses (Exodus 34).
Two important statements made in the second half of verse 10 cannot be overstated. In this short phrase, “When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof,” God confirms that (1) He is indeed leading this no- madic people to a land; (2) this land will be Israel’s to inhabit and cultivate; and (3) God will bless them with a fruitful har- vest. These words assure that God will continue to bless Israel.
When God promises to pro- vide sustenance as well as addi- tional blessings for us, do we have a tendency to develop into arrogant or grateful people?
Israel’s Offering Back to God (vv. 11–14)
This section depicts the re- sponsibility God gives the peo- ple after they enter the land and begin reaping its benefits. Be- fore doing anything else with the harvest, they must turn their attention toward God. By bring- ing the first of the harvest to the priest who submits it to God as an offering, Israel symbolizes that they have not forgotten that God freed them from Egypt, sustained them through the wilderness, provided the land of Canaan, and brought forth the harvest’s abundance. By sub- mitting their very first crop, they emphasize not fulfilling their personal or communal hunger, but honoring the Lord.
The last statement in this pas- sage indicates the permanence of this ritual. God did not ask Is- rael to do this once, but to make it a practice that would endure “forever throughout your gener- ations in all your dwellings” (v. 14). Recognition and acknowl- edgment of God’s provision and blessings throughout Israel’s history would be an annual rit- ual at the spring harvest.
If everything we own comes from God, why is it so difficult for us to decide to give our first and best offering to Him?
God Provides Through Israel (v. 22)
This passage displays the deep compassion God has for the “least of these,” the people on the margins who had uncer- tainty about their next meal. “The poor” and “the stranger” are people who also should re-
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