There are multiple and miraculous blessings that result from obeying the command to give the firstfruit offering. Here are some of them:
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THE FIRSTFRUIT IS MULTIPLIED TO THE RECIPIENT
The Lord drew this truth to my attention this morning As I read 2 Kings 4: 42-44:
And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.
And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.
In the context, Prophet Elisha appeared to have been in charge of the School of the Prophets, which consisted of 100 men. It was a time of famine and one of the Israelites brought the firstfruits of his land to supply the prophet. He spoke the prophetic word of multiplication over the food and it fed them with enough left over.
2. THE DUTY OF THE RECIPIENT
a. The one who received the firstfruit offering was expected to bless it:
And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house(Eze 44: 30).
I believe that Prophet Elisha blessed the offering as well as the giver and as a result God gave the word that the food would be multiplied. Multiplication of resources is one outcome of giving the firstfruit offering. Jesus did the same to the food given by the little boy. I believe that I can safely call that boy’s meal a firstfruit since it consisted of barley loaves,a constituent of the firstfruit offering in bible days. Did not Jesus bless the food, break and multiply it?
What about the offering given by the widow of Zarephath? Could Prophet Elijah’s request to feed him with the last bit of meal (representing the firstfruit offering of corn) be symbolic of a firstfruit offering? I believe so because it was given in the time of famine. Crops were not being produced. Thirdly, it was all that she had left and she was going to feed herself and her son for the last time then die.
Here is the key to this cornmeal being a firstfruit offering. Prophet Elijah said to her:
… Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake FIRST, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son (1 Kings 17:13).
Prophet Elijah had obeyed God’s command to be fed by this widow and had also instructed her that she will not lack if she obeyed (1 Kings 17: 8-14). I believe that he held up that first meal to the Lord, blessed it and reminded Him of the promise to keep the barrel full of meal and to multiply the oil.
3. THE RECIPIENT IS OBLIGATED TO THE GIVER
When I say this, I do not mean that the person becomes obligated in the way that we understand it. Scriptures show us that the recipients are obligated to provide spiritual covering to those who give any firstfruit offering. For example, the son of the widow of Zarephath fell ill and died. Prophet Elijah was obligated to raise the child from the dead.
In related miracles, the woman of Shunem housed Prophet Elijah repeatedly. She received a four fold miracle – the birth of a son, resurrection of the son, restoration of her land after a famine and transfer of money into her account (2Kings 4, 8).
4. GOD IS THE ULTIMATE RECIPIENT OF THE FIRSTFRUIT OFFERING
We balk many times at giving any kind of offering, but scriptures teach us that God is really the recipient of the first fruit offering. When a firstfruit offering was given, the giver was commanded to take it to the temple, place it on the altar, offer a prayer of thanksgiving, worship and rejoice before the Lord (Deut 26). This was a time of great celebration in Israel and God was teaching His people in all ages the strategies for giving an offering. Apostle Paul later reminded the early church that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Ocr 9:7).
The following is an excerpt from Deut 26:
And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruitsof the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God (Deut 26: 10).
The priest was also commanded to WAVE the firstfruitoffering to the Lord (Lev 23: 20). This is symbolic of waving the hands in worship to the Lord, telling Him how great He really is. God also commanded the Jews to present the firstfruit offering as a meat offering. This was not made from meat but from fine flour mixed with oil (Lev 2: 4-6) as well as green ears of corn parched in fire (Lev 2: 14).
5. GOD HASTENS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHETIC WORD WHEN AN OFFERING IS GIVEN
As I read 2 Kings 3 last night, the Lord drew verse 20 to my attention. The two Jewish nations (Israel and Judah), had formed a confederacy with the King of Edom in order to fight the King of Moab. They ran out of water on their way and became stranded (v 9). Needing direction, they asked Prophet Elisha to seek God on their behalf. The word of the Lord was that the valley in which they camped would be filled with water to supply their needs and that He would deliver the Moabites into their hands.
This is the verse that struck me from 2 Kings 3: 20:
And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.
I am not going to quibble and ask whether or not the meat offering came from the firstfruits, since wave and meat offerings were given to God as a regular part of worship. The valuable lesson I learnt is that I can hasten the fulfillment of the prophetic word by giving an offering when I receive the word of the Lord. God could have delayed the miracle, but it was hastened with the giving of the offering. It seems that the warriors had carried the priests on their mission!
6. THE PROPHET’S REWARD
Jesus beautifully summarized these teachings in Matthew 10: 41 by instructing us about the PROPHET’S REWARD:
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet‘s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
The teaching inherent in this text is that any reward received or to be received by a prophet or a righteous person is given also to those who bless him/her. In Jesus’ ministry, Lazarus was resurrected and the little boy had 12 baskets left over. These ministered to Jesus. The disciples themselves also experienced draught of fishes and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost and many other miracles. Peter’s mother in law was healed from a fever. I am sure that you can add to the repertoire by sharing other biblical and modern day testimonies.
The Lord bless you and keep you, cause His face to shine upon you and give you peace.
January 3, 2012 at 2:04 am
very helpful resource.it has brought clarity and understanding.God willing ,now i can teach it with the help of the HolySpirit. thank you.
skinuthi
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May 21, 2011 at 1:11 am
dear mercedez, am blessed to have found your article today i would like to speak to you if it is at all possible. GOD BLESS YOU ELSIE
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May 29, 2011 at 10:17 am
Hello Elsie
I sent you an email via gmail. Please respond
Sincerely
Mercedes
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January 17, 2011 at 4:02 am
Dear Mercedes,
Thanks for sharing this. I lately sense the LORD has been leading me to give firstfruits, but i didnt fully understand.
2 questions though,
Q1-If i give my first month salary as firstfruit, what happens to the tithe. Should i give this separately?
Q2-A huge amount of my salary goes towards servicing a loan i had borrowed, what then should i give as my firstfruits?
Thanks and God bless you!
Yesh
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February 6, 2011 at 10:59 am
Dear Yeshuran
The firstfruit represented the first crops gathered at every Jewish harvest. They were given twice a year. If you wish to give a first fruit offering, this would be what is left over after you pay the loan. There is nothing left over for tithing at that time since all of the offering would have been given.
The tithe is like a maintenance offering. Please read more here
https://pppministries.wordpress.com/category/god/jesus/the-church/tithes-and-offerings/
Blessings
Mercedes
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August 25, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Dear Yeshuran
Your first fruit offering would eliminate the need to tithe since you gave all rather than a tenth. Read further here https://pppministries.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/should-jo-divide-his-firstfruit-offering-between-3-parties/
Mercedes
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November 11, 2010 at 8:29 am
Dear Mercedes Ireally appreciate your teachings on the First Fruit offering I will now be able toteach my congregation with clarity.Once more thanks and may the Lord bless and richly reward you
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November 14, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Dear Elizabeth
Thanks and God bless. One of the most rewarding elements about this work is reproducing fruit in others. Please keep the faith.
Mercedes
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July 26, 2010 at 8:55 am
Thanks for that powerful teaching.it was a blessing but i need to know,who am i to pay my first fruit to?I am a member of a christian charity organisation and i wish to pay my first fruit to them.Is it right or it has to be to my pastor?
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July 26, 2010 at 11:09 am
Dear Yemi
Thanks for your feedback. Please click the link to read a response that I gave previously to a reader with a similar question:
I believe that the principles will help you to make a wise decision. Please let me know if this was helpful
Sincerely
Mercedes
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May 16, 2010 at 5:42 pm
I need ur candid advice! I promisd God to give Him my firs fruit wen he wud land me wit a job. Now, i have d job & ready to fulfill d vow. Apart 4rm my local church, there are 2 prophetic ministries I attend. I decided 2 divide the salary into 3 for each group. My questin is if it is right 2do so or do I bundle d whle salary to just one? Plz I need an ans, even to my inbox. Thanks…
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September 1, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Dear Jacko
Jo had the exact problem – here is my response:
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December 21, 2009 at 4:26 am
hi i m planning to start a food business, any idea on until which part would be the first fruit? first day sale? first week sale? first month sale? gross or net ?
its been bugging me ever since..
also as an employee, we are paid bi-weekly, which would be the first fruit? the first 2 weeks? or first month?
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January 25, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Hello friend
Congrats on your new venture. You are blessed to succeed. This response may help, but I would suggest that it depends on your faith and obedience. Keep the principle fixed in your mind and that would help:
The first fruit offering represented the FIRST and BEST of something to be given to God. I use blueletterbible.org to help me understand bible truths. Go to this site and search using the words “first”, “firstling”, “firstlings”, “firstfruit”, “firstfruits”. This will give you an idea of the truth. For example, Abel offered the firstlings of the flock to God . These were the FIRST animals that were born and also the unblemished ones (Gen 4: 4). His offering pleased God.
Practical applications include giving:
* the first hour of your day to worship, pray and study the bible
* first child to God for full time service, like Hannah did with Prophet Samuel
* first weeks salary in the first month of the year OR
* first month’s salary of the entire year
* ALL of the first sale, first week’s sale, first month’s sale as you said
The possibilities are endless and it all depends on your faith. Keep in mind too, that the first fruit offering was a very special offering and not done as regularly as a tithe. The first fruit is like the repayment to God, your business partner, while the tithe is a maintenance offering (like a tip) for security purposes. LOL
Mercedes
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January 26, 2010 at 3:33 pm
hi mercedes
thank you for the nice response, although i cant find my post 🙂
indeed i am already being bless…
cheers
tony
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February 1, 2010 at 12:38 am
You’re welcome Tony and God bless. Have a great day.
Sincerely
Mercedes
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September 1, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Dear Tony
Just got this. The income from the very first day’s sale would be the first fruit offering.
Mercedes
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April 7, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Where Do I Send You My Offering?
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February 24, 2009 at 11:55 am
From the excerpt above,i have a need and it occured to me that i could get help from God if i sow a seed according to His commandment. Actually we have not been paid for the past three months and i had plans of saving for my travel to study outside the country,altough i have heard news that we are goin to be paid soon, so i have plans of giving one month salary to God as my fristfruit offering. My question now is,will i be right to expect financial assistance from God concerning my studies abroad on this firstfruit offering?
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March 15, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Dear Fonny
Did you receive my email? Please give me an update on your current situation
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February 3, 2009 at 1:04 pm
i happen to be receiving my salary from two different places. i’m i two give the both of them or one and there is a story i heard and i don’t think it is in the Bible its about a man who came to Jesus because his son was sick and Jesus refused to heal him but when Jesus was told that he built a church for the jews he changed his mind and went withthe man to his his son. please is this a real story?
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March 15, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Hello Hanson
This is found in Luke 7: 1-10. It is better to read it first hand to get the gist. The Jews came to Jesus giving him that information. It was known and also recorded that Jesus was not a racist. He healed and interacted with people who were not Jews, like the woman at the well (John 4).
Have a great day
Mercedes
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January 18, 2009 at 6:18 am
Your teaching has strengthened my faith.
GOD BLESS YOU.
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March 15, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Dear Pastor FREDRICK,
This is a high calling. Keep on with the work of the Lord
Sincerely
Mercedes
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October 29, 2008 at 9:05 am
I am an employee who has moved to the outskates of my city to rear pigs for sale. I would like this business to be blessed, How do I give my first fruits and how much?
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March 15, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Dear Patrick
I believe that you should give all of the first piglets to the work of the Lord based on the scriptural example. God bless
Mercedes
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July 18, 2008 at 9:56 pm
i ask a question about firstfruit,and have been explain to me very good,
thanks for your support.
solomon.
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