Passage:Deuteronomy 26:5-10
Preacher: Dr. Matthew R. St. John
Series: Living Above and Beyond
Keywords: generosity, first fruits, ownership, reflection
Summary:
Every material thing that is under our charge belongs to the Lord, and is (absolutely) given to us by him.
Detail:
The offering of the first fruits was to be accompanied by an elaborate confession of the Lord’s faithfulness. The whole idea of "first fruits" was for the people of Israel to worship God, rejoice for His provision and His goodness, for everything is from Him; thus Israel was being instructed to give back to God their best, their very finest. It was a time of gratefully praising and rejoicing because of God’s faithful and dependable goodness and mercy. The clear bias of the scriptures is that everything we have materially is owned by the Lord who grants us stewardship privileges and responsibility. With this comes the obligation to recognize His ownership and honor Him with the "first of the fruit," our very best!