Honor Him with the First Fruits

Remember the context here. We have just noted in verses 1-6 three disciplines followed by three returns. The first was the discipline of keeping the commands from your heart with the return of long life, peace, and prosperity. The second was the discipline of writing love and faithfulness on the tablet of your heart with the reward of favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. And the third was trusting in the Lord with all your heart with the reward that he would make your paths straight.

Now we come to the four verses of Proverbs 3:7-10:

Identify Your Crop:

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfuits of all your crops." - Proverbs 3:9

The only “crop” I have nowadays is my garden produce from a square of soil smaller than this platform. If I look for the principle behind this wisdom I see that my “crop” is what I earn for my work in the world. In an agrarian society, or with a modern farmer, that may literally be a crop like corn or wheat. For we who show up to work every day in education, law, medicine, or business our “crop” is our earnings. Adam made his living with the sweat of his brow. And that is how we make ours.

The crop, then, is our work in the world distilled into a return, a paycheck. Does that seem right to everyone? Even in the Old Testament time, many people made their living in ways other than farming. Some were skilled craftsmen, military leaders, merchants, etc. From the very beginning, this verse was intended to be broader than simply the farmer with his crop.

Please identify now your “crop” or “crops.” What is the return you receive for your work in the world? Think about a dollar amount in some time frame: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. Farmers brought in their crops once or maybe twice a year. Merchants made their money on a daily basis. Others were compensated for their work in various ways. What about you?

Honor the Lord with Your Wealth:

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfuits of all your crops." - Proverbs 3:9

The discipline here is to “honor the Lord with your wealth.”

Think about that crop of yours. How on earth do you honor God with your earnings, your money?

Let love and faithfulness never leave you. Our wealth should be managed according to love and faithfulness. We bind these virtues around our neck when we are doing our accounting. Your money is not just a matter of addition and subtraction. It is a matter of love and faithfulness. Your financial worksheets have “love and faithfulness” written across them because these virtues are written on the tablet of your heart.

Let’s go back to verses 5-6:

• “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit (acknowledge) to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Two words stand out to me in this discipline: trust and submit. We should apply these words in regard to our wealth.

Trust in the Lord with your wealth.

• Do not trust in the your wealth. That would not be wise. That would be foolish. The Bible never instructs you to trust in your wealth. It does the very opposite. Your wealth cannot be trusted. It cannot bring to you ultimate peace or security. The rich and poor get sick and die. They suffer loss and heartache. They experience trouble and tragedy. Your wealth, no matter how great, will not protect you from these things.

• Trust in the Lord with your wealth. Let your management of resources be an act of faith in God. Your faith brings you to the house of worship every week. Your faith brings you to your knees every day. Your faith brings you to God’s word every day. Your faith shapes how you treat other people. Your faith shapes how you think of yourself and your world. Let your faith also shape how you handle your money.

Submit to the Lord with your wealth. Keep his commands with all your heart. This makes perfect sense because we are to submit to God, acknowledge him, in all our ways. That would include the way we invest or spend our money.

• Submit to the Ten Commandments with your money. Do not lie, cheat, or steal in your management of money.

• Submit to the law of love—loving God and loving others—with the management of your money. Let your management of your money be an outgrowth of your faith in God.

Honor the Lord with the Firstfruits:

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfuits of all your crops, then your barns all be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." - Proverbs 3:9-10

 

Here is a discipline that may surprise us. It is the fifth discipline mentioned in this chapter, and it has to do with honoring God with the “firstfruits of all your crops.”

• Where did this come from? If you remember last week, we talked about the connection between the physical and the spiritual. What you do with your body affects your spirit and vice versa.

• Here is another clear connection between the material and the spiritual. A wise person honors God with their wealth.

What are the firstfruits of all our crops?

• Obviously, God comes first in everything. He created us. He saved us through the death of his Son. He comes first.

• So the first of my grain harvest, the first check I write, is the first fruits. And I am to honor God with that check.

• Before I pay any bills I should take my gift to God.

Where do I take this portion of my crop, these firstfruits?

• “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.” - Exodus 23:19

• "God said to Aaron, 'I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the LORD as the firstfruits...'” - Numbers 18:12

Two things to see here:

• The firstfruits were brought to the house of worship. This was the pattern in the Old Testament. But it was also the pattern in the New Testament.

• You remember that widow that Jesus commended as a great giver? She gave her sacrificial offering at the house of worship—the temple—and cast it into the temple treasury. She herself was poor. This was all she had. Yet she wanted to give it, not to others who were poor, but as an offering that would honor God and express her trust in God. Jesus commends her for her giving. He holds her up as an example of how we are to give.
• “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income” - 1 Corinthians 16:2. The first day of the week was the day that they gathered for worship. Each of us should be giving the firstfruits of our earnings at our house of worship.
• The firstfruits were used to maintain the house of worship. The same was true for the temple treasury. This is also what happens when you bring your offering to the Lord. You support this house of worship. You maintain the house of worship for yourself and for future generations in this city.
• Firstfruits are proportionate: “in keeping with income.”

• "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house." - Malachi 3:10.
• The “tithe” literally means “a tenth.” It is a tenth of their earnings. It is not mere pocket change. But it is not crippling.
• A tenth is not the same amount for everyone. The widow gave the biggest gift of all, Jesus said, even though she was only able to give two pennies. God does not say, “Everyone give a dollar.” He says instead, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.”
• The tithe remains as a guideline for us in our giving. If you want to know how much honors God, think of the tithe.

The return: your barns will be full and your vats will overflow with new wine.

• This is God’s word to us. trust Him with all your heart, and bring your offering to him at the house of worship on the first day of the week.

• "'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 there will not be room enough to store it.'” - Malachi 3:10.

• This is counter-intuitive. It seems to us that looking out for number one is the best way for me to be healthy and wealthy. True health is found in love and self-denial, in a life focused upon God rather than myself. If I revere the Lord, I move the center from myself to him. I am ordering my life according to the order of the universe where all things consist in him. I flourish.

This is God’s plan for the support of his church. The church is unique among the nonprofits in the world. It is not primarily a charitable organization. It is a worshipping congregation that puts God first and honors him in all things.