Jesus’ Ministry
March 5, 2019
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 26:1-11
When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, …So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house. –Deuteronomy 26:1-4, 10-11
Today even farmers contribute portions of the money they earn from the crops they grow rather than bringing the actual first fruits of the season. I do remember the importance of those first fruits. I did not inherit the gardening gene, but my mother was probably first and foremost at home in a garden, vegetable or flower. I am trying to remember what vegetables were ready first during the growing season in central Oklahoma. Leaf lettuce and radishes is what I remember. Next came sweet peas and new potatoes, and then suddenly, we became very busy as everything blossomed and bore squash and green beans, watermelon and cantaloupe, corn and tomatoes. I wonder if the Israelites brought just the first fruits of the season or the first fruits of each type as they ripened. We rarely if ever sold vegetables. If we harvested more than we could eat, can, or freeze we gave it to neighbors or friends. Of course, this was just the vegetable garden. The “cash crops” my family harvested were hay and wheat, sometimes cotton and field vegetables used to feed animals. We stored what we would need for our cattle over the winter and sold the rest. It is easy to see why it became more convenient to donate money.
So, what does the teachings about giving the first fruits mean for us today? I think we are called to set priorities regarding our resources. First, we must determine what is our proper gift back to God for the abundance God provides from which we draw those first fruits. That leads to setting priorities for our all aspects of our lives: time, talent, and tithe.
Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your abundant gift of this earth and all that is in it. Show us how to prioritize our resources to the furtherance of your Kingdom. Amen.