“We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the Lord each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.
As it is also written in the Law, we will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, of our herds and of our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests ministering there.”
Nehemiah 10:35-36
Last time we saw the group create a schedule for when to bring wood for the altar fire, making sure we know which things to lay down and offer up that God calls sin. Today we see our community vowing to honor the Law in bringing God all their firstfruits.
Firstfruits in Hebrew is bikkurim – first things, ripe fruit, hasty fruit; from bakar – to bear new fruit, first born, giving birth, early fruit of woman or tree, to give birthright. And ground is adamah – land, country, dirt, farming, fields, soil, husband, from adam – mankind, common sort, human being.
Don’t those phrases take you back to the basics of it all? Soil, earth, naturally bringing forth life. Humankind being fruitful and multiplying. The word fruit from “every fruit tree” is peri – foliage, offspring, produce, product, results, reward, fruit – literal or figurative.
Don’t you love the fruit can be literal or figurative? Even if there is no ripe fruit from a garden or ministry or relationship, we can bear much through the Vine. Though there is a pandemic and relationships are affected – by distance, from a variety of opinions on proper responses, through illness and death – His Spirit is still at work to produce an orchard of godliness:
“It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.
I could go on.
This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.
But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”
Galatians 5:19-22 MSG
I believe these things to be true whether we’re in a weird phase of figuring out public life or in a prison cell writing letters to encourage baby churches under an unsympathetic government. They are true when we have crystal clear clarity regarding our future plans, and when we can only see today and trust He can help us get from morning to noon, from noon to night, from night to morning. Those seasons are real, you know. And many of us may be in them today. And still, these promises are true.
That’s a beautiful thing about God. He can see all the nuances we’re just realizing or are still oblivious to. He can pinpoint the hurt and sin in our hearts with equal love. He can see back in time and forward to infinity without taking His eye off the sparrow. And so, His promises are Truth.
What the community in our verses was promising to bring was the first of their crops and trees to the house of Yahweh year by year. Each year, whether their firstfruits were meager or abundant, lush or nonexistent. They would bring what they had to God.
Not only their crops and fruits, but the firstborn (bekor – oldest) of their sons (ben – son [as a builder of the family name], in the widest sense [of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition]; anointed one, appointed, arrow).
The Lord said to Moses,
“Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.”
Exodus 13:1-2
While there are various explanations for this command, they all point to the people of God bowing down and making their “offspring, produce, results, rewards” His.
How does that sit with you? Do you work with integrity then genuinely give the results to Him? Do you hold children or other precious relationships with open hands, peeling back fingers as needed? Are your projects, paychecks, promotions His?
I’m right there with you if it’s hard or seems unfair. And I feel for you if, particularly in these difficult days, there is no paycheck or relationship to offer. And yet, nothing could be more crucial to our genuine joy than opening our hands to whatever they hold.
The final first fruit categories are cattle and the first born of their herds (baqar) and flocks (tson – sheep, goats, lambs, small cattle).
It all belongs to Him – flocks and herds, too. Big animals and small. Every first born, not just the one. All this they promised to bring “to the priests who minister (sharath – wait on, serve) in the house of Elohim.”
This was indeed their offering to God and display of His authority and their trust. It was also a gift to those who served in His Temple. Those who wait on the people of God, seeking to honor Him in their service.
I’m thankful for the continued example to open our hands. And with a gratitude that sometimes crushes me, I’m so glad our Father gave His firstborn, His only Son He loved, the Lamb of God, to be the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.