The Feast of First Fruits
The people weren’t just thanking God for crops; they were acknowledging His ownership of everything.
The Feast of First Fruits
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.’” — Leviticus 23:10
Before Israel ever ate a bite of the year’s harvest, they were told to bring a sheaf — the very first bundle of barley — to the priest. He would lift it before the Lord, waving it as an act of gratitude and surrender. It was called The Feast of Firstfruits.
Imagine the scene: after months of labor, the first green stalks appear, promising provision. Yet before anyone can taste, the first and best is offered to God. It was a declaration of faith — “You gave this, Lord, and we trust You’ll provide the rest.”
This feast was celebrated the day after the Sabbath following Passover — right at the start of the harvest season. The people weren’t just thanking God for crops; they were acknowledging His ownership of everything. All we have is given to us by God. It is His and He allows us to share in it. The first sheaf represented the whole field.
In our lives, God still asks for firstfruits — not leftovers. He wants the first day of the week, the first moments of our day, the first portion of our income, the first place in our priorities. Offering Him our “first sheaf” is how we declare, “Everything I have is Yours.”
What would your life look like if God truly got the “first and best” from all of us? We all have places where we’ve been offering Him what’s left over instead of the best that we have. What if we gave to Him genuinely and sincerely in every area of our lives?
The first sheaf may feel costly, but it’s the soil where trust grows deepest. Faith is built in trust. You either believe that or you don’t. It’s as simple as that.
