What was the firstfruits offering?

Answer

Firstfruits was a Jewish feast held in the early spring at the beginning of the grain harvest. It was observed on Nissan 16, which was the third day after Passover and the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Firstfruits was a time of thanksgiving for God’s provision.

Leviticus 23:9-14 institutes the firstfruits offering. The people were to bring a sheaf of grain to the priest, who would wave it before the Lord. A burnt offering, a meal offering, and a drink offering were also required at that time. Deuteronomy 26:1-10 provides even more detail on the procedure of firstfruits.

No grain was to be harvested at all until the firstfruits offering was brought to the Lord “And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”, (Leviticus 23:14). The offering was made in remembrance of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt, the Lord’s deliverance from slavery, and their possession of “a land that floweth with milk and honey.” The day of the firstfruits offering was also used to calculate the proper time of the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-16).

In the New Testament, the firstfruits offering is mentioned seven times, always symbolically. Paul calls Epaenetus and the household of Stephanas “the firstfruits of Achaia” (Romans 16:5;1 Corinthians 16:15). His meaning is that, just as the firstfruits offering was the first portion of a larger harvest, these individuals were the first of many converts in that region. James refers to believers as “a kind of firstfruits of His creatur

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18). Just as the sheaf of grain was set apart for the Lord, believers are also set apart for God’s glory.

The firstfruits offering found its fulfillment in Jesus. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Jesus’ resurrection has paved the way for our resurrection. Importantly, if Jesus was killed at Passover, then His resurrection on the third day would have fallen on Nissan 16—the Feast of Firstfruits.

The firstfruits offering is not directly linked to Christian giving in the New Testament. However, Paul instructed the Corinthian believers to set aside a collection “on the first day of the week” “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Just as the offering of firstfruits was a time of thanksgiving, Christians are encouraged to give with joy.

In essence, firstfruits symbolize God’s harvest of souls, demonstrate giving to God with a thankful heart, and establish a practice of returning to Him the first (and the best) of what He has given us. As Christians are not bound by the Old Testament Law, they are only required to give willingly and generously (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).