The Firstfruits

Our green beans were some of the best we’ve ever raised in our garden this year. They were really plentiful and had almost no blemishes for the first picking. But because of the bugs, deer and hot weather, each picking that followed had more and more bug bites and fewer and fewer beans. The beans in the first picking were by far the best beans!

I’ve often wondered why in the book of Genesis that God had no respect for Cain and his offering to Him. Cain was a tiller of the ground and brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. But it doesn’t say that Cain brought his firstfruits. His brother, Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and the Lord had respect for Abel and his offering. Fine flour and wine were acceptable offerings to the Lord in the tabernacle of the congregation. So, it wasn’t because Cain’s offering was vegan. Maybe Cain did not offer God his firstfruits, the best of the best that he raised? And maybe Cain kept those firstfruits for himself and offered God the second or the third picking?? I don’t know. But for some reason God was not pleased with Cain because he had not done well. God told Cain, “If thou doest well, shall thou not be accepted?”

Are we giving God the best of what we have to offer? Is He coming first in our lives? Or are we giving the Lord the remnants, what we have left after we’ve taken all that we want? Are we spending quality time with the Lord and working on what He would have us do? Or are we giving Him an hour on Sunday and calling it good for the week? We have to ask ourselves, will our offering be accepted because we are doing well??

Proverbs 3:9-10 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Genesis 4:3-7 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.