The Firstfruits of Everything Text: Exodus 22:29-30
Introduction: God's Claim of Ownership
We live in an age that is pathologically obsessed with autonomy. The great cry of the modern heart is "My body, my choice," "My life, my rules," "My stuff, my decision." This rebellion is not a new invention; it is the ancient lie of the serpent, whispered again into the ears of a generation that believes it is sophisticated. The lie is that you are your own, that you belong to yourself, and that the world is a vast, meaningless buffet from which you may pick and choose as you please. But the God of Scripture, the God who is, confronts this insolent pride with a claim of absolute and total ownership. He made it all, and so He owns it all. And because He owns it all, He has the right to command how it is to be used.
The laws we find here in Exodus are not dusty regulations for a bygone era. They are part of what the Westminster Confession calls the "general equity" of God's law. They reveal the character of God and the fundamental structure of reality. These are not arbitrary hoops for Israel to jump through. They are pedagogical, designed to teach Israel, and by extension, us, what it means to live as creatures in a world owned by a generous and sovereign Creator. The principles embedded in these laws are perennial. They teach us that God is not to be trifled with, that He is not to be put off, and that He lays claim to the very best of all that we have and all that we are. Our secular society thinks of giving as a voluntary act of charity, something you do with your surplus after you have taken care of your "real" needs. But God says, "No. I get the first and the best. Not the leftovers." This is a direct assault on the idol of self, and it is a necessary one.
This passage is about the principle of firstfruits. It is about acknowledging God's ownership over our productivity, represented by the harvest and the wine, and over our future, represented by our firstborn sons. To neglect this principle is not just bad accounting; it is a theological rebellion. It is an attempt to declare independence from the one in whom we live and move and have our being. And as we will see, this principle, established here in the law, finds its ultimate fulfillment and meaning in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Text
You shall not delay the offering from the fullness of your harvest and the juice of your wine vat. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. And you shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
(Exodus 22:29-30 LSB)
No Procrastination in Worship (v. 29a)
We begin with the first command, which sets the tone for the rest.
"You shall not delay the offering from the fullness of your harvest and the juice of your wine vat." (Exodus 22:29a)
The first thing to notice is the prohibition against delay. "You shall not delay." This is a command against spiritual procrastination. Why would an Israelite be tempted to delay? For the same reasons we are. Perhaps the harvest was not as bountiful as he had hoped, and he wanted to wait and see if he would have enough for himself before giving God His portion. This is the sin of anxiety, a failure to trust in God's provision. Or perhaps the harvest was overwhelmingly abundant, and in the midst of all the work of gathering it in, the offering was simply forgotten or pushed to the bottom of the priority list. This is the sin of ingratitude, a failure to acknowledge the source of the blessing.
God demands the firstfruits, not the leftovers. Giving God the first portion is a tangible act of faith. It is a declaration that you believe He will provide for the rest of your needs. It says, "This all belongs to you, and I trust you for what remains." Delaying the offering inverts this. It says, "I will take care of myself first, and if there is anything left over, I will give it to God." This is practical atheism. It is to live as though God does not exist or as though He is not a generous Father.
The "fullness of your harvest" and the "juice of your wine vat" represent the totality of their economic production. This was their wealth, their livelihood. God was not asking for a token gesture; He was laying claim to the foundation of their prosperity. This principle applies directly to us. We are to honor the Lord with the firstfruits of all our increase (Proverbs 3:9). This is the basis for the tithe. It is not something we give to God; it is what we return to God what is already His. And we are not to delay. We are to give promptly, cheerfully, and faithfully, acknowledging that every dollar we earn is a gift from His hand.
The Consecration of the Firstborn (v. 29b-30)
The principle of firstfruits is now extended from their produce to their posterity, from their crops to their children.
"The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. And you shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me." (Exodus 22:29b-30 LSB)
Now, this is a verse that makes moderns uncomfortable, and it is frequently twisted by village atheists to accuse God of commanding child sacrifice. But this is a slanderous and ignorant reading of the text. The Bible must be interpreted by the Bible. Earlier in Exodus, God had already given the law of the firstborn and explained precisely what "giving" them to Him meant. It meant redemption. "Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem" (Exodus 13:13). The firstborn animal, if it was clean, was to be sacrificed. But the firstborn son was to be bought back, redeemed by a substitutionary payment. This law was a perpetual reminder of the Passover, when God spared the firstborn of Israel while the firstborn of Egypt were slain. God's claim on the firstborn was a claim of ownership based on His act of salvation.
By consecrating the firstborn, the entire family was acknowledged as belonging to God. The firstborn son represented the whole. To give him to God was to give the entire family to God. This is the principle of federal headship, which runs throughout Scripture. This is why we baptize our children. We are not making them Christians through the water, but we are acknowledging God's covenant claim on them. We are "giving them to God," marking them as part of His covenant people. Baptism is the New Covenant sign of consecration. When we bring our infant to the font, we are obeying the principle of Exodus 22:29. We are saying, "This child is not ultimately ours; he belongs to God. We are stewards, not owners."
Notice the timing. The animal is to be with its mother for seven days, and on the eighth day, it is given to God. Seven is the number of completion, of a finished cycle. The eighth day is the day of new beginnings. It is the day of resurrection. Jesus rose on the eighth day, the first day of the new week. This is profoundly significant. The giving of the firstborn on the eighth day points forward to the new creation. Circumcision, the old covenant sign, was also performed on the eighth day. This was not arbitrary. It was a liturgical pattern, teaching Israel to look forward to a new beginning, a new covenant, a new creation brought about by the ultimate Firstborn.
Christ, the True Firstfruits
Like all the ceremonial and judicial laws of the Old Testament, these commands find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is the true firstfruits of the new creation. The entire system of giving the first and best to God was a pointer to the day when God the Father would give His First and Best for us.
Jesus is the "firstborn of all creation" (Colossians 1:15), meaning He has the rank and preeminence of the firstborn. He is the heir of all things. He is also the "firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18). He is the firstfruit of the resurrection harvest (1 Corinthians 15:20). His resurrection on the eighth day was the presentation of the firstfruits of redeemed humanity to the Father. Because He was raised, we who are in Him will also be raised. He is the first sheaf of the harvest, guaranteeing that the full harvest will follow.
Furthermore, the redemption of the firstborn son in Israel was a shadow of our redemption. We, like the firstborn, were under a sentence of death. We belonged to God by right of creation, but we were forfeit because of our sin. But God, instead of demanding our lives, provided a substitute. He "gave" His only begotten Son, His Firstborn, so that we might be redeemed. Jesus is the redemption price. He is the lamb who was slain so that the sons might be spared. When God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac, He was painting a picture of what He Himself would one day do at the very same place. Abraham did not have to go through with it; God provided a ram. But the Father did not spare His own Son.
Conclusion: A Life of Firstfruits
So what does this mean for us? It means that the principle of firstfruits must govern our entire lives. We are not our own; we were bought with a price. Therefore, we are to glorify God in our bodies, with our possessions, and with our children.
First, we must give God the firstfruits of our income. Do not delay. Before you pay your bills, before you buy your groceries, before you spend on entertainment, return to God what is His. This is a fundamental act of worship and trust.
Second, we must give our children to God. This begins by bringing them for baptism, acknowledging them as covenant members. But it continues in raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It means recognizing they are His disciples in training, not your personal vanity projects. You are stewarding them for Him. You are to teach them that they belong, first and foremost, to their Creator and Redeemer.
Finally, we must give God the firstfruits of our very selves. We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1). This means giving Him the first part of our day in prayer and Scripture. It means giving Him the first consideration in every decision. It means living a life that is consecrated, set apart for His use.
The world says, "Me first." God says, "Me first." You have to choose. To delay your offering, to withhold your firstborn, to keep the best for yourself, is to side with the world and its prince. But to joyfully and promptly give God the first and the best of everything is to acknowledge Him as the good and generous King that He is. It is to participate in the logic of the gospel, where God gave His Firstborn for us, so that we might become a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.