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.
Having learned to depart from evil, the Lord becomes the object of the heart. It is not giving Him the first place merely. It is a poor thing when Christ has but the first place in the soul. He must have all if one is to go on with Him in holy joy and unhindered communion. The Israelite brought the first fruit as a token that he acknowledged Jehovah’s sole ownership of the land of Canaan. He had said, “The land shall not be sold forever; the land is Mine” (Lev. 25:23). The giving of the first fruits was the recognition of this. So, as the believer honors Him with his substance, he gladly owns that all is the Lord’s to be used as He directs.
But so great is his goodness that when He is thus honored, He pledges Himself to see that there is no lack in barn nor press for the one who owns himself His steward. Many a saint goes on in comparative poverty because of his indifference to the principle here laid down. All comes from God; yet He graciously receives from those He has redeemed and delights to ever be Himself the greatest giver. None shall find him in their debt.