The Lord gives us everything that we have. It does not matter what kind of possession that it is , we receive all from Him. The Lord expects us to acknowledge that fact. It is like receiving a gift at a party or for a wedding. It is common for people to send thank you cards to the providers of those gifts. Now this thankfulness encompasses everything in out lives whether it be a new house, children or income. Solomon is focusing in this proverb on the income of the believer.
"Honor the Lord with you capitol and sufficiency [from righteous labors], and with the first fruits of all your income..." Proverbs 3:9, Amplified
It is prescribed to the believer throughout the Bible to bring the first fruits of labor to the Lord. Even in Genesis, before the Law was written on stone it was written in the heart. Abraham gave a tenth of his belongings to Melchizedek (Gen. 14)
To bring the very first of what the Lord has given to us means that He reaps the benefits of that labor before we do. It is an opportunity for the Lord to use the fruit of our labor for His own purposes.
"So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats be overflowing with new wine." Proverbs 3:10, Amplified
There is a spiritual truth here that the Lord wants to unveil to the believer. If we give to the Lord, then we will receive more. Don' t get me wrong, we are not supposed to give with the expectancy of receiving for that would be selfish. We are not told when we will receive or eve what we will receive. We are to give with the expectancy of loosing out. Solomon said it best, "Cast your bread on the waters, for you will find it after many days..." (Ecclesiastes 11:1, NKJV) What happens to bread as it is cast onto the water, it becomes useless. The flavor leaves the bread, it becomes impossible to handle and it is destroyed. But in the spiritual concept of giving, Solomon encourages to throw bed on the water and afterward it would be found many days later.
Theft from the Lord has also been brought us concerning tithes (which is giving of the first fruits). "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings." (Malachi 3:8, NKJV) God states that we have robbed Him if we are not giving out tithes and offerings. And here is the spiritual truth that I spoke of earlier straight from the lips of God. "'Bring all your tithes into the storehouse, that there might be food in My house, And try Me now on this,' says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessings that there will not be enough room enough for you to receive it." (Malachi 3:10, NKJV) This is the only place in Scripture where the Lord encourages us to test Him. My wife and I are living testaments to this truth. Just before I got fired from my job, we began to give to the Lord on a regular basis. Since my income has disappeared, we have received money from different places that we never expected. I received a letter from a former employer who said that they owed me money because of an old profit sharing program. The widows of heaven were open for us and even still are.
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