First-fruits: The first-fruits of the ground were offered unto God just as the
first-born of man and animals. The law required,1. That on the morrow after the Passover Sabbath a sheaf of new
corn should be waved by the priest before the altar
(Leviticus 23:5,6,10,12; 2:12)
2. That at the feast of Pentecost two loaves of leavened bread,
made from the new flour, were to be waved in like manner
(Leviticus 23:15,17; Numbers 28:26)
3. The feast of Tabernacles was an acknowledgement that the fruits
of the harvest were from the Lord
(Exodus 23:16; 34:22)
4. Every individual, besides, was required to consecrate to God a
portion of the first-fruits of the land
(Exodus 22:29; 23:19; 34:26)
(Numbers 15:20,21)
5. The law enjoined that no fruit was to be gathered from
newly-planted fruit-trees for the first three years, and that
the first-fruits of the fourth year were to be consecrated to
the Lord
(Leviticus 19:23-25) Jeremiah
(Jeremiah 2:3) alludes to the ordinance
of "first-fruits," and hence he must have been acquainted with
the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, where the laws
regarding it are recorded.
