Seeds As Provision

I always thought that manna looked like pita bread. That it appeared each morning for the people of Israel and they had to quickly gather it before the sun or elements destroyed it. Turns out, I have been wrong. God’s provision for His people came as a seed.

Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. The people would go about and gather it and grind it between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with oil. Numbers 11:7-8 NASB

This revelation has been life-changing for me. Understanding that God gives His provision in the form of seed, not harvest, changes everything. It means we must find good soil, plant the seed, nurture it, and receive from it.

Every single financial gift, every single opportunity for increase contains something for today AND a seed that promises a harvest. Paul even tells us that God gives ‘seed to the sower’ not a harvest to the sower. Our lives are continually being sown into by the Father, and knowing that each gift and opportunity comes first as seed and after we work that seed it becomes bread, has been changing my outlook on generosity. 

Seeds must be planted to produce a harvest.

I have been delving into the Old Testament view of giving. I know, the tithe is the Law and we are not under the Law but if there are principles that work, I want to know if they line up with the New Covenant. Here is something that I have learned that has struck me really hard. The tithe was the giving after the harvest but first fruits was the giving before the harvest. Do you get it?

One is a celebration of promise, the other of provision.

Like a seed, giving first fruits made way for the harvest and was seen as something that sanctified the entire harvest. Have I been missing something all these years?

Rachel and I have started an experiment with first fruits giving, giving before our tithe, offerings and alms. We are one month into it and truthfully, I am pretty excited by the increase so far. Finances, anointing, and favor all seem to have increased. I am going to continue the experiment and if it continues to work, you will hear me shouting about it from the rooftops, but that is for another day. For now, do not despise the seeds God is giving you. Plant them, nurture them and get ready for the harvest!