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:23:16Exodus:34:22). (4.) Every individual, besides, was required to consecrate to God a portion of the first-fruits of the land Exodus:22:29Exodus:23:19Exodus: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 (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.
