The First Fruits Should Be Counted as Uncircumcised

The First Fruits Should Be Counted as Uncircumcised

Even the most God-fearing brothers, when they begin to serve in the church, make a lot of mistakes which cause unrest and disturbance for a long time. They did their best as well as they knew how, but their best was considerably less than perfect. In His great grace and wisdom, God foresaw this, and in Leviticus 19:23, He gives us instruction regarding it.

“When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord. And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the Lord your God.”

The Israelites had planted good trees, and a good tree cannot bear bad fruit. Nevertheless, the fruit from the first three years was to be regarded as uncircumcised, and the trees themselves regarded as uncircumcised. What did God mean by this? Before Israel conquered the land, many ungodly nations had inhabited it. For many generations the ground had yielded grain and wine to these ungodly people. When Israel planted trees in that same ground, these trees drew nourishment from the dung of the ungodly, which was an abomination to the Lord. Three years were to pass before God permitted anyone to eat the fruit of these trees.

An ungodly person bears fruit to death for a long time. But when he is saved, he changes his way of life. He becomes zealous for God and starts to serve. Certainly, his first fruits in the ministry bring him great joy, but they should only be regarded as uncircumcised. Some brothers meddle in each other’s work, and this leads to friction. Each of them is zealous for God, but the fruit of their labor during the first years is not to be eaten—it is to be considered uncircumcised. Their ground has always borne bad fruit, so they are not able to produce edible fruit immediately. Certainly they themselves are good trees, but the first fruits of their ministry do not produce good results.

For three years Israel had to sit by and watch while their trees bore fruit they could not eat. That was a great test of their patience. If the tree could have thought as a person, it would have had lowly thoughts about itself when it saw that year after year its fruit was not worthy to be eaten. God does the same with His servants, so that they can learn to have lowly thoughts about themselves, and can learn to bear the yoke in their youth.

We can only stand in awe and say of all God’s work and all His deeds, “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Rom. 7:25.