In North America we are trained that eating fat is bad for us, and it is true, if we eat too much. If you eat the fat you are sneered at, labeled some kind of meat-eating-freak.
If you don't eat the fat in Africa, you are looked at with the same eyes but for different reasons. My friend told me last year "you know Bryan, in Africa we chew our meat as long as we have to!" Fat on meat is rare in Africa. They have no Kobe Beef. Some areas have good grass but most cattle look like upright sheets of paper.
When you visit Africa and sit for a meal, you are given the choicest pieces of meat from the pot. Fatty, not gristle. It would be a dishonor for the host to take the best pieces..and never would a household member eat before you.
This is the context of the reading from 2 Samuel today. The meat being brought in was for the most honored person in the house; God. God demands our "first-fruits" (Leviticus 23:9-14), the first grain, the first animal to leave the womb, the first everything. Why? Because it has the duel effect of making us acknowledges that all are his and that he is trust worthy for more. In North America we can't grasp this concept easily but if you are a fisherman it would be akin to catching a record-breaking fish only to throw it back and say "the next one will be bigger". Total trust.
So when Eli's sons took the fat portions before they were offered, they were stealing from God. This is why he reacted the way he did in verse 25: "if a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?"
Enter the Hope of Jesus Christ...
We all act like Eli's sons. We all take the fat from our offerings. We cut the best pieces of our time, the bulk of our money, the comfort of our lives for ourselves before we give it to God. Don't we?
But this can change when we really understand who gets the first fruits and why.
Here's a tip:
When you give, give your amount before you pay your taxes. That is first fruit. I was given a donation this past year for my trip to Tanzania. A week later the family sent another check with a note explaining that they had tithed (given 10%) after taxes where taken out and the check was to make up the difference. I was humbled.
Does God demand all that we have? We need to eat, we need clothes, we need to relax now and then. But God does demand our best...and he demands to be first (see Genesis 20). How can he do this? He is God. He gave his first-fruit to us (Jesus) so he could cover the offenses of Eli's sons, and ours, forever.
blessings,
B
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