New Moon / Rosh Chodesh & Firstfruits Giving
Back to Feasts
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
Psalm 81:3
From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.
Isaiah 66:23
Appointed Time: New Moon / Rosh Chodesh
Significance: The beginning (“head”) of a new month
Observance: Rosh Chodesh, like Shabbat, is a monthly “reboot” and the perfect time for thanksgiving and reflection on the past month as a family and as a community. Rosh Chodesh is not a day to abstain from ordinary work except in the case of Yom Teruah which is a High Sabbath on Rosh Chodesh. Celebrate Rosh Chodesh as a festive family celebration with the blowing of the shofar, worship and a meal. The New Moon is also the time to look with anticipation toward all that ADONAI is doing physically, financially, spiritually and prophetically in our lives. Look forward with a teaching on the meaning of the new month. Through prayer and/or inquiring of the prophets, like the Shunammite women had a habit of doing (2 Kings 4:22-23), look forward prophetically for God’s revelation for the month to come. Rosh Chodesh is also a great time to bring to ADONAI the first portions of your harvest: Firstfruits Offerings / Giving and gifts ((Proverbs 3:9-10)
Length: 24 hours, sunset to sunset
New Moon / Rosh Chodesh
The New Moon – Rosh Chodesh (“head of the month”) – determines the beginning of the month and in turn the dates for the Feast Days (Numbers 10:10).
We adhere to New Moon visible crescent which means that we look for the visible crescent to appear in our local sky. We also await the news that the visible crescent has been sighted in Jerusalem or anywhere else, for that matter. At that time, the shofar is blown for Rosh Chodesh. We adhere to visible crescent but also take into consideration the New Moon Conjunction in order to estimate the sighting of the crescent for the scheduling of gatherings, etc.
Firstfruits Giving
Biblically, technically, the giving of firstfruits, offerings and/or gifts on Rosh Chodesh are not specifically connected or disconnected. What is mandated in scripture is that we are most definitely supposed to give (Deuteronomy 26:1-5a, 10-11, 17-19). We discourage a religious spirit in giving and not giving, either way, and we simply utilize the convenience of Rosh Chodesh to give of our monthly firstfruits.
We are to put the first portion of our harvest into a basket and offer it to ADONAI by giving our firstfruits to the priest (pastor, church, etc.) and declaring God’s goodness and faithfulness. We are also to declare that ADONAI is our God and that we will walk in His statutes and covenants and obey His voice. We are to recognize His promise that we are a people for His treasured possession and that we are to keep His commandments. If we will honor Him in this way, He will bless us incredibly.
Ask the Father what your monthly firstfruits offering amount should be. It can be a monetary amount from your job, a side venture or a bonus. It can also be actual vegetables and/or fruits from your garden. Your monthly firstfruits is the first of your harvest, be it monetary or otherwise. Honoring the Father with your first and best is the principle behind firstfruits.
Tithing, Offerings and Firstfruits
Giving in the form of firstfruits, offerings and tithes are all Torah instructions. It’s important for us to discuss the differences between tithing, offerings and firstfruits, not only because they are three separate forms of giving, but because scripture defines them as three different forms of giving (Nehemiah 10:35, 37, 39):
● Firstfruits (verses 35, 37) are to be brought to the priests
● Contributions / offerings (verses 37, 39) are to be brought to the priests, and
● Tithes (verse 37) are to be brought to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes
The Torah defines the duties and compensation of the Priests and Levites. We find more on tithing and the Levites in Numbers 18:21-24, including this: the tithe belongs to the Levite and the Levite alone. That is why we give offerings, gifts and firstfruits giving in lieu of "tithing". And, we simply choose to give those gifts and firstfruits offerings at the beginning of the month - the amount ADONAI asks of us - on Rosh Chodesh, instead of 10% every two weeks in the form of a "tithe".
Should you choose to give to this ministry financially, we have two ways that you can give your firstfruits offerings and/or gifts:
For a tax-deductible offering / gift, you can donate here: Modern Day
For all other offerings / gifts, you can give here: PayPal
Make checks payable to:
Chameleon Church
PO Box 603
Heber City, UT 84032
Thank you, and we pray God's richest blessings over you and your territory!
