Offerings of First Fruits and Tithes

Continuing a chronologically ordered Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 26:1) "And it shall be when you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and possess it, and dwell in it, (2) That you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the earth which you shall bring of your land that the Lord your God gives you, and shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place His name there."

In the last chapter Moses had been telling the Israelites all of God's commandments and statutes as he had been for most of the book of Deuteronomy.  He continued in chapter 26.  He told the people that when they came into the land that God was giving them for their inheritance, and had possessed it and dwelt in it, that they were to make an offering of all of the first of their various produce.  This was a token of gratitude for the gift of the land God had given them.  They were to put their first fruits in a basket and go to the place that the Lord would choose to put His name there.

(3) "And you shall go to the priest who will be in those days, and say to him, 'I profess this day to the Lord my God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.'"

The people were to go to the priest who would be appointed in those days with their basket of first fruits, and profess to him that they acknowledged they had come into the country that had been long promised to their forefathers by their Lord.

(4) "And the priest will take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God."

The priest would then take their basket of first fruits and put it at the altar of the Lord which would be established by that time.  It was an offering of thanksgiving, a spiritual sacrifice which would be accepted and sanctified on the altar of their Lord God.

(5) "And you shall speak and say before the Lord your God, 'A Syrian ready to perish my father, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.'"

With their gift in hand at the altar, they were to profess and acknowledge that their forefather Jacob was a Syrian, although born in Canaan had Syrian parents, and had been close to perishing, either from poverty or from the threats of his brother Esau.  He went to Egypt with a small number of people, seventy (Genesis 46:27), and they dwelt there.  There they became a great nation of people, mighty and great in number, so much so that Pharoah in Egypt was jealous of them.

(6) "'And the Egyptians mistreated us, and afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us.'"

Moses continued with what the people were to say before the altar.  They were to acknowledge that the Egyptians had mistreated them and made them slaves in hard bondage.

(7) "'And when we cried to the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labor, and our oppression.'"

They were to acknowledge that when they had cried out to the Lord because of their enslavement, hard labor, and mistreatment, He heard them, observing their situation and what they were having to endure.

(8) "'And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders.'"

The people were to profess that it was their Lord God who brought them out of Egypt with many signs, wonders, and miracles, and even terror to the Egyptians with the plagues that were inflicted on them.

(9) "'And He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.'"

They were to continue to acknowledge that God had brought them to the place He had given them, "a land flowing with milk and honey," which was a direct quote from the Lord in Exodus 3:8.

(10) "'And now behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which You, O Lord, have given me.' And you shall set it before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God."

They were to finish with their profession that they had brought the first fruits of their land, the land that the Lord had given them.  Then they were to place their basket before the Lord's altar, and they were to worship Him with thanksgiving and mindful of His great provision for them.

(11) "And you shall rejoice in every good which the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the stranger who is among you."

Moses directed the people to rejoice in all the good things their Lord had provided for them.  The Israelites and also the Levites and strangers among them who received of God's gifts should acknowledge His gifts and provisions for them.  I believe this has a message for how we should treat foreign immigrants.  Yes, we are to love and care for them, but note they are also required to rejoice in and acknowledge where those gifts came from.  That is often not the attitude of people who are allowed to pour over our borders illegally with no check on them.  The strangers who lived among the Israelites lived as they did and according to their laws, and they didn't receive 100% of the Israelites' benefits until they had been circumcised and fully converted to Judaism.  Although our country does not demand adherence to a certain religion, we should demand that immigrants adhere to our laws, and that begins with coming to the country legally.  They should fully embrace our culture and our language should they want to be an American.  If they don't want to be an American first, then they really don't belong in America.

(12) "When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, the year of tithing, and have given to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled,"

When the time for laying aside the tithes of their income or produce for the year came to an end at the Passover feast, in the third year, known as the year of tithing, they were to give their tithes to the Levite who had no inheritance of his own, to the strangers in their land, to the widows and fatherless, generally the poor.  The first and second years the tithes were given to the Levites only and shared with the owners and the Levites.  However in the third year, the year of tithing, they were to share not only with the Levite, but with the strangers, fatherless, and widows, within their gates and they were to share with them in their own dwellings.

(13) "Then you shall say before the Lord your God, 'I have brought away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, neither have I forgotten.'"

After they had shared their third year tithes, they were to declare before the Lord that they had brought their tithes, considered holy unto God, out of their houses and had given them to the Levites, the strangers, the fatherless, and the widows according to God's commandment.  They were to profess that they had not disobeyed God's commandment regarding the third year tithes and they had not forgotten it.

(14) "'I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I taken away of it for unclean use, nor given of it for the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God and have done according to all that you have commanded me.'"

Moses continued telling the people what they were to profess before the Lord.  They were to declare that they had not eaten any of their tithes in their mourning on account of any affliction, but perhaps more to the point was any sorrow in having to give their tithes to the poor.  They were to profess that they had not taken of their tithes for any unclean use, which would frankly be any use other than what it was designed for.  No portion of their tithes was to be consecrated to the dead, but only to the living strangers and poor among them.  In not doing those things, they had listened to God's commandment and had done as He had told them to do.

(15) "'Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the land which You have given us, as You swore to our fathers, a land that flows with milk and honey.'"

They were to ask the Lord to look down from heaven upon them, His people, and bless them and the land He had given them that He had promised to their forefathers, a great land flowing with milk and honey.

(16) "This day the Lord your God has commanded you to do these statutes and judgments; you shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart and with all your soul."

Moses told the people that all He had told them here and in past chapters were the statutes and judgments of their Lord God, and that He had commanded they do those things willingly with all their hearts and souls.

(17) "You have avouched the Lord this day to be your God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and to hearken to His voice."

Moses told the people they had confessed and affirmed that day that the Lord was their God, and that they would walk in the ways He had taught and commanded them, and that they would keep and do His statutes, commandments, and judgments, and would listen to and do what He said.

(18) "And the Lord has avouched you this day to be His special people, as He has promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments, (19) And to make you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, and in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken."

In like manner the Lord had covenanted and affirmed that day that the people of Israel were His special people as He had promised that they were in Exodus 19:5.  However, then and at this time, their part of the covenant was that they should keep all His commandments.  "Now therefore, if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine."  God affirmed His plan to make Israel high above all the nations He had made.  They would be highly praised, they would be well known and highly thought of by name, they would have high honor above all nations, and they would be a holy people to their Lord.  When Israel kept God's word and commandments, they were the greatest and most respectable of all nations, but when they abandoned God and His law, they became the most despicable.