It shall be, when you have come in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, possess it, and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there. You shall come to the priest who shall be in those days, and tell him, “I profess today to Yahweh your God, that I have come to the land which Yahweh swore to our fathers to give us.” The priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before Yahweh your God’s altar.
Show the surrounding paragraph
Deuteronomy 26:1-4 sits inside this longer paragraph.
It shall be, when you have come in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, possess it, and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there. You shall come to the priest who shall be in those days, and tell him, “I profess today to Yahweh your God, that I have come to the land which Yahweh swore to our fathers to give us.” The priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before Yahweh your God’s altar. You shall answer and say before Yahweh your God, “My father was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation. The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to Yahweh, the God of our fathers. Yahweh heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders; and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, Yahweh, have given me.” You shall set it down before Yahweh your God, and worship before Yahweh your God. You shall rejoice in all the good which Yahweh your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is among you.
Parallel Translations
-
It shall be, when you have come in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, possess it, and dwell in it,
that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
You shall come to the priest who shall be in those days, and tell him, “I profess today to Yahweh your God, that I have come to the land which Yahweh swore to our fathers to give us.”
The priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before Yahweh your God’s altar.
-
And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;
That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.
And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.
And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
Show all 3 translations
-
And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and dost possess it, and dwell therein;
that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which thou shalt bring in from thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee; and thou shalt put it in a basket and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there.
And thou shalt come unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him: 'I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the land which the LORD swore unto our fathers to give us.'
And the priest shall take the basket out of thy hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
Cross-references (52)
- Exodus 23:19 (v2) You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground into the house of Yahweh your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its…
- Exodus 23:16 (v2) And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you sow in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the…
- Ezekiel 44:30 (v2) The first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, shall be for the priest. You…
- 1 Corinthians 15:20 (v2) But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep.
- Exodus 34:26 (v2) “You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground to the house of Yahweh your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its…
Show all 52 cross-references
- Deuteronomy 16:10 (v2) You shall keep the feast of weeks to Yahweh your God with a tribute of a free will offering of your hand, which you shall give according to…
- Deuteronomy 17:14 (v1) When you have come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, “I will set a king over me, like…
- Ezekiel 20:40 (v2) For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh, “there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall…
- Ezekiel 48:14 (v2) They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated; for it is holy to Yahweh.
- Romans 8:23 (v2) Not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption,…
- Romans 11:16 (v2) If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches.
- 1 Corinthians 16:2 (v2) On the first day of every week, let each one of you save, as he may prosper, that no collections are made when I come.
- James 1:18 (v2) Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
- Genesis 17:8 (v3) I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting…
- Genesis 26:3 (v3) Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will…
- Exodus 22:29 (v2) “You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. “You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me.
- Leviticus 2:12 (v2) As an offering of first fruits you shall offer them to Yahweh, but they shall not rise up as a pleasant aroma on the altar.
- Leviticus 2:14 (v2) “ ‘If you offer a meal offering of first fruits to Yahweh, you shall offer for the meal offering of your first fruits fresh heads of grain…
- Numbers 15:2 (v1) “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land of your habitations, which I give to you,
- Numbers 15:18 (v1) “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come into the land where I bring you,
- Numbers 18:12-13 (v2) “I have given to you all the best of the oil, all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to…
- Deuteronomy 5:31 (v1) But as for you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which you shall teach…
- Deuteronomy 6:1-10 (v1) Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in…
- Deuteronomy 7:1 (v1) When Yahweh your God brings you into the land where you go to possess it, and casts out many nations before you—the Hittite, the…
- Deuteronomy 12:5-6 (v2) But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you…
- Deuteronomy 13:1 (v1) If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
- Deuteronomy 13:9 (v1) but you shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people.
- Deuteronomy 18:4 (v2) You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep.
- Deuteronomy 18:9 (v1) When you have come into the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations.
- Deuteronomy 19:17 (v3) then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days;
- Joshua 18:1 (v2) The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land…
- 2 Kings 4:42 (v2) A man from Baal Shalishah came, and brought the man of God some bread of the first fruits: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain…
- 2 Chronicles 31:5 (v2) As soon as the commandment went out, the children of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all…
- Nehemiah 10:35-37 (v2) and to bring the first fruits of our ground, and the first fruits of all fruit of all kinds of trees, year by year, to Yahweh’s house; also…
- Nehemiah 12:44 (v2) On that day, men were appointed over the rooms for the treasures, for the wave offerings, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, to…
- Nehemiah 13:31 (v2) and for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the first fruits. Remember me, my God, for good.
- Psalms 105:9-10 (v3) the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant,
- Proverbs 3:9-10 (v2) Honor Yahweh with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase: so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will…
- Jeremiah 2:3 (v2) Israel was holiness to Yahweh, the first fruits of his increase. All who devour him will be held guilty. Evil will come on them,” ’ says…
- Matthew 5:23-24 (v4) “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there…
- Matthew 23:19 (v4) You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
- Luke 1:72-73 (v3) to show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
- Romans 16:5 (v2) Greet the assembly that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first fruits of Achaia to Christ.
- Hebrews 6:16-18 (v3) For men indeed swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation. In this way God, being determined…
- Hebrews 7:26 (v3) For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
- Hebrews 10:21 (v3) and having a great priest over God’s house,
- Hebrews 13:10-12 (v4) We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is…
- Hebrews 13:15 (v3) Through him, then, let’s offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his…
- 1 Peter 2:5 (v3) You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God…
- Revelation 14:4 (v2) These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were…
- 2 Chronicles 6:6 (v2) but now I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel.’
- 1 Corinthians 15:23 (v2) But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (23 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v2 To be called upon, served and worshipped spiritually, Deut.…
To be called upon, served and worshipped spiritually, Deut. 12:5.
By this ceremony they acknowledged that they received the land of Canaan as a free gift of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v2 Deu 26:2 That thou shalt take of the first…
Deu 26:2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put [it] in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.
Ver. 2. Thou shalt take of the first, &c.] In token of homage, or as a chief rent due to God the true proprietary, of whom they held all.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–3 This seems to be required of each particular master…
This seems to be required of each particular master of a family, either upon his first settlement, or once every year at one of their three feasts, when they were obliged to go up to Jerusalem, as here they are.
Of all the fruit of the earth; either of their corn, or of the fruit of trees.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Here is, I. A good work ordered to be…
Here is, I. A good work ordered to be done, and that is the presenting of a basket of their first-fruits to God every year, Deu 26:1, Deu 26:2. Besides the sheaf of first-fruits, which was offered for the whole land, on the morrow after the passover (Lev 23:10), every man was to bring for himself a basket of first-fruits at the feast of pentecost, when the harvest was ended, which is therefore called the feast of first-fruits (Exo 34:22), and is said to be kept with a tribute of free-will-offering, Deu 16:10. But the Jews say, "The first-fruits, if not brought then, might be brought any time after, between that and winter." When a man went into the field or vineyard at the time when the fruits were ripening, he was to mark that which he observed most forward, and to lay it by for first-fruits, wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates, some of each sort must be put in the same basket, with leaves between them, and presented to God in the place which he should choose. Now from this law we may learn, 1. To acknowledge God as the giver of all those good things which are the support and comfort of our natural life, and therefore to serve and honour him with them. 2. To deny ourselves. What is first ripe we are most fond of; those that are nice and curious expect to be served with each fruit at its first coming in. My soul desired the first ripe fruits, Mic 7:1. When therefore God appointed them to lay those by for him he taught them to prefer the glorifying of his name before the gratifying of their own appetites and desires. 3. To give to God the first and best we have, as those that believe him to be the first and best of beings. Those that consecrate the days of their youth, and the prime of their time, to the service and honour of God, bring him their first-fruits, and with such offerings he is well pleased. I remember the kindness of thy youth.
II. Good words put into their mouths to be said in the doing of this good work, as an explication of the meaning of this ceremony, that it might be a reasonable service. The offerer must begin his acknowledgment before he delivered his basket to the priest, and then must go on with it, when the priest had set down the basket before the altar, as a present to God their great landlord, Deu 26:3, Deu 26:4.
Read full note →
1. He must begin with a receipt in full for the good land which God had given them (Deu 26:3): I profess that I have come now at last, after forty years' wandering, unto the country which the Lord swore to give us. This was most proper to be said when they came first into Canaan; probably when they had been long settled there they varied from this form. Note, When God has made good his promises to us he expects that we should own it, to the honour of his faithfulness; this is like giving up the bond, as Solomon does, Kg1 8:56, There has not failed one word of all his good promise. And our creature-comforts are doubly sweet to us when we see them flowing from the fountain of the promise.
2. He must remember and own the mean origin of that nation of which he was a member. How great soever they were now, and he himself with them, their beginning was very small, which ought thus to be kept in mind throughout all the ages of their church by this public confession, that they might not be proud of their privileges and advantages, but might for ever be thankful to that God whose grace chose them when they were so low and raised them so high. Two things they must own for this purpose: - (1.) The meanness of their common ancestor: A Syrian ready to perish was my father, Deu 26:5. Jacob is here called an Aramite, or Syrian, because he lived twenty years in Padan-Aram; his wives were of that country, and his children were all born there, except Benjamin; and perhaps the confessor means not Jacob himself, but that son of Jacob who was the father of his tribe. However it be, both father and sons were more than once ready to perish, by Laban's severity, Esau's cruelty, and the famine in the land, which last was the occasion of their going down into Egypt. Laban the Syrian sought to destroy my father (so the Chaldee), had almost destroyed him, so the Arabic. (2.) The miserable condition of their nation in its infancy. They sojourned in Egypt as strangers, they served there as slaves (Deu 26:6), and that a great while: as their father was called a Syrian, they might be called Egyptians; so that their possession of Canaan being so long discontinued they could not pretend any tenant-right to it. A poor, despised, oppressed people they were in Egypt, and therefore, though now rich and great, had no reason to be proud, or secure, or forgetful of God.
3. He must thankfully acknowledge God's great goodness, not only to himself in particular, but to Israel in general. (1.) In bringing them out of Egypt, Deu 26:7, Deu 26:8. It is spoken of here as an act of pity - he looked on our affliction; and an act of power - he brought us forth with a mighty hand. This was a great salvation, fit to be remembered upon all occasions, and particularly upon this; they need not grudge to bring a basket of first-fruits to God, for to him they owed it that they were not now bringing in the tale of bricks to their cruel task-masters. (2.) In settling them in Canaan: He hath given us this land, Deu 26:9. Observe, He must not only give thanks for his own lot, but for the land in general which was given to Israel; not only for this year's profits, but for the ground itself which produced them, which God had graciously granted to his ancestors and entailed upon his posterity. Note, The comfort we have in particular enjoyments should lead us to be thankful for our share in public peace and plenty; and with present mercies we should bless God for the former mercies we remember and the further mercies we expect and hope for.
4. He must offer to God his basket of first-fruits (Deu 26:10): "I have brought the first-fruits of the land (like a pepper-corn) as a quit-rent for the land which thou hast given me." Note, Whatever we give to God, it is but of his own that we give him, Ch1 29:14. And it becomes us, who receive so much from him, to study what we shall render to him. The basket he set before God; and the priests, as God's receivers, had the first-fruits, as perquisites of their place and fees for attending, Num 18:12.
III. The offerer is here appointed, when he has finished the service, 1. To give glory to God: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. His first-fruits were not accepted without further acts of adoration. A humble, reverent, thankful heart is that which God looks at and requires, and, without this, all we can put in a basket will not avail. If a man would give all the substance of his house to be excused from this, or in lieu of it, it would utterly be contemned. 2. To take the comfort of it to himself and family: Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing, Deu 26:11. It is the will of God that we should be cheerful, not only in our attendance upon his holy ordinances, but in our enjoyments of the gifts of his providence. Whatever good thing God gives us, it is his will that we should make the most comfortable use we can of it, yet still tracing the streams to the fountain of all comfort and consolation.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–4 And it shall be, when thou art come in…
And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land,.... The land of Canaan, which they were now on the borders of, and just entering into:
which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance; which is often mentioned, to observe that it was not through their merits, but his gift, that they should enjoy the land; and the rather here to enforce the following law concerning the basket of firstfruits:
Read full note →
and possessest it, and dwellest therein; not only had entered into it, but got the possession of it, and settled there. This shows as Jarchi observes, that they were not bound to the firstfruits till they had subdued the land and divided it; not as soon as they were in it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–2 A form of confession made by him that offered…
A form of confession made by him that offered the first- fruits, ver. 1-11. A prayer to be made after the disposal of the third year's tithe, ver. 12-15. He binds all these precepts upon them, by the divine authority, and the covenant between God and them, ver. 16-19.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–2 First-fruits must be offered to God, 1, 2.
CHAPTER XXVI
First-fruits must be offered to God, 1, 2.
Read full note →
The form of confession to be used on the occasion, 3-11.
The third year's tithe to be given to the Levites and the poor,
12,
and the form of confession to be used on this occasion, 13-15.
The Israelites are to take Jehovah for their God, and to keep
his testimonies, 16, 17.
And Jehovah is to take them for his people, and make them high
above all the nations of the earth, 18, 19.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVI
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3 Deu 26:1-2. When thou art come into the land…
Deu 26:1-2. When thou art come into the land — Every Israelite being obliged, by law, to offer the first-fruits of his field and vineyard at the tabernacle, at the proper seasons of the year, Moses now prescribes to them the forms of solemn profession and prayer with which each offerer should present them. Thou shalt go unto the place which the Lord shall choose — This seems to have been especially enjoined to each master of a family, and the time when these first-fruits were to be presented was the feast of pentecost, Exo 23:16; when, as well as at the two other great feasts, that of the passover, and that of tabernacles, they were obliged to go up to the place of God’s altar.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–2 Two liturgical enactments having a clear and close reference…
Two liturgical enactments having a clear and close reference to the whole of the preceding legislation, form a most appropriate and significant conclusion to it, namely,
(1) the formal acknowledgment in deed and symbol of God’s faithfulness, by presentment of a basket filled with firstfruits, and in word by recitation of the solemn formula prescribed in Deu 26:3, Deu 26:5-10; and
Read full note →
(2) the solemn declaration and profession on the part of each Israelite on the occasion of the third tithe Deu 26:12.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v1 It. The land where Moses was speaking, which had…
It. The land where Moses was speaking, which had been already conquered, was no less under the obligation of paying the first-fruits, &c., than Chanaan, and the parts of Syria which were promised to the Israelites. (Haydock) --- All the products of the earth seem to have been liable to be offered, (Matthew xxiii. 23,) in proportion as they ripened, at the feasts of the Passover and of Pentecost, (Calmet) and of tabernacles. (Menochius) --- Yet we find no mention here of the therumah, or offering, of which the Rabbins speak so much, as distinct at least from the first-fruits, which were heaved both by the priest and the offerer towards heaven and earth, on the right and left hand. Each (Calmet) landholder, (Haydock) and even the king himself, was bound to bring his own basket to the temple, and to recite the words here prescribed. The wheat and barley were first winnowed, and the grapes and olives made into wine and oil. Before the offering was made to the Lord, no one was allowed to taste any of the produce, Leviticus xxiii. 10., and Numbers xviii. 12, &c. Whether legumes were to be tithed, seems a matter of dispute. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Israel before the Lord
Israel before the Lord
Deu_26:1-19
Read full note →
1And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and [thou] possessest it, and dwellest therein; 2That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name [to cause his name to dwell] there. 3And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. 4And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. 5And thou shalt speak [answer] and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian [An Aramæan] ready to perish [lost, lost, wandering about]1 was my father; and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a [in] few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 6And the Egyptians evil-entreated 7us, and afflicted [oppressed] us, and laid upon us hard bondage: And when [om. when]2 we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, [and] the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our [heavy, exhausting] labour, and our oppression: 8And 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; 9And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10And now, behold, I have brought the first-fruits [first of the fruits] of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me: and thou shalt set it [or the basket] before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God: 11And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing [all the good which] which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. 12When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase [in] the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the Widow, that they may [and they eat] eat within thy gates, and be, [and are] filled: 13Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine [the] house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments [commandment] which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed 14[of, from] thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them: I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use [in uncleanness (unclean condition)]3, nor given aught thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. 15Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 16This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore [and thou shalt] keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 17Thou hast avouched4 the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: 18And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people [people for a possession], as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments: 19And to make [give] thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour [splendor, glory]; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Deu_26:1-11. Upon Deu_26:1 comp. Deu_17:14. Deu_26:2, partitive. (Gen_4:4). According to Jewish tradition a part of the seven kinds of the fruits of Canaan. Deu_8:8. Schultz: Not all the first-fruits, generally, were to be delivered at the sanctuary. Keil: Only those necessary for the following purpose or end. Comp. upon Exo_23:19, and besides Deu_18:4. טֶנֶא from טָנָא, to weave. For the rest comp. Deu_12:11; Deu_12:5, (Deu_16:17). Deu_26:3. Either the priests collectively, or the one who was officiating, comp. Deu_17:12. The declaration (saying) is the explanation of the basket with the first-fruits, as a completed actual acknowledgment of the possession of the land, and as an expression of corresponding gratitude. Deu_26:4. Comp. Deu_26:10. Before the altar of burnt-offering, Exo_27:1 sq. Deu_26:5. Comp. Deu_25:9. To the profession before men, there is joined a wider retrospective and comprehensive prayer before the Lord. Jacob (Israel) nominally and virtually the ancestor of the twelve-tribed people, (Isa_43:27), an Aramæan because of his long residence in Mesopotamia, whence Abraham removed, Gen_11:31, (Deu_25:20; Deu_28:5; Deu_31:20; Deu_31:24), and because he there grew to such a family. Comp. Hos_12:13 sq. אֹבֵד losing himself, who not only wandered about, led a nomadic life, but ran the risk of being lost. (Psa_119:176; Jer_1:6). Duro servitio primum (Gen_31:40) deinde fame (Gen_42:2; Gen_43:8). J. H. Michaelis. Comp. Gen_35:3. Keil against the accents: A lost Aramæan was my father. Luther (Vulg.). The Aramæan (Satan) would destroy my father, as if the reading was אִבֵּד. The Sept.: Συρίαν ἀπἑλιπεν ὁ πατήρ μου. ב the beth essentiæ. Deu_10:22. מתי (Plurali tantum) מְתִים from מתָה to extend, i.e., the extended, grown, adult, men. מְעָט from מָעַט to rub away, small, diminish) of few men. Comp. Gen_34:30. In himself nothing, with his own, few, and yet! Comp. Deu_7:1; Deu_9:1. (Exo_1:7; Exo_1:9). Deu_26:6. Comp. Exo_1:11 sq. Deu_26:7. Comp. Exo_2:23; Exo_4:31. Deu_26:8. Comp. Deu_4:34; Deu_5:15; Deu_6:21 sq. Deu_26:9. Comp. Deu_6:3. (Exo_3:8). The offering brought by the individual private Israelite, Deu_26:10, corresponds to this bringing of the people into the land on the part of Jehovah. Comp. Deu_26:2. The setting it down either as resuming the closing remark of Deu_26:4, or implying that the offerer had taken up the basket with the first-fruits during the prayer. Deu_26:11. The solemn festal joy, Deu_12:7; Deu_12:12; Deu_16:11; Deu_16:14; Deu_18:4. The first-fruits, as the firstborn and the tithes (Deu_25:19 sq.; Deu_14:23).
2. Deu_26:12-15. The making an end and all the tithes, Deu_26:12, refer to the second tithe in the third year. (Comp. Deu_14:28). The year of tithing, because the whole tithe obligations, even to the special application, was completed in each third year. Comp. Deu_14:29. Hence Deu_26:13, after such a close, an account is to be rendered, perhaps when they appeared before the Lord at the feast of tabernacles in the third year. Keil understands the saying, avowal, here as before God generally, (Gen_27:7), a view which Deu_26:15 certainly favors. Brought a way, not as an obligation, or debt (Schultz, Keil), but as something which does not belong to me, to annul, wipe away all title to which, it is brought out from the house; spoken with emotion. Hallowed things, i.e., whatever is devoted to God, as it was to be conveyed or disposed of in the legally defined way. The whole command, to wit, whatever could generally come into account here. The individual commands are alluded to in what follows. Neither wilfully nor consciously. (שָכַח closed to the consciousness). Deu_26:14. The further conscious deduction in definite contrasts. I have not eaten thereof, in a case of sorrow, or mourning for the dead (some hold in respect to the Egyptian mourning in the offering of the first-fruits to Isis, or the like); nor in any other way as legally unclean, have I taken it out from the house, Deu_26:13); nor even (Deu_14:1) have sent from it into a friendly house of mourning. Comp. Hos_9:4; Jer_16:7 sq.; 2Sa_3:35. Sept.: Given from it to the dead. There is no necessity for holding with Schultz, to some “superstitious application.” As Deu_26:5 sq., unfolds into thanks, so Deu_26:15 into prayer. It may moreover rightly be urged against that exclusive assertion of the earthly sanctuary foisted upon Deut. by the critics. Comp. Isa_63:15. Whoever preserves the hallowed things holy, may make his claim before the holy place of the Lord. The prayer for a blessing relates to the organic whole, keeps in mind the whole people.
3. Deu_26:16-19. The prominence of the law generally as a basis upon which such a prayer rests, now and always, while it is called to-day. Deu_26:16. Comp. Deu_4:1 sq.; Deu_5:5; Deu_5:1, Deu_6:1 sq., and indeed as to what kind of fulfilling of the law, comp. Deu_6:5; Deu_10:12. Deu_26:17 intimates at the same time the covenant relation of Israel. If the Hiphil הֶאֱמַרְתָּ is retained, i.e., bring under obligation, made to say, since Israel had said that he hears and does (Deu_5:24—comp. also Deu_26:14 above) he thereby scoures Jehovah as his God. Others regard it as a strengthened form of Kal.: to promise or to accept; to extol, glorify. Gesen., Knobel, Keil: thou hast let Jehovah say, declare, promise. Comp. for the rest of the verse Deu_8:6; Deu_5:26. Deu_26:18. The same applied to God. Comp. Deu_7:6; Deu_14:2; Exo_19:5. Since Jehovah requires all, as is stated, Deu_26:1 sq., He makes Israel sure as His people, according to the promise; but when Israel has shown his faithfulness to all the commands, then first follows the exaltation of Israel above all the nations, also created by God (Jehovah is also Elohim, not only the God of Israel). His faithfulness naturally produces praise, renown, and the glorification from the Lord. Comp. Jer_13:11; Jer_33:9; Zep_3:19 sq.; Exo_19:6. [An holy people.—This was the design and end of the divine choice in regard to Israel, as it is still of the personal choice or election of believers. Comp. Eph_1:4.—A. G.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Two formulas of prayer, Deu_26:1 sq. and Deu_26:12 sq., enclose the perfection of Israel; it is comprehended by them in its most inward and holy aspect. The fulfilling of the law completes itself in prayer, as inversely the idea of prayer is realized only through the fulfilling of the law (Deu_26:16 sq.).
2. Prayer appears at the very summit of the life of Israel, at the same time as the most essential thing, as the very soul of all thought and deeds which only find their strength and growth here, and thence—
3. The given formulas of prayer, with which compare the Lord’s prayer, include generally reverence, and particularly praise, thanks, petition, intercession, all the elements of prayer. The personal prayer appears hence as the common (Deu_26:15).
4. In this direction, as to the first fruits (Deu_26:2) and the tithes (Deu_26:12), the service of God in Israel appears, by the way, as the worship of God, in which man gives God the honor of that with which God has first honored him. “Ye must at all times (preaches Zinzendorf), at the very front, begin with declaring to what straits your father had been reduced,—how he went down to Egypt, was a stranger there, and evilly entreated—until God at last redeemed him, made him a great people, and brought him to this wished for land.”
5. The duty of prayer is thus truly the grace of prayer, which man must yield, and whatever can hinder must be put away (Deu_26:13 sq.).
6. Prayer in truth is through God even, not so much because in its expression it brings before God the thoughts and word of God (Deu_26:5 sq.; 13 sq.), but rather because in its inmost spirit it is the consecration of the whole man to God. Otherwise all the subjective and objective relation of life (Deu_26:13), the personal as the social condition (Deu_26:14), would not be pervaded and made serviceable to the kingdom of God.
7. As the object and end of prayer is the union of my will with that of God—not my will but thine be done—so prayer manifests itself through obedience to the law, through faithfulness in covenant relations (Deu_26:16 sq.). His service is moreover our blessedness, the true honoring of God, the glory of men (Deu_26:19). “Instead of closing at its end the way of God, the law points in that respect directly to that which is new and greater.” (Schultz.)
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Deu_26:1. Kohlbrugge: “We come into the land as soon as we believe; then it typifies to the believer, heaven, the everlasting and full enjoyment of all blessedness, Heb_4:11; Eph_2:5-6. It is all a free gift. It is the nature of God to give, to be good to the poor, Gal_3:18; Gal_3:29.” Deu_26:2 sq. The same: “Diversities of fruit. Comp. 1Co_12:4 sq.; Eph_4:7; Php_1:11; Gal_5:22; 2Pe_1:3 sq. He gives a fruitful land, Eph_2:10; and there should not be any exotic fruits, Gal_1:7-8.” Deu_26:3. Starke: “Thanksgiving and prayer are sisters which should never be separated.” Kohlbrugge: “The confession of the mouth disburdens and warms the heart, awakes a joyful faith. Thy God who has put thee into office to praise the name of God, His faithfulness and truth before the people,—thus from my confession to take occasion to comfort and encourage others, that God will not forsake the work of His hands. The priest takes the basket, as he must ever bring before the throne whatever the people offer, Jer_30:21. The altar of burnt offering a figure of Christ and His cross.” Deu_26:5 sq. Baumgarten: “Israel is in himself nothing more than the receptive subject of the grace of Jehovah. This is plain for all the future in the twofold beginning of his history. First, Israel the individual man, whose loneliness in the three patriarchs is three times inferred; no violent, lawless Nimrod, but an Aramæan stranger and shepherd going through the regions of kings and nations (Psa_105:12-13), and exposed to their assaults. As Jehovah prevented this, He alone established this beginning—for Israel, as a lost man, had no strength in himself. So also in the second beginning, where Israel became a great people, but thus given into the power of a strange and harsh king, he was lost again. In measure indeed as Israel had grown to a great mass, the grace of Jehovah became grander and more wonderful.” [Wordsworth: “We must remember our past miseries as well as our present mercies; what we were by nature as well as what we are by grace.”—A. G.] Cramer: “Alms are not given from vanity, but from faith.” Richter: “Deu_26:7 praises the omniscience of God, Deu_26:8 His power and righteousness, and Deu_26:9 His goodness and faithfulness.” Deu_26:10. Starke: “The first to God, and not to Satan. Ye young men and maidens, devote to God the bloom of your years.” Deu_26:11. Baumgarten: “With the first fruits for the priests (Num_18:13) they were to bring others also, free-will offerings and what was joined with them, Deuteronomy 12.” Deu_26:13 sq.: “Like the Pharisee, Luke 18, but not the same, indeed unlike.” Deu_26:14. Randglosse: “The sacrifice to God should be joyful, pure and holy.” Deu_26:15. Schultz: “If a living prayer ascends to God, a certain obedience, as well as a certain experience of grace, is necessary.” Baumgarten: “Because He who dwells in the earthly sanctuary is at the same time enthroned in the heavenly sanctuary, so He must be called upon in every house of Israel. What freedom and variety in Israel, in connection with all earnestness for the unity of the sanctuary, and the sacredness of the priesthood and its position.” Deu_26:16. Osiander: “For the fulfilling of the commands, God requires the whole man.” Deu_26:17. Starke: “Great similarity with the question in the baptismal covenant, 1Pe_3:21.” Deu_26:19. Richter: “To be for the praise of God (Ephesians 1.) is the ultimate end of all the revelations and forms of the kingdom of God.” V. Gerlach: “In the first fruits there is a continuous homage and acknowledgment with reference to all earthly possessions. The second tithe changed every Israelitish home into a sanctuary.”
Footnotes:
[1][Deu_26:5. Literally, perishing was my father. The rendering adopted by our version is not only most nearly literal, but best agrees with the history referred to.—A. G.].
[2][Deu_26:7. The word when is not in the original, and should have been in italics.—A. G.].
[3][Deu_26:14. Schroeder’s rendering is the most literal and obvious, and gives a better sense than others proposed, or adopted.—A. G.].
[4][Deu_26:17. Literally, caused to say—caused him to say.—A. G.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–2 1. The land which the Lord thy God giveth…
1. The land which the Lord thy God giveth thee — The people are often reminded that this possession is not one gained by their own valour. It is Jehovah’s gift to them. They are to keep this ever in mind; the promised land is from him, and the bountiful gifts which it is to furnish are from him.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–4 1. when thou art come in, etc.] As in…
1. when thou art come in, etc.] As in Deu_17:14, but with these additions: and it shall be and for an inheritance (Deu_15:4). As Cullen (p. 88) points out the substance of the statement is already in Deu_8:1.
IV. Fourth Division of the Laws. Ideals of Ritual Procedure with Proper Prayers, Deu_26:1-15
Read full note →
The Presentation of Firstfruits (Deu_26:1-11) and the Distribution of Tithes (Deu_26:12-15). Throughout in the style of D (with particular affinity to the Law of Tithes, Deu_14:22-29) and in the Sg. address; for additions, see below. These beautiful forms of service express fully D’s ideals of worship—that it shall be national, at the nation’s one sanctuary, but performed by the separate families with their local dependents; that it shall be historical, recounting the Providence of God from the beginnings of the nation till their settlement in the Promised Land, and therefore joyful and eucharistic; and further that it shall be equally mindful of God and His dues and of the poor and their dues. No two rites could have better summed up the ritual teaching of D in its essential features, nor, with the ethical supplement which follows, have formed a fitter close to the whole Code.
On the ground of the similarity between 26 and Deuteronomy 6-11 (esp. Deu_8:1-18) Cullen (Bk. of the Covt. in Moab, 79 ff.) refers the whole of 26 to his ‘Miṣwah’ or earlier deuteronomic Book published before the reforms of Josiah. He gives a detailed examination of the ch. well worthy of study. He points out the number of expressions in 26 not found in the Code but in 6–11. Others, however, common to 26 and the Code are not found in Deuteronomy 6-11, and the whole subject of Deu_26:1-15 is otherwise more suitable to the Code than to 6–11.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v1 Deu_26:1-11. PRESENTATION OF THE FIRST FRUITS.
XXVI.
Deu_26:1-11. PRESENTATION OF THE FIRST FRUITS.
Read full note →
(1) When thou art come in.—Rashi says they were not bound to the discharge of this duty until they had conquered and divided the land. But the state of things described in the Book of Joshua (Jos_21:43-45) would demand it. From the words of Deu_26:11, “thou shalt rejoice,” the Jews gather that the thanksgiving to be said over the firstfruits (in Deu_26:5-10) must be said at some time between the close of the feast of unleavened bread on the twenty-first day of the first month (the “solemn assembly” of Deu_16:8) and the Feast of Tabernacles. If firstfruits were presented between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Passover, this formula was not used (Rashi).
(3) The priest that shall be in those days.—No mention is made of the Levite here. The priest (though of the tribe of Levi) has an office distinct from the Levite in the Book of Deuteronomy as much as in the rest of the Old Testament.
I profess.—Literally, I declare. “To show that thou art not ungrateful for His goodness” (Rashi, from the Talmud).
This day.—The formula was only used once in the year.
(4) The priest shall take the basket.—“To wave it. The priest put his hand under the hand of the owner, and waved it.”
(5) A Syrian ready to perish.—The reference is to Jacob, more especially when pursued by Laban, who would have taken from him his all, except for the Divine mercy and protection. We may also recall his danger from Esau (Genesis 31, 32), from the Shechemites (34, 35), and from the famine, until he heard of Joseph.
(7) When we cried unto the Lord.—Samuel in his famous speech (1Sa_12:8) takes up the language of this passage, “When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord . . . brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.
(6-7) See Exo_2:25; Exo_3:9; Exo_6:5-6 for the source of this confession.
(10) And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God—i.e., take it up again after it was first waved by the priest, and hold it in the hand while making this confession, and then wave it once more. After this it would become the priest’s.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain On v1 Deuteronomy 26
Deuteronomy 26
"And it shall be, when thou shalt come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there" - not to a place of their own or others’ choosing - "And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God." (Vers. 1-4.)
Read full note →
The chapter on which we now enter contains the lovely ordinance of the basket of firstfruits in which we shall find some principles of the deepest interest, and practical importance. It was when the hand of Jehovah had conducted His people into the land of promise, that the fruits of that land could be presented. It was, obviously, necessary to be in Canaan, ere Canaan’s fruits could be offered in worship. The worshipper was able to say, "I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us."
Here lay the root of the matter. "I am come." He does not say, "I am coming, hoping to come, or longing to come." No; but, "I am come." Thus it must ever be. We must know ourselves saved, ere we can offer the fruits of a known salvation. We may be most sincere in our desires after salvation, most earnest in our efforts to obtain it. But then we cannot but see that efforts to be saved, and the fruits of a known and enjoyed salvation are wholly different. The Israelite did not offer the basket of firstfruits in order to get into the land, but because he was actually in it. "I profess this day, that I am come." "There is no mistake about it, no question, no doubt, not even a hope. I am actually in the land, and here is the fruit of it."
"And thou shalt speak, and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression. 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; and he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you."
This is a very beautiful illustration of worship. "A Syrian ready to perish." Such was the origin. There is nothing to boast of, so far as nature is concerned. And as to the condition in which grace had found them; what of it? Hard bondage in the land of Egypt. Toiling amid the brick kilns, beneath the cruel lash of Pharaoh’s taskmasters. But then, "We cried unto Jehovah." Here was their sure and blessed resource. It was all they could do; but it was enough. That cry of helplessness went directly up to the throne and to the heart of God, and brought Him down into the very midst of the brick kilns of Egypt. Hear Jehovah’s gracious words to Moses, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry, by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land, and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.... Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me; and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them." (Ex. 3: 7-9.)
Such was the immediate response of Jehovah to the cry of His people. "I am come down to deliver them." Yes; blessed be His Name, He came down, in the exercise of His own free and sovereign grace, to deliver His people; and no power of men or devils, earth or hell, could hold them for one moment beyond the appointed time. Hence, in our chapter, we have the grand result as set forth in the language of the worshipper, and in the contents of his basket. I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.... And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me." The Lord had accomplished all, according to the love of His heart, and the faithfulness of His word. Not one jot or tittle had failed. "I am come." And "I have brought the fruit." The fruit of what? Of Egypt? Nay; but "of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me." The worshipper’s lips proclaimed the completeness of Jehovah’s work. The worshipper’s basket contained the fruit of Jehovah’s land. Nothing could be simpler, nothing more real. There was no room for a doubt, no ground for a question. He had simply to declare Jehovah’s work and show the fruit. It was all of God from first to last. He had brought them out of Egypt, and He had brought them into Canaan. He had filled their baskets with the mellow fruits of His land, and their hearts with His Praise.
And now, beloved reader, let us just ask you, do you think it was presumption on the part of the Israelite to speak as he did? Was it right, was it modest, was it humble of him to say "I am come"? Would it have been more becoming in him merely to give expression to the faint hope that, at some future period, he might come? Would doubt and hesitation, as to his position and his portion, have been more honouring and gratifying to the God of Israel? What say you? It may be that, anticipating our argument, you are ready to say, "There is no analogy." Why not? If an Israelite could say, "I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us," why cannot the believer now say, "I am come unto Jesus"? True, in the one case, it was sight; in the other, it is faith. But is the latter less real than the former? Does not the inspired apostle say to the Hebrews, "Ye are come unto mount Zion"? And again, "We receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God with reverence and godly fear." If we are in doubt as to whether we have "come" or not, and as to whether we have "received the kingdom" or not, it is impossible to worship in truth, or serve with acceptance. It is when we are in intelligent and peaceful possession of the place and portion in Christ, that true worship can ascend to the throne above, and effective service be rendered in the vineyard below.
For what, let us ask, is true worship? It is simply telling out, in the presence of God, what He is, and what He has done. It is the heart occupied with, and delighting in God and in all His marvellous actings and ways. Now, if we have no knowledge of God, and no faith in what He has done, how can we worship Him? "He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." But, then, to know God is life eternal. I cannot worship God if I do not know Him; and I cannot know Him without having eternal life. The Athenians had erected an altar "to the unknown God," and Paul told them that they were worshipping in ignorance, and proceeded to declare unto them the true God as revealed in the Person and work of the Man Christ Jesus.
It is deeply important to be clear as to this. I must know God ere I can worship Him. I may "feel after him, if haply I may find him;" but feeling after One whom I have not found, and worshipping and delighting in One whom I have found, are two totally different things. God has revealed Himself, blessed be His Name! He has given us the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. He has come near to us in the Person of that blessed One, so that we may know Him, love Him, trust in Him, delight in Him, and use Him, in all our weakness and in all our need. We have no longer to grope for Him amid the darkness of nature, nor yet among the clouds and mists of spurious religion, in its ten thousand forms. No; our God has made Himself known by a revelation so plain that the wayfaring man, though a fool in all beside, may not err therein. The Christian can say, "I know whom I have believed." This is the basis of all true worship. There may be a vast amount of fleshly pietism, mechanical religion, and ceremonial routine, without a single atom of true spiritual worship. This latter can only flow from the knowledge of God.
But our object is not to write a treatise on worship, but simply to unfold to our readers the instructive and beautiful ordinance of the basket of firstfruits And having shown that worship was the first thing with an Israelite who found himself in possession of the land - and, further, that we, now, must know our place and privilege in Christ before we can truthfully and intelligently worship the Father - we shall proceed to point out another very important practical result illustrated in our chapter, namely, active benevolence.
"When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments, which thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them." (Vers. 12, 13.)
Nothing can be more beautiful than the moral order of these things. It is precisely similar to what we have in Hebrews 13. "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." Here is the worship. "But to do good and communicate, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Here is the active benevolence. Putting both together, we have what we may call the upper and the nether side of the Christian’s character - praising God and doing good to men. Precious characteristics! May we exhibit them more faithfully! One thing is certain, they will always go together. Show us a man whose heart is full of praise to God, and we will show you one whose heart is open to every form of human need. He may not be rich in this world’s goods. He may be obliged to say, like one of old who was not ashamed to say it, "Silver and gold have I none, but he will have the tear of sympathy, the kindly look, the soothing word, and these things tell far more powerfully upon a sensitive heart than the opening of the purse-strings, and the jingling of silver and gold. Our adorable Lord and Master, our Great Exemplar, "went about doing good;" but we never read of His giving money to any one; indeed, we are warranted in believing that the Blessed One never possessed a penny. When He wanted to answer the Herodians on the subject of paying tribute to Caesar, He had to ask them to show Him a penny; and when asked to pay tribute, He sent Peter to the sea to get it. He never carried money; and, most assuredly, money is not named in the category of gifts bestowed by Him upon His servants. Still He went about doing good, and we are to do the same, in our little measure; it is, at once, our high privilege and our bounden duty to do so.
And let the reader mark the divine order laid down in Hebrews 13 and illustrated in Deuteronomy 26. Worship gets the first, the highest place. Let us never forget this. We, in our wisdom or our sentimentality, might imagine that doing good to men, usefulness, philanthropy is the highest thing. But it is not so. "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me." God inhabits the praises of His people. He delights to surround Himself with hearts filled to overflowing with a sense of His goodness, His greatness and His glory. Hence, we are to offer the sacrifice of praise to God "continually." So also the Psalmist says, "I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth." It is not merely now and then, or when all is bright and cheery around us, when everything goes on smoothly and prosperously; no, but "at all times" - "continually" The stream of thanksgiving is to flow uninterruptedly. There is no interval for murmuring or complaining, fretfulness or dissatisfaction, gloom or despondency. Praise and thanksgiving are to be our continual occupation. We are ever to cultivate the spirit of worship. Every breath, as it were, ought to be a hallelujah. Thus it shall be, by-and-by. Praise will he our happy and holy service while eternity rolls along its course of golden ages. When we shall have no further call to "communicate," no demand on our resources or our sympathies, when we shall have bid an eternal adieu to this scene of sorrow and need, death and desolation, then shall we praise our God, for evermore, without let or interruption, in the sanctuary of His own blessed presence above.
"But to do good and to communicate, forget not." There is singular interest attaching to the mode in which this is put. He does not say, "But to offer the sacrifice of praise, forget not." No; but lest, in the full and happy enjoyment of our own place and portion in Christ, we should "forget" that we are passing through a scene of want and misery, trial and pressure, the apostle adds the salutary and much needed admonition as to doing good and communicating. The spiritual Israelite is not only to rejoice in every good thing which the Lord his God has bestowed upon him, but he is also to remember the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow - that is, the one who has no earthly portion and is thoroughly devoted to the Lord’s work; and the one who has no home, the one who has no natural protector, and the one who has no earthly stay. It must ever be thus. The rich tide of grace rolls down from the bosom of God, fills our hearts to overflowing, and, in its overflow, refreshes and gladdens our whole sphere of action. If we were only living in the enjoyment of what is ours in God, our every movement, our every act, our every word, yea, our every look would do good. The. Christian, according to the divine idea, is one who stands, with one hand lifted up to God, in the presentation of the sacrifice of praise, and the other hand filled with the fragrant fruits of genuine benevolence to meet every form of human need.
O beloved reader, let us deeply ponder these things. Let us really apply our whole hearts to the earnest consideration of them. Let us seek a fuller realisation and a truer expression of these two great branches of practical Christianity, and not be satisfied with anything less.
We shall now briefly glance at the third point in the precious chapter before us. We shall do little more than quote the passage for the reader. The Israelite, having presented his basket, and distributed his tithes, was further instructed to say, "I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead; but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgements; thou shalt therefore keep and do them, with all thine heart and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgements, and to hearken unto his voice. And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people" - that is a people of His own special possession - "as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; and to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken." (Vers. 14-19.)
Here we have personal holiness, practical sanctification, entire separation from everything inconsistent with the holy place and relationship into which they had been introduced, in the sovereign grace and mercy of God. There must be no mourning, no uncleanness, no dead works. We have no room, no time for any such things as these; they do not belong to that blessed sphere in which we are privileged to live and move and have our being. We have just three things to do; we look up to God, and offer the sacrifice of praise. We look around at a needy world, and do good. We look in upon the circle of our own being - our inner life, and seek, by grace, to keep ourselves unspotted. "Pure religion and undefiled, before God and the Father, is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." (Jas. 1: 27)
Thus, whether we hearken to Moses, in Deuteronomy 26, or to Paul in Hebrews 13, or to James in his most wholesome, needed, practical epistle, it is the same Spirit that speaks to us, and the same grand lessons that are impressed upon us - lessons of unspeakable value and moral importance - lessons loudly called for, in this day of easygoing profession, in the which the doctrines of grace are taken up and held in a merely intellectual way, and connected with all sorts of worldliness and self-indulgence.
Truly there is an urgent need of a more powerful, practical ministry amongst us. There is a deplorable lack of the prophetic and pastoral element in our ministrations. By the Prophetic element we mean that character of ministry that deals with the conscience and brings it into the immediate presence of God. This is greatly needed. There is a good deal of ministry which addresses itself to the intelligence; but sadly too little for the heart and the conscience. The teacher speaks to the understanding; the prophet speaks to the conscience;* the pastor speaks to the heart. We speak, of course, generally. It may so happen that the three elements are found in the ministry of one man; but they are distinct; and we cannot but feel that where the prophetic and Pastoral gifts are lacking in any assembly the teachers should very earnestly wait upon the Lord for spiritual power to deal with the hearts and consciences of His beloved people. Blessed be His Name, He has all needed gift, grace and power for His servants. All we need is to wait on Him, in real earnestness and sincerity of heart, and He will, most assuredly, supply us with all suited grace and moral fitness for whatever service we may be called to render in His church.
{*Very many seem to entertain the idea that a prophet is one who foretells future events; but it would be a mistake thus to confine the term. 1 Cor 14: 28-32 lets us into the meaning of the words "prophet" and "prophesying." The teacher and the prophet are closely and beautifully connected. The teacher unfolds truth from the word of God; the prophet applies it to the conscience; and, we may add, the pastor sees how the ministry of both the one and the other is acting on the heart and in the life.}
Oh! that all the Lord’s servants may be stirred up to a more deep-toned earnestness, in every department of His blessed work! May we be "instant in season, out of season," and in no wise discouraged by the condition of things around us, but rather find, in the very condition, an urgent reason for more intense devotedness.
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–3 As Moses began his exposition of the laws and…
THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER AT THE PRESENTATION OF FIRSTFRUITS AND TITHES.
As Moses began his exposition of the laws and rights instituted for Israel by a reference to the sanctuary as the place which the Lord should choose, and the place where religious service was to be rendered, (De 12) so here he follows up his address by a reference to the same. Of the gifts which had to be presented at the sanctuary there were two specially connected with the social and domestic life of the people, viz. the firstfruits and the second tithe. To these, by a natural transition from the preceding discourse occupied as that is with injunctions regarding their social and domestic relations Moses here refers for the purpose of prescribing certain liturgical forms with which the presentation of the gift was to be accompanied by the offerer.
Read full note →
Vers. 1-11. Of the firstfruits the Israelite was to take a portion, and placing it in a basket, to bring it to the place of the sanctuary, where it was to be received by the attendant priest. The offerer was to accompany his presentation with the declaration, "I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord swore unto our fathers for to give us;" and the priest having set the basket down before the altar, the offerer was to make confession and prayer, gratefully acknowledging the Divine favor showed to Israel in choosing them to be a great nation, in delivering them out of Egypt, and bringing them into a rich and fertile land; and along with this his bounty to the individual who now presented the firstfruits of his land unto the Lord.
Vers. 1-11. Joy in the use of temporal mercies; or, sanctification of our possessions to God warrants a holy joy in the use of them.
The order of thought is this:
1. In due time Israel would be in possession of the land which the Lord promised to give them.
2. Of this comfortable possession the gathering of the fruits thereof would be the proof and sign.
3. In accordance with a well-understood law, the firstfruits were to be offered to God (see reference).
4. In thus offering the firstfruits, the offerers were to go up to the house of the Lord, and present them to the priest, who was to lay them before the altar as offerings to the Lord.
5. This being done, there was to be an oral avowal of Divine mercy in pitying "the perishing Aramaean" from whom they were descended, in watching over the growth of their nation, in delivering them from Egypt, in giving them the good land, and in permitting it to yield them its fruit.
6. This being done, they could then rejoice before the Lord their God in the sacrificial meal which followed, in the companionship of friends invited to share with them the joy of harvest, and in the after use of the bounties of God"s providence. For they would be doubly blessed, as, over and above the temporal mercies themselves, they would share the benediction of him who gave them all things richly to enjoy. Good Bishop Wordsworth remarks that this passage exhorts to harvest thanksgivings in the Christian Church. Such services are undoubtedly fully in harmony with the spirit of the chapter. But it seems to us to contain principles of far wider scope, and of everyday application. They are four in number.
I OUR GOD WOULD HAVE US RECOGNIZE HIM AS THE AUTHOR OF ALL OUR MERCIES. For such he is. Without him no land would yield its increase, nor would man have power or skill to cultivate the soil. Without him no sun would shine nor rain descend. It is easy to say that such and such a harvest came in the ordinary course of law. We at once press the questions, Who ordained these laws? Who causes forces to act according to them? For no law ever did or could make itself. Law" is a purely mental conception. It is not an entity, save as mind ordains it, and it only operates as energy works by it. It is unsound in philosophy, as well as rotten in piety, if we fail to acknowledge God in all. Nor is it bare power that we have to recognize; but goodness, mercy, loving-kindness. And all these kindnesses of God he would have us acknowledge:
1. By a confession of our entire dependence upon him.
2. By grateful retrospect of the past; remembering and recalling through what scenes God has brought us year by year.
3. By grateful survey of the blessings which are around us now. Nor should we ever leave out of account that which is the substratum of this chapter (and indeed of all the chapters in this book), though not here specified in words, viz. that, as sinful beings, our natural claims on the Great Being as his dependent creatures have been forfeited by sin, and that the continuance to sinful beings of such heaps of mercy is due only to, and is indeed a part of, that redemptive grace which to Israel was disclosed in germ, but to us in its fullness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Such thanksgivings as we owe may well even now be offered in the house of the Lord; but they should daily be the promptings of grateful and devoted hearts. In private and in the family circle our song should be, "What shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits toward us?
II THE THANK OFFERING SHOULD NOT ONLY BE VERBAL BUT PRACTICAL. There was to be the offering of the firstfruits to the Lord. (see Homily, Deu_14:22-29) When God gave all, what precept could be more appropriate? What can be more becoming than to let God have the first of everything? This is the principle which ran through these varied regulations as to firstfruits and tithe. Jacob spontaneously said, "Of all that thou givest me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee." Solomon urges, "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase." We have no distinctive proportion laid down in the New Testament as to our offerings to God. Yet the conscientious Christian should require no further hints than such as are found in 1Co_16:2. Circumstances have changed. Details will vary. Yet the great and mighty cause of God, even that of righteousness, truth, and love, has to be maintained and spread in the world by the efforts and offerings of those "put in trust with the gospel." And it will not be possible to be faithful to the claims of God and the demands of the times without a conscientious, systematic, proportionate giving of our gains to the Lord. Christians should never suffer the absence of detail in New Testament precepts on the subject of giving to the Lord, to be taken advantage of to the weakening of his cause who trusts our spontaneity. Let us not abuse God"s confidence. Let the love of Christ constrain us.
III THE GIVING OF THE FIRSTFRUITS TO GOD IS A TOKEN OF THE SANCTIFICATION OF ALL WE HAVE TO RIGHT AND HOLY USES. There is no better guarantee of a wise and right use of our substance than the conscientious dedication of firstfruits to our God. He who is conscientious enough in this respect may be safely relied on to spend rightly the rest of his gains, because the same conscientiousness which marks his first spendings will mark all the others.
IV WHEN OUR GAINS ARE THUS RECEIVED IN A RIGHT SPIRIT, AND SPENT IN A RIGHT WAY, WE MAY REJOICE THEREIN BEFORE THE LORD. God hath given us "all things richly to enjoy." And men who know nothing of the Christian consecration of all things to God do not know how to enjoy what they possess. If men rejoice in earthly good for its own sake, it will soon cease to yield delight. "The world passeth away, and the lust thereof." But when regarded, received, and spent in the way we have already pointed out, it may yield a pure delight.
For:
1. It will be enjoyed, as the gift of One who is our redeeming God, in covenant relation to us, and with whom we are at peace.
2. It will be enjoyed with a sense of rectitude which only those can have who have been severely right in the regulation of their gettings and givings.
3. It will be enjoyed, because gains so acquired and spent will be a means of grace to a man. Riches in such a case will expand the heart.
4. It will be enjoyed, because such a man will bear about with him the holy and blessed consciousness that he is fulfilling God"s will and spreading God"s cause in the right use of his gifts.
5. It will be enjoyed, because such a one knows that God"s blessing is resting on him and on all he has, that, rich as may be his earthly good, though he enjoys it while it lasts, yet he can afford to hold it with a loose hand, for it is not his all, and that when he is called to part with it, he will find richer treasure still laid up for him in heaven, for when "flesh and heart fail, God will be the strength of his heart, and his portion forever.
Thus and thus alone is it possible to extract from earthly good the full delight it is calculated and intended to yield. If we make worldly possessions the food of our souls, they will turn to ashes in the mouth. They bring no blessing with them. They will disappoint, and if they take their flight, as they so often do, we shall be left miserably poor. But if through the grace and Spirit of our God we are led first to choose God as our all, and then to use our all for God, we shall enjoy the life that now is, and. enter on a fullness of joy in that which is to come.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR.
Vers. 1-11.
The presentation of the first fruits.
This interesting ceremony:
1. Reminded the individual that the land and its fruits were God"s.
2. Required from him a devout acknowledgment of the fact, with a gift in which the acknowledgment was suitably embodied.
3. Threw him back on the recollection of God"s former mercies to his nation.
4. Secured a confession and rehearsal of these from his own lips.
It served:
1. To create and deepen religious feeling.
2. To quicken gratitude.
3. To encourage free-will offerings. Two main points
I GOD"S MERCIES ARE TO BE GRATEFULLY REMEMBERED. These mercies are many and wonderful. (Psa_40:5) The points dwelt on in this declaration are God"s fulfillments of his promises in the increase of the nation (ver. 5), the deliverance from Egypt (vers. 6-8), and the bringing of the people into the land of Canaan (ver. 9), part of the firstfruits of which the worshipper now presented (ver. 10).
We have here:
1. National mercies. Since in Israel Church and nation were one:
2. Church mercies.
3. Personal mercies.
A similar review befits every Christian. What causes of thankfulness has he, not only in the remembrance of God"s loving-kindness to him personally, (Psa_40:1-4 Psa_116:1-19) but in the review of God"s dealings with his nation, and still more in the consideration of his mercies to the Church! On the one side, our noble constitution, our just laws, our civil and religious liberties, our immunity from war the fruits of long centuries of struggle and progress. On the other side, the facts on which the Church"s existence is founded the Incarnation; Christ"s life, death, resurrection, and ascension; the gift of the Spirit: and. the events of her extraordinary history the progress she has made, God"s goodness in preserving andprotecting her, in raising up teachers and leaders, in purifying her by persecutions, in granting revivals, times of reformation, etc.; with the consideration of how in all promises have been fulfilled, prayers answered, deliverances vouchsafed, blessings bestowed, increase made.
II GOD"S MERCIES ARE TO BE SUITABLY ACKNOWLEDGED.
1. By recital of them before God himself. Acknowledgment of mercies is as much a part of devotion as praise, confession, petition, or even adoration. The value of liturgical forms (within due limits) for purposes of prayer and acknowledgment, is not to be disputed. They
(1) aid memory,
(2) secure comprehensiveness,
(3) guide devotion,
(4) prevent irrelevancy,
(5) create a bond of unity.
Like hymns, they testify to the Church"s catholicity amidst diversities of creed and polity. Their disadvantage, if preponderant in worship, is that they check too much the element of spontaneity. They discourage freedom and naturalness in the expression of the heart"s feelings. The best form of Church order would probably be a combination of the liturgical with the free and spontaneous elements in worship-the latter decidedly predominating.
1. By free-will offerings. These are needed more than ever. The sphere of the Church"s operations is yearly widening.
2. By hospitality and clarity (ver. 11). Underlying all there is, of course, to be personal consecration in heart and life. It is self God wants the love, reverence, service, devotion of self; not a mere share in self"s possessions. Confession (ver. 3), gifts (ver. 10), worship (ver. 10), joy (ver. 11), have their rightful place after that, and as the outcome of it. J.O.
HOMILIES BY D. DAVIES
Vers. 1-11. Commemorations of national deliverance.
An instinct in man impels him to dwell with pleasure on his national beginnings and growth; and, in cases where that beginning sprang out from a specific event, that event has been the subject of public commemoration year by year. Of this Rome is a conspicuous instance. But the Jews were designed to be eminently a religious people; hence this commemoration was to be a simple act of piety the presentation of firstfruits.
I MAN IS THE OBJECT OF GOD"S LAVISH GENEROSITY. Everything round the Hebrew in his home reminded him of the exuberant kindness of his God. The land which he possessed was land which Jehovah had given him. The temple was the place which Jehovah had chosen "to place his Name there." The priest was God"s gift. The corn and fruit of the land were produce "which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Each man was taught to look on himself as belonging unto God. Of everything the absolute Proprietor was God. Their history, their deliverance, their security, their renown, were all due to God. Behind every visible object, behind every visible event, they discerned God.
II REMEMBRANCE OF GOD"S DELIVERANCES WAS TO BE PERPETUATED. It is vital to the interests of a man that he should know the "rock whence he was hewn, and the hole of the pit whence he was digged." Are we from above, or from beneath? Are we the creatures of fortuitous circumstance, or has our life been planned by a Divine Artificer? Are all the forces and energies of life within ourselves, or are we dependent upon the will and the resources of another?
1. It is salutary to remember our original. "A Syrian ready to perish was my father." It will serve to beget in us humility. It will make us hopeful; for if we have risen so much, may we not rise higher yet?
2. It is salutary to remember the oppressions of men. "The Egyptians evil entreated us." Poor, selfish, changeful man can never be relied upon, Friendly today, they turn to be bitterly hostile tomorrow. "Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils.
1. It is salutary to remember the efficacy of prayer. "We cried unto the Lord." His ear is always open to human solicitations. The affairs of this universe do not unfit him to attend to our need. True prayer is never in vain.
2. It is salutary to remember God"s interpositions. "He looked. He brought us forth. He hath given us this land." The affliction was essential to fitness for Canaan. Winter is essential to the fruitfulness of spring. When God begins to bless us, what limit shall there be? What? Only that which our incapacity to receive may impose! Being redeemed, our expectations are infinite.
III GRATITUDE FOR GOD"S GIFTS MUST BE PRACTICAL. Words of thankfulness are cheap, unless accompanied by deeds. Songs of praise are sweet minstrelsy in the ear of God, but they must spring from the heart; and if the heart is grateful, the hands will be full of offerings. The firstfruits of all our increase belong to God as a matter of right. But duty is delight. This requirement is representative. We may not be husbandmen; still our firstfruits are due. The firstfruits of our time belong to God the fresh dewy hours of every day. The first of our gains belong to God. Say not, "They are mine," Nay! they are his. The firstfruits of mental strength our youth; the best of all we have belong to him. To secularize these is sacrilege.
IV THROUGH ALL GOD"S GIFTS HIS INTENTION IS HUMAN GLADNESS. This gladness is fostered and fed by proportionate offerings. For this habit of religious offering will serve to draw away our confidence from our material possessions, and place it in the living God. This will strengthen and establish joy. It is surely better to trust the Fount than the channel the Source than the stream. If every man on earth is not brimful of joy, it is not God"s fault. To rejoice in God is our duty and our privilege. And this joy is contagious. "Thou shalt rejoice... thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you." Joy makes men generous, and the recipients of our generosity will share our joy. There will be joyous action and reaction. We are to be the channels through which God will pour his joy into others" hearts. In return they will give us their prayers. D.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Vers. 1-11. The dedication of the firstfruits.
A beautiful religious service is here associated with the dedication of the firstfruits. It was to be an act of worship. There was to be the appearance before the priest, the acknowledgment of God"s great bounty to the forefathers as well as to the worshipper himself, the presentation of the firstfruits as a return of God"s gifts to him, the setting of the basket before God, and the rejoicing in the Divine presence. All this is surely typical.
I JESUS CHRIST IS THE PRIEST TO WHOM WE SHOULD BRING THE FIRSTFRUITS OF ALL OUR INCREASE. In other words, we should bring our systematic beneficence before Christ, and prayerfully deal with it before him. He is the Mediator for our liberality, as well as for every other blessing.
II WE NEED CHRIST"S MERITS TO RENDER OUR LIBERALITY, AS WELL AS EVERY OTHER GRACE, FRAGRANT BEFORE GOD. For we should never forget that no single grace is really fit in its naked imperfection to be presented to God. It requires to be performed with the merits of our adorable High Priest. There should be no boasting about it, as if it could stand alone.
III OUR LIBERALITY SHOULD BE THE OUTCOME OF OUR GRATITUDE FOR FAVOR SHOWN TO THE FATHERS AS WELL AS TO OURSELVES. The Jew reviewed gratefully the national history, the Syrian origin, the Egyptian bondage, the Exodus, the entrance into Canaan, and the fruitfulness of the land of promise. All this history of God"s goodness made the firstfruits simply the expression of gratitude.
It is on this grace that systematic beneficence is to be built. Nowhere else can a fitting foundation be found.
IV OUR LIBERALITY SHOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH AN ACT OF JOYFUL WORSHIP. In no other way can liberality be sustained. "On the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him". (1Co_16:2) Why on the first day of the week? Manifestly to associate the grace with the religious services of the resurrection day. No week-day liberality will last long it requires a Lord"s day, with all its holy associations and sanctions, to sustain the liberality of the people.
And this saves the spirit of liberality from the grudging that is so vexatious and so worldly. "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver," and so he draws the giver into his own presence, and makes him joyful there, that he may offer in his liberality a "sacrifice of joyfulness.
V THE JOY REACHED THROUGH LIBERALITY IS TO BE CARRIED INTO THE SOCIAL CIRCLE, TO MAKE HOME TRULY HAPPY. The Jew, after presenting his firstfruits, was to rejoice in every good gift of God, along with the Levite and stranger who formed part of his household. A cheerful giver is the secret of a happy home. His relations with his Lord being bright and beautiful, he brings the fragrance home. R.M.E.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL NOTES.—The rehearsal of rights and duties, pubilc and…
CRITICAL NOTES.—The rehearsal of rights and duties, pubilc and private, terminates in this chapter with two liturgical enactments. These have a clear and close reference to the whole of the preceding legislation, and form a most appropriate and significant conclusion to it. (Sp. COM.)
Deu_26:1-11 First fruits. Fruit. Visible proof of possession; distinguished from those offered in harvest (cf. Exo_22:29), at feasts of Passover and Pentecost, and from offerings prescribed (Num_8:8). These are private and personal—not national.
Read full note →
Deu_26:3. Priest. Owned the first fruits as property. Profess, a confession of offerer, of indebtedness.
Deu_26:5. Syrian. (Lit. aramcean) from residence with Laban in Syria. Perish. by Laban’s severity and many hardships in nomadic life. Egypt (cf. Genesis 46).
Deu_26:6. Evil. On multiplication and oppression in bondage, and guidance out (cf. Exodus 1, 2, 4, 5, Deu_26:11. Rejoice either in the possession of blessings given, or in feasting with friends, Levites, and strangers.
Deu_26:12-15. Tithin. Third year’s tithe employed at home in charity and hospitality.
Deu_26:13. Hallowed. Consecrated, things devoted to holy uses. I have not. Not a self-righteous boast, but solemn declaration that nothing which should be devoted to God had been secretly kept back.
Deu_26:14. Mourning. “When the Israelite would be unclean;” or like Egyptians made in harvest time, offered the first fruits of earth and kept feast of Isis in doleful lamentation. Unclean. unworthy of divine acceptance. Dead in funeral service as some; or to idols, deified heroes and lifeless images—all things were dedicated to glad and holy, not to unclean and idolatrous purposes.
Deu_26:15. Look. Form of thanksgiving (cf. Isa_63:15).
Deu_26:16-19. Faithful obedience. “A brief and earnest exhortation by way of conclusion to the second and longest discourse of the book.” Avouched. solemnly pledged themselves to obey; accepted Jehovah as their God, who had declared that if they kept the covenant they should be His special people.
Deu_26:19. Above. (cf. Exo_19:6). “The sanctification of Israel was the design and end of its divine election, and would be accomplished in the glory to which the people of God were to be exalted.”—Keil.
GAINING THE INHERITANCE.—Deu_26:1-11
Reference had been made to the sanctuary as the place chosen by God and fit for religious worship (Deuteronomy 12). Two gifts specially connected with the social life of the people had to be presented—the first fruits and the second tithe. Moses now prescribes the form of the interesting ceremony, which reminded the nation of their indebtedness, and duty to God.
I. An acknowledgment of God’s help in getting the inheritance. God was very prominent in Israel’s history and position. Precept and command, rite and ceremony, reminded them of this.
1. God promised the inheritance. Good and great things are promised to us to wean affection from earth, excite hope, and stimulate effort. God presents worthy objects on which to centre hope, and gives grace by which it may be realised.
2. God settled them in the inheritance. Good may be withheld and fulfilment delayed through ingratitude, unbelief and rebellion. But if we are faithful and follow God, he will fulfil the promise and lead us “into the land.” We shall possess without fear; dwell without disturbance, and no power on earth can uproot us. He can “establish (fix), strengthen (for defence), and settle” (1Pe_5:10).
II. A confession of unworthiness to receive the inheritance. No merit is due to us. If inheritance is given, it is not created by human toil and skill. From beginning to end of life God must be honoured and man humbled. “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?”
1. Humble in origin (Deu_26:5). The “nation great, mighty and populous” sprang from “a few,” the many from one, “a Syrian ready to perish.” God is wonderful in working, and brings great results from small beginnings. “Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase” (Job_8:7; Job_42:12).
2. Helpless in history. Few, hated, and oppressed, what could Israel do? “The mighty hand” and “the outstretched arm” alone could deliver, defend, and secure the inheritance. The might of Egypt, the perils of the desert, and the dangers of conquest were overcome by God’s help. With omnipotence on our side we can do anything. “They got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm” (Psa_44:3).
III. The duty imposed by securing the inheritance. Duty means debt. God’s bounties always put us under obligation. The response should be hearty. “What shall we render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards us? “
1. To consecrate the first fruits. “Thou shalt take the first of all the fruit of the earth.” Conscientious and careful dedication of first fruits is required. Everyone should bring his “basket” to God as an acknowledgment of mercy. This in token of the sanctification of the whole. “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase.”
2. To worship God in public. The offerer bad “to go into the place” which God had chosen. The gift must be accompanied with public worship and confession; “worship before the Lord” (Deu_26:10). Remembrance of Divine goodness kindles adoration and praise. Fervent praise is acceptable to God, and loads to love and amity in His people.
3. To cultivate social joy (Deu_26:11). God has made us prosper, and we should make others glad. Gifts received in the right spirit and used in the right way enlarge our sympathies and help us to promote the enjoyment of our fellow men. The highest will remember the lowest in society. The most wealthy will seek out and relieve the outcast and most degraded. In the spirit of Christ we shall “sit down” with strangers and fatherless, “with publicans and sinners, and eat with them.”
DIVINE HELP IN HUMAN LIFE
Israel had “come” to the land, but the way had not been discovered and cleared by their own guides. They had been “brought unto the place,” almost carried like helpless children by Divine goodness. It was fit that they should know, confess this and learn lessons of wisdom. “The private life of man,” says Napoleon I., “is a mirror in which we may see many useful lessons reflected.”
I. Divine help in timely circumstances. Life is full of change, a journey “through many a scene of joy and woe.” But God helps “in time of need.”
1. In periods of risk, “A Syrian ready to perish” was Jacob. The cruelty of Laban, the wrath of Esau and the perilous journey to Egypt endangered life. “There is but a step between me and death,” said David.
2. In periods of adversity. “Evil entreated, afflicted and under hard bondage” (Deu_26:6). This prepares us for advancement, as it did Joseph, David, and Israel. The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor can we be perfected without suffering.
3. In periods of prosperity. “The day of adversity” is not our entire lot. “The day of prosperity” is equally a divine appointment. “God also hath set (made) the one over against (like parallel with) the other” (Ecc_7:14.) We need divine instruction especially in prosperity, to humble and show us our unworthiness (Gen_32:10). To keep us dependant and grateful, and remind us of our origin and history. “Look unto the rock whence ye are known, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.”
II. Divine help secured through prayer. “We cried unto the Lord our God” (Deu_26:7). Prayer teaches dependence upon God. In trouble we have an incentive to pray. Men who have ridiculed have then been compelled to acknowledge God. In affliction and danger prayer is earnest and prolonged. “We cried unto the Lord.” Confidence in God has given courage and gained success in battle. Moses and Elijah were the real defence of Israel; Hezekiah and Isaiah brought down blessings upon Jerusalem (2Ch_32:20-23). “The good man’s prayer moves Omnipotence in the administration of the universe.” It is a mighty, moral force in the history of men; it has achieved what numbers and valour never could achieve. “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.”
III. Divine help acknowledged in grateful remembrance. Several forms of memorial are given. Sensible signs are often needful to quicken memory and prompt gratitude in reviewing past life.
1. In self consecration to God. There can be no worship without this. Attendance and reverent attitude are outward acts. The heart must be touched and drawn out before we can offer spiritual service. Nothing can rise above its limits. A beast cannot act as a man, and a man perform the work of an angel. Neither can the impenitent, ungrateful sinner render true worship. Only when love fills the heart and mercy is duly appreciated do we present ourselves “as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.”
2. In acts of practical piety. The Israelite was not merely to “profess” (Deu_26:3), but perform, “take the first of all the fruit.” Words are cheap but deeds are scarce. God requires sincerity as well as sacrifice. The first fruits of time and mental vigour. The produce of our land and the share of our gains belong to Him. The best of everything should be offered to God. “The first fruit of thy corn, of thy vine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give Him.”
3. In works of perpetual charity. Love to God must show itself in benevolence to men—the divinity we preach be seen in the humanity we practise. Charity must never fail. Relief must not merely be given in “deserving cases,” to persons “worthy of help,” but to the undeserving. “The world is the hospital of Christianity,” and the duty of the Church is to seek out the destitute and aged, those in great suffering and unable to work. This is the mark of “pure religion” says Jas_1:27. This gained Job a character which his friends could not assail, and a reputation which they could not tarnish (Deu_31:16-22). “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that those bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” (Isa_58:6-7; Isa_50:11).
GOD’S GIFTS.—Deu_26:9-11
The dedication of first fruits was an act of worship, an acknowledgment of God’s bounty, and a confession of entire dependence upon Him for every mercy received.
I. God’s gifts bestowed in rich abundance. Deliverance, security, health, and honour—the fruits of the earth and the profits of business. Everyone has personal experience to relate of thrilling interest;—escape from danger, incidents of travel, reunion of friends. What “signs and wonders” in our past and present life!
II. God’s gifts designed for human happiness. “Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing”—in private comfort or in social festivity. We are objects of God’s constant care and kindness, and others should be remembered and share with us. Our gilts are not for selfish indulgence. We must not be like the Caspian Sea which receives rain and rivers which flow into it, and which is said not to have an outlet—not a rill to run from its waters. “Eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared” (Neh_8:10).
III. God’s gifts dependent upon obedience for continuance. What we have may be taken away if we do not improve it (Mar_4:25). The diligent worker gathers to himself what is lost by the idle, and talents not used pass away from the possessor. “If we do not use, we lose.”—Matthew Henry. Temporal mercies can never produce holy joy unless used for God. Withhold the first fruits and the whole may be withdrawn. Give and you shall possess “a blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God” (Deu_11:27; Deu_30:1; Deu_30:15).
HOMILETICS HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_26:3-6. Gratitude to God enforced. We shall
1. Point out our duty in reference to the mercies we have received. For this purpose we ought—
1. To review them frequently;
2. To requite them gratefully. Il. Recommend it to your attention. It is—
1. A universal;
2. A reasonable;
3. A delightful duty.—C. Simeon, M.A.
Deu_26:5. Great results from small beginnings.
1. In the history of Israel.
2. In personal history.
3. In history of the Christian church. What hath God wrought! Admire the power of God; recognise the providence of God; acknowledge dependence upon God.
Deu_26:11. “Duty of delight.” A duty specially appropriate to a Christian upon whom all gifts of grace and sweet influences are bestowed by a reconciled God. “Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1Ti_6:17). This was—
1. An O. T. principle, “Neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh_8:10).
2. Α N. T. command. “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice” (1Th_5:16). “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord” (Php_3:1).
3. A duty sadly forgotten. “They dwell on the duty of self-denial, but they exhibit not the duty of delight,” says Ruskin.
This verse exhibits—
1. The will of God. Some say “they will suffer for it” if they are glad, as if God grudged happiness to His creatures and took hard compensation for their enjoyments. They forget that God’s nature is a joyful nature—that the element in which He lives is a joyful one, and that when He communicates good and bestows a new nature they are parts of His joy. Showing forth praise is a work and a witness for God in a joyless world and a thankless race.
“A sunshine in a shady place.”
2. The nature of true religion. See the exquisite sense that is in this wonderful book, the Bible. The one extreme is you must live an ascetic, denying yourself everything; the other extreme is, you must live like an epicurean, enjoying exclusively a monopoly of everything. The prescription of the Bible is, take the food that God sends you, thank Him for it, rejoice in it.
THE SACRED USE OF COMMON GIFTS.—Deu_26:12-15
The second year’s tithe, or vegetable tithe, instead of being taken to the sanctuary as in other years, was devoted to hospitality and charity at home (cf. Deu_14:28.) At “the end of tithing,” a solemn declaration was made before God that the law had been strictly fulfilled, and nothing reserved for personal use.
I. Nothing had been misappropriated. In many ways God’s gifts are misapplied.
1. In ways of uncleanness. “I have not eaten thereof in my mourning,” when the Israelite would be unclean (Lev_21:1; Hos_9:4). Sorrow should not be associated with thanksgiving and joy in God. The blessings of life tend not to degrade, but to elevate and dignify.
2. In alienation from sacred purposes. “Neither have I taken away aught for any unclean use” (Deu_26:14). For any common use different from that appointed—gifts have a sacred as well as secular use. They are desecrated if spent upon ourselves or in sin. They are God’s property and must not be used as we please. He has claims upon us. The Levite, the widow, and the fatherless, represent His claims. To neglect them is to disobey and insult Him.
3. In consecration to unlawful practices. “Nor given aught for the dead.” In funeral expenses or feasts Of mourning which were often urgent and unforseen. Houses of mourning or idolatrous customs, it would be unlawful to sanction. Our gifts are abused if diverted from hospitality and religion, if devoted entirely to worldly customs or forbidden uses.
II. Everything had been duly performed. Nothing had been withheld. “I have hearkened and done all thou hast commanded.” If disobedient, this solemn confession was a lie—an act of hypocrisy! The danger of the Church to-day is not from outward assailants, but from unfaithfulness and inward corruption, from false vows of mere professors and partial consecration of real believers. The precepts of the Gospel and the spirit of the Master lay a tax upon the worldly goods and personal sympathies of the wealthy and gifted. If from selfish motives we keep back some and profess to have devoted all to God, we act the part of Ananias. Every one should declare the supreme worth and manifest the inward beauty of truthfulness. “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are his delight”
III. Everything was enjoyed by permitting others to share it. “I have given them unto the Levite and unto the stranger,” etc. (Deu_26:13). Dedicated things were devoted to glad and holy feasting. Do good to all men, for they are God’s creatures. But the necessitous are the special objects of God’s care, and should partake of our beneficence. “God hath left his poor saints to receive his rents” (Gurnall). Alms given to them are lent to God (Pro_19:17) and will be paid back with interest in their increase and enjoyment. We double our joys and increase our own store when others share them. “We should remember the poor” (Gal_2:10).
PRAYER AND CHARITY.—Deu_26:13-15
The tithes were to be presented, a declaration made that they had not been withheld, and then an earnest prayer offered for the land and the people who dwelt in it (Deu_26:15).
I. Prayer and charity united in Christian life. We have the aspect man-wards and god wards. Love as you are loved; forgive that you may be forgiven, bestow that you may receive again. Alms and prayers spring from one root and are bound together by one law. Cornelius “was a devout man, gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always” (Act_10:3).
II. Charity no ground for boasting in prayer. We only do our duty that we are commanded to do, when we help the destitute This affords no ground for pride and the spirit of the Pharisee—a self-complacent and self-vaunting spirit. Instead of numbering fasts, tithes and merits; we must forsake our sins, love God and our neighbour as ourselves (cf. Luk_18:11-12). “These ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone.”
III. Prayer that charity may be constantly practised. We cannot give to others unless blessed ourselves. Constant prayer secures constant supply. “Ask and ye shall receive.” Prayer begets dependence, fitness to receive, and readiness in bestowing our blessings. Our liberality should ever be the outcome of our gratitude to God. “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_26:13-15. Devotion and daily life. Integrity in daily life the condition of acceptable prayer. Prayer reminds of shortcomings in daily life—should prompt to self examination and obedience.
Deu_26:15. Prayer and patriotism. The prosperity of the nation (land) intimately connected with the moral condition of the people. A blessed people, a blessed land. “We must learn hence to be publics-pirited in prayer, and to wrestle with God for blessings for the land and nation, our English Israel, and for the universal Church, which we are directed to remember in our prayers, as the Israel of God” (Gal_6:16).
Reverence in prayer.
1. For God is Holy. Holiness becomes His house.
2. For without His cognizance we could get nothing.
3. It is marvellous condescension to hear at all. “Took down from thy holy habitation.”
4. All that He bestows is from sovereign mercy. “Which thou hast given us.”
A Memorable Day.—Deu_26:16-19
“This day” was a time of solemn admonition, of wonderful pledges between God and His people, and of deep spiritual significance.
I. A day of beneficent deeds (Deu_26:16). Laws had been revealed for worship and life. The people had vowed to God that they had liberally devoted “their hallowed things” to the needy. Distress had been relieved, hearts had been gladdened, and burdens removed. Giver and receiver had been thankful, and rejoiced together before the Lord.
II. A day of solemn dedication to God. “Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God” (Deu_26:17). Their hearts had been weaned from idolatry and self. God’s providence had brought them on their journey, and God’s goodness enriched them with blessings. Gratitude bound them to God, and they pledged themselves not to forget nor disobey him. Canaan would have been a dark and dreary land without Him. His presence, like sunshine, fills all hidden recesses of life, and makes creation glad.
III. A day of distinguished privileges from God. God accepts His people’s pledge generously, espouses them, and makes new discoveries of His love.
1. In material pre-eminence. “To make thee high above all nations.” Eminence and honour come only from God. “Glory, honour, and immortality” are reserved in heaven for well-doing (Rom_2:7).
2. In spiritual adoption. He chose them to be His own special and “peculiar people” (Deu_26:18). They were elevated in position and moral condition—brought near to God by obedience. Christians have a special place in God’s regards on earth. In heaven the relation will be complete.
3. In moral purity. “That thou mayest be an holy people” (Deu_26:19). This was the end of their obedience and exaltation. They were chosen to be holy (Eph_1:4). Moral purity is the highest honour. Worldly greatness will never satisfy the cravings of the heart. Holiness is the admiration of friends, a terror to enemies, and the end of life. “All the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_26:16-18. Ready obedience and great reward.
1. The law of God revealed. Divine in origin, wonderful in history, authoritative in claims. These injunctions are not devices of men, but commandments of God.
2. The voluntary obedience to law. They willingly and publicly avowed God to be their God. They were to do, not to dispute the commands. It is not enough to read and understand them. They must be sincerely, faithfully and universally kept. Not as the result of human energy, but of Divine influence (Eze_36:27).
3. The expression of Divine pleasure at this voluntary obedience. Jehovah reciprocates the feeling, “The Lord hath avouched thee.” Natural and supernatural blessings are pledged in variety. Loyal obedience secures present favour, and will gain future honour and renown. “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people.”
Deu_26:19. High above all nations. It is written, righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people (Pro_14:34). While Israel regarded God’s word, and kept His testimonies, they were the greatest and most respectable of all nations; but when they forsook God and His law, they became the most contemptible. O Britain! even more highly favoured than ancient Israel, learn wisdom by what they have suffered. It is not thy fleets, or thine armies, howsoever excellent and well appointed, that can ultimately exalt and secure thy permanence among nations. It is righteousness alone. Become irreligious, neglect God’s ordinances, profane His sabbath, despise His word, persecute His followers, and thou art lost.—A. Clarke.
Deu_26:17-19. Covenanting with God. I. Our covenant engagements.
1. To accept God as our God.
2. To act towards Him as becomes us in that relation. II. Our covenant advantages.
1. God will own us as His people.
2. Bestow on us blessings worthy of that relation: holiness, honour, and happiness.—C. Simeon, M. A.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 26
Deu_26:2-4. First. This is the rule of sacrifice—a costly precept to the worldling and the formalist. But to the servant of God, it is a privilege to lay aside a portion with the sacred stamp, “This is for God.” This sacred devotedness is the true road to riches (Pro_11:24). God challenges us to “prove him now herewith,” if the abundant harvest, and the overflowing vintage shall not put unbelief and covetousness to shame (Neh_3:10; 2Ch_31:5-10).—C. Bridges.
Deu_26:5. Few. Athens and Rome, Babylon and Persia, as well as England and France, rose by slow degrees to their unrivalled eminence. Whereas, the Hums and Vandals flashed in their terrible greatness for a few years, and passed unto oblivion as mysteriously as they rose into power.—Dr. Brewer.
Deu_26:6-9. Our affliction. Suppose, Christian, that the furnace was seven times hotter, it is but to make you seven times better; fiery trials make golden Christians (Dyer). “God’s children,” says an old author, “are most triumphant when most tempted; most glorious when most afflicted; most in favour with God when least in man’s esteem. As their conflicts, so their conquests; as their tribulations, so their triumphs”—
The good are better made by ill,
As odours crashed are sweeter still.
Rogers.
Deu_26:10-11. Rejoice. Who partakes in another’s joy is a more humane character than he who partakes in his grief.—Lavater.
All who joy would win
Must share it—happiness was born a twin.—
Byron.
Deu_26:12-14. Done all. People in general have no notion of mixing religion with common life—with their pleasures, with their meals, with all their thoughts. Hence it is they think that their Maker is an enemy to happiness, and that religion is fit for the closet only.—Mayow.
Deu_26:15. Look down. Prayer and thanksgiving are like the double motion of the lungs—the air that is sucked in by prayer is breathed forth again by thanksgiving.—Godwin.
Deu_26:16-19. Above all. Do not forget that greatness before men is sometimes littleness before God, and that every man who lives only to love God and to do good to his fellows is in the sight of his Maker truly great. It is honour and blessedness the greatest to belong to the army of Jesus Christ—to be holy, loving and faithful, a witness for God, an instructor in His House, a benefactor among men.—(J. E. Rosoman). In the estimate of honour he should learn to value the gifts of nature above those of fortune; to esteem in our ancestors the qualities that best promote the interests of society, and to pronounce the descendant of a king less truly noble than the offspring of a man of genius whose writings will instruct or delight the latest posterity.—Gibbon.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 It is our duty to give unstinted welcome to…
Deu 26:11
It is our duty to give unstinted welcome to every visit of enjoyment with which we may be favoured. We frequently allow streams of refreshment or exhilaration to run past us without dipping into or tasting them; we blunderingly overlook many a cup of soothing and pleasing that is offered to us as we go trudging by. We are slow to discover and seize our golden chances, and hardly know how to make the most of them. At times we are afraid, it would seem, pausing now and then to squeeze a drop or two of severe or melancholy reflection into the goblet, as if there might be sin in having it too rich and sweet. The angel descending to solace us in our Gethsemane with a brief pleasant thrill, with a brief glimpse and gust of pleasure, flashes by under the sombre, wailing olives in vain, is allowed to vanish unharboured and unutilised.
Read full note →
I. Never turn, in your bitterness of spirit, from any ministry of temporal enjoyment that may intervene; never be so wedded to your woes, so shut up and sunk down in them, that you cannot issue forth to accept such ministry. For, remember, we want to be made joyful for our education quite as much as we need to be tried and troubled. To laugh, to luxuriate, to ripple and glow with delight, at times is just as essential for us, as it is at times to weep and suffer.
II. At times some of us may have had the feeling that there is so much misery in the world that it is hardly right to ignore and forget it for a moment in rejoicing. But let us reflect that, since God is our Father and we His children, we are justified in losing sight of trouble for a time when He gives us a joy to taste. Being only a child, however I must feel about His world, and share in His travail concerning it, I need not be afraid at intervals to cast the entire load upon Him and let Him carry it alone. Souls must turn aside at times to bask in what sunshine they can find, and be mellowed, and warmed, and rosied with it, in order to be of service in the darkness and to help to soften and relieve.
S. A. Tipple, Echoes of Spoken Words, p. 239.
References: Deu 28:1.—F. W. Farrar, Ephphatha, Sermons, p. 289. Deu 28:6.—J. P. Gledstone, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xviii., p. 168.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Presentation of Firsteruits and of Tithes
The Presentation of Firsteruits and of Tithes
1-11. Presentation of the Firstfruits, as a Thankoffering for the mercy of God in delivering the nation from Egypt and in giving them a good land and fruitful seasons.
Read full note →
5. A Syrian] Jacob is meant. His mother came from Aram-naharaim (Gen_24:10), and he himself spent fourteen years in that country (Gen_28:1-5; Genesis 29-31). The term implies a suggestion of disparagement. For his going down to Egypt see Genesis 46.
11. Having dedicated their firstfruits the people were free to enjoy what remained.
12-15. On the tithe of the first and second year see on Deu_14:22, Deu_14:27, and on the tithe of the third year see on Deu_14:28, Deu_14:29. The latter was the poor's tithe, and was stored up and distributed among the needy.
13. Brought away the hallowed things] RV 'put away,' wholly parted with them. The 'hallowed things' are the tithes which were consecrated to Jehovah and could not be lawfully retained by the owner.
14. As the presence of a dead body was ceremonially defiling in the highest degree, the offerer here declares that neither he nor his tithe was defiled in this way. The words given thereof for the dead are understood by Jewish commentators to mean that the offerer had not used any part of the tithe to provide a coffin or grave-clothes for a dead person. More probably, however, they refer to the practice, common in Egypt e.g., of making a funeral feast. Thomson, in 'The Land and the Book,' says it is customary after a funeral to send presents of corn and food to the friends in the name of the dead: cp. Jer_16:7 (cp. RV); Hos_9:4. The Egyptians also placed food on the tombs of the dead, but it is doubtful whether this custom obtained among the Jews, although we read in the apocryphal book of Tobit (Deu_4:17): 'Pour out thy bread on the tomb (or, burial) of the just.' In any case the declaration in this passage means that the tithe has not been in any way ceremonially defiled.
16. These statutes] i.e. those contained in Deuteronomy 12-26, to which Deu_26:16-19 here form the hortatory conclusion.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 22. Firstfruits and Prayer
22. Firstfruits and Prayer
CHAPTER 26
Read full note →
1. The basket of first-fruits, confession and rejoicing (Deu 26:1-11)
2. Obedience yielded and prayer (Deu 26:12-15)
3. Jehovah acknowledges His people (Deu 26:16-19)
The possession of the land is anticipated and a most beautiful ceremony is appointed for confession and worship in the place the Lord chose to place His Name there. The first of all the fruit of the land was to be gathered and put in a basket. This basket was presented unto the priest with the following words: “I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.” The priest then set it down before the altar. It was an acknowledgment of His Grace and His faithfulness in keeping His promise and bringing them into the land. The Lord had brought them in and the basket of fruits witnessed to the fact that they possessed the good things promised unto them. They could truly say, the Lord kept His Word, He promised us this land and now we are in it; it is ours. And we know, as saved by grace and in Christ, that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. We too are brought In and have the right of access into His presence. And this blessed consciousness that we are redeemed and belong to Christ is essential to true worship in spirit and in truth.
Most beautiful is the confession Moses gave to Israel, to be used when the basket of firstfruits was set before Jehovah. “A Syrian ready to perish was my father.” Lovely words! They brought to remembrance what they were and the grace which Jehovah manifested, when that Syrian ready to perish was called out. And this is but a picture of what we are by nature, “ready to perish.” Then comes the story of Egypt and their deliverance out of the house of bondage. Even so we are delivered. They were to rejoice in every good thing the Lord had given unto them; and we rejoice in the Lord and all His goodness to us. And this joy was practically expressed in giving to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, the widow; they ate and were filled. Thus they could tell Jehovah, “I have not transgressed Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.” While we rejoice in the Lord, know that we are saved and worship in the spirit, may we also remember that it is written, “But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” How often we forget this! Yet it must ever be an outflow from true worship.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Prayer of Thanksgiving
Prayer of Thanksgiving
v. 1. And it shall be when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein,
Read full note →
v. 2. that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord, thy God, giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, one woven, usually of willow-withes, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord, thy God, shall choose to place His name there. This offering was a part of the first-fruits of the land as they were deposited in the Sanctuary of Jehovah for the purpose here outlined.
v. 3. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, the officiating priest, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord, thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us. The confession was made by the bringing of the first-fruits, for the contents of the basket were the actual proof of Israel’s having taken possession of the land and enjoying its increase.
v. 4. And the priests shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord, thy God, before the altar of burnt offering, as a gift of thanksgiving to Jehovah. To the symbolic act and confession there was now added a comprehensive prayer of thanksgiving.
v. 5. And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord, thy God, a Syrian, ready to perish, an Aramean wandering about, was my father, a reference to Jacob’s journey to Mesopotamia and to his subsequent wanderings in the Land of Promise, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, as the ancestor of the twelve tribes, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous, Exo 1:7-9;
v. 6. and the Egyptians evil entreated us, by an unendurable oppression, Exo 1:11-12, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage;
v. 7. and when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression, Exo 2:23; Exo 4:31;
v. 8. and the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, Exo 12:37-51, and with great terribleness, in sending terror upon the Egyptians by the great wonders and plagues which Moses performed, and with signs, and with wonders;
v. 9. and He hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
v. 10. And now, behold, I have brought the first-fruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it, the basket, before the Lord, thy God, for this prayer ended the formal ceremony, and worship before the Lord, thy God, bow down before Him in adoration;
v. 11. and thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord, thy God, hath given unto thee and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you, Deu 12:7 to Deu 12:18; Deu 16:11-14; Deu 18:4. Solemn, grateful festal joy was to reign in the hearts of the Israelites upon this occasion and be evident in their entire behavior. Every prayer of thanksgiving includes a declaration of God’s goodness, a recital of His mercies.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3 General Information:
General Information:
Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one man, so the words "you" and "your" here are singular. (See: Forms of You)
Read full note →
some of the first of all the harvest
"some of the first fruits of the harvest" or "some of the first crops of the harvest." This "first" is the ordinal number for one. (See: Ordinal Numbers)
translationWords
Yahweh
God
inherit
possess
life
harvest
basket
sanctuary
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v1 26:1-15 Under the terms of the covenant, the Great…
26:1-15 Under the terms of the covenant, the Great King required that his subjects render him tribute annually or even more frequently. Since Israel was an agrarian society, God required offerings of animal, vegetable, or grain products. This tribute specifically celebrated the mighty Exodus redemption.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.