Deuteronomy 26:1-19
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;
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.
3 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.
4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
5 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:
6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
7 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:
8 And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:
9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
10 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:
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.
12 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;
13 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:
14 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.
15 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.
16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
17 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 judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:
18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
19 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.
22. Firstfruits and Prayer
CHAPTER 26
1. The basket of first-fruits, confession and rejoicing (Deuteronomy 26:1)
2. Obedience yielded and prayer (Deuteronomy 26:12)
3. Jehovah acknowledges His people (Deuteronomy 26:16)
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.