CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 26
Chapter 26 of 34
Chapter Overview
What happens in Deuteronomy 26
Moses instructs Israel to bring their firstfruits and tithes to God when they enter the Promised Land. He concludes with a powerful declaration of the mutual commitment between God and his people.
Scripture
Deuteronomy 26
Offering the Firstfruits
Study note
When Israel enters the Promised Land, they must bring the first of their harvest to God and recite a confession of faith, remembering their humble origins, Egyptian slavery, and God's mighty rescue. This ceremony of thanksgiving is to be shared with Levites and foreigners alike.
1 Once you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own, and you have taken it over and settled in, 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 Take some of the very first crops you harvest. Put them in a basket and carry them to the place the Lord your God picks as a home for his name. 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 Go to the priest serving at that time. Tell him, 'I am stating to the Lord your God today that I have arrived. I am in the land the Lord promised to give our fathers.' 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 The priest will take the basket from you and set it down in front of the Lord your God's altar. And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
5 Then you will say in the Lord your God's presence: 'My ancestor was a homeless Aramean who traveled to Egypt with only a small group. He settled there and grew into a great, powerful nation. 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 The Egyptians treated us badly. They made our lives miserable and forced us to work as slaves. And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
7 We cried out to the Lord, the God of our forefathers, and the Lord heard us. He saw how much we were suffering, how hard we had to work, and how cruelly we were being treated. 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 So the Lord himself brought us out of Egypt. He used his mighty hand and powerful arm. He did terrifying things and amazing signs and wonders. 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 He led us to this place and gave us this land -- a land overflowing with milk and honey. 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 I am bringing the first of the harvest from this land that you, Lord, have given me.' Then set the basket down before the Lord your God and bow in worship before him. 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 Enjoy all the good things the Lord your God has given you and your family. Share the joy with the Levites. Share it with the foreigners in your area. 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.
The Third-Year Tithe Declaration
Study note
Every third year, a special tithe is collected for Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows. The giver must declare before God that they have faithfully distributed the tithe and ask for God's continued blessing on Israel and their land.
12 In the third year, the special tithing year, you will finish setting aside one-tenth of your harvest. Give it to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows. Then they can eat in your towns and be satisfied. 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 say this before the Lord your God: 'I have taken the holy portion from my house. I gave it to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows, just as you told me. I have not broken any of your rules. I have not forgotten any of them. 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 any of it while mourning. I did not handle it while I was ceremonially unclean. I did not offer any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God and done everything you instructed.' 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 your holy home in heaven. Bless your people Israel. Bless the land you gave us. It flows with milk and honey. You promised it to our fathers.' 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.
Israel Commits to the Covenant
Study note
Moses concludes this section of laws by reminding Israel that today they have entered into a mutual commitment with God. They have declared the Lord as their God, and he has declared them as his treasured people. Obedience brings honor and holiness.
16 Today the Lord your God is telling you to follow these rules and laws. Put your whole heart and soul into obeying them. 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 Today you have announced that the Lord is your God. You have promised to live his way, to follow his rules, commands, and laws, and to listen to everything he says. 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 today the Lord has announced that you are his treasured people, just as he promised. He expects you to keep all his commands. 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 He will lift you up above every nation he has made, giving you praise, fame, and honor. You will be a people set apart for the Lord your God, exactly as he promised. 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.
Key Themes
Themes in Deuteronomy 26
Gratitude expressed through givingRemembering where you came fromCovenant commitment renewedConfession of God's faithfulness
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 James 1:18
The firstfruits offering anticipates the New Testament teaching that believers are a kind of firstfruits of God's creation, consecrated to him as the first and best.
Apply This Today
Living Deuteronomy 26
The firstfruits prayer is a confession of faith: 'My father was a wandering Aramean,' recounting the story from vulnerability to deliverance. Giving the first portion to God acknowledges that everything we have comes from Him. This chapter calls us to ground our generosity in gratitude and our worship in the memory of what God has done.
Go Deeper
Study Deuteronomy in Covenant Path
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