Deuteronomy 26:1 ¶ 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.
The offering of firstfruits was an acknowledgment and thanks and
confirmation that God had indeed done what He had promised and given the
Israelites a homeland. They were to memorialize what had happened to them and
what God had done for them. These events have been recorded in Exodus and the
other books of the Law.
Deuteronomy 26:12 ¶ 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.
This is the declaration made on the third year, the year of
tithing, a prayer made to God promising that the Israelite had obeyed.
Deuteronomy 14:22 ¶ Thou
shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth
year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat
before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name
there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings
of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God
always. 24 And if the way be too long
for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far
from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the
LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then
shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt
go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for
whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for
strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there
before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
27 And the Levite that is within thy
gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with
thee. 28 At the end of three years thou
shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay
it up within thy gates: 29 And the
Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger,
and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and
shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the
work of thine hand which thou doest.
Deuteronomy 26:16 ¶ 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.
Peculiar in verse 18 does not mean here exactly what it means today. Today
it suggests someone who is weird, difficult to get along with, or just a plain
oddball. But in Early Modern English, in 1611, it suggested valued, special,
unique. It also carries with it the idea of being one’s own possession as in
Israel belongs to God.
Verse 19 underscores how God treasures the Israelites above all
the peoples of the earth.
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