God gives!

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
1 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us." 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, 5 you shall make this response before the Lord your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by giving hard labor to us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me." You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
Literal - This passage has to do with giving. It tells a faithful member of Israel what to do when they have a harvest in the land. They are to take the fact that they have a harvest as a reason to worship and celebrate. To have profit without worship is pride.
As the faithful member of God’s people comes with their offering the focus is on what God has given to them. The focus of this passage is on giving. Seven times the word is used in this section. Six times the giver is God. God gives to the whole community the land and at the same time gives very personally and directly to the individual believer as well. We are to see that God is giving to all of His people and also giving to us directly. The seventh use of the word give contrast the good gifts of God with the gifts of Egypt. Egypt gave to Israel hard labor, affliction, and harshness. Egypt represents the unbelieving world system and the slavery of unbelief. We have been delivered from this into God’s good gifts.
We see here the use of prescribed liturgical words. Each individual who was a faithful child of the covenant would come and say
"A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by giving hard labor to us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me."
It was by these orthodox words which recited the gospel of God’s saving grace to Israel that the context was set for rejoicing, offering, and worship. God is not against the use of liturgical practices but only against them becoming empty of true faith and love. He wants us to meditate upon the truth and respond to the truth.
At the end of this section God’s wonderful giving had led the faithful member of God’s covenant to give. He now shares his food with the ministers of the Lord and the poor. God’s kingdom is manifested on the earth as there is a celebration before the Lord in joy. God’s people give generously when they see God as being generous to them. When people see God as a great giver of grace then they will be great givers to others and God’s work.
Christological - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 ESV)


Moral - The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8 ESV)


Eternal - And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:9-10 ESV)


Prayer: Lord, help me to see the greatness of your gifts to me.


Contemplation: You are the good Father who gives good gifts.


Action: Count your many blessing name them one by one. Look at the glass half full today. Acknowledge all that God has given you today and open your heart to taking joy in it.