Deuteronomy 26:1

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 26:1-4, “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.” The purpose of these verses is to tell one important truth: that we owe God something. Giving of our material blessings symbolizes that we recognize just how much we owe Him. Actually, we owe Him everything. True Christians realize this because we have Jesus the Savior who loves us and who died for us. “Greater love hath no man than his: that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

What reasons did the children of Israel have for recognizing that they owed God? To answer that we are told in Deuteronomy 26:5-11, “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.”

Who is the “Syrian” that is being spoken about in verse 5? That is Abraham. Interesting that Abraham is called a Syrian. We know that the city that Abraham came from is in modern Iraq. But the current boundaries between Syria and Iraq were imposed following World War II, which by the way contributed somewhat to problems in that region today. Peoples were divided up on boundaries that were not the natural boundaries of history. The children of Israel were “a few,” and then they became a great nation. That increase got off to a great start while they were slaves in Egypt. How did that happen: God. Then God rescued them from Egypt. That deliverance symbolizes the salvation that Jesus has given to each believer. We are rescued from the world because we were enslaved to the world and to the world’s ways and ideas. That is why Jesus called believing in Him as going from darkness to light. God gave the children of Israel their own land to dwell in, a land flowing “with milk and honey.” In light of these great blessings and how much the Lord took care of them, it is only normal and natural that they would bring the first-fruits of their substance and dedicate it to God. The first thing they were to think about was not how do to pay the mortgage or the car payment or save for retirement, but how can God be honored with the material increase and blessings that He has given? Of course, there is nothing wrong with paying the mortgage and any other bills and saving for retirement, but it is simply a matter of priorities. It is a matter of organizing your finances in such a way that you demonstrate between you and God that you have your priorities right.

In the Old Testament and in the law, God established tithing as the basic amount that God wanted each Israelite to give. It was not all that they were to give, because the Israelites were told to give tithes and offerings, and they were told to help poor people, strangers, and widows. But in the age of grace we have a new principle to govern our giving: “according as each one purposes in his heart.” Christians are told not to give out of necessity. It is different than the Old Testament. We do not do tithing. Sometimes we give much more than 10 percent. It depends upon how much has been given to us, but the day will come when we will be asked to give an account of what we did and what we gave. The Bible says to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 26:12-14, “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.” One interesting piece of information in this passage is that the tithe was handled differently every third year. In other years the tithe was sent directly to the temple, but every third year the tithe was distributed to those needy people as listed in these verses: “the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow.” One of the basic principles that this emphasizes is this: when you give to those in need, you are giving to God, and you are following God’s desires of what to do with the material blessings that He has given to you.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 26:15-16, “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.” Smart people realize that they are dependent on blessings from God. That is a recognition that we need Someone greater than ourselves. We are not sufficient in and of ourselves. We need help. Jesus said in John chapter 15, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Deuteronomy 26:15 is also a recognition that whatever we have, God has given to us. God gave to the Israelites a land flowing with milk and honey, and they knew it. God has also given us many things, especially our salvation in Jesus Christ. What does God want in return for all that He has done for us? He wants us to obey Him. In Deuteronomy 26:16 it says, “This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments.” Jesus said in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Notice that in the last part of Deuteronomy 26:16 we are told to keep God’s commandments “with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” We are not called to be engaged in a lukewarm Christianity. We are called to jump in with both feet: with all that we have. It must be our number one desire to follow Jesus.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 26:17-19, “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.” The word that is translated “avouched” in this passage is the simple Hebrew word “to say.” Initially, it is used in regards to what a believer says in his or her statement of faith. If you always say the truth, then anything that you say is the same as if you took a vow or an oath. It is a statement of belief in the Lord followed by a statement of the intention to follow the Lord. Both of those must always go together. Belief without the desire and the intention to follow Jesus and to obey Him is not true belief. Repentance is always a part of true belief. As a matter of fact, one of the main reasons that a person will not believe on Jesus is because they do not want to turn from their evil deeds. As it says in John 3:18-19, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.[19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Once a human being says what God wants to hear, as we just read in Deuteronomy 26:17, then the Lord responds by saying something. God says in verse 18 that you are one of his people. You are His peculiar people based upon what you believe and your internal attitude towards Jesus. The word “peculiar” refers to the fact that we are God’s possession. He values us and we belong to Him. That is His promise to us: “as he hath promised thee.”

Once we become God’s people through faith in Jesus, there are many benefits. One benefit is stated in verse 19, and it refers to the fact that God has a plan for us. God’s plan for the Israelites is stated, “And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made.” That is what God would have done for Israel back in the days of the Old Testament, but they ruined it. Nevertheless, God works where man fails. And so God still has a plan for Israel, and they will still become in the future the greatest of all nations. That will materialize when Jesus returns and rules the earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem. There are many benefits to being a Christian, countless benefits: one is being a part of God’s future. Additionally, the Lord will make us “holy.” It says in verse 19, “that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God.” The people of God are God’s possession, and His plan is to turn us all into holy people.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 27:1-4, “And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.[2] And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaister them with plaister:[3] And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee.[4] Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister.” Notice the statement that Moses made in verse 1: “Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.” That is exactly the emphasis of the law in the Old Testament. It is all about how well can you keep the commandments. But notice the emphasis that is made in the New Testament, such as what is said in Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Of course, the Lord still wants us to obey Him, but it is a different emphasis. The reason for the difference in emphasis is because the law cannot save. Faith in Jesus saves the soul, not good works. Faith in Jesus is what saves. Put your faith in Jesus and you will be saved. Put your faith in your good works, and you will not be saved.

In Deuteronomy 27:2-4 God requires that the Israelites erect a simple monument and to write the Ten Commandments on that monument. One reason to do this was a reminder to everyone who passed by that this nation, the nation of Israel, was a nation of laws: and not just any laws, but the laws that came from God. If you want to be the best nation that you can be, you must have your laws based upon the truth that came down from heaven. If you want to be the best Christian that you can be, then you must remember God’s commandments. Erect monuments, put up signs, memorize Bible verses, read the Bible, go hear sermons from the best teacher you can find. You need all those things. God wants us to remember His precious Word.

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