In The Word
Read: Deuteronomy 26
Offering First Fruits
26 “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall respond and say before the Lordyour God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and resided there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty, and populous nation. 6 And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lordheard our voice and saw our wretched condition, our trouble, and our oppression;8 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, an outstretched arm, and with great terror, and with signs and wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, Lordhave given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God; 11 and you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.
12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.13 And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portionfrom my house, and have also given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, in accordance with all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not violated or forgotten any of Your commandments. 14 I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lordmy God; I have acted in accordance with everything that You have commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy dwelling place, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey just as You swore to our fathers.’
16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to perform these statutes and ordinances. Therefore you shall be careful to perform them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. 18 And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, His personal possession, just as He promised you, and that you are to keep all His commandments; 19 and that He will put you high above all the nations which He has made, for glory, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
God provided the Israelites with the guidelines for giving the tithe. Each household was to bring the first and best of the produce from their labors to the priest in order to offer a sacrifice to God as an act of worship. Otherwise, there would have been no harvest from the Lord. When the tithe was given, each person was to declare to the Lord a confession that:
- He had fully obeyed God to occupy the Promised Land
- He remembered that God had rescued the nation from Egyptian captivity with power and miracles
- He was grateful for the blessings that God had provided to enjoy
- He was giving the full tithe, 10% of the produce, and that none of it had been taken away and used for another purpose
- He was being generous to those in need
God established the giving of the tithe, which is the first 10% of income we receive from our labors. It is to be given to God’s established local church, not in a flippant or ritualistic manner, but as an act of worship which springs from a lifestyle of obeying all of God’s commands. Further, we should thank God for His freedom given to us by Yeshua and for his many blessings, which are to be shared with those in need around us. Today’s reading gives the right model for you to follow. Are you faithfully following God’s command of giving to the local church the full tithe as an act of worship?