Deuteronomy 26:1-19: (the Message)
Once you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance and take it over and settle down, you are to take some of all the firstfruits of what you grow in the land that God, your God, is giving you, put them in a basket and go to the place God, your God, sets apart
for you to worship him. At that time, go to the priest who is there
and say, "I announce to God, your God, today that I have entered the land that God promised our ancestors that he'd give to us."
The priest will take the basket from you and place it on the Altar
of God, your God. And there in the Presence of God, your God, you will recite: 5-10 A wandering Aramean was my father, he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, he and just a handful of his brothers at
first, but soon they became a great nation, mighty and many. The Egyptians abused and battered us, in a cruel and savage slavery.
We cried out to God, the God-of-Our-Fathers:
He listened to our voice, he saw our destitution, our trouble, our
cruel plight. And God took us out of Egypt with his strong hand and
long arm, terrible and great, with signs and miracle-wonders.
And he brought us to this place, gave us this land flowing
with milk and honey. So here I am. I've brought the firstfruits
of what I've grown on this ground you gave me, O God.
10-11 Then place it in the Presence of God, your God. Prostrate yourselves in the Presence of God, your God. And rejoice!
Celebrate all the good things that God, your God, has given
you and your family; you and the Levite and the foreigner who lives with you. 12-14 Every third year, the year of the tithe, give a tenth of your produce to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that they may eat their fill in your cities. And then, in the Presence of God, your God, say this:I have brought the sacred share, I've given it to the Levite, foreigner,
orphan, and widow. What you commanded, I've done. I haven't
detoured around your commands, I haven't forgotten a single one.
I haven't eaten from the sacred share while mourning,
I haven't removed any of it while ritually unclean,
I haven't used it in funeral feasts.
I have listened obediently to the Voice of God, my God,
I have lived the way you commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy house in Heaven!
Bless your people Israel and the ground you gave us, just as you
promised our ancestors you would,
this land flowing with milk and honey.
16-17 This very day God, your God, commands you to follow these
rules and regulations, to live them out with everything
you have in you. You've renewed your vows today that God is your God, that you'll live the way he shows you; do what he tells you in the rules, regulations, and commandments; and listen obediently to him.
18-19 And today God has reaffirmed that you are dearly held treasure just as he promised, a people entrusted with keeping his commandments, a people set high above all other nations that he's made, high in praise, fame, and honor: you're a people holy to
God, your God. That's what he has promised.As they came to offer their first fruits
to the Lord they were instructed to recite their own history and all that the Lord had done in their sight. They were called to recognize that all they had came from God-given land.
The act of giving back to the Lord some of what He had provided for them was
very much an act of WORSHIP. Not only was the giving an act of worship but it
was to be brought with rejoicing and celebration.The tithe was never meant to be a mere obligation. We are to
come to the Lord, going over what He has done and it should be a cause for great
joy.Worship, bow low - the very act means that I recognize One Who
is greater than I. It means that I understand which one of us serves the Other.
All that I have I have because He has blessed me. As I bring the offering and
the tithe to Him I am in worship. This time, though, the worship is expressed
with the stuff I live on...sometimes I sing, sometimes I declare His praises.
But I also am called to give.My faithfulness is worship. My obedience is worship. My songs
are worship. My offering and tithe are worship.My giving must be done with and in the knowledge that all that I
have is by the Hands of the Gracious God whom I serve. I must guard against
and cast down the thought that anything I have is mine alone.Bring these words of Yours to my remembrance, O Lord, for in You
and You alone am I able to enjoy any possession. For it is by Your Hand that I
live at all!
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