Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 26:1-11. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 26:1-2 (NIV)
1 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name
On verses 1-2: Here Moses teaches the Israelites to give God a thank offering when they enter the land that God promised them. This thank offering was to be in addition to the regular tithes that the Israelites were to give in Deuteronomy 14:22-27. Similarly, I encourage you to give a thank offering to God when you enter into something good. Whether it’s getting a new job, a new home, a promotion, closing a deal, getting into a new school, or some new blessing, I believe it pleases God when you take the first fruit of a benefit you have received and give it to God as a thank offering at the house where you worship Him.
Deuteronomy 26:3-10 (NIV)
3 and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our forefathers to give us.” 4 The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him.
On verses 3-10: Moses tells the current generation of Israelites to not only bring the first fruits of their harvest as a thank offering to the house of God, even more Moses tells them also to declare what God has done for them. Assuming that this was something each individual Israelite had to do, this means that the priest would hear thousands upon thousands of people make the same testimony we read in verses 3-10. If you were the priest hearing this testimony, do you think you would ever tire of hearing it over and over again? When I hear people come to faith in Jesus, it never gets old. Don’t say, “My testimony is nothing special, it’s the same as so many others, so why bother sharing it.” No. No matter how ordinary or commonplace you think your testimony is, the fact is that your testimony is powerful and worth sharing because you are unique, you matter, and your story matters, even if you think it sounds similar to someone else’s. God wants to use your story to encourage others and to gain glory for Himself.
Deuteronomy 26:3-11 (NIV)
11 And you and the Levites and the aliens among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.
On verse 11: Notice it doesn’t say that after you have given your thank offerings and shared your testimony that “you shall be poorer, more tired and depressed”. Rather it says, “you shall rejoice”. That’s because giving God a thank offering and declaring what He has done for us is one of the most joyful things we can do. Do you want to be happier? Give God a thank offering and declare what God has done for you. As you do, you will be blessed.
Also, notice it says that after the Israelites have given their thank offerings and declared their testimonies, “you and the Levites and the aliens among you” shall rejoice (v11). In other words, when you give your thank offerings and share your testimony, you are not the only who benefits. Even more, you encourage and bring hope to those who serve in the house of God (the “Levites”) and those who are new to faith (the “aliens”). When you give God your thank offerings and share your testimony, you spread contagious hope to others and the blessing you received multiplies.
Father, I pray that when I enter into or receive something good, I would consciously give You the first part of what I receive as a thank offering. Thank You for the story that You have written with my life. I declare that no matter how ordinary or common I sometimes think my story may sound, the fact is that my story matters because You say so and You will use it to encourage others when I share it. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
