Journal 21-8-2009

Journal 21-8-2009

Scripture

Deuteronomy 26 :1-15(New American Standard Bible)

Offering First Fruits

¹"Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it,

²that 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"You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, 'I declare this day 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 down before the altar of the LORD your God.

⁵"You shall answer and say before the LORD your God, 'My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation.

⁶'And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.

⁷'Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression;

⁸and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders;

⁹and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

¹⁰'Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O LORD have given me.' And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God;

¹¹and you and the Levite and the alien 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 increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

¹³"You shall say before the LORD your God, 'I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed 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 LORD my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me.

¹⁵'Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.'

Observation

God again gives us specific instructions. This time, he tells us what we should do when we get our first fruits. We are to tae some of what we have earned and give it to the Lord. When we do this, we must give all glory and honour. We must also remember his goodness in our times of affliction, especially the time when he came to save us.

The lord brings us out in 5 significant ways.

i. Mighty hand – God shows us His might and power when he fights for us.

ii. Outstretched arm – God shows us his love

iii. Great terror – Though God is a God of love, he also shows us the harsh punishments he has for the wicked and the unfaithful. This is so that we may live in the fear of the Lord.

iv. Signs – As we walk in God’s ways, we see his signs along the way. Just as a signs on the road, God also gives us signs so that we know that we are on the right track. Signs also tell us what is ahead so that we know what needs to be done.

v. Wonders- When we look at a wonder, we are at awe of what we see. God’s creation, his miracles and many other marvels show us that he is God. We cannot explain it but when we actually see God’s wonder, it gives us a sense of confidence to move on.

Again, God shows mercy to the aliens among us. After a certain time when we’ve been faithful tithing, we are to give a certain portion to the needy. Three years is a good guideline.

We often see in Deuteronomy that God asks us to be obedient and keep his commandments. But we see in v 13 and 14, we are telling God “ see, I have listened to your voice , I have obeyed, I have not transgressed and I remember” Wouldn’t it be nice to say this to God? It gives us a sense of accomplishment that we have obeyed god and we are on the right path.

Application

I must give god his due.

I must always remember my hardships and how God rescued me.

I must remember the needy and not oppress foreigners.

I must always be thankful to God and surrender what I have to Him

Response

Lord I thank you for your blessings in my life. Let me remember to give you what is due to you. Let me always remember how you have rescued me during the times of trouble. Help me to always be fair to foreigners. All I have is yours God. I surrender myself to you. Amen.