βAnd 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 youβ (Deuteronomy 26:11).
Once the nation Israel enters the Promised Land under Joshuaβs headship, the Jews are to gather the firstfruits of the land. They are to place those fruits in a basket, and bring it to the priest as an offering to the LORD (verses 1-4).
Verses 5-10 continue: β[5] 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 meβ¦.β (We will return to this confession shortly and analyze it.)
For now, we read the rest of verse 10 and todayβs Scripture: β[10]β¦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.β Friend, are you starting to see a recurring phrase in this passage? What could God possibly be teaching Israel with this special offering? Take some time to think about it and we will proceed to dissect the versesβ¦ source
