S3 P1 1-11. Basket of first-fruits.
P2 12-15. Tithes.
P1 Q g 1. Inheritance possessed.
h 2-5-. Command.
R i -5. Unworthiness of grace.
k 6. Egypt. Bondage.
l 7-. Cry made.
R l -7. Cry heard.
k 8. Egypt. Deliverance.
i 9. Grace for the unworthy.
Q h 10. Obedience.
g 11. Inheritance enjoyed.1452 B.C.
Deuteronomy 26)
1: And it shall be, when you are come in unto the land (Heb. 'erez = Canaan) which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and possess it, and dwell therein;
2: That you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the earth (Heb. = ground, or soil, 'adamah), which you shall bring of your land that the Lord your God gives you, and shall put it in a woven basket, and shall go to the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place His name there (= to cause to dwell).
3: And you shall go to the priest that shall be in those days, and say to him, 'I declare this day to the Lord your God, that I am come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers for to give us.'
4: And the priest shall take the woven basket out of your hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.
5: And you shall speak and say before the Lord your God (Note the Idiom, generally rendered "answer and say", where the first verb must always be rendered according to the context. Here, "confess and say"),
'A Syrian perishing was my father (= an Aramaen, i.e. Job. For perishing, compare Gen. 42:1,2), 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 to the Lord God of our fathers (see Ex. 2:23-25; 3:7 &c. Ps. 107:6 and cp. Josh.24:7. Judg. 4:3; 10:12. 2 Chron. 13:14. Neh. 9:27 and Ps. 107:8,28),
the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labor, 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 has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, even a land that flows with milk and honey.
10: And now, behold, I have brought the first-fruits of the ground (or soil), which You, O Lord, have given me’. And you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God:
11: And you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.
P2 m 12-. Tithes gathered.
n -12,13. Duly appropriated (positive).
n 14. Duly appropriated (negative).
m 15. Prayer offered.12: When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year (= carefully and completely tithed your increase. Cp. 14:28,29), which is the year of tithing,
and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled;
13: Then you shall say before the Lord your God, 'I have brought away the holy (= set apart, see Ex. 3:5) things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me: I have not transgressed (= passed over, Heb. 'abar) Your commandments, neither have I forgotten them:
14: I have not eaten thereof in my mourning (= suffering. Heb. 'avon, a Homonym: here = suffering, or sorrow [as in Gen. 35:18, and Hos. 9:4], but = might in Gen. 49:3. Deut. 21:17. Job 31:25), neither have I taken away anything thereof for any unclean use, nor given anything thereof for the dead (Probably = defilement for touching a dead body): but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me.
15: Look down from Your set apart habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, according as You swore to our fathers, a land (Heb. 'erez, the land of Canaan) that flows with milk and honey.' (Do you live in a nation that flows with milk and honey? With God’s blessings we have it pretty good. Look around the world, if you disagree.)
t o 16. Command.
p 17. Yahaveh avouched by people.
p 18,19-. People avouched by Yahaveh.
o -19. Purpose.16: This day the Lord your God has commanded you to do these ordinances and duties and punishments (see 4:1): you shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart, and with all your soul. (Pleasing God should be your top priority. He is the source of all blessings. Not only in this earth age, but in the eternity, as well.)
17: You have avouched (= avowed) the Lord this day to be your God, and (note the Polysyndeton vv.17-19) to walk in His ways, and to keep His ordinances, and His commandments, and His duties and punishments, and to listen to His voice: (This is how you please God. Be a doer of His Word.)
18: And the Lord has avowed you this day to be his peculiar people (as a treasure. Cp. 7:6, and see Ex.19:5), as He has promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; (Did God promise to protect and keep everyone as He would a hidden treasure? No. There was a condition. You should keep His commandments. Don’t anyone go off on a guilt trip on me. We all fall short. When you fall short, repent. The slate is wiped clean.)
19: And to make you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, and in name, and in honor;
and that you may be a set apart people to the Lord your God, according as He has spoken. (Many might say, “God scattered Israel. How would we find them today?” You would find them in a nation that loves and serves God. You would find them in a nation that enjoys the blessings of our Father. A nation much like this one.)