When
you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as
an inheritance to possess,1
and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the
first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land
that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a
basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a
dwelling for his name.2
You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to
him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into
the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.”3
When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down
before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response
before the Lord your God:
“A wandering Aramean4 was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; theLord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.5The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;6 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.”
You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you,7 shall celebrate8 with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites,9 the aliens, the orphans, and the widows,10 so that they may eat their fill within your towns, then you shall say before the Lord your God:
“I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any of your commandments: I have not eaten of it while in mourning; I have not removed any of it while I was unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead.11 I have obeyed the Lord my God, doing just as you commanded me.12 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey.”13
“A wandering Aramean4 was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; theLord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.5The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;6 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.”
You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you,7 shall celebrate8 with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites,9 the aliens, the orphans, and the widows,10 so that they may eat their fill within your towns, then you shall say before the Lord your God:
“I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any of your commandments: I have not eaten of it while in mourning; I have not removed any of it while I was unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead.11 I have obeyed the Lord my God, doing just as you commanded me.12 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey.”13
1
A series again giving assurances of what God will do.
2
Acknowledging that the land and its blessings ultimately belong to
God.
3
The process is started with a vocal acknowledgement of that very
thing.
4
Interesting reference to “a wandering Aramean” here.
5
The Lord is one who cares about affliction and oppression.
6
A nice little summary of Exodus.
7
Emphasizing that the aliens are a part of it.
8
Celebration is vital.
9
So interesting that Levitical priests and lumped with the
marginalized. Shows that marginalized status may not have initially
been as shameful as it came to be in some places, or that there was
a desire that it not be so.
10
Yet again emphasizing care for the aliens, the orphans, and the
widows.
11
Keeps anyone from greedily “double-counting” their giving.
12
The drumbeat of “obey God's commandments”, so constant earlier
is Deuteronomy, is again heavily emphasized here.
13
Asking for a blessing in response to worship and sacrifice, and
acknowledging the blessings that have already come.
Take-home: Gratitude to God for all he has given is to be shown via the giving of the first-fruits, which includes both verbal thanksgiving to God and physical gifts to the marginalized.
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