Firstfruits, Tithe & Covenant Summary

INTRO

Here we are in the last book of the Pentateuch and are almost transitioning to the New Testament. We are going to move from the Pentateuch to the Gospels, and then back to the historical books of the Old Testament.

TEACHING

Deuteronomy 25: We have more lists of rules that include the following: when there is a dispute between men, they could be flogged up to 40 times; how to preserve the family lines when a family member died; legal weights and scales; and revenge upon the Amalekites.

Deuteronomy 26:1–4: When they took the land, they were required to collect the firstfruits of the land, put them in a container, and place them in the tabernacle where God dwelled. Nelson’s commentarypoints out that God wanted the Israelites to give the firstfruits, even though they could not be sure that the rest of the harvest would ripen or be harvested as a way to show they trusted God to provide for them.¹They were to say to the priest who was serving, “Today I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.” The priest then received these offerings and placed them in the tabernacle for God. Wiersbe refers to this as a “confession of God’s goodness.”²

Deuteronomy 8:11–19: “Be careful that you don’t forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His command––the ordinances and statutes––I am giving you today. When you eat and are full, and build beautiful houses to live in, and your herds and flocks grow large, and your silver and gold multiply, and everything else you have increases, be careful that your heart doesn’t become proud and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. He led you through the great and terrible wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty land where there was no water. He brought water out of the flint-like rock for you. He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper. You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ but remember that the LORD your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant, He swore to your fathers, as it is today. If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will perish. Like the nations the LORD is about to destroy before you, you will perish if you do not obey the LORD your God.”

Deuteronomy 26:5–10: Jacob was a wandering Aramean and father of the 12 tribes. He went to Egypt because of the famine. They took everything they had with them—all the family and all their possessions (Genesis 46:3–7). He went with a total of 70 people. Exodus 1:7 recorded: “But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous so that the land was filled with them.” Estimates are that the 70 multiplied into 2 million people and they became a great nation. The suffering and persecution they went through in Egypt led to the people multiplying (Exodus 2:23–25). The same is true in the New Testament. Every time the church was persecuted and scattered, it multiplied in numbers. God heard the groaning and the cries of the Israelites. He brought them out of Egypt with a strong arm and signs and wonders to a land flowing with milk and honey. The firstfruits from the Promised Land were offered to God and caused the Israelites to remember all that God had done for them. They bowed down to worship God. Nelson’s commentaryexplains that “the most common Hebrew word for worshipliterally means ‘to cause oneself to lie prostrate.’”³Bowing down symbolizes worship and adoration.

Deuteronomy 26:12–15: Wiersbe identifies these verses as “a confession of honesty and generosity.”⁴When the Israelites finished paying the tenth in the third year, they were to give it to the Levite, foreigner, fatherless, and widow—those that needed it most (v. 12). Then, they were to say that they had done this in the presence of the Lord (v. 13). They had also not eaten any of it or offered it to the dead like the Canaanites. Constable points out that this means “God’s people should continue to trust Him for the fulfillment of promised blessings yet unrealized.”⁵

Deuteronomy 26:16–19: Wiersbe identifies these verses as a “confession of obedience.”⁶TheIsraelites were to follow these commandments with all their heart and soul (Deuteronomy 6:5—called the Shema). This was also Jesus’ language in Matthew 22:34–39 (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26). Wiersbe states that the first two confessions were looking forward to the land (v. 17).⁷The next one dealt with “today” as they affirmed that God is their life, as God affirmed they were His special people (v. 18) (Exodus 19:5; Malachi 3:17). God promised to elevate them to praise, fame, and glory above all nations as a holy people to the Lord (v. 19; Psalm 81:11–14, 16).

CLOSING

I want to be a blessing to the nation of Israel. It is dependent upon a heart condition of loving God and loving others.

Deuteronomy 25 is more rules and regulations. Deuteronomy 26 is mainly about giving of firstfruits and giving the tithe for the first three years, then giving it to the poor the third year. These are laws that change the heart to see people as God sees them. If these concerns are in our hearts, we won’t have a problem doing them.