261 "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, 2 that 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 e 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 ; 8 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders ; 9 and 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 ; 11 and 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 .'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 26:1-15
Commentary on Deuteronomy 26:1-11
(Read Deuteronomy 26:1-11)
When God has made good his promises to us, he expects we should own it to the honour of his faithfulness. And our creature comforts are doubly sweet, when we see them flowing from the fountain of the promise. The person who offered his first-fruits, must remember and own the mean origin of that nation, of which he was a member. A Syrian ready to perish was my father. Jacob is here called a Syrian. Their nation in its infancy sojourned in Egypt as strangers, they served there as slaves. They were a poor, despised, oppressed people in Egypt; and though become rich and great, had no reason to be proud, secure, or forgetful of God. He must thankfully acknowledge God's great goodness to Israel. The comfort we have in our own enjoyments, should lead us to be thankful for our share in public peace and plenty; and with present mercies we should bless the Lord for the former mercies we remember, and the further mercies we expect and hope for. He must offer his basket of first-fruits. Whatever good thing God gives us, it is his will that we make the most comfortable use we can of it, tracing the streams to the Fountain of all consolation.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 26:12-15
(Read Deuteronomy 26:12-15)
How should the earth yield its increase, or, if it does, what comfort can we take in it, unless therewith our God gives us his blessing? All this represented the covenant relation between a reconciled God and every true believer, and the privileges and duties belonging to it. We must be watchful, and show that according to the covenant of grace in Christ Jesus, the Lord is our God, and we are his people, waiting in his appointed way for the performance of his gracious promises.