This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
Bruce McGee,Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
HERE
Bro. Bruce's commentaries for the
books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just mail your request for
COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above.
DEUTERONOMY
1 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;
2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.
3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.
4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
The meaning of the offering of "firstfruits" is expanded here.
Also, this offering was a reminder that God had brought Israel from NOTHING to being a great nation.
God is our Providor today. We should acknowledge Him by trusting His provisions always. That doesn't mean that we sit by and wait for provision to fall from the sky. The Israelites had to work: farm, raise cattle, etc.
12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
13 Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:
14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.
According to Deuteronomy 14:22-29, there was a second tithe. This tithe was given every year also, and used for expenses in celebrating the several feasts of the Lord. But every THIRD year, this tithe was used in the form of GRACE: giving (donating) to the poor, fatherless and widows.
Today, we should affirm in our spending that God is the Providor of our money and that He has the authority in our lives to DIRECT the spending and use of it.
15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
We can ASK God to BLESS us.
16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
17 Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:
18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.
Moses reminds the people that God has "avouched" them to be His "peculiar" (or special) people (verse 18). And Israel has "avouched" God to be GOD -- or to have power and authority in their lives (verse 17).
Today, if Christians will truly let God have the power and authority to direct their lives by His Word, then He will bless and magnify His people.
Please continue to follow with us daily in Bible study.
CHAPTER 26
This offering was to acknowledge God as the Providor of harvest, and to demonstrate belief that He would bless the crops. After all, we wouldn't even have land if God didn't provide it for us.
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 me. 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.
Jacob ("a Syrian ready to perish") had no hope of earthly or eternal blessings until God called him and directed him.
And though God's direction took him and his family into slavery in Egypt (verses 5-6), God SAVED them (verses 7-8).
Then (verse 9) God gave them the land of Canaan which is rich in agriculture and good for farming.
Therefore (verses 10-11), they were to bring the firstfruits acknowledging:
1) that God provided all,
2) that HE would bring in the harvest,
3) that they could REJOICE in His blessings.
We should also honor God with the FIRST of our monies. That's what "firstfruits" represented in those days. When the FIRST line of our personal budget is for God, THEN we are truly trusting that God knows best and will bless the REST of our money.
The Israelites were to promise God that they would not MISS the second tithe (verse 14).
They were not to see to their OWN comfort until all of God's directions for their money was complete.
Therfore, they are to keep God's commandments with all their hearts (verse 16), and God will fulfill His promises to make them a "great nation" (verse 19).