The LORD then moved on to their giving (v1-4). They were to take some of the first of all the produce of the ground and bring it in a basket to the place The LORD chooses. They were to take it to the priest and say, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.” Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.
God assured them that they would enter the land, it was His promise and whilst in Numbers 18:12 they were instructed to bring to The LORD the firstfruits, some commentators consider that this offering was a special offering from their first harvest in the land. Offering the firstfruits was showing the importance of and first place which The LORD should have in their lives.
In verses 5-10 are words of thanksgiving and their acknowledgement that God had led them from Abraham, referred to as a Syrian. He came from Ur of the Chaldeans, in present day Iraq. He answered the call of God and went towards a land which he did not know. He went in faith in God and went to Egypt. God had promised him that he would be the father of a great nation, and his seed would be like the stars or the sand on the seashore, a number he could not possibly count, and in him all the nations of the earth would be blest. Abraham was a nomad, travelling around and living in tents. As time went by God gave him and Sarah a son, Isaac and he, in turn had Jacob, the father of Joseph who was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. Because of famine, Jacob’s family went to Egypt and lived there for 400 years as slaves to the Egyptians. They were relatively small in number and treated badly and God promised them a deliverer and Moses was called by God to lead them out with signs and wonders, thus showing what a great God He was. Now, a vast number of people, they were about to enter the land promised to them. In acknowledgement of all God’s leading, they were to bring the firstfruits of the land as an offering to The LORD God and worship Him. So, they were to rejoice in all the good things God had given them (v11).
We too, should rejoice before The Lord God for all that He has done for us and give thanks to Him. He has provided the way of salvation for us by sending His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ to die for our sins and to bring us forgiveness so that we can have eternal life and promises far greater than those which Israel experienced. We are promised a home in heaven with God Himself. Let us thank Him for all that He has done for us. Every one of us can look back and trace how He has guided us, and we can give thanks and worship Him.
Some of us have been through trials and troubles, some have been saved from lives of where there was no hope, but we have all sinned and need a Saviour, and He is Jesus.
After they had finished laying aside the tithe in the third year, in which they were to share with the Levite, stranger, fatherless and widow (Numbers 18:21-24) so that they could eat and be filled. Tithes were to be given every year, but the third year was special and not only for the Levites, but for the others as well (v12-15). They were to offer the prayer stated here in their act of giving.
They also confirmed to The LORD that they had given out of the right motives and in the right spirit of obedience. It was important that their tithing was not just a ritual but out of full obedience to God’s commands. We must be willing, cheerful givers in a true sense of love for The Lord. They sought God’s blessing, and He would not bless their giving if it was deceitful, similarly we cannot expect God’s blessing unless we are in the right spirit. He knows the reason for our giving, He knows our hears and we cannot hide our true motives from Him. We often hear from Prosperity teachers that if we give, we will be given much more in return. This brings about a culture of ‘giving to get’ which is not what God requires. God may, and often does, bless us abundantly, far more than we give, but that must never be our motive for giving.
Moses urged them to complete obedience to God’s commands (v16) which are recorded for us in chapter 4 right through to this chapter 26, with all their heart and soul. There was a lot to remember but there were to be no half measures. We are to do the same, we are not to be hearers only, but doers (James 1:22) which also adds that if we are hearers only, we deceive ourselves. Moses, similarly, told them that it wasn’t enough to say that The LORD was their God, they had to walk in His ways and keep His commands (v17).
Finally, he gave them God’s assurance that they were His special people, and, upon their obedience, He would make them a great nation and a holy people because of His great Name (v18,19).
