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EXPECTED BLESSINGS IN THE NEW LAND
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18
Deuteronomy 26:1-4

Psalm 46:1-3

 

“God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.”

 

EXPECTED BLESSINGS IN THE NEW LAND
 
As Israel was set to settle in the land of Canaan, everything was put in place and all needful preparations were commanded. This was to make it easy for Israel to go about their everyday life and build their relationship with God. Farm produce would be their lifeline (as represented by “milk and honey”). The first fruits of the land were to be taken in a basket and offered to the Lord. Tithes also were given to support the spiritual leaders and the needy among them. Foremost in their service for the Lord was their obedience to His commandments.
 
Israel would surely possess the land of inheritance that God had given to them. While Moses spoke to them, they were anticipating settling in that land soon. Almost all of them were children when they left Egypt and none of them had ever owned land. During the Exodus, the Lord provided them with daily food and all they had to do was to collect it in the morning in the fields. Their clothes and shoes did not wear out all those years. They also tended livestock and used the animal products as was needed. The new settlement would come with new economic activity.
 
Moses thus gave them direction regarding their service for God. They were to take the first fruits in a basket and take it to a priest in the place where God would appoint. This was where the Tabernacle would be pitched and, in subsequent history of Israel, it was the Temple which was a permanent building. There the priests would receive the people’s offerings and give them direction in other aspects of worship. They were to acknowledge before the priests that God had given them the land. These were the opening words of the short speech to be given at the offering: “…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: And the Egyptians evil entreated us, …And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice… and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits…” (Deut 26:5-10).
 
THOUGHT: God is always our sufficiency.

PRAYER: Father, may I receive Thy gifts with thanksgiving.

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