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519 | Rejoice in Every Good Thing - Deuteronomy 26 · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  God is in control.
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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman
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  at the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Have you ever noticed how gratitude transforms the way we see God's blessings?
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  Deuteronomy chapter 26 gives us a beautiful picture of what it means to live
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  a life of thanksgiving, one that flows from a heart of obedience and worship.
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  This chapter opens with the Israelites bringing their first fruits before the
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  Lord, a visible reminder that every good thing comes from him.
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  As they placed their baskets before the altar, they weren't just offering crops.
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  They were offering praise, remembering God's deliverance, his provision, and his faithfulness.
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  Moses calls them to rejoice in every good thing, to worship,
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  to give thanks, and to live generously towards others.
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  From the offering of the firstfruits to the tithe that cared for the Levite,
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  the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, this chapter reminds us that worship
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  and obedience are never separate.
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  True worship always leads to gratitude, generosity, and joy.
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  Join us in this episode of the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast as Erica
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  Close teaches from Deuteronomy chapter 26.
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  And as we rediscover the joy of thankful living, the kind of life that honors
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  God, blesses others, and rejoices in every good thing He has done.
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  Join with me now as we jump into Deuteronomy chapter 26, starting in verse 1.
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  And it shall be, when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth
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  thee for an inheritance,
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  and possessest it, and dwellest therein, that thou shalt take the first of all
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  the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of the land the Lord thy God
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  giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket,
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  and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there.
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  And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days,
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  and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come into
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  the country, which the Lord sware unto our fathers to give us.
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  And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand and set it down before
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  the altar of the Lord thy God.
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  And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, Assyrian ready to perish was my father.
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  And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few and became there
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  a great nation, mighty and populous.
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  And the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage.
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  And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice
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  and looked down on our affliction, our labor, and our oppression.
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  And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand,
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  and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders.
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  And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land,
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  even a land that floweth with milk and honey.".
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  And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou,
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  O Lord, hast given me, and thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God,
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  and worship before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice in every good thing,
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  which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee,
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  and unto thine house, thou and the Levite and the stranger that is among you.
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  When thou hast made an end of tithing, all the tithes of thy increase the third
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  year, which is the year of tithing, and hath given it unto the Levite,
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  the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled,
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  then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed
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  things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite,
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  unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow,
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  according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me.
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  I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.
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  I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof
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  for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead.
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  But I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according
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  to all that thou hast commanded me.
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  Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel
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  and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swearest unto our fathers,
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  a land that floweth with milk and honey.
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  This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments.
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  Thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart and with all thy soul.
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  Thou hast avouch the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways,
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  and to keep his statutes and his commandments, and his judgments,
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  and to hearken unto his voice.
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  And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people,
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  as he hath promised thee, that thou shouldest keep all his commandments,
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  and to make thee high of all nations which he hath made, in praise,
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  and in name, and in honor, that thou mayest be a holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he has spoken.
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  What a difference we find as we move into Deuteronomy chapter 26.
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  The tone has completely changed from Deuteronomy chapter 25.
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  And as we move back into a time where Moses is speaking directly to the hearts
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  of the Israelites, preparing them to move in and possess the promised land.
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  As this chapter opens up, the Israelites are still on the edge of entering the promised land.
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  And this chapter marks this wonderful shift as we go from so many chapters about
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  the ceremonial and the civil laws to a renewing of the covenant that God had
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  with the Israelites and with the practices that they had for worship.
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  Specifically, this chapter talks about tithing, thanksgiving, and prayer.
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  In verses 1 and 2, Moses reminds them that they're coming into the promised
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  land, a land that God has given them for their inheritance, which they are going to possess and dwell in.
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  When they begin to dwell there and enjoy the first yield of their crops,
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  Verse 2 instructs that they are to take the first of all their fruits,
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  their first fruits, and put them in a basket to quote unquote take to the place
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  which the Lord by God shall choose to place his name.
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  This means that they were to go straight to the place where they would give
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  thanks and present their offerings to the Lord.
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  The chapter opens with this act of thanksgiving that symbolizes their gratitude
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  for what the Lord has done and their recognition that all they have and all
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  the blessings they enjoy come from him.
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  This next section in verses three through 11 goes deeper into what happens with
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  this first fruit offering.
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  In verse three, we see that the Israelites have taken their first fruits,
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  a recognition that God is a giver of all good things.
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  Bringing the firstfruits was an act of giving God their best,
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  since the firstfruits were the first ripe and finest produce.
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  And in giving God the first and the best, they were honoring Him as the first and the best.
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  In verse 3, the offering was to be brought before the priest,
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  and immediately the worshiper was to make a profession, a declaration of faith.
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  It was a statement of who God is, and a recognition that they had come into
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  the promised land, which the Lord had sworn to give to their fathers.
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  Verse 4 explains that the priest himself would take the basket and set it before
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  the altar, while the Israelites would continue to speak, remembering where they had come from.
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  In verse 5, there's an acknowledgment that their father, referring to Jacob.
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  Had gone down to Egypt and sojourned there for a long time, eventually becoming a great nation.
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  Verse 6 recalls the oppression of the Egyptians, who afflicted the Israelites
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  and placed them in bondage.
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  In verse 7, the Israelites are reminded that when they cried unto the Lord,
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  He heard their voice and saw their affliction and oppression.
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  And then we get to verse 8, which celebrates God's mighty deliverance as he
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  brought them out of Egypt with power, signs, and wonders.
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  This remembrance builds to verse 9, where the Lord is praised for bringing them
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  into the promised land, a land that flows with milk and honey.
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  In verse 10, the response is clear.
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  Therefore, they bring the tithe, remembering God's deliverance and acknowledging
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  his continued provision.
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  The first fruits were to be set on the altar and the worshiper was to bow before the Lord in worship.
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  Finally, verse 11 describes that worship is rejoicing in every good thing that the Lord has brought.
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  It's every good thing that has come to their households, to the Levites,
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  to the strangers that are among them.
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  This Thanksgiving that they are celebrating at this time was not just individual,
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  but it was communal, accompanying the entire people of God and all those with
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  which they shared a community.
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  Verses 12 through 15 specifically talk about a special tithe.
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  This is not the first tithe that we've heard about this special tithe.
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  The special tithe was to occur every third year and was described early in Deuteronomy
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  chapter 14, specifically verses 28 and 29.
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  In that section of Deuteronomy 14, we read, At the end of three years thou shalt
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  bring forth all the tithes of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it
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  up within thy gates, and the Levite, because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,
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  and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow which are within thy gates,
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  shall come and eat and be satisfied,
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  that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
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  This special tithe was to occur at the end of every three years,
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  and it was designed specifically to support the Levite, the stranger,
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  the fatherless, and the widow.
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  Verse 12 makes it clear that each of these were to eat of the tithe within their
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  gates until they were filled.
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  Looking at verse 13, we see that this tithe was a time of both obedience to
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  the Lord and compassion for others.
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  Verse 13 speaks of being able to say to the Lord, I have brought away the hallowed
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  things out of my house, meaning that there was nothing in the house that should.
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  Have been given to God or to the community that had been withheld.
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  Verse 14 continues this declaration, affirming that nothing had been taken that
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  was not supposed to be taken, and nothing had been held back that was supposed to be given.
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  Everything had been done in full accordance with what the Lord had commanded.
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  After the tithe was made, the chapter shows how it was to be concluded, with a prayer.
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  Verse 15 is a prayer of blessing and gratitude,
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  saying, Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people
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  Israel and the land which thou hast given us as thou swearest unto our fathers,
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  a land that floweth with milk and honey.
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  This prayer recognizes that God is holy and heaven is holy.
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  It acknowledges that it's through God's grace and favor that the Israelites
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  were even in the promised land.
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  It recognizes that God in heaven looks down upon his people on earth and it
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  concludes with the acknowledgement that all good things like milk and honey come from God himself.
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  The special tithe, designed to support the community, was ultimately an act
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  of worship and a recognition of the blessings of God.
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  In the last part of Deuteronomy chapter 26, Moses, in speaking to the Israelites,
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  renews the covenant that the Lord made with his people Israel and reaffirms
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  what the Lord had commanded.
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  Moses reminds them that the Lord had commanded them to do all of the statutes
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  and judgments, which we've been reading about for many chapters,
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  and that their goal was to keep them and to do them with all their heart and with all their soul.
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  The language of all thy heart and all thy soul is repeated throughout the book
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  of Deuteronomy, and it represents just how important obedience is to the Lord.
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  Verse 17 shows how Moses reminded the people that they had promised that the
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  Lord would be their God, and that they would walk in his ways,
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  and that they would keep his commandments, statutes, and judgments.
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  They were to follow all the rules and rituals that had been set up.
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  But at the end of verse 17, we see that this obedience was not just about laws.
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  It was about relationship.
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  Their obedience was an expression of belonging to the Lord.
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  As this verse closes with the phrase, to hearken unto his voice.
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  In verse 18, we see that God also makes a promise to the Israelites.
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  He promised that they would be his peculiar people, as he had said before,
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  and he declared that they were to keep his commandments and live in obedience to him.
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  The chapter closes in verse 19 with another beautiful promise.
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  Moses says that the Lord would make the Israelite nation high above all nations
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  in praise and in name and in honor.
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  The Israelites were to be a holy people, set apart unto God himself.
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  What a joy it is to be able to read a chapter in the book of Deuteronomy and
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  find the application to ourselves and to our communities right away.
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  This chapter is about thanksgiving, gratitude, holiness, and maintaining a right
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  relationship between ourselves and God.
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  We need to remember that Deuteronomy is a review, and Moses is now finished
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  reviewing the ceremonial and civil laws.
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  In this chapter, he begins to speak to the Israelites about their hearts.
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  No longer is he talking about laws for living in the land, but how to worship
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  God in the land that God has given them.
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  Our goal as Christians on this side of the cross is to live in such a way that
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  our lives are an expression of worship to God himself.
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  The Israelites were commanded to bring their first fruits, their very best.
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  This command has been given throughout the Old Testament up to this point,
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  but it does not end there.
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  In Proverbs 3, verses 9 and 10, we read that we are to honor the Lord with our
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  substance and with the things that we grow and gain.
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  All the increases in our life, the firstfruits of that, are to be given to the Lord.
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  As Christians, we also know this truth from James 1, 17, which reminds us that
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  every good and perfect gift is from God himself.
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  Just like the Israelites were commanded to enter the promised land,
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  get their lives together, and thank the Lord, that commandment applies to us.
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  Were to give him the best of whatever it is that we have.
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  If we look at verses 3 through 11, we see that the offering and the tithe of
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  the first fruits really were not about the fruit itself.
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  This chapter talks about the basket of fruit, but what is significant in verses
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  3 through 11 is not the fruit.
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  The fruit is simply set down at the altar.
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  What matters most is the spoken confession and the worship that follows.
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  The worship and the confession are a time of acknowledgement and remembrance of what God has done.
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  It's a recognition of who God is, a recognition that He has a plan for their
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  lives, and a recognition that He desires their obedience, because obedience
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  is the path to continual blessing.
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  This worship is a time of thanksgiving.
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  Psalm 100 verse 4 says to enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts
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  with praise. the Israelites may have entered with a basket of fruit,
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  But the true act of worship was not in the fruit. The true act of worship was
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  in the confession, the praise, and the submission to God's power,
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  authority, and holiness.
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  The lesson for us with the special tithe that was to occur at the end of the third year is clear.
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  These verses are all about generosity and caring for the community.
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  The Israelites were to take their first fruits, and instead of bringing them
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  as an offering to the Lord, they were to be given to the Levite, who's the priest,
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  the stranger, those who were not Israelites but were living in their community
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  the orphans and the widows this tithe was about community, about caring for
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  others and ensuring that the needs of the most vulnerable were met.
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  This was also a time for the Israelites to be fully honest. They had to be able
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  to say that they had not kept anything back and that they were willing to give what was due.
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  The fact that they held nothing back reminds us of what we read in 2 Corinthians
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  9-7, that God loves a cheerful giver.
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  For those of us on this side of the cross, this lesson is echoed again in Matthew
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  25-40 where Jesus said, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of
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  these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
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  This chapter closes with a reaffirmation of the covenant that God had with the Israelites.
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  The Israelites were to obey God with all of their heart and all of their soul.
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  In doing so, God would mark them as his peculiar people, his treasured possession,
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  set apart and lifted high among all the other nations.
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  For those of us on this side of the cross, this covenant speaks volumes about
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  the type of relationship that we have with God.
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  We're asked to obey Him with all of our heart and soul. And in return,
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  we too are called to be His peculiar people.
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  We live daily with the presence of the Lord in our lives, and we have the promise of heaven.
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  God might ask for obedience, but what He gives in return is far greater.
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  Deuteronomy chapter 26 is about faithful living. It's about gratitude,
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  generosity, and obedience.
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  The Israelites in their worship declare their dependence on God,
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  their thankfulness to God, and their trust in God.
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  This chapter shows Moses, again,
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  turning the Israelites back towards their relationship with the Lord.
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  How often do we get off track and need to turn back to remember our own relationship with Him.
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  If we boil Deuteronomy 26 down to its very substance, we would see that obedience
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  and worship cannot be separated.
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  Worship flows from a grateful heart that understands who God is,
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  and true obedience demonstrates love toward the God who saves,
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  provides, and calls His people His own.
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  Remember that you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
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