XXVI.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11. PRESENTATION OF THE FIRST FRUITS.

(1) When thou art come in.--Rashi says they were not bound to the discharge of this duty until they had conquered and divided the land. But the state of things described in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 21:43-45) would demand it. From the words of Deuteronomy 26:11, "thou shalt rejoice," the Jews gather that the thanksgiving to be said over the firstfruits (in Deuteronomy 26:5-10) must be said at some time between the close of the feast of unleavened bread on the twenty-first day of the first month (the "solemn assembly" of Deuteronomy 16:8) and the Feast of Tabernacles. If firstfruits were presented between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Passover, this formula was not used (Rashi).

(3) The priest that shall be in those days.--No mention is made of the Levite here. The priest (though of the tribe of Levi) has an office distinct from the Levite in the Book of Deuteronomy as much as in the rest of the Old Testament.

I profess.--Literally, I declare. "To show that thou art not ungrateful for His goodness" (Rashi, from the Talmud).

This day.--The formula was only used once in the year.

(4) The priest shall take the basket.--"To wave it. The priest put his hand under the hand of the owner, and waved it."

(5) A Syrian ready to perish.--The reference is to Jacob, more especially when pursued by Laban, who would have taken from him his all, except for the Divine mercy and protection. We may also recall his danger from Esau (Genesis 31, 32), from the Shechemites (34, 35), and from the famine, until he heard of Joseph.

(7) When we cried unto the Lord.--Samuel in his famous speech (1Samuel 12:8) takes up the language of this passage, "When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord . . . brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.

(6-7) See Exodus 2:25; Exodus 3:9; Exodus 6:5-6 for the source of this confession.

(10) And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God--i.e., take it up again after it was first waved by the priest, and hold it in the hand while making this confession, and then wave it once more. After this it would become the priest's.

Verses 1-11. - Of the firstfruits the Israelite was to take a portion, and placing it in a basket, to bring it to the place of the sanctuary, where it was to be received by the attendant priest. The offerer was to accompany his presentation with the declaration, "I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord swore unto our fathers for to give us;" and the priest having set the basket down before the altar, the offerer was to make confession and prayer, gratefully acknowledging the Divine favor showed to Israel in choosing them to be a great nation, in delivering them out of Egypt, and bringing them into a rich and fertile land; and along with this his bounty to the individual who now presented the firstfruits of his land unto the Lord.

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.And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land,.... The land of Canaan, which they were now on the borders of, and just entering into:

which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance; which is often mentioned, to observe that it was not through their merits, but his gift, that they should enjoy the land; and the rather here to enforce the following law concerning the basket of firstfruits:

and possessest it, and dwellest therein; not only had entered into it, but got the possession of it, and settled there. This shows as Jarchi observes, that they were not bound to the firstfruits till they had subdued the land and divided it; not as soon as they were in it.