Deuteronomy Chapter 26
Showing all 19 verses for Deuteronomy Chapter 26.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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; "
"When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle there,"
Coming into the land I give you is meant to lead straight to gratitude, not entitlement. Every blessing you receive is an invitation to remember the Giver, not just enjoy the gift.
"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. "
"take the first portion of all the produce you harvest from the land the LORD your God is giving you, put it in a basket, and go to the place the LORD your God will choose as the dwelling for his name."
Bringing the very first of your harvest, before you've even eaten from it, is trust in visible form - giving the best first, believing there will be more to follow. Worship that costs you something up front is worship that means something.
"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. "
"Go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, 'I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come into the land the LORD swore to our ancestors he would give us.'"
This isn't a silent ritual - you speak the words aloud, personally professing that God kept His promise to bring you into this land. Faith grows stronger when you say your gratitude out loud, not just feel it privately.
"And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. "
"The priest is to take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God."
An ordinary basket of fruit becomes sacred the moment it's offered before the altar in obedience and gratitude. I delight in taking the everyday things you bring Me and making them holy.
"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: "
"Then you are to declare before the LORD your God: 'My ancestor was a wandering Aramean, who went down into Egypt with only a few people and lived there, and there he became a great nation, powerful and numerous.'"
'A Syrian ready to perish was my father' - I want you to remember your humble beginnings, because forgetting where you came from breeds pride, and pride blinds you to how much you've been given. Stay humble; it keeps gratitude alive.
"And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: "
"But the Egyptians mistreated us, oppressed us, and forced us into harsh labour."
Recalling the suffering of slavery in Egypt was meant to keep compassion alive - once you've known affliction, you're meant to feel for others who suffer it now. Let your own hard history make you gentler with others, not harder.
"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: "
"Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil, and our oppression."
When you cried out, I heard you - your affliction, your labour, your oppression, all seen and answered. No cry from a hurting heart ever goes unnoticed by Me.
"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: "
"So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great fear, and with signs and wonders."
Your deliverance came by My mighty hand, not by your own strength - remember that every rescue in your life, big or small, traces back to Me, not to your own cleverness or effort.
"And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. "
"He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey."
A land flowing with milk and honey is pure gift, not a wage you earned - let that shape how you hold everything good in your life: with open, grateful hands, not clenched, proud fists.
"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: "
"'And now, LORD, I bring the firstfruits of the land you have given me.' Then set the basket before the LORD your God and bow down in worship."
Worship here is simple gratitude in action: bringing back the firstfruits and bowing down before the One who gave them. Let your response to blessing always be joyful thanksgiving, not quiet ownership.
"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. "
"Then celebrate all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household - you, together with the Levites and the foreigners living among you."
Notice who shares in the joy - you, your household, the Levite, and the stranger among you. Blessing was never meant to be kept to yourself; real joy multiplies when it's shared with those who have less than you.
"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; "
"When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, so they may eat their fill within your towns."
Every third year's tithe went fully to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow - proof that your faith was real was found in how you treated the people who could give you nothing back.
"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: "
"Then say before the LORD your God: 'I have removed the sacred portion from my house and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, just as you commanded. I have not disobeyed or forgotten any of your commands.'"
You get to stand before Me and say plainly that you have not forgotten My commands - obedience is meant to be something you can honestly declare, not a private compromise you hope no one checks. Let your life match your words.
"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. "
"'I have not eaten any of it while mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God, doing everything you commanded me.'"
Even in grief, the sacred things weren't misused for mourning rites or given to the dead - purity in how you handle what's holy matters even when emotions run deep. Obedience holds even in the hardest moments.
"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. "
"'Look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, just as you swore to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.'"
After faithful giving, you're invited to boldly ask Me to look down from heaven and bless you - obedience doesn't earn silence from Me, it opens the door to ask with confidence. Come to Me expecting good things.
"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. "
"This day the LORD your God commands you to follow these statutes and laws. Be careful to keep them with all your heart and all your soul."
Obedience 'with all thine heart, and with all thy soul' means I want your whole self, not scattered fragments of effort. Half-hearted devotion isn't really devotion at all - give Me everything, and watch what grows from it.
"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: "
"You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commandments, and laws, and listen to his voice."
You have avouched, chosen, committed to walk in My ways - faith isn't something that just happens to you, it's a decision you actively make and keep making. Choose Me again today, on purpose.
"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; "
"And the LORD has declared today that you are his treasured people, just as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commandments."
I have avouched you too - chosen you as My own treasured people, not because you earned it, but because I promised it. Being Mine is a gift you're called to live worthy of, not a status you had to win.
"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. "
"He will set you high above all the nations he has made, in praise, fame, and honour, and you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he has promised."
I want to make you high in praise, name, and honour - not for your own glory, but so that a watching world sees a holy people and is drawn towards Me through you. Your faithfulness has an audience beyond yourself.