A fair return

Friday January 7, 2022

A fair return

Behold, the firstfruits of the fruit of the ground which thou hast given me have I brought, O Eternal. Deuteronomy 26:10

The people of Israel have spent many years traveling in the desert. Now God gives him the land of Canaan as an inheritance. He did not deserve this gift, hence the evocative image of an inheritance : We receive an inheritance as an expression of the loving care that a person has in us. But the inheritance of God had to be conquered (Joshua 1:4,5), then cultivated, sowed, planted. Certainly, God gave rain in his time, but the harvest was the result of personal activity : You will collect your wheat, your new wine, and your oil (Deuteronomy 11:14).

The first objective of this work was of course the food of the Israelite and of his house : You shall eat, and be satisfied (v. 15). But he should not forget that this inheritance was a gift from God. So the Israelite is asked to offer him the tithes, the offerings, the first fruits (Deuteronomy 26). The contents of the basket presented to God showed that the people had taken possession of the promised land.

The New Testament epistles often use the illustration of inheritance (Romans 8:17 ; Galatians 4:7 ; 1 Peter 1:4) to tell us about all the blessings God has given us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

A question arises for us : is this heritage the object of our loving, laborious search, like the Israelite who worked his field ? Do we zealously and carefully seek to know the beautiful gifts of God ? If this is so, then even to a small extent our soul will be satisfied. Moreover, at the hour of worship, in the midst of our brothers and sisters and with them, we will be able to offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is to say the fruit of the lips which confess his name (Hebrews 13:15).

This passage clearly relates to Deuteronomy 26 : As a fruit slowly ripens day by day, Sunday praise is linked to the activity of each of our days of the week.

Yes, God has richly blessed us in Jesus Christ. This is why, in return, we can worship him.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)