DEUTERONOMY LESSON 28


     We will begin this lesson in Deuteronomy 26:1 "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;"

     In this, Moses is speaking of a time, after they have won their
battle for the land, and have settled in to live there. There were
some things they did not do, until there was a place of worship
established in their new land.

     Deuteronomy 26:2 "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."

     This basket of fruit would be taken to the place of worship, and
handed to the priest. It is as if the person offering is saying, this
is truly the land of milk and honey you promised our forefathers.
Whichever priest was on duty at the time, is the one it would be given
to. This offering is for acknowledgment of God's great deed to them.

     Deuteronomy 26:3 "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."

     This is a way of telling the leader, such as Joshua, that this
is, indeed, the land of promise. This profession to the priest is that
the person offering is assured this is the land God had promised, and
that the person offering is accepting the land. The fact this person
has the fruit of the land in his possession shows he is now in
possession of the land.

     Deuteronomy 26:4 "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 in charge of this has accepted the fruit on the behalf
of the LORD, when he places it at the altar. In a sense this is a
firstfruits offering.

     Deuteronomy 26:5 "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:"

     This is recognizing Jacob {Israel} as their forefather. He went
into Egypt just a handful of people, and came out millions. His reason
for going to Egypt was the famine in his own land. God blessed him,
even in captivity, and he became a mighty nation.

     Deuteronomy 26:6 "And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and
afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:"

     At first, the Egyptians treated them well, because of Joseph.
When Joseph died, they forgot why the Hebrews were in their land, and
caused them to become slaves to the new Pharaoh.

     Deuteronomy 26:7 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:"

     It had become so bad in Egypt for them, that they cried out to
God for help. God heard their prayers, and sent Moses to deliver them

     Deuteronomy 26:8 "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:"

     Pharaoh did not want to lose this mighty army of workers, and he
refused to let them go. The 10 plagues God sent on Egypt, such as the
water turning to blood, darkness covering the land at noonday, the
plague of frogs, and lastly the death of all the firstborn of Egypt,
caused Pharaoh to let them go. God had given Moses a staff in the
wilderness, before he came back to Egypt. With this staff in his hand
and his hand outstretched, God did the miracles.

     Deuteronomy 26:9 "And he hath brought us into this place, and
hath given us this land, [even] a land that floweth with milk and
honey."

     On a 40 year journey, the LORD had been with them. He caused them
to cross the Red Sea on dry land, and destroyed Pharaoh's army there.
He fed them manna, He gave them water when they were thirsty. He gave
them His law to live by. Now, He has brought them to their promised
land of milk and honey.

     Deuteronomy 26:10 "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:"

     The fruit is not just an acknowledgment that they have received
their land of promise, but an appreciation, as well. The worship
before the LORD thy God is in the form of a prayer of thanksgiving.

     Deuteronomy 26:11 "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."

     This rejoicing is to be shared with the Levite and the stranger.
The interesting part of this, is the fruit is to be shared with all of
them, as well. The blessings are for everyone in association with the
Israelite. The blessings God promised Abraham included a blessing for
nations, plural.

     Deuteronomy 26:12  "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;"

     The tithe is not the same as the basket of fruit that was brought
earlier in this lesson. It appears, the tithe was gathered over three
years, and then taken to the designated place of worship to tithe.
Luke 14:13 "But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed,
the lame, the blind:"

     Deuteronomy 26:13 "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]:"

     This is an explanation that the person has done everything he
knows to do to keep the Word of the LORD. His desire is to please God
in all things. This is in the form of a prayer of thanksgiving and
praise. It is, also, a promise to do the things the LORD has set
before him.

     Deuteronomy 26:14 "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."

     This, is another way of saying, that he has kept the tithe and
offering from all pollution. While he was ceremonially unclean for the
dead, he has touched none of this. To the best of his ability, he has
kept all the things the LORD had commanded.

     Deuteronomy 26:15 "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."

     There is nothing unclean, or evil, in heaven. It is a place of
perfect holiness. This statement is saying, that God had fulfilled His
promise to them. The land of promise is a land of milk and honey. They
are fully aware that God is the Giver. James 1:17 "Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

     Deuteronomy 26:16  "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."

     God would not accept them keeping the laws and statutes, just
from obligation. They must want to do them in their hearts. The soul
of man is what operates his free will. The heart of man is what he
really is.  When a person's heart is right, it will be his will to
keep God's commandments.

     Deuteronomy 26:17 "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:"

     "Avouched" means answered. This means they have stated that the
LORD was their God. They have agreed to walk in His ways, to keep His
statutes, commandments, and judgements. They, also, have agreed to
listen carefully to His voice. God had spoken aloud to them, when He
first stated the ten commandments to them. Now, He speaks to them
through Moses, or Joshua, or perhaps, the high priest.

     Deuteronomy 26:18 "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;"

     God had separated them out to be His peculiar people. They were
not to be like the rest of the world. They were to live by God's
commandments. They were the only people who had God's law. Leviticus
20:26 "And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD [am] holy, and
have severed you from [other] people, that ye should be mine." I
Chronicles 17:22 "For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own
people for ever; and thou, LORD, becamest their God."

     Deuteronomy 26:19 "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."

     No other nation had been so blessed. The LORD had actually been
in their midst in the wilderness wanderings. No other nation had been
entrusted with God's law. Exodus 19:6 "And ye shall be unto me a
kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which
thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." They were privileged
above all other nations, because of God's great love for them. Isaiah
62:12 "And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the
LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken."
I Peter 2:9 "But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an
holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises
of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"












                        Deuteronomy 28 Questions


1.  Where would the basket of fruit be taken?
2.  When was this to happen?
3.  What is the person offering saying in doing this?
4.  What did they profess to the priest?
5.  What are they saying about the land in this act?
6.  What does the priest do with the basket of fruit?
7.  Who is the priest accepting it for?
8.  In verse 5, they recognize _________ as their forefather.
9.  Why had he gone to Egypt?
10. What happened, while Jacob and his family were in Egypt?
11. Why did the Egyptians treat them well at first?
12. How bad did it finally get in Egypt?
13. Did Pharaoh willingly let them go?
14. What happened to cause Pharaoh to let them go?
15. How long had God led them to their promised land?
16. What were some of the things the LORD did for them along the way?
17. The worship, in verse 10, is what?
18. Who shares in the rejoicing?
19. When was the tithe paid?
20. Quote Luke chapter 14 verse 13.
21. What is the desire of this person?
22. Where is God's holy habitation?
23. Quote James chapter 1 verse 17.
24. God did not want them to keep the commandments from ___________,
    but they must want to do them in their _________.
25. What does "avouched" mean?
26. Quote Leviticus chapter 20 verse 26.
27. How long will Israel be God's people?
28. Quote Exodus chapter 19 verse 6.
29. Why were they privileged above all other nations?
30. Quote 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9.