Offering Firstfruits and Tithes// Leviticus 27:30–34; Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Nehemiah 13:10–14
1When you enter the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it, 2you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that Yahweh your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place Yahweh your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name, 3to the priest who is serving at that time, and say to him, “I declare today to Yahweh your God that I have entered the land that Yahweh swore to our fathers to give us.”
4Then the priest shall take the basket from your hands and place it before the altar of Yahweh your God, 5and you are to declare before Yahweh your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt few in number and lived there and became a great nation, mighty and numerous. 6But the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, putting us to hard labor. 7So we called out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers; and Yahweh heard our voice and saw our affliction, toil, and oppression. 8Then Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, signs, and wonders. 9And He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land that You, O Yahweh, have given me.”
- DT 26:5[NOTE]The wandering Aramean is Jacob. These words are still read at the Jewish Passover meal.
Then you are to place the basket before Yahweh your God and bow down before Him. 11So you shall rejoice—you, the Levite, and the foreigner dwelling among you—in all the good things Yahweh your God has given to you and your household.
12When you have finished laying aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat and be filled within your gates.
13Then you shall declare in the presence of Yahweh your God, “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commandments You have given me. I have not transgressed or forgotten Your commandments. 14I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed Yahweh my God; I have done everything You commanded me. 15Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Obey Yahweh’s Commands
16Yahweh your God commands you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. You must be careful to follow them with all your heart and with all your soul.
17Today you have proclaimed that Yahweh is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.
18And today Yahweh has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments, 19that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to Yahweh your God, as He has promised.