Word of Encouragement (11/24/2022)
“And you shall make response before the LORD your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. 9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me...’” (Deut. 26:5-10)
As we saw yesterday, what we have here is a prayer of thanksgiving. Interestingly, as you may have noticed, this was not something that the Israelites came up with; it was dictated by God for the Israelites to recite as they offered their sacrifice to the LORD. This prayer was to be offered to God after the Israelites entered the promised land and had their first crop (vv. 1-2). As they brought their offerings, they had to recite this prayer to articulate for what they were grateful.
Imagine how wonderful it must have been for the Israelites to have the produce of the land! For forty years, they had been eating manna in the wilderness. On a few occasions, they complained to the LORD how much they missed eating meat, fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. Finally, they could eat things other than manna. How grateful they must have been! As an expression of their gratitude, they brought as their offering to the LORD out of the produce of the land.
But for what should they be grateful? All the variety of foods they could eat now? No. It is easy for us to be taken by the gift we receive, especially when it is a huge, valuable gift. But when we take a moment to think about it, we will soon see that the gift is only an expression of something far more precious—the love and generosity of the giver. From time to time, we are deeply moved by a small, seemingly insignificant gift. It doesn’t even have to be a gift; it can be an unexpected note from someone, letting us know how much we mean to them. This prayer of gratitude showed what the Israelites should be grateful for: it was not the produce of the land itself but what it signified—God’s wonderful redemption.
First, the produce of the land was a reminder of their humble origin: “A wandering Aramean was my father...,” referring to Abraham. As a nomad, he was without a land of his own. But God called him and, by a covenant, promised to give him numerous descendants and a land flowing with milk and honey. Now, his descendants came to possess the land God promised, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Second, the produce of the land reminded the Israelites of their miserable past as an afflicted, enslaved people in Egypt. They ate fish and vegetables there but they were subjected to affliction, hard labor, and humiliation. Now, they were able to eat the produce of the land as a free people, dwelling in their own land.
Third, the produce of the land reminded them of God’s powerful salvation from their Egyptian bondage. They could dwell in the promised land because God heard their pitiful cry for help and delivered them from their oppression. And, according to His promise, God brought them to the promised land to dwell there and enjoy its produce. So, they could triumphantly declare with gratitude, “And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.”
What are you grateful for? Do you just stop at the stuff you have and the things you enjoy? How shallow and childish is our gratitude if that is the case! We should see through the blessings and gifts God’s heart of love, mercy, affection, and delight toward us. No matter how much we enjoy His gifts to us, it is but a small note, a tiny expression of God’s love for us. (Of course, it is “small” and “tiny,” not because God is stingy but because His love is infinite and, for now, our fallen bodies and emotions cannot handle the full expression of His love.) And if God has not saved us from sin and punishment, what good are these temporal blessings?
When you gift your regular and thank offerings, do you do it with this kind of prayer of thanksgiving? I hope we all do it whenever we give our offerings. What rich blessings will be ours if we do so!