Deuteronomy 26
First Fruits
When you have come into the land that the LORD your God
is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it,
and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the
fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the
LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket
and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling
for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at
that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the LORD your
God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our
ancestors to give us." 4 When the priest takes the basket
from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your
God, 5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God:
"A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt
and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became
a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated
us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we
cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our
voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8
The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched
arm, with a terrifying display of power, and 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 So now I bring the first of the
fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me." You
shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before
the LORD your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and
the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the
bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.
Nut 'n' Honey

Cartoon
Cool Stuff
Musings
This is the offering of the first fruits of the harvest and
was also a mini history lesson (at least from Jacob to their current
time) in national identity. In a largely illiterate society these
kinds of things help pass on the information from generation to
generation.
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