Deuteronomy 26
by Pastor David Groendyk

In a sense, these very last laws in the book of Deuteronomy are a fitting conclusion to this whole section that’s run from chapters 5–26. We might say that these laws about tithes and offerings are an explication of the tenth commandment: “And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s” (Deut. 5:21). What is the antidote to coveting and an inordinate desire for things which we shouldn’t desire? Giving! The Lord assures that his people would have a proper perspective on their crops, harvests, incomes, and possessions by requiring them to give some of it away. In one ceremony (vv. 1–11), the offering is given back to God himself. In the other ceremony (vv. 12–15), the offering is distributed to all the underprivileged classes in the nation—the priests, the immigrants, the orphans, and the widows. At the core of our giving tithes and offerings, we’re reminded that our possessions and our money do not belong to us. They ultimately belong to God, and we are to use them to glorify God and love others, just as we are to do with everything else in our lives. Is this the way you think about the money you have? How else do these kinds of offerings help to counteract covetous desires from growing up in our hearts?

These laws are also a fitting conclusion because of such a heavy emphasis on God’s grace. In verses 5–10, those giving their offerings must rehearse some sort of creed of all the things God has done in the history of Israel. Not to mention that sprinkled throughout this chapter is the reminder that God is going to give them Canaan and give them much produce and large harvests when they enter the land. God had promised and sworn to their forefathers for hundreds of years that he would give them this land; he took one man Jacob (v. 5; see Gen. 28:5 for his link to being an Aramean) and turned him into a numerous people; he delivered Israel from the terror and slavery of Egypt; and now he’s led them by the hand and carried them to this land flowing with milk and honey and promised to drive out all the inhabitants of the land for them. What more can be said about God? If God hasn’t captured your heart with all that he’s done by now, how can you really say you’ve understood his grace? As has been pointed out so many times in Deuteronomy, keeping the laws and commands and covenant is not a means by which we earn God’s favor and grace, it’s a response to God’s favor and grace already being upon us. This is why the Lord so strongly urges Israel to keep these statutes and rules “with all your heart and with all your soul” (v. 16). It’s useless for us to go through the motions of obedience and giving if our hearts are not in it. God isn’t looking for sacrifices and crops themselves, as if he needed something to eat and drink or needed us to give them back to him; he’s looking for our genuine thanksgiving and love (see Psa. 50:7–15).

We have been made his treasured possession and a holy people through God’s grace (vv. 18–19). We have been given a new identity and a new purpose in life. Therefore, we must go out and reflect that reality in the way we live. If our lives are not reflecting the primacy of God’s glory in all things rather than our own, what makes us think his grace has truly penetrated our hearts? Spend some time in prayer rehearsing God’s grace to you. Confess your inconsistent life and your sin, and ask for God to help you live out the new identity he’s given you.