A Help for the Understanding of the Holy Scriptures, Deuteronomy · Chapter 26
CHAP. XXVI.
Verſ. 2. THou ſhalt take of the firſt of all the fruit of the earth.]
This ſeemeth to have been done by every m…n and that every year, either at the feaſt of Pentecoſt, call…d alſo the feaſt of weeks, as ſeemeth to be implyed, Deut. 16. 10. And thou ſhalt keep the fe…ſt of weeks unto the Lord thy God, w…th atribute of a freewill-offering of thy hand &c. or rather at the feaſt of tabernacles, which is called the feaſt of in-gathering at the years end, Exod. 23. 16. when they brought of the firſt-fruits of their fruit-trees, as the bringing of them in a buſhel ſeems to imply. And theſe firſt-fruits they thus brought unto the Lord, firſt, as an acknowledgement th…t it was the Lord that had freely given them this land, as he had promiſed to their for…fathers, which is tha…, verſ. 3. I profeſſe, &c. and that of him they ſtill held it, and to him therefore, as by way of trib…te due to him, the Lord in chief, they brought theſe firſt-fruits; ſecondly, to teſ…iſie that the yearly fruitfuln…ſſe of this their land was alſo from his bl…ſſing, &c.
Verſ. 3. And thou ſhalt go unto the prieſt that ſhall be in thoſe dayes, &c.]
To wit, as the figure of Chriſt, in whom onelyonly our ſervices become acceptable wi… God, Hebr. 13. 15. By him therefore l…t us offer the ſacrifice of pra…ſe to God continually, that is the fruit of o…r l…ps, giving than…s to his na…e. The …ame was likewiſe taught them in the …etting down of this basket of firſt-…ruits before the altar, verſ. 4.
Verſ. 5. A Syrian ready to periſh was my father, and he went down into Egypt, &c.]
That is, Jacob: for though he was born in Canaan, yet he was of the ſtock of Syrians; for Abram his grandfather came out of Ur of the Chaldees, the land of his nativity, Gen. 11. 28. which was a part of Syria, whence Laban▪ who lived in the ſame countrey, is alſo called a Syrian, Gen. 28. 5. Yea Jacob was not onelyonly born of Syrian parents, and onelyonly lived as his fathers had done before him a ſtranger and pilgrim in the land of Canaan, but alſo abode a great part of his time there: for there he dwelt with Laban twenty years at leaſt in hard ſervice, Hoſ. 12. 12. And Jacob fl…d into the countrey of Syria, and Iſrael ſerved for a wife, and for a wife he kept ſheep. When he returned thence into the land of Canaan, after a few years, by the extremity of famine he was conſtrained to remove into Egypt, to which extremity I conceive the holy Ghoſt hath here ſpeciall reference, in calling him a Syrian ready to periſh, though withall it▪ may have reſpect alſo to the poverty and miſery he underwent in Syria, and in his going thither, whe… he fled for his life becauſe of his brother Eſau. But however, this acknowledgement of the meanneſſe of their originall was doubtleſſe thereby to magni…y the goodneſſe of God, in raiſing them to ſuch a condition as now they did enjoy.
Verſ. 10. And thou ſhalt ſet it before the Lord thy God, and worſhip b…fore the Lord thy God.]
It is ſaid before, verſ. 4. that the man that brought this basket of firſt-fruits was to deliver it into the hand of the prieſt; and therefore the meaning of this which is ſaid here of his ſetting it before the Lord, is onelyonly this, that he ſhould leave it there ſet down before the altar, to wit, by the prieſt, who with the reſt of his brethren did afterwards eat them, all firſt-fruits appertaining to them, as we may ſee, Deut. 18. 4. As for that ſecond clauſe, and worſhip before the Lord thy God, hereby is meant that after he had delivered his basket of firſt-fruits into the hands of the prieſt to be ſet down before the Lord, a…d had made that thankfull and open profeſſion of Gods great goodneſſe to his people, which is expreſſed largely in the foregoing verſes, he was then to adde ſuch other duties of Gods worſhip and ſervice as were to be performed, as prayer, and offering ſacrifices, and then bowing down before the Lord, to depart away.
Verſ. 11. And thou ſhalt rejoyce in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, &c.]
Though th…s may be extended to the chear…ull uſing of Gods gifts all the year after, which …hey might indeed the more comfortably enjoy, when they had in this te…tifyed their thankfulneſſe, as he had appointed; yet I conceive it is chieflly intended of their feaſting together in Jeruſalem, after they had done their ſervi…e, together with the Levites, and ſtrangers, with the peace-offerings they had brought thither, even as they uſed to do at all other feaſts, Deut. 16. 11, 15.
Verſ. 12. When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine encreaſe, the third year, which is the year of tithing, &c.]
See the note upon chap. 14. 28.
Verſ. 14. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning.]
Tha… is, even in my greateſt wants and neceſſities, when I was put to the greate…t ſtraits, I have not ventured to ſupply my ſelf from them: and indeed that which men will not do at other times, they will make bold to do when they are in want and di…treſſe; and therefore were they appoint…d particularly to clear themſelves of this: or elſe it may be meant of mourning for the loſſe of friends, I have not eat…n th…reof in my mourning, that is, in the time of my mourning for my dead friends; for hereby theſe hallowed things …hould have been defiled, Hoſ. 9. 4. Their ſacrifices ſhall be unto th…m as the bread of mourners: all that eat thereof ſhall be polluted; which alſo ſhews that this is meant, not of thoſe tithes onelyonly which were yearly paid to the Levites, whereof the owner of the land might not eat, but alſo of the firſt and ſecond years tithes, which the owners were to eat before the Lord, Deut. 14. 22, 23.
Neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean uſe.]
That is, for any uſe beſides that for which they were appointed. For any imploying theſe hallowed things for civill uſes would have defiled them, much more if they were imployed naturally or legally to be deemed ….
Nor given ought thereof to the dead.]
That is, yea ſo ſtrictly carefull have I been not to alienate theſe holy things to any other uſe then that enjoyned by thy law, that I have not diverted them to thoſe uſes wherein reaſon might ſugge…t they might …e charitably and religiouſly imployed, as for the burying the dead, for the buying of any thing for that ſervice, of love to provide any thing that is to be eaten at any dead mans funerall; for indeed at funeralls the kindreds friends and neighbours uſed to go to eat and drink with thoſe that had loſt their friends, as by way of comforting them: whence, Jer. 16. 7. Neither ſhall men tear themſelves for them in mourning to comfort them for the d…ad, neither ſhall men give them the cup of conſolation to drink for their father or for their mother; and Ezek. 24. 17. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the d…ad, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy ſhoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men; and thereby both they and their meat were legally unclean by the law, Numb. 19. 14. This is the law when a man dyeth in a tent, that all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, ſhall be unclean ſeven dayes.
Verſ. 15. Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bleſſe thy people, &c.]
Firſt they were to make that ſolemn proteſtation in the foregoing verſes, that they had not failed in paying their tithes exactly according to Gods law, and then they were to adde this prayer, wherein they deſired God to bleſſe his people, and the land wherein they dwelt; and hereby the people were taught to aſſure themſelves, that if they did not ſtrictly give God his right in this matter of tithes, they could not expect a bl…ſſing from the Lord either upon them or their land, yea that without this it would be in vain to pray for a bleſſing.
Verſ. 18. The Lord hath avo…ched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promiſed thee, and that thou ſhouldst keep all his commandments, &c.]
Which as it is a part of the covenant on Gods behalf, ſo is it the work of his grace in all his people, Jer. 31. 33. But this ſhall be the covenant that I will make with the houſe of Iſrael, After thoſe dayes ſaith the Lord▪ I will put my law in their inward parts, and will be their God, and they ſhall be my people.