Deuteronomy 26:1 1-1 9
“AND THOU shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.” In this chapter we have an Israelite, humbled with a sense of the grace shown to him, rich with the blessing God has given, returning to Him in thanksgiving and worship. Such would be the effect of the blessing, and yet how often when we get the blessing we run off to enjoy it by ourselves or with our friends in forgetfulness of the blessed God who gave it.
But here we have the work of the Spirit, for God has brought His people to Himself and all distance is gone. It is the picture of a happy heart, filled with a joy that must overflow. This is what Israel ought to have been, but alas, were not. Yet they shall be in that coming day when the glory shall come to this poor sin-weary earth and they are restored. It is what we, the Church, ought to be now, as indwelt by the Spirit of God, and what we shall be when at home with the Lord, in the Father’s house above.
Each third year, the year of tithing, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow, were all to be especially remembered. The Levite and the stranger had no inheritance in the land, and so the stream of grace was to flow out to all the needy and the poor.
Instead of our hearts being shut up in selfishness, if we were occupied with the Giver, this joy would flow out to others. Here He who gave is more before us than the gift itself. God has given us Christ, and “all things richly to enjoy"; He has held nothing back that would make His people happy. It is indeed sad that so many Christians are not happy in spite of all He has done to make us glad. And yet “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” 1 John 1:3,43That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. (1 John 1:3‑4).
ML-01/04/1976