What Does it Mean to Prayer for “First Fruits”? (Deut 26.13-15)
“I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any of your commandments: I have not eaten of it while in mourning; I have not removed any of it while I was unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God, doing just as you commanded me. Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Deut 26.13-15
Many of us have grown up in a world typified by industry—the Industrial Age. Most would say that we have moved beyond that into a world that is post-industrial and now revolves around information: we are in the Information Age. That culture affects how we read, hear, and think. We view life and philosophy (and religion!) through the lens of an Industrialist-Informationist. It is our worldview.
When we read Scripture, we should remind ourselves that the people who wrote and lived in those stories were part of a pre-industrial age. Their world revolved around agriculture. So, it is not surprising that many of the ceremonies, prayers, and religious instructions found in Scripture revolve around the agricultural year. Had the Bible been written in the 20th or 21st century, the prayers would have a different cycle and setting.
Background
This prayer is part of the instructions about offering “first fruits” to God. It is connected to preparing, planting, and reaping crops. While few of us today spend little or no time performing such tasks, the principle of “first fruits” is timeless and can still apply.
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