26:1-2 The Israelites are told by Moses to offer their first-fruits to God. God blesses us with the best of what He has. God does not brush His scraps or overflow off of the table for us to grab for. When we give back to Him, our love, our time, whatever it is... we must give Him our best. By giving the first of their harvest, the children of Israel showed genuine trust in God. When we give God our best, everything we have, we trust Him to give us something even better in return. When we give God everything we have, He gives us anything we want.
26:3 Acknowledgement of our blessings serves as both platform and propellant. Had the children of Israel walked into the promise land with ingratitude or neglect for God, they would have soon found their promised land taken away. Our connection to blessing is our faith; our faith is the landing pad on which God is able to deliver His word, will, and blessing. Without the landing pad, (faith) the tunnel through which blessings flow, there is only desolation.
Moses instructs the children of Israel to proudly and passionately proclaim their faith and identify themselves as children of God. Moses instructs them to remember the journey. Similarly we must remember our sojourn through the wilderness. Each of our "wildernesses" look different but we all have them. God is present even when we are absent. He remembers us in our enslavement, we need only to remember Him.
26:4 God is in the details. Moses recounts the details of their journey because He knows how easily and quickly they might forget. And we do. We so often forget God. We press into Him in times of need but we also press away from Him when we do not trust or understand what He is doing, that He is present.
In good and joyful times, we forget to celebrate with Him... even though He went through, and even carried us through, the entire journey. God does not come out like the light of the stars... which shine and make themselves known only in darkness. God is every light, in every place. He present and flooding us in a spotlight in every moment we acknowledge Him.
26:5 Moses's instruction is for us to remember God in our bones. To remember the journey of our ancestors as part of our own fabric. We all need to proclaim, in an intimate conversation with God, that we acknowledge His presence.
How many times do we take moments of reflection to say: "I was about to perish and you rescued me."? God has been knitted opportunity into your life since before you were born (in the womb, Psalm 139:13 and before it, Ephesians 1:4). Those quiet moments with God are the times we realize His potential in us. He can tailor the details of our lives to change and confirm our destination. If we do not like where we are, He will teach us to move... and will forcibly move us if we cannot do so ourselves. But we must acknowledge that He has freed us, because until we do, we still believe we are enslaved. To time. To circumstance. To enemy. To deficiency. To fear.
26:6 We have to identify who/what enslaved us and then we must identify Who/What freed us. Before we place blame on God for not existing or not acting we must remember what is actually keeping us in chains. Our own inaction, perhaps. Fear. A vice, a habit, an enemy. Because once we identify the true root of the chaos, God can bring it into order. Can bring us into order. Our lives into order.
26:7 God is looking right at you. His 24/7 spotlight is ever shining on your life and every atom of your body. He sees us in our affliction and He watches closely for the moment we begin to see Him too. He sees our efforts toward faith and compassion. He knows our hearts. If you are making an effort toward Him, He's going to reach out and pull you out of the muck.
26:8 Just as God outstretched His arm for our descendants, so will He do for you. He's going to scoop you right up into His arms. God is indignant on behalf of His children; no one shall harm them. Do you, will you, remember Him when He gathers you into His arms? Creation Itself designates its full time and effort into rescuing you and loving you... do you allow time to be fascinated, humbled, motivated by that?
Moses reminds the Israelites (and us) to remember this Entity Who loves us so much that He will literal pick the world up off of its axis if it means saving us.
26:9 As God leads you into the land of milk and honey, do not let go of His hand. God loves to surprise us. He leads us into blessings and then joyfully laughs as He extends those blessings further than we ever thought possible. He constantly says to us: "Oh, you thought this was the gift?" He gives us the thing we prayed for all of our lives and then explains to us that we have no even begun to scratch the surface. There's more. So much more. Keep hold of your hand... not because you want the gift but because it is such a blessing to be loved in that way.
26:10 No person, no thing could ever love us as much as or the way God loves. His joy is loving us. As humans, we do not even comprehend how purely selfless God's love is. With that in mind at all times, how could we not freely, gleefully give Him our first-fruits?
Worship Him; Fall in love with the way He loves you. Worship will come pouring out of you naturally.
26:11 Rejoice in every good thing your spiritual father, your Abba, has given. May you see the blessing in everything that you touch, Deuteronomy 15:10, Deuteronomy 28:8. Every good thing in your life He has brought there. Every bad thing He is working to remove. And He is always successful.
26:12-14 Moses instructs the children of Israel to follow the guidelines God has given them. He instructs them to do what is right and just for all people, especially the poor and meek, orphaned and widowed. Follow the guidelines and then bear your soul to God: this is who I am in You. Trusting. Purposeful. Obedient.
Follow God's guidelines will always bring blessing into your life and into the lives around you. His blessings truly abound.
Follow God's guidelines will always bring blessing into your life and into the lives around you. His blessings truly abound.
26:15 In complete honesty and humility, as a laborer in this vineyard, ask God to continue to look upon you and bless you. Ask God to keep the covenant that He made with Abraham with you, also.
26:16 Observe God's philosophy of life with all your heart and all your soul. Full, steadfast commitment to faith will grow your character and your blessings. Be passionate and diligent in this blessed work and purpose.
26:17 Everyday proclaim your participation and commitment to this philosophy of compassion. Renew your relationship with Him everyday; strengthen your faith in every moment and you will move mountains with God.
26:18 Take you place as one of God's special people. His commitment to us is what makes us special. His belief and trust in us makes us special, makes us able to do the impossible. He trusts us to work with Him to change the world, 1 Corinthians 3:9.
26:19 Let God set you apart from corruption. From finality. Let Him restore you in perfect peace, pure truth and eternity. He has spoken that He is taking volunteers, raise up your hand. He will come reaching out for you with His mighty arm.
