I encourage you to read Deuteronomy 26:1-11.  For time’s sake, we will just read here Deuteronomy 26:10-11, “And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.”

In the well-known story of the Lord speaking to Moses out of the burning bush, we read in Exodus 3:7-8, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”  In Deuteronomy 26:1-11, the possession of the land is anticipated and we see that a most beautiful and solemn ceremony is appointed for confession and worship in the place the Lord chose to place His name.

Upon arrival in the land (Canaan), the people were to ‘possess’ the land and to ‘dwell therein’.  To possess the land, literally means to ‘take possession’ of the land.  This was the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  Accordingly, the Lord’s people must defeat these people to take possession so that they might dwell therein.  Afterwards, there is instruction given to them concerning the giving of the first fruits.  This was a portion of the crops that was grown and harvested by the people, “OF THY LAND that the LORD thy God giveth thee.”  So we understand that some time would pass after entering the land.  There had to be time to plant, grow and harvest.  We’re not told exactly how much a ‘first fruit’ was to be.  We are told in Leviticus 23:17 concerning the feast of Pentecost, “Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.”  Perhaps this indicates that all the ‘first fruit’ offerings were to be two loaves of two tenth deals.  One writer suggested these loaves weighed more than ten pounds each, so we see it was a significant amount given.  The most significant part, though, is that it was FIRST.  It’s an acknowledgement of the Lord’s blessings already received.  The ‘first fruit’ is the first, or best, of what has been harvested, given in anticipation of continued blessings.

As each one presented their baskets of first fruits, they were instructed to say to the priest, “I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.” (Verse 3)  This was a public acknowledgment of the Lord’s grace and faithfulness in keeping His promise and bringing them into the land.  The presenter would then address the Lord, acknowledging His hand in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies.  They were to confess, “A Syrian ready to perish was my father.” (Verse 5)  This surely speaks of Jacob of whom we read in Hosea 12:12, “And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.”  We read in verse 10, “And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God.  They give their gift to the Lord (which is really giving back part of what He had already given them).  Then, we read, they worshipped the Lord (which is really giving homage to the Lord because of who He is and what He has done).  (220.2)