Deuteronomy 26 ends the longest section of the book, which gave detailed covenant stipulations that would govern the life of the people of Israel (12:1-26:19). Like the first few stipulations (see Day 31), the last few relate to worship. But this time, they focus on giving. This structure shows that at the heart of the factors influencing the life of this society was its relationship with God.

Two kinds of giving are described here. The first is giving ″some of the firstfruits of all that [they] produce″ (Deuteronomy 26:2). This ritual was intended to remind the Israelites of their covenant relationship with God and how God had kept His promise through His abundant provision. God is identified as ″the Lord your God″ eight times (vv. 1, 2 [twice], 3, 4, 5, 10, 11) to highlight the fact that it was God who gave the fruit and not the pagan gods, to whom their neighbours looked for fruit. Hence, they were to give the firstfruits as an acknowledgement that all they had was a result of what the Lord had first given them (v. 10). The giver would also make a statement recounting the history of God's guidance and deliverance of Israel, culminating in God giving them their wonderful land (vv. 3, 5-9).

So, the focus as they gave was not on human factors, such as the labour or generosity of the giver. Rather, the focus was on God's gracious provision and rejoicing in it (vv. 10-11). Biblical giving is not a burdensome obligation to perform or a heroic act; it is a privilege afforded to us to respond to amazing grace and a boost to our faith by reminding us of this grace.

The second kind of giving described here is the third-year tithe that provided for the needy and the Levites (vv. 12-15; see also 14:28). The people had a duty to ensure that these recipients were provided for sufficiently, until they were ″satisfied″ (26:12). Giving this tithe is described as removing ″the sacred portion″ from the ″house″, implying that it belonged to God and not the house. Providing for the poor and the priests was thus an act of obedience, not something optional to be done only when the people had extra or felt generous.

The words ″commanded,″ ″commands″, and ″obeyed″ appear four times in verses 13-14. Not only are they commanded to give, but the givers are also commanded to be qualified for giving. That is, they had to be ritually clean for the gift to be counted worthy for God (v. 14). Today, we need to be aware that there are some who give generously to God's work but are living godless lives. And there are others who give to assuage the voice of conscience or to get good luck. God is not pleased with such giving. Giving to God is a sacred task requiring holy living. Christianity is a holistic religion. The God who receives our gifts desires our total commitment in all that we do.