“Therefore, as you see, I have now brought the firstfruits of the land which you, Adonai, have given me.’ You are then to put the basket down before Adonai your God, prostrate yourself before Adonai your God, and take joy in all the good that Adonai your God has given you, your household, the Levi and the foreigner living with you.”-Deuteronomy 26:10-11
Do you want to know what one of the biggest differences between the Jewish and Gentile/Christian mindset is?
The answer is quite simple actually.
From both a Biblical and historical perspective, the Jews have always viewed themselves within the context of the nation and people of the Jews.
In other words, they see themselves collectively as part of the larger group rather than as individuals.
And this holds true no matter where they were born and raised and no matter where they are living in the world today.
To this point, we’ll see that the priests perform their rituals on behalf of Israel and all the God-ordained Feasts are observed by Israel corporately.
However, having said that, right here in Deuteronomy 26 with the first fruits offering, we encounter one of the few sections in Torah where the individual is emphasized.
This is significant because it deals with the theme of redemption.
Each Israelite must individually bow down and pledge allegiance to the God of Israel and the salvation God has given to him as an individual.
So unlike many of the other observances in Scripture, we can see how these first fruits rituals are very personal in their tone and purpose.
After the offering, the ceremony finishes off with a festive meal eaten next to the entrance to the sanctuary.
Since the Levites were busy handling matters connected to the Tabernacle, they didn’t have time to farm.
So they were welcomed to partake of the festive meal together with the literally thousands of worshippers who came to observe the ceremony.
Note verse 11.
“…and take joy in all the good that Adonai your God has given you,
your household, the Levi and the foreigner living with you.”
Even the GER or foreigner was invited to participate.
The reason is because Israel is not to forget that when they were in Egypt they were also in the uncomfortable situation of being foreigners in a foreign land.
Therefore, they are to show kindness and mercy to the GER who is in their land, because HASHEM does.
Sounds a lot like the Japanese too. While in Israel many years ago I found a book by a Jewish guy that believes that the Japanese are one of the lost tribes. He had spent many years researching. Their history doesn’t begin until around 722 BC and they read right to left and I think he said at least 85% of the kanji are the same.
Japanese also think they are the Chosen race. Their word for others is Gaijing kind of like Gentiles.
Thanks for sharing Lisa.
What you shared is very interesting.
Can you please tell me the name of the book?