Deuteronomy 26:12-15

Deuteronomy 26:12-15

[12] When thou hast made an end  of tithing  all the tithes  of thine increase  the third  year,  of tithing,  and hast given  it unto the Levite,  the stranger,  the fatherless,  and the widow,  that they may eat  within thy gates,  and be filled;  [13] Then thou shalt say  before  the LORD  thy God,  I have brought away  the hallowed things  out of mine house,  and also have given  them unto the Levite,  and unto the stranger,  to the fatherless,  and to the widow,  according to all thy commandments  which thou hast commanded  me: I have not transgressed  thy commandments,  neither have I forgotten  [14] I have not eaten  thereof in my mourning,  neither have I taken away  ought thereof for any unclean  use, nor given  ought thereof for the dead:  but I have hearkened  to the voice  of the LORD  my God,  and have done  according to all that thou hast commanded  [15] Look down  from thy holy  habitation,  from heaven,  and bless  thy people  Israel,  and the land  which thou hast given  us, as thou swarest  unto our fathers,  a land  that floweth  with milk  and honey. 

What does Deuteronomy 26:12-15 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This offering and commitment to the Lord ( Deuteronomy 26:1-11) was only part of the Israelites" responsibility. They also needed to love their fellow dependent Israelites ( Deuteronomy 26:12-15; cf. Deuteronomy 6:5).
"Every third year the tithe was kept in the villages for the relief of the poor ( Deuteronomy 14:28-29) and was thus outside the control of the priests. To prevent irregularities in its distribution, and at the same time to preserve the religious character of the obligation, the man of Israel was required to make a solemn declaration at the central sanctuary that he had used the tithe according to the divine law." [1]
At least one commentator assumed that they made this declaration at the tabernacle, but the text seems to indicate that they did this wherever the Israelites lived.
Offering food to the dead ( Deuteronomy 26:14) was a Canaanite religious practice, and putting food in a grave with a dead body was a common Egyptian and Canaanite practice. [2]
God"s people should continue to trust Him for the fulfillment of promised blessings yet unrealized (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10; 2 Peter 3:3-18).