When the Israelites entered the land they were to bring a special offering of firstfruits they harvested from the land to Yahweh at the tabernacle (cf. 14:22-27). It was to be an expression of their gratitude to God for fulfilling His promise to bring them into the land. This was to be a combination of the feast of Firstfruits and a ceremony of covenant renewal.285They were to remember their humble origins as well as to express gratitude for their present blessings. The "father"referred to (v. 5) was Jacob. Moses described him as an Aramean because he lived many years in Paddan-aram, and he married his wives and began his family there. Jacob was essentially simply a semi-nomad whom God had blessed (cf. 18:4; Exod. 23:19; Num. 18:12-20).
It was common for Semites to regard a part of the whole as the whole (v. 9; cf. Josh. 21:43-45; 2 Sam. 5:6-10; 1 Kings 13:32; Jer. 31:5). They did not think of the firstfruits that they offered to God as the only portion they owed God. They viewed it as representing all that God had given them all of which belonged to Him.286
God's people should acknowledge God's goodness to them publicly, not forgetting their former condition (cf. Heb. 13:15; Eph. 5:4; Phil. 4:6; Col. 2:7; 3:16; 4:2; 2 Cor. 9:15).
