Deuteronomy 26:1
Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God "gives" you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it,
In this chapter and the next couple of chapters to follow, Moses is going to give several laws about what to do when the nation of Israel gets into the "promised land." Repeatedly Moses will refer to this land they are about to enter, as something "given" to them by the Lord your God. Although the word has several meanings it is translated from the Hebrew "natan" over 1,800 times in the Old Testament. When we fold in all the various verb forms that number jumps to 2,000. In this chapter (26) it is used almost ten times and is translated "gives" or "given." Moses wants to outline for the nation the way they are are to offering worship to Yahweh. The point he wants them to grasp is that this land they are entering and will soon have to fight for is actually a "gift" to them. God is establishing the worship and the praise services, prior to them actually getting the land and arriving into the land. God wants them to always remember that even though He is going to ask them to go to war against the nation currently in the land, they must never forget that He is giving them the land and He is giving them the wisdom, strength and power to fight for the land. It would be so easy for them to simply think, after arriving in the land and securing the boarders, that they had accomplished something. In this chapter of Deuteronomy we see that God is using "natan" over and over to remind them they are getting a gift that they must go in and posses. So, they are given a gift by God and the power to posses it and the instructions on how to thank God for it. This is similar to the Gospel. We are given a gift of Salvation and the power and strength to possess this salvation, through Spirit powered Sanctification, and then we are instructed on how to thank God for that salvation and the "land" He gives us in victory over sin. Like the Israelites of old our possession is a gift of God and from God. Our land is our victory over sin. When we conquer sin in our lives that is a gift of God, by God and in His power. We are to be thankful. The spiritual gifts we are given when the Spirit indwells us are to be recognized and praised. We are to worship God and give Him thanks for our salvation, sanctification and gifts for service. When we enter our promised land (power over sin and freedom from it) we are praise God. We are to worship Him and never get to the point to believe or act like we have done this ourselves. It is a gift of God.
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