To say that the Israelites were a sojourning people is to undersell the story. Not only were they sojourners, but they were also immigrants, pilgrims, an oppressed society, a nomadic army, and a divinely led ex-slave labor force in search of a land that they could call their own.
They knew where they were going, though; what they didn’t know was what it would look like.
But God told them what to do once they got there. Upon entrance and possession of their ancestral lands, every family was to take some of their produce and place it before the Lord.
Then, they gave thanks.
They gave it to God as an offering of the first fruits, in a basket, left before the priest and the altar.
At that point, they uttered a peculiar phrase: “My father was a wandering Aramean.”
Now, for anyone who is familiar with literally everything in the Bible leading up to this point, that designation may sound strange. But the idea harkens back to the time before Moses—before Joseph, even.
Deuteronomy 26:5 references Jacob, the cast-out son of Isaac and Rebekah who married Rachel and Leah (and Bilhah and Zilpah), who were Laban’s daughters.
And where did Laban live? In Paddan-Aram. That’s why he was called “Laban the Aramean” (Genesis 31:20, 24).
It seems an unlikely place to start the story of the Exodus, but the similarities are striking. Just like Israel, Jacob was forced to labor for a long period of time. Just like Israel, Jacob left in a hurry. Israel had twelve tribes. Jacob had twelve sons.
But it’s the wandering part that Deuteronomy 26 points out. Just as Jacob spent a large majority of his time moving from place to place, so did Israel.
Until they found a place they could call home, that is. A place that was his own, where he could settle down and call home.
Does it help the case that they happened to be in the same area? Just as Jacob settled in the land of Canaan, so his “wandering” descendants did the same.
That’s what Deuteronomy 26 wants them to remember. Just like your forefathers, you were a wanderer. And just like your forefathers, you will prosper.
Give thanks!