Deuteronomy 14:23

Eat before the Lord. Compare chapter 12:5-7. It was the second tithe that was to be eaten before the Lord. This was to be done for two years; then in the third (and thus also the sixth) year the arrangements of verse 28 were to apply. The seventh year was sabbatical, in which the land lay uncultivated. No tithe was exacted, for there was no harvest.

In the place. The people would go up to the place chosen by God for religious services and feasts. They would eat together as families, in fellowship before the Lord. Such occasions were designed to promote religious life. Numerous lessons would be stressed, such as conscientious giving for religious and practical purposes, charity to the needy (see on Leviticus 7:15), and sacred fellowship before the Lord, the strengthening of family ties, etc.

Tithe of thy corn. This could not refer to the first tithe paid to the Levites, inasmuch as the common people were not eligible to partake of it, but only the priests. Unfaithfulness in tithing the increase could lead to the loss of an entire crop, through the withholding of God’s blessing (Hosea 2:8, 9).

The firstlings. See chapter 12:6. The law of firstlings is given in chapter 15:19-23. Here it is mentioned almost incidentally.

Learn to fear. Conscientious compliance with these divine requirements would impress the worshiper with the fear of the Lord, and would encourage steadfastness in communion with Him. “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom” (Job 28:28). “In thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple” (Psalm 5:7). “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27). “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom” (Proverbs 15:33). “The fear of the Lord tendeth to life” (Proverbs 19:23).