~ The purpose of
Tithing is for the preaching of the Gospel of the
Kingdom of God, for worship, teaching and judging matters
that pertain to the Body of Christ, the Church ~
There are those that say Tithing is no longer required; that it was an
"Old Testament Law" for the Children of Israel/Jews. However, this is
not necessarily correct.
Let’s see what the Bible has to say about the subject ~
First of all, Tithing/Offerings started long before the Children of Israel/Jews existed. In fact, the first mentioning of giving of an Offering and/or Tithing started with Cain and Able when they brought an offering of their goods to be presented unto the Lord.
The first mention of the word "Tithe" started with Abraham when
he gave a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek King of Salem - Genesis
14:18-20, "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was
the priest of the most high God. *And he blessed him,
and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and
earth: *And blessed be the most high God,
which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand. And he gave him
tithes of all."
And again we read in Hebrews 7:4:10, "Now
consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham
gave the tenth of the spoils. *And verily
they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the
priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to
the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins
of Abraham: *But he whose descent is not
counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had
the promises. *And without all
contradiction the less is blessed of the better. *And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth
them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. *And
as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in
Abraham. *For he was yet in the loins of his
father, when Melchisedec met him."
One other important note to think about is the use of the phrase, Old
Testament and/or New Testament. Most people think of the Old Testament
as being the books of the Bible from Genesis through Malachi and they
think of the New Testament as being the books of the Bible from St.
Matthew through Revelation.
However, this is not entirely true ~
As a general rule, when Scripture mentions the Old Testament it is
referring to the "physical" Law of Circumcision and the "physical" Law of Sacrifice.
And when Scripture mentions the New Testament it is referring to Jesus
as being our Circumcision and our Sacrifice. Praise His Holy Name!
We still have a Law of Circumcision and a Law of Sacrifice; it has just
been changed from a "physical" Law to a "Spiritual" Law. What is
commonly referred to as the New Testament, did not do away with Tithing, the Sabbath or any of God’s Righteous Laws.
One good Rule of Thumb in understanding the Bible is that unless that
which is referred to as Old Testament Law is specifically said to be
voided or modified by Jesus; that Law is still in effect.
Note: Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets - St. Matthew 5:17-20. In fact, Jesus supported paying Tithes as found
in St. Matthew 23:23. Jesus is the Author of the Old and New
Testament, so He should know the Truth of Tithing.
Leviticus 27:30-32, "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of
the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.
*And if a man will at all redeem ought of his
tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. *And concerning the tithe of the herd, or
of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall
be holy unto the LORD."
Malachi 3:8-10, "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we
robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. *Ye
are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. *Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in
mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I
will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,
that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
Even the Priest of God pays Tithe ~
Nehemiah 10:38 states, “And the
priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take
tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of
our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.”
Furthermore, in the book of Hebrews we find where it mentions a paying
of Tithe in the New Heavenly Kingdom as found in Hebrews 7:8, "Here men that die
receive tithes; but there He (speaking of Jesus) receiveth them, of whom
it is witnessed that He liveth." Praise His Holy Name!
Tithing properly makes one personally involved in the preaching of the
Gospel of the Kingdom of God ~ Furthermore, Tithing is an act of
compliance and God said, “to obey is better than to sacrifice.”
Ministers of the Gospel are as it were, the ox that is treading out the
corn or cultivating the field, the Body of Christ, the Saints. For it
is written in the law of Moses, 1st Corinthians 9:9-14, "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that
treadeth out the corn.
*Doth God take
care for oxen? *Or saith he it altogether
for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that
ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should
be partaker of his hope. *If we have sown
unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your
carnal things? *If others be partakers of
this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used
this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of
Christ. *Do ye not know that they which
minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they
which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? *Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which
preach the gospel should live of the gospel."
1st Timothy 5:17-18, "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour,
especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. *For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle
the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his
reward."
St. Luke 10:1-2,"After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them
two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he
himself would come. *Therefore said he unto them, The harvest
truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he
would send forth labourers into his harvest."
Tithing builds the Faith of the Believer ~
The one that Tithes puts their trust in God to provide, just as the farmer trust God for rain for his crops
and trust God he can harvest his crop without working on the Sabbath.
Tithing teaches us that our money is not our
own ~ Just as the Sabbath teaches us that our time is not our
own and as Fasting teaches us that our bodies are not our own. God
owns every thing. Psalms 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD'S, and the
fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
Tithing is a teaching tool ~ It
reveals our attitude towards God and our attitude towards those that Minister the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus our Saviour and soon coming King. Jesus in speaking to the rulers of
His time said in St. Matthew 23:23, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier
matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and
not to leave the other undone."
St. Luke 11:42, "But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner
of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to
have done, and not to leave the other undone."
God doesn’t need our money or our goods ~
Everything already belongs to Him. What God wants is for His children
to learn to listen to Him and do whatever He says regardless to what it is. Tithing helps us to be generous. Proverbs 11:25 (in part) "The
liberal soul shall be made fat:"
One that is faithful in paying Tithes is
invariably a prosperous person ~ They may not necessarily be wealthy but they are one whose actual needs are
always supplied. If they are faithful and obedient to the Heavenly
Father, they are not likely to be found in want.
Jesus said in St. Matthew 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
*But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Honor the Lord with thy substance ~ Philippians 4:17, "Not because I desire a gift; but I desire fruit that may abound to your account."
Some of the thoughts for this article were taken in part from the
writings of Richard C. Nickels, Giving & Sharing Ministry
Derwood A. Stewart, Minister
House of Prayer
Sabbath Ministries
Comments? Email Us: hope@preachersteacher.org
