As I sit down to write on
yet another subject that deals with our relationship and obedience to our
Heavenly Father; I have to admit, yet again, to myself that I am ashamed.
Ashamed of some of the beliefs and some of the philosophies that I have held so
dearly to; beliefs that are simply not true. I want to take a moment to clarify
for you what your Heavenly Father is asking of you in a tithe, clarify the
difference of what a gift is, and address some of the ways we use logic or
excuses to justify why we do not do as we have been asked.
I would like to start with
understanding where the word comes from and why it also comes with such a
bitter taste in your mouth on saying it. The word “tithe” comes from the Old
English word teogothian which means
literally “tenth”. A tithe was paid to the church. Across Europe and from as
early as the 6th century to as late as the early 20th
century; a tithe was a state mandated tax that was paid to the church and came
with severe penalties if not paid.
As an added incentive, under
the condemnation of the early church, it was widely taught that refusing to pay
your tithe would result in being cast into Hell as your punishment from God. Just
writing this is causing me to get a little angry about paying a tithe.
The first mention of
anything resembling a tithe in the bible is in Genesis chapter 4; Cain and Able
presenting an offering before the Lord. There has been much debate for
centuries on why Abel’s offering was acceptable and Cain’s was not. For me, it
is simply an issue of the heart behind the offering that is in question. We
fast forward to Noah, upon getting off the ark, makes an offering to the Lord.
Moving forward again; Abraham is asked to present Isaac as an offering to God.
Offerings are a regular part of honoring God.
So what’s an “offering”?
Merriam-Webster defines as; “something offered; especially:
a sacrifice ceremonially offered as a part of worship”. Dictionary.com adds; “to
present something as an act of worship or devotion; sacrifice”.
“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land
or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD's; it is holy to the LORD. If a man
wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And every tithe
of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's
staff, shall be holy to the LORD. One shall not differentiate between good or
bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for
it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.” (Leviticus 27:30-33 ESV)
So an offering is to present something as an act of worship, devotion or
sacrifice; a tithe is a specified offering…the
first 10 percent. Where do we get the idea of the first 10 percent?
“When you come into the land that the LORD your God is
giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you
shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest
from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a
basket, and you shall go to the place that the LORD your God will choose, to
make his name to dwell there. (Deuteronomy 26:1-2 ESV)
“And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the
ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the
LORD your God and worship before the LORD your God. And you shall rejoice in
all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you,
and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.” (Deuteronomy 26:10-11 ESV)
When Nehemiah came to Jerusalem,
he not only set on rebuilding the wall, but was set on getting the people right
with God by following all His commandments. Among these, he echoed the words of
Moses in regards to tithes and offerings:
We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our
ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the
house of the LORD; also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who
minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle,
as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; and
to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every
tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our
God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the
Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. (Nehemiah 10:35-37 ESV)
So let me see if I can put this in perspective for
you.
You have nothing, you own
nothing, and you can buy nothing. But a land owner comes to you and offers you
a plot of fertile soil. There is no charge for the land. All he asks is that
you work the land and the harvest is yours. Of that harvest, he asks that you
honor his gift with returning to him 10% of what you harvest, a tithe.
Now if you are truly grateful,
you will give the first and the best 10% to show your gratitude for all that
you have been given. You would not give the left over or the rotten. If you
were truly grateful, you would give the best 10%...the first fruits of your
labor.
Now because we are human,
we are sinful and we are selfish; we have short memories. So soon we stop
honoring our benefactor. Soon we make excuses.
Soon we may see someone in
need and give to them a portion of our harvest. We say to ourselves; “I am
giving 10%, I just gave it to someone else. That’s my tithe.” But the land
owner will say to you; “That was a noble thing to offer a gift to someone in
need, but that is not what I asked of you. I asked that you honor my gift to
you by returning to me 10% of your yield.”
The land owner may even
leave someone else in charge of his estate. And that person may abuse his
position and treat the land owner’s property poorly. He may misuse his authority
and all he has been entrusted. So we use the excuse that we are not going to
give our tithe to be misused and refuse to give it. Or even send our tithe off
to somewhere else. But the land owner will say; “I will deal with those who
misuse what I have entrusted to them, but that does not justify you not
honoring what I have asked of you.”
We will say to ourselves
that we cannot afford to give the 10% of harvest as asked. So we justify our
actions by saying; “I will work in the land owner’s field, which will be my
tithe.” But the land owner will reply to us by saying; “I appreciate your
effort in working in my fields and appreciate the gift of your time, but that
is not what I asked for. I hope that you are working my fields out of
appreciation of all I have given you. But that does not replace that which I
have asked…your tithe.”
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children
of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside
from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to
you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob
God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your
tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me,
the whole nation of you. Bring
the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And
thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the
windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no
more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the
fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says
the LORD of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a
land of delight, says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:6-12 ESV)
WHAT WAS THAT! What God is
saying is; you don’t honor my commandments, don’t wonder why you are
struggling. You want to be blessed, start by honoring my commandments.
I do not write this to
convict you, for that is the job of the Holy Spirit. I do not write this to
condemn you, for that is the job of the devil. All I wish to do is to share
that which God has placed on my heart. If this is a subject that has been on
your heart, I leave you with these verses for study and words for reflection.
May God guide you, bless
you and keep you; may the Holy Spirit fill you and strengthen you; and may you
always strive to grow in your relationship with your Heavenly Father.
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