Tithes Explained: The Tithe, the Law, & God's People

Invocation

The Lord is in His Holy Temple.

Let all the Earth keep silent before him.

I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the House of the Lord.

Our feet shall stand within Thy gates Oh Jerusalem.

Song- I Won’t Complain

123

Opening

Grace, Mercy, and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank you for joining us for our virtual Sunday Morning Service as we go into the Word of God and prepare ourselves to continue our series this month on Tithes. To the Deacons, Elders, Ministers, and everyone in their respective places, God’s grace be multiplied unto each one of you. To my beautiful wife, I thank God for you and pray his continual rich blessings be poured out over you in abundance. Amen.

Today we will be continuing our series on tithing where we will break down the tithe into manageable pieces and try to get a better understanding of its implications in our lives NOW.

Give Series Title: Tithes Explained

Give Subject: The Law

Prayer

Read Scripture: Deuteronomy 14:22-29

Deuteronomy 14:22–29 KJV 1900

22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. 24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, 27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. 28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: 29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Introduction

So, on last week we talked about the Tithe in relation to Melchesidec, as we covered the first biblical mention of the tithe in Genesis 14. There we found Abraham, or Abram as he is called in this portion of the text, having just left a conquest done in the name of his nephew who had been kidnapped. If you have forgotten or were not with us, I encourage you to read the entirety of Genesis 14, to get a better understanding of what exactly happens.

But in the text, we see that Abraham is successful in his conquest and not only does he defeat his enemies but is able to take 4 Kingdom’s worth of spoil, plus that of Sodom which was taken by the aggressive Eastern Kings.

In the middle of his victory march back to Sodom, he has an encounter with the King of Salem, Melchesidec. Scripture tells us that he is not only the original High Priest unto God but he is also the original King of Jerusalem. In this sense, Melchesidec is a theophany of Jesus the Christ appearing unto Abraham shrouded as Melchesidec but brimming with the glory of his real identity as Jesus. And before Calvary, before the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or any others Jesus steps onto the scene and establishes himself as the origin for the Levitical priesthood and the Davidic kingship. We talked at length about the scripture Revelation 22:13

Revelation 22:13 KJV 1900

13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Christ declares himself to be the first and last. We know he shall be the last but many of us have struggled to identify the first. However, it is in Genesis 14 that we see Christ revealed and hidden at the same time. Knowing that Melchesidec is the hidden Christ, it then makes sense that Abraham would go to the trouble of sowing a tithe into this King as a sign of relationship and faith. This is exactly what Abraham does and in so doing he completes the first tithe in all of scripture, outside the realm of law or coercion. But indeed, he sows the tithe on the basis of relationship and trust in the “man” who stood before him.

However, with an understanding of what Abraham does before the law, it is important to also know and understand what the law says concerning the tithe so we are not falsely informed by people who try to abuse scripture for personal gain. With that in mind, we will take our first dive into the texts of law to get an understanding of what God orchestrates for the people of Israel.

Deuteronomy 14:22-29

Deuteronomy 14:22 KJV 1900

22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

In this passage, the word increase comes from the Hebrew word, tebûwʾâh, meaning produce.

So when we see this, the law is not speaking simply of tithing of what was higher than the year prior but is instead speaking of paying a tithe on what is PRODUCED in the field.

This passage tells us further, that the Israelites were relatively primitive in that time because the focus was still on agrarian yield and not on money.

The reason for this is because they were naturally a nomadic people that lived on barters and trade.

Thus, when the appropriate time came to give, they obliged but God knew their true treasure lied in what the ground yielded them each year.

Thus the tithe, according to scripture was based on produce with money being a secondary alternative which we will get to later.

Deuteronomy 14:23 KJV 1900

23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.

The tithe at that time was not to be taken to a central location and consumed because they all lived in a moving tent convoy if I can call it that.

So the tithe was to be taken up and consumed in the place GOD chose to remind them that the tithe was not theirs but was in fact God’s property, he just had (in effect) no way to collect and store it that would be convenient for anyone to carry with them.

This is a good time for me to let you all know, that the law evolved with the people of God and was not simply a concrete set in stone document or set of documents designed to govern life.

But much like the laws we live by today, they were a living and breathing document that evolved with the needs of the people.

The tithe evolved over time and we will directly cover two of those evolutions; one today and the other next week.

But in the first evolution they were nomads traveling from Egypt.

In the second they were nomads traveling from Egypt but they had a traveling tabernacle where they could take their offerings.

In the third they were an established Kingdom with a centralized Temple location.

All of that said, the scripture tells us right here that the tithe is to be spiritual as well as practical.

God did not want to waste the food but he also wanted to ensure the people gave him his due, hence why he gives a law that lets them give to him but in a practical way that does not waste food or produce additional burden for the people of God.

Deuteronomy 14:24–25 KJV 1900

24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:

We see more sense of the practicality in this passage of scripture.

We also see that God was not so much after money with the tithe but was more after a gift of submission and contrition.

Scripture tells us he desires a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

Are you yielded enough where you can trust God with the things you desire above all others?

What if it was not about money, what if God said give me one hour of your regular TV time could you do it?

What if God said, I do not need money, but skip your next date night or girls night, and spend some time in prayer? Could you do it?

Many of us try making it a money issue and while the thing that, arguably, holds greatest value in our lives and society is money many of us tithing is not a money issue it is a submission issue.

I do not want to get ahead of myself in this series, but the issue of tithing is not so much about you not paying a tithe.

God does not need your money and at the end of the day he will provide for his Church...

But the real issue is because if you cannot submit your money what else are you not submitting?

Your spiritual gifts for service

Your diet for fasting

Your relationships for purity

Your children for consecration

The tithe is a vehicle used to teach you about submission to God… because if you cannot submit your money their is no way you can submit your body as a living sacrifice… because for many of us our money is the profit of our body.

So if you cannot submit the profit of your body… I know you will keep the body itself.

Deuteronomy 14:26 KJV 1900

26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

This verse is a continuation of the previous in that God was calling for the people to make a gift, even if it meant taking money to buy something more convenient for sacrifice and consumption.

Another important aspect of this scripture is to note that the tithe was given by household in accordance with the law.

Why is this important, the children had no tithe to give but their faithfulness in the tithe would be built by watching the parents (most undoubtedly with a primary focus on the father) give their tithe.

I can sum that up by saying train up a child in the way that they should go and when they get old.

Deuteronomy 14:27 KJV 1900

27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

Now I have to make a clear distinction… the Levites are the tribe of Levi, which was not given a tribal allowance but was given the priesthood to function as the house that would provide priests to all the land.

However, it is important to know that EVERY LEVITE WAS NOT A PRIEST.

In fact, most Levites were not priests.

Some Levites assisted the priesthood in the execution of their duties but many Levites were simply farmhands and many were a part of the poor sections of society.

That fact in mind, God made provisions all throughout the law for just such people, including here where the tithe was reserved for praise and service to God but part of that praise and service was to help feed those that lacked the abundance necessary to feed themselves.

You have to understand the inheritance was all the children had.

Without a tribal inheritance the Levites were allotted no land to live on, work in, or tend to… which meant no matter how high the crop yield they saw no benefit from that yield.

So the people of God were instructed, when you get to the predetermined place that God has for you to consume your tithe… share it with the Levites.

This law would later evolve into something far more effective but once again at this primitive stage of the law this is where it was.

This passage is important then because it teaches us, again, the practicality of the law;

It reinforces the practicality of the law, in that it is not simply meant to be something collected for God to be locked away but it is meant to be used for the edification of the people, including (and especially) those that do not have.

It would do not good for the tithe to be collected if God’s intention for it was overlook or ignored.

The final verse as we draw to a close

Conclusion

Deuteronomy 14:28–29 KJV 1900

28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: 29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

You paying your tithes is bigger than you.

It should not simply be about being blessed or cursed for obedience.

It should be bigger than you having your name on a brick or pew for the Church.

Your tithe is about being faithful unto God so he can be faithful to his people.

You have a responsibility to pay your tithe to ensure that the House of God can be of good service to the people.

To tell you the truth, many of us try to say the law demands a tithe and by the end of this series it is my prayer that you all understand that the law is fulfilled and we are therefore no longer under the burden of the law.

If that is true then, many of us have been tithing out of righteous fear created in us by someone incorrectly teaching scripture. But even if that is true, if you are going to tithe based on the law at least be all in. We want to tithe based on the law, but the same Church that tithes on the law will then hold the money and end all their programs in the community… not so. They will espouse the need for a tithe but ignore the tithe was meant to build up God’s kingdom (in part) through giving to the poor, infirm, and others.

However, the true worshipper does not tithe on a fulfilled law and they do not run from an ineffectual curse. I know what Malachi says but that scripture is based in the law. A true worshipper instead will tithe on relationship. A true worshipper says God I don’t know about no law but you are so awesome and good to me I will give you whatever you ask because of who you are.

Can you live in that expression of faith?