More On Tithing
Ge 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Ge 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Ge 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Ge 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Limits
God put man in the Garden and gave him dominion - control.
Then he said man could eat of every tree of the Garden except one - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God knew that if man were given the choice between good and evil, he would probably choose evil because of its enticement. Without that knowledge we are ever dependent upon God for those decisions, which is better by far.
The tree - the knowledge of good and evil - God reserved for himself. It was forbidden for man. Any thing that is reserved for God alone is a curse to man if he takes it. (Remember this key principle.)
Man partook of the forbidden thing and lost his innocence, freedom, fellowship with God and all his blessings. He lost dominion. He lost everything, because he took what was God's for himself.
Jericho
Jos 6:16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
Jos 6:17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
Jos 6:18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
Jos 6:19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.
Here we see the principle spelled out a little more clearly. God told them to completely destroy the city. Level the place and destroy every person except Rahab's family. Destroy everything. Bring the treasures into the house of the Lord.
The reason they were to destroy everything and kill all the people is twofold. The people were a snare to them. They would have become a bad influence - a source of stumbling. We must remove from our lives every cause of stumbling.
The second reason is that, as the firstfruits of the Promised Land - the first city taken - it belonged to God. We are instructed to always give the firstfruits to the Lord.
Ex 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
Ne 10:35 And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD:
Pr 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
At first, even the firstborn sons were dedicated to the Lord for His service.
Ex 22:29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
Later God chose the Levites instead, but the principle is established - the first of everything is the Lord's.
And so Jericho, the first city of the Promised Land, belonged to the Lord. It was a sacrifice to him. Verse 17 said, " the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD". That word 'accursed' also means 'devoted'. What is 'devoted' to God is 'accursed' to man.
Verse 18 is very clear:
Jos 6:18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
Stay away from the accursed, or devoted, thing. Keep your hands off of it. If you take it, it will be a curse to you. It is God's (devoted) not yours (accursed). Eve should have stayed away from that tree.
So, what happened at Jericho? Achan took something for himself and he brought a curse not only on himself but upon the whole nation. Now think about that. The whole nation suffered because of one man's transgression. They all suffered, some even lost their lives because one man took what belonged to God.
Do you think what you do or don't do doesn't affect others? Wrong!
The Tithe
Remember Leviticus 27:30?
Le 27:30 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.
The tithe is the Lord's. It belongs to God. It is the devoted or accursed thing, depending on what you do with it. The tithe is not optional. It is not a suggested offering. It is a spiritual obligation. It belongs to God, and it must be returned to God.
The tithe is a sacrifice. You give it and let it go. It belongs to God and is His responsibility. But as long as it is in your hand, it is your responsibility. What will you do with it?
Parables
Many of Jesus' parables about landowners and tenants. It's about stewardship. Responsible stewardship is faithful handling of God's blessings. That is, faithful handling of what belongs to God according to his instructions. The parables describe for us the expectations of the owner when he leaves others in charge of his goods and how he will deal with them accordingly.
In one illustration, the landowner allows the tenants to farm the land, but a portion of the increase of the land belongs to him. If they refuse to give that portion to him, he ultimately removes them from the land. Consider the implications of that concerning our tithes.
Stealing is bad. Stealing from God is unthinkable.
Blessings
There are blessings promised for obedience in the matter of the tithe.
Mal 3:10 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.
Mal 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
God promises to :
In Luke 6:38, He promises:
Lu 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you…
If you give, it's a promise you will receive.
Consider -
Prov 11:25 "The liberal soul shall be made fat…"
Ecc 11:1 "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days."
2 Cor 9:6 "Give bountifully … reap bountifully".
Finally, How should you give?
According to your income -
De 16:17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.
Secretly -
Mt 6:3 But when thou doeth alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Freely -
Mt 10:8 … freely ye have received, freely give.
Regularly -
1Co 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
Cheerfully -
2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.