On the Subject of Tithing

I believe Tithing goes back as far as the Garden of Eden. Now this is just conjecture, I will admit, but I strongly believe it. Paul has also made known when a thought was his own but he believed he had God on it so it is not off base to make an intelligent guess on something.

Think about it. The garden was filled with trees. Someone suggested that there were only ten at that time. It is for sure, another guess. God said, “Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 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.”

Perhaps, that one tree represented God’s tithe.

If we remember the sin of Achan, “Jos 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.”

Achan took the “accursed” thing that God said was His own. Accursed in Hebrew translates to “dedicated.” This was God’s own and not to be taken. That is very clear.

As the verse continues we see that God gets angry when we take what is His.

Continuing on, we note that the word of God says: 2Co 9:10 “Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) “

It is a complete system. God gives to us and requires us to use some for His purposes.

In Genesis, Cain brought vegetables while Abel brought a lamb. Once again in the absence of a clear mandate we will have to take all of God’s commands and actions to figure this out.

The offering in this case was a lamb. That is what God required. It was symbolic as the Scripture tells us, Heb 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

So, that is why Cains sacrifice was rejected. There is perhaps a second part of that which might include attitude. God loveth a cheerful giver and it seems this was more of a pride problem for Cain in choosing to disobey God’s word on giving.

Later on we see Abraham meeting up with Melchizedek Gen 14:18 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Gen 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”

Now there are those individuals, however misguided, who would argue that this person was not Jesus. That will be another day and another argument. We do see Abraham giving tithes of what God had given to Him, back to God. (in this case called Melchizedek)

By the way, for clarifications sake, God gave the victory into Abraham’s hand. With only 300+ soldiers trained in his own house against perhaps thousands, only God could have given that victory.

So we see tithing came before the law to tithe. It was always the way we acknowledge God as supreme. One always tithes to someone above them.

I will not even touch on the Levitical law except to answer those who say we are no longer under the law so we do not have to tithe. That is a lie from the pit of hell. Can we now kill, and lie, and dishonor our parents? Jesus said, Mat 5:18 “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

For eternal life, we are no longer under the law. That is true. We have been forgiven of all sins past,present & future so if we do not tithe we will not burn in hell. However, we will be subject to the chastisement of God in this life.

Now some tithing does not apply to us, it’s true. Most of us do not raise crops. Nor is the sacrifice going on in the temple. Paul however made it clear that we are to support our church. He said, 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. “

Oh, you say, see, not of necessity. Well what does that mean? It means you do it now from your heart. As God tells you. As your heart speaks to you. It should no longer be people squeezing out their ten per cent but generously giving as God has prospered them.

You might ask, “How does that work?” Well, we are supposed to tithe or give to God his due. Supposed I said to you that I will give you each week, $1,000. The only stipulation would be that you have to give me back 10%. Would you do it? Of course you would. You would be a fool not to. Now, how about I give you the thousand but you insist you have too many bills to pay or other interests and you could not possibly give back 10%. What do you think will happen? Yes! I will stop giving you the thousand.

God works the same way. Don’t forget, you are not paying anything that you got yourself because all belongs to God. What you get, God provides.

Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Notice it says tithes AND offerings. That which is demanded and that which comes from your free will. Don’t think you squeeze the pennies to come up with 10% and forget what God has put in your heart.

I would propose that the cause of poverty in man is his stinginess with God.

Adam took from God and was cursed. Achan took from God and was cursed. Abraham gave to God and was blessed.

This is a no brainer.

God says in Malachi 3:10 that we should bring the tithes into the storehouse (that’s the Church and nothing else-you can not use tithes for any other purpose no matter how noble a gesture)

He said “prove me.” That means try Him, test Him –…” 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.

Doesn’t that seem simple enough? Bring the tithes, do it with a happy heart, don’t forget the offerings and God will reward you that you won’t have room to receive it.

It’s funny. So many people go to Church to worship a God they say they trust for their eternal life but don’t trust with the money HE gave them.

So God says, “try me” and many do not.

He said He would “Mal 3:11 …rebuke the devourer for your sakes,…”

The devourer is the devil of course.

God said it in Haggai very well, “Hag 1:6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. “

Have you ever made a lot of money and then wondered why you still could not pay your bills or unexpected expenses came up to wipe your money out?

Hmmmm? Are you getting this yet?

Read Malachi and Haggai. They are two short books with a good long message.

Did you know Paul complained of not getting the funds from the Corinthian Church? He said the thing you promised a year ago you still have not performed. He praised the Macedonian Churches because although they were poor, they gave big.

Most people have the wrong idea about giving. They want to wait until they have a lot to give.

Most rich people acquired their wealth while being generous. It is a principle of God

Don’t say you are a Christian and ignore the word of God

Luk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

It’s like going to the doctor and he tells you that you will die if you keep drinking and you keep drinking.

Too many people ignore the word of God and refuse to be blessed.

Are you one of them?