Most people probably consider tithing as an austere and legalistic requirement of the Lord. They picture it under the Law of Moses as being very burdensome; but actually, tithing was filled with good principles of giving which also apply today.
The instructions for presenting the tithe to the Lord were given in Deuteronomy 26. “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you shall bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name.” The people were not to give their tithe to their poor in-laws, calling it a contribution to the Lord. Their tithe had to be given at the place which the Lord had chosen for His name to dwell; their giving had to be related to the place where the word of God fed the hearts of the people. “And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ ” Deuteronomy 26:1–3.
Presenting the tithe was not a simple act of walking up to the priest and throwing down the offering with the attitude, “There it is. I hope you enjoy it.” It had to be a deep spiritual worship in which the people’s hearts responded to what God wanted. They came in with a basket, set it down, and made a solemn proclamation: “I declare this day to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.” It would be wonderful to memorize and speak this similar proclamation every time you brought an offering to the Lord: “I declare this day to the Lord that I have entered into the blessings which the Lord has promised me.” In making such a proclamation of faith, you would not only be giving, but also positioning yourself as a citizen of the Kingdom, as a possessor of the blessing, and as an inheritor of the promises.
Behind the Old Testament tithing proclamation was the teaching of Moses that the power to get wealth comes from the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:18). The Jewish people wanted to prosper and obtain wealth. They wanted the power to make money, and this attitude came through in their giving. They said, in effect, “If giving to God is going to work for me, then as Jacob our forefather declared, ’You look after me, Lord, and I will look after You” (Genesis 28:10–22). Jacob had made this deal while praying in the desert, when he was fleeing from his brother after cheating him out of his birthright. He was afraid, because he realized, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. Verse 16b. The next morning as he made a monument of stones, he said, “I promise You, Lord, that I will give You ten percent of everything I make.” He was faithful to keep that promise, which he made on the barter system. However, the real system of tithing was to come forth with this beautiful aspect in it, that when the people were bringing their tithes they would be saying, “I am a citizen of Canaan, an inheritor of the promises. I bring this as one who is entering into the land that is flowing with milk and honey.” As they were giving, they were also positioning themselves to be receivers of the bounty of the Lord.
“Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ (All of these things were to be reviewed when they were bringing the tithe.) ‘And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which Thou, O Lord hast given me.’ ” Deuteronomy 26:4–10a. They were giving the Lord the first portion.
Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty… Proverbs 3:9, 10. God promises that He will give you everything if you honor Him first. Do not give the Lord the portion of your income that is left over at the end of the month; give Him the first portion. The best is to be given to God. The Lord promises that He will then bless you because in everything you have honored Him first.
This approach to giving works the same way for all things, not only for money. It works also with your time. When do you say your prayers and read the Word? at night when you can hardly keep your eyes open? Is it then that you read some familiar passage in the Scriptures, and say a prayer as you doze off? Or do you give Him some time when your energies are high and you are fresh in the Lord? Give Him the best of your strength and your time.
“ ‘And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which Thou, O Lord hast given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 26:10. The people set their tithes right down before the Lord. This was what the Christians were doing also in New Testament times. The early Church did not deviate from this custom to any extent when they sold their possessions and laid the money at the apostles’ feet (Acts 4:32–37). When they did this, the Lord began to bless them all, and the money was used to feed the poor and those who were being harassed because of persecution.
In the early Church, considerable emphasis was placed on taking care of the poor and needy who were found in the house of God. They had a general concern and a care for one another. In contrast, our government today is so organized with the Social Security system that when someone becomes old, the government takes care of him, and his children do not have to bother with him. They can put him away in an institution and the government will provide the money for the expenses. People depend upon orphanages and welfare agencies to take care of any orphans or widows in their midst. This policy should not be accepted by believers because the Word of God does not teach this. Let us look forward to the day when the family will have a deep love for one another, and not one of our people will grow old in a cold, unfriendly institution. If they die, let them die in one of the fine places which the Body can furnish to take care of them. Let them die listening to singing in the Spirit or the Word rather than in some cold, impersonal environment.
The Lord may not delay His coming very long, and many believers may not have to face old age and decay and death. However, we ought to be concerned about the situation. Some point out that because we have paid our taxes, we should get assistance from the government. Yet the general prediction is that the Social Security system will go broke within a very few years. This is a serious situation. We keep putting our money in, and one of these days when we try to take some out we will be told that others have gotten there ahead of us, and that it is all gone. We should start being concerned about taking care of our own in the family of God, opening the door to love and to help one another.
We will see the family spirit restored. This does not mean that the Lord is bringing us to be merely a social group. That is a situation which has been detrimental to the Jewish religion, inasmuch as it has emphasized a family tradition more than a true spiritual approach. Rather than being an expression of the belief of the people, many of whom are really agnostics by nature, it is based on family ties, a racial bond that holds them together. This is not a good spiritual basis for people to be held together. Believers should not relate that way. Pastors should avoid too much social life with the flock. In the family of God, relationships are to be deeply spiritual. This is the only way to avoid cliques which bring divisions, causing some to feel included and others to feel left out. That should never be. Everyone in the church should feel the same; there should not be any cliques or any special groups.
An apostolic ministry will reach the people and be accepted because he holds all of them in his heart with no respect of persons, with no preference for anyone. A father does this with his children, not showing partiality for any one of them. In the same way, every pastor, every elder, and everyone in the church should simply be open to flow together as the whole family of God. God will give them this ability to show no partiality.
“When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing” (this did not mean that they did not tithe every year; actually, there were three different tithes collected, and the tithe which was collected every third year had much to do with the Levites), “… you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house.’ ” They took the money or the grain, the tenth portion, and said, “Look Lord, I have removed it from my house.” They did not tell the Lord that they would give it to Him sometime. They took it out of their houses and brought it where it was going to be used. “ ‘And also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Thy commandments which Thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Thy commandments. I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done according to all that Thou hast commanded me. Look down from Thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Thy people Israel, and the ground which Thou hast given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Thou didst swear to our fathers.’ ”
“This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 26:12–16. It is not enough to be diligent to do what He commands; you must do it with all your heart and with all your soul. To be a real worshiper of the Lord in the Old Testament days was not easy. When the people came before the Lord, as when they were keeping a feast, they were told to be altogether joyful (Nehemiah 8:9–12). It did not make any difference what they were going through or how they felt. They had to be altogether joyful before the Lord. When they gave, they had to do it with all their heart and with all their soul.
“You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments.” Deuteronomy 26:17, 18. God does not give His people money and then say, “Now I possess you.” But when His people cheerfully give money to Him, then He confesses back to them, “You are My people, My treasured possession. I bless you and give you this land to possess.” There is a recognition in the moment of giving.
Let me illustrate. When a husband brings to his wife his wages for the month, he is not saying by this, “Dear wife, I will keep the option on you for another month.” In taking the money, the wife is not saying, “This money is for services, for everything that I have done for you and the children.” The giving of that money for the family budget represents his saying, in effect, “I am the daddy.” As she takes the money and starts planning the budget, she is saying, in effect, “I am the mama.” In their hearts they are saying, “Together we will see that the family is taken care of.” He does not have to say audibly, “I am the daddy,” nor does she have to say audibly, “I am the mama.” The exchange and their planning together is the evidence, and a oneness is there.
This illustrates what God is saying to us. As we bring the tithes into the storehouse so that there may be meat in God’s house, we make the proclamation that we are possessing the land which God has given us. Each of us is saying in his heart, “I am a part. I am one of the inheritors of the blessing, and I will receive whatever God gives the church.” When we give those tithes, God says to us, “You are My treasured possession. You are My family, whom I am going to bless.” A mutual exchange takes place in the way of commitment to one another and in a recognition that we belong to the Lord.
There is much more to tithing than just paying ten percent and expecting the Lord to bless you. Tithing is a recognition that you have positioned yourself in a place of blessing and that the Lord has beamed that blessing upon you.