Abraham was a great man of faith who hoped for a promise in the future; however, he did something more than simply go outside at night and count the stars, or try to figure out how many grains of sand there were in the sea. He did not merely wait for God to bring forth a promise; he served God with real faith in such a way that he made things happen in his own generation. Try to imagine Abraham, with only his own trained servants, defeating all the great armies of the kings who had come to raid the Jordan Valley. One of these kings was Amraphel, king of Shinar, who is known to us as Hammurabi. Hammurabi was the first one to codify the Babylonian law and was the most famous of the early Babylonian kings, but God anointed Abraham to come against him and his allies and to prevail over them. It was a feat unduplicated by any of the other patriarchs.
Abraham completely defeated the four kings who had come from the East and captured Sodom and Gomorrah and the other cities of the Jordan Valley. Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family were among those who were taken captive. When Abraham heard about their capture, he and his servants pursued after the enemy. Abraham had only three hundred and eighteen men with him; nevertheless, they overtook the kings and their armies and slaughtered them (Genesis 14:1–16).
Then after his (Abraham’s) return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into Your hand.” And he (Abraham) gave him a tenth of all. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.”
All of these cities of the Jordan Valley had been destroyed, and the people and plunder had been taken away. When Abraham recovered the people and their goods from the kings of the East, the king of Sodom offered him all the spoil for himself if he would just let the people return.
From Abraham’s reply, we see the effects of what happened between him and Melchizedek. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.” Genesis 14:17–24.
The details in Genesis are very sketchy, but with careful thought you can picture what happened. When Abraham came back victorious, the king of Sodom came out to meet him. However, before the king could talk to him, Melchizedek, who was the king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God, talked to Abraham and blessed him. After Abraham had been blessed, he gave a tenth of everything he owned to Melchizedek. When the king of Sodom saw this, he wanted to give Abraham a replacement or at least a reward for what he had done; therefore he urged Abraham to take the goods for himself. However, Abraham had sworn to the Lord that he would not take even a shoelace because he did not want anything that had Sodom’s mark on it; he did not want to receive anything with the brand of the world system. Abraham wanted everything he received to come through a blessing from God.
Abraham gave his tithe and entered into a relationship with God which made him one of the wealthiest men who ever lived; yet he thought very little of money and position. Genesis 13:5–12 describes the strife over water and pasture between the shepherds of Lot and the shepherds of Abraham. To settle the dispute, Abraham told Lot to choose whatever land he wanted and to settle there; then Abraham would go in the opposite direction. Lot chose the fertile, well-watered land of the Jordan Valley, leaving to Abraham the rocky hill country which was sparse pasture land. Lot pitched his tents toward Sodom, and before long he had become one of Sodom’s leaders. It was not long until the wickedness of Sodom infiltrated the hearts of his wife and children. Ultimately they were lost to God; the wickedness of Sodom actually destroyed them.
Abraham learned something when he met Melchizedek. The book of Hebrews gives a further explanation of Melchizedek’s identity and his encounter with Abraham. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he abides a priest perpetually. Hebrews 6:19–7:3. The literal translation from the Greek indicates that Melchizedek was the Son of God, abiding as a priest perpetually.
Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham, and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. Melchizedek was to be considered greater than Abraham because Melchizedek was the one who pronounced the blessing upon Abraham’s life.
And in this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Hebrews 7:4–10.
The book of Hebrews often seems technical because it gives an exact interpretation of the customs and priesthood of the Old Testament. From this passage in Hebrews we understand that Melchizedek, without beginning or ending of days, as the Son of God abiding forever, was a preincarnation manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. There are several instances in the Scriptures in which the Lord actually appeared in human form to man before He was born of the virgin Mary. Genesis 16:7–13 tells us that the angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar. The term “the angel of the Lord” is often used to refer to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; for Hagar said, “You are a God who sees. Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” Genesis 32:22–32 tells us that Jacob wrestled with a man all night long; but after his adversary blessed him, Jacob said, “I have met God face to face and my life is spared.”
Christ was no stranger to the Old Testament. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were all present at creation. Speaking of Christ, John 1:3 tells us that all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. He was co-creator with the Father and the Spirit. When God said, “Let Us make man in Our image” (Genesis 1:26), God referred to Himself in plural form, and one of the Hebrew words for God, Elohim, is a plural word. This is a mystery, but God is one—one entity, and one in accomplishing His purpose.
Melchizedek is clearly revealed to us as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God in a human form of priesthood that existed in the days of Abraham. Abraham was completely and totally submissive to the revelation of God that came to him from Melchizedek. Jesus Christ was the revelation to him and Jesus Christ was the one who blessed him. In that day, there was no priest on earth greater than Abraham, who walked with God, except Melchizedek, who was the Lord Himself. He was greater than Abraham.
From the Scriptures we see that tithing did not begin as a law; it began at least four hundred years before the Levitical Law was given. After Abraham and Isaac died, Jacob and his family went into Egypt. His descendants remained there for four hundred years. It was not until they were brought out of Egypt that the Levitical laws were imposed upon the people at Sinai. At that point, the dark ages of tithing began because tithing became a standard of law instead of an act of faith and revelation as it had been before.
In this day, it remains for us to see tithing redeemed from a legal basis and to see it become once again an act of revelation and faith for the Kingdom. We can become liberated in our whole approach to giving. Tithing was not commanded at first; it was a response to a revelation. When Melchizedek brought the blessing and the revelation of the Kingdom, then Abraham paid the tithe. When Abraham saw Melchizedek, he saw God’s purpose; and he responded by tithing; in effect, he was buying an interest in the Kingdom.
Jesus said that this is the way giving should be. He rebuked the Pharisees for tithing legalistically and ignoring the more important matters of the Law (Matthew 23:23), but He did not say, “Do not tithe.” Instead, He pointed out a way to give and lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19–20). Paul told the Colossians, “Set your affection on the things above” (Colossians 3:2). When your interest is in the Kingdom, you will give accordingly. Your motive for tithing should not be based upon your desire to have God bless you by increasing your finances. That kind of thinking is entirely on the human plane. The real blessing of tithing begins when you have a revelation of the Kingdom of God, and therefore you invest in it; then the other nine-tenths also becomes God’s money, blessed by Him. When you give with vision and revelation and faith, you enter into an immunity. You do not enter into a blessing just for the moment; the blessing of tithing also opens the door to release you from the present bondage that is on creation.
Malachi 3:10–12 will help you to understand how this release from bondage takes place. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until there is no more need.” The King James Version says, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. In other words, we are to fill up the Lord’s house until our own barns are overflowing. “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts. “And all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.
The Lord promises, “I will rebuke the devourer.” Determine to see the vision of the Kingdom when all creation will be loosed from futility; then invest in that. When you give ten percent with revelation and faith for the Kingdom, then the Lord starts rebuking the devourer.
The Kingdom comes when people begin to actively participate in it. You must actively seek it. Matthew 6:33 tells us, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all the other things will be added to you.” Let your attitude be that you would rather invest your money in the Kingdom of God than to spend it merely on an existence in this present futility. Seek His Kingdom and His righteousness first. Then God will see to it that you have all the other things you need.
There is an outstanding blessing to be received from tithing with a vision, tithing with revelation, and tithing with faith. You must understand that you do not tithe because it was a commandment under the Law; you tithe because tithing goes back to the days of promise to Abraham. Abraham met Melchizedek, paid the tithe to him, and received the blessing. Remember that when the king of Sodom offered him the plunder, Abraham refused. He did not want anything with the oppression of Sodom upon it—not even a shoelace. Abraham wanted everything to be blessed of God; therefore, he was blessed.
God is preparing many people’s hearts to be so delighted with the Kingdom of God and to have such revelation and faith for it, that He will lay an abundance of money in their hands. David became a very wealthy man because he was collecting gold in great quantity to build the Temple. When it was built, the Temple and most of its furnishings were either made of pure gold or overlaid with gold (I Kings 6:20–22; 7:48–51). Even the shields of the Temple guards were made of gold (I Kings 14:25–28). Think of what all of that would be worth today! David’s treasury could be compared to Fort Knox. The wealth that David amassed is almost unimaginable to us today, yet David did not think of himself as a wealthy man. It was the Lord’s wealth.
Your dedication must be the same. You cannot feel that you personally own certain things or that you have the sole right to your possessions. Nothing is really yours, because the Kingdom of God is all His. When you leave behind the self-centered idea that you have to own things, then God can give you all you need. Paul said that God’s grace can abound toward us so that we, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work (II Corinthians 9:8). As you enter in to walk in this revelation, God will help you with it.
Another reference to tithing is found in Genesis 28. Jacob was running from his brother Esau who planned to kill him because Jacob had cheated him out of his birthright (Genesis 27:41). Jacob was a thief, but in his heart he was honest about his motives—he was determined to have God’s blessing, regardless of the means. Jacob fled into the wilderness, and when he had gone as far as he could go, he stopped at a place where there were many wild beasts. Using a rock for a pillow, he lay down to sleep. And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12. Jacob saw the spirit world. He saw the angels of God. He actually experienced a vision of the Kingdom of God.
John 1:45–51 contains a reference to Jacob’s vision. When Nathanael came to Christ, Christ said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were sitting under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael responded, “You must be the Christ,” but Jesus said, “Do you believe because of that? You will see greater things than these. You will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Christ was speaking about the Kingdom of God, and He referred back to Jacob’s vision. He identified it as the heavens being opened for the Kingdom of God to come forth upon this earth.
What was Jacob’s response to the vision of the Kingdom? The Lord was dealing with his heart, and when he woke up he was so disturbed that he made a vow to the Lord and said, “And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house; and of all that Thou dost give me I will surely give a tenth to Thee.” Genesis 28:22. Jacob did the same thing that Abraham did when he met Melchizedek. When God met Jacob in the rocky wilderness, he determined to tithe.
These two instances in the Scriptures establish a simple truth about the blessing of tithing. Long before it became a law, the patriarchs tithed because of a revelation they had. When the Law came, the dark ages of tithing began. Under the Law, tithing was forced upon man; but in Christ Jesus we are free from Law, and we return to grace and promise.
Let the Lord meet you as He met Abraham and Jacob. Tithe because you have a revelation of the Kingdom. Tithe because you have faith for it. Let your tithe be an investment in the Kingdom of God.