The Importance of Tithing

It wasn't too long ago we had Thanksgiving, and I usually send out a few emails, announcements, a little bit of a story about thankfulness and being grateful for all the blessings that God has given to us because there are so many of them. And I quoted some of the presidential proclamations in the past that have been given by the leaders of our nation when it comes to Thanksgiving. In fact, this is quite a tradition. It goes all the way back to our very first president.

In fact, I think it's noteworthy that our very first president who started this, he was authorized by both houses of Congress that this was something that they encouraged the president to do. I'm going to quote a little bit from what our first president George Washington said when it came to this. He said, Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and to humbly implore His protection and His favor. And whereas both houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer and to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and the signal favors of Almighty God.

You know, I don't know about you, but that is an astounding thing. You know, our nation was definitely pretty much like this with God at that particular period of time. It's hard to imagine that today that both houses of Congress would say, Mr. President, this is what we want you to do. But that's what was done at that time.

He goes on to say, Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted to the people of these states, to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent author of all that is good, that is or that will be, that we may then all unite and render to Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and His protection of the people of this country.

Whoa! You know, to me, I just think, what a wonderful thing. No, I'm, you know, no wonder when God hears something like that from a leader of a nation, He's going to say, Thank you. You know, a grateful people, a grateful nation. Many of our presidents over the years have continued to write similar heartfelt proclamations, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln. You may have read some of those over the years and others, but I want to focus on something that our past President Grover Cleveland addressed. He addressed some of the same thoughts, but he added something that no one prior to him had ever added before, a thought or a concept.

I mean, he talked about some of the similar things, including the call for prayers and songs of praise that would render to God the appreciation of the American people for His mercy and for the abundant harvests and for the rich rewards that He has bestowed upon our nation. But then His proclamation added something that had never been there before.

He goes on to say this, and let us by no means forget that while we give thanks and enjoy the comforts which have crowned our lives, that truly grateful hearts are inclined to deeds of charity. I'll repeat that again. That truly grateful hearts are inclined to deeds of charity.

In other words, helping other people. Being grateful for the blessings that we have been given, but also willing to understand that truly grateful and appreciative hearts are willing to show blessings to others, being willing to give others, being willing to show charity to others. He goes on to say, and we'll double the pleasures of our condition. Like he knew what the Scriptures said. You know, it's more blessed to give than to receive. It will double the pleasures of our condition and render our praise and thanksgiving more acceptable in the sight of our Lord.

You know, God has a lot to say in Scripture. He's got a lot to say about thanksgiving, of being appreciative, of having gratitude, and He has a lot to say also about being a giver. It's what God wants us to do, and it's what He wants us to be. Thankful and generous givers. I think most of us know this, but let's rehearse a little bit. God is a giver. He is a giver. And as we'll see, He also commands His sons and daughters to be like Him, to be givers as well.

God's way is one of giving, and God Himself is probably the most generous giver in the universe. Jesus followed His Father's example. We've already quoted the Scripture in Acts that said, Jesus said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And from the very creation of man, God has been steadily giving, steadily giving to humanity.

He began by giving the first man, Adam, a perfect compliment. A help-mead, his wife. In fact, He gave the first human family dominion over all of the earth. And of course, He set up things in a very pleasant environment, a paradise on earth, in a sense, the Garden of Eden. That's where mankind began. God also gave His first two, Adam and Eve, His first two children. He gave them laws. He gave them ways to understand how to live a happy and abundant life. And then as situations changed, He modified those principles to address various things, to help cover every aspect of their human conduct. And of course, the great God continues to support the, sustain the life support systems of His creation. The sun continues to rise and fall. The rains continue to fall to the earth, warming the earth through the sun so that there can be plants that grow, so there can be food, nutrients that come from the ground, and the plants to human beings. David said this, talking to God, he said this, you cause the grass to grow, to feed the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the heart of man, and oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen his heart.

You know, he knew where some of these blessings came from. Psalm chapter 104 verse 14 is where they came from. Psalm chapter 104 verses 14 and 15. You know, the many methods by which God gives humanity blessings daily would be too much to include in a message. You know, David said this, he said, this is the day that the Lord our God has made. Let's rejoice and be glad in it.

So even the day today is a blessing from God. It's a gift from God. I think that's why they call it the present. I don't know if you've heard that before. The present. And of course, one of the biggest blessings of all is life itself, including everlasting life in the kingdom of God. So since humanity is to inherit a gift of eternal life in his kingdom, God expects his children to learn how to give now. He expects you and I to learn that now. Let's see how he speaks about generosity in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 6. This is a section of Scripture that we often talk about when we are taking up an offering or that type of thing, but I think you'll see too that it also has to do with addressing the overall concept of giving. Because generosity of spirit and attitude is a foundational basic of God's way of life, and it's something he's trying to teach his children as well. God is a generous giver, but he hopes that you and I will also reflect a like generosity. Even though it's on a limited basis, he wants us to have that thought and attitude as he has it. Let's notice what God inspired Paul to write here. 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 6. But this I say that he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

You know, God often uses agricultural examples to help us to understand maybe spiritual, much bigger concepts. And I think those of us that have gardened or been involved with farming or agriculture in the past know how that works. You've got a handful of seed, you plant that, and you end up with more than what you started with. And so he goes on to say that if we sow sparingly, or in verse 6, if we sow sparingly, we'll reap sparingly, and sow bountifully, then we'll also reap bountifully. And then he says in verse 7, so let each one, so that gets right down to the one you and me, pretty specific here, let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. It's almost his way of saying, that's my son, that's my daughter. You know, look at that. Look at the attitude that they have, in the sharing of the things that have been given to them. Verse 8, and notice this, and God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you having all sufficiency in all things, I think that about covers it, all sufficiency in all things may have abundance for what? For every good work, to help with the work of God, to help other people. God says, I'll give to you sufficiency in all things, that you will have an abundance for every good work. Verse 9, as it's written, he has dispersed abroad. That's talking about God giving gifts. He's dispersed to the abroad. He has given to the poor and his righteousness endures forever. Now, verse 10, may he who supplies seed of the sower, we know that's God, he's going to give seed of the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed that you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. I've never really thought about it that way. When you help others, that you increase the fruits of your righteousness.

Apparently, that's the right thing to do, is to help others, to encourage them, to lift them up.

To edify. And let's go on, verse 11. While you are enriched in everything, God says, I'll make sure you're enriched in everything. Why? So that we, you and me, can be more liberal. That you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. So God gets the ultimate credit, because he's the giver of all things, but he uses you and me. We're like the conduit. He gives to us, we give to somebody else, and then God gets the glory. But he uses us to be a part of the process. You know, I'll just refer to a scripture here. It talks about the same principle. It's in Proverbs chapter 11, verse 24. You can look it up if you'd like right now, but I'll just refer to it. Proverbs chapter 11, verses 24 and 25. You may recognize this scripture.

There's one who scatters and yet increases more, and there's one who withholds more than is right, trying to keep what we can for ourselves, and it leads to poverty. That's amazing. God inspired Solomon to say this. Now, God gave his wisdom to Solomon. Just the opposite of human nature. Just the opposite. So God is a giver. It says he's the giver of every good and perfect gift.

He's given us everything. He decided to design us. He decided to create the heavens and the earth. He created you and I. The fact that we're alive is a gift. And I know in this congregation that there are many givers. There are givers of people, of their resources, their time, their efforts, their financial resources. And I have seen firsthand how you have given to your fellow brothers and sisters. And God is pleased with that. He's pleased with that.

Brother, God commands that we, his children, give. He commands that we give, not only to others, but also that we give back to him. We give back to him. He gives us everything. He's the giver of everything. And then he says, I want you to give 10% back to me. When it comes to 10%, we know he's talking about tithing. For those of us that have been around for a while, and maybe this is new to some of you, but God commands in one of his laws is that we tithe. Tithe means 10th in old archaic English. We know it's 10%. Brother, when Jillian and I were in India, we met with several different Sabbath-keeping pastors. And many of them served and ministered to people that were in very, very poor situations, very poor villages, that type of thing, difficult circumstances. And we would often get asked by some of these pastors, we get asked the question, how can we as pastors in India preach the gospel of the kingdom of God when we have people that are so poor, when we have people that don't have enough money to make an offering to be able to give us, my, the minister's family, enough money to live on so that they can continue to do the job of ministering to these people. So we would hear that. One pastor came to me with tears in his eyes. He said, I don't know what to do. The congregations I serve cannot give enough offerings to even meet the financial needs of the church or pay me enough salary to be able to take care of my family. I don't want to quit, but sometimes I feel like quitting. What do I do?

And in fact, his, in this case, his father has been a Sabbath-keeping pastor, is not doing well health-wise for 40 years. And his son is wanting to take this role on and do it full-time. But he's looking at the stark reality of where he's at. Further, what does God's word say is the method we should use to finance the work of God and preach the gospel of the kingdom and to take care of the flock. You know, we believe God's word commands us to tithe. In fact, it's one of the fundamental beliefs of the church of God. It's one of the fundamental beliefs is tithing. When I started hearing some of these comments, I started thinking, I need to talk to these people about tithing. I need to talk to them about it. I had to be careful and sensitive, but I said, well, I asked the question, do you teach the command of tithing?

It's amazing. Most of them were familiar with it. Not all, but most of them were familiar with it. I say, do you teach the law of tithing? And I further went on to ask, does the church congregation tithe? Do the members tithe? And you know, the answer that I got most of the time was that, no, the people are pretty poor. They don't tithe. And, or, no, I don't teach it.

I went on to say as carefully as I could, and in many cases, they'd never been taught.

They never heard it. But in other cases, they were aware of it. But they were either knowingly or unknowingly, brethren, as we'll see in some scriptures in a moment, they were robbing God.

They were robbing, in a sense, themselves. They were robbing, in a sense, the members of blessings that could come from something along this line. And we'll cover some of those scriptures as well.

Since those discussions on tithing, once we got back, I began to put together a bi-weekly email that I sent out. Mr. Ken Murray from Australia does the off week, but we're sending out something every week. I sent out on my bi-weekly three different major communications on the topic of tithing. And I wanted to communicate to that as carefully as well as I could over a three-part series, sending it to members, to good news readers, to Sabbath-keeping groups and pastors in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Burma, Pakistan via these Sabbath emails. Brethren, I thought it would be good for us also to review the topic of tithing here locally as well. I don't think we've done that for a while. You know, I've spoke on it in southern Minnesota. John, were you there? And were you and Holly up there? That's Sabbath. You weren't? Okay, I spoke on the last Sabbath over in La Crosse. So, Julia, do the same thing that I talked about with Todd and Sarah last Saturday.

I hope you can gain something a second time around. And my wife's third time around. No, a second time around. You weren't with me on one of those Sabbaths. But, brother, specifically today, we're going to talk about the topic of tithing, a fundamental belief of the Church. And we'll cover some sub points as well that, brethren, tithing honors God. It honors God. It's an act of worshiping God. It's a way that works. And it's a way of loving God and neighbor. So, that's the title of the sermon here is tithing a law of love for God and for man. Tithing, a law of love for God and man.

I'm going to ask you a question here. If God personally called you to preach the gospel of the King of God to the world, what sources would you go to to try to figure out a way that you were going to finance that? What would you do? You know, would you think about your own thoughts or your ideas? Or would you look at God's Word to see what it is that He has to say? Well, I think it's important for us to think about what's God has to say? What are His thoughts? So, let's talk about the mind of God for a moment. We've heard and we know that this word, this book is the Maker's Instruction book to His kids. We know that. It reveals what God's mind is. We read in Philippians chapter 2 verse 5, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. That's Philippians chapter 2 verse 5. So, it is our responsibility. If the church is to be the pillar and ground of the truth, it's to be able to understand what it is that is God's mind on this.

Jesus Himself said, and I'll just quote Matthew 4 verse 4, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. So, when it comes to a topic like this, we need to look at the entirety of the Bible and not just one little section of Scripture. Let's go over to 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 15, 2 Timothy chapter 3, and verse number 15.

True Christians, which make up the body of Christ, the church will search the Bible from the beginning to the end to establish doctrine. And this is what Paul told a very young evangelist by the name of Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15, and that from childhood you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. And all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.

So, we know that this book is God-breathed, and He gives us His thoughts, and He gives us His ideas on what He thinks about things. And, of course, at this time, Paul's referring pretty much to the Old Testament Scriptures because there were no New Testament Scriptures at this time.

You know, the New Testament is founded upon the Old. We know that. And the mind of God is reflected throughout the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. So, what about the needs of the work? You know, there's always been a church of God, an assembly of God under the New Covenant since the day of Pentecost, when God first poured out His Holy Spirit. We're in that transformation process of the church in the wilderness, the children of Israel, to the New Testament church, a spiritual Israel. And there's been a need for the work all along the way, whether it be in the New Covenant or the Old Covenant. But the church has a responsibility that God has given it to it to preach the message that Jesus Christ spoke. We have that responsibility to continue to go forth. Matthew 28, verse 19. Matthew 28 and verse number 19 talks about some of that responsibility. It's a pretty big one. It's a big responsibility that God has given to His sons and daughters. He started that responsibility through His son, and then He said, your brothers and sisters are going to be involved as well. Matthew 28, in verse 19, it says, Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations. And so that's the commission in a sense that our elder brother has given to us. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit and teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you. So I want you to teach them what I taught you. Pretty much first century Christianity.

Verse 20, teaching them all things I've commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So that suggests that we're not just talking about the original 12 disciples, because they would eventually die. But it would be Christ would be with the disciples up into the end of the age of man. So this is a pretty big job. It's a pretty big commission that God has given to the church of all ages. And Jesus didn't start His church in the first century, only to have a die out in the second. He did not do that. So there will always be a need to preach the gospel. Let's go over to John Chapter 17, Verse 18. John Chapter 17.

Jesus prayed for those who would succeed the original 12 disciples here.

John Chapter 17 and Verse number 18. He's praying to His Father here. He says, as you've sent me into the world, then I have also sent them into the world. But He's not just talking about the 12. He says, I don't pray for these alone as we jump to verse 20, but I'm also going to pray for those who believe in me through their word. So Jesus prayed for those who would succeed the 12. And He's, of course, He's told us that the gates of the grave would not prevail against this church of His. That's Matthew Chapter 16, Verse 18. So the church would continue right up to the end of the age. And it's still around today, all these years later, actively preaching the gospel that Christ preached. And Christ still continues, and the Father continues to add to the church. There are still people being baptized, hopefully part of the first resurrection in the kingdom, serving with Christ when He comes.

So, how are individual believers added? By the preaching of the gospel. If the gospel was not first preached, then you and I probably wouldn't be here. You know, somebody else preached that message. The church, in a sense, is the fruit of the gospel. The church is to be the light of the world. And really, it's the only true light. As Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Then when He leaves, He says, now you are the light of the world. I always get nervous when I think about the responsibility that you and I have. No pressure. Now is our turn to be the light of the world.

And so, part of that is, of course, to preach the truth that Christ also preached. But what value is the light if it's not seen? Church must be known. Matthew 5, verse 14, pretty familiar scripture, probably a memory scripture for a lot of us. Matthew chapter 5, verse 14.

This is what Jesus taught. Matthew 5, verse 14, you are the light of the world and a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. A few years ago, we went to the Middle East and we went to Israel. We had the feast in Israel back in 1980 and we were around the Sea of Galilee and there's mountains that are around part of that Sea of Galilee and there's a city on a hill. And at night, you saw the lights. So you know something was there. Here there was a city on the hill. Ronald Reagan used to talk about that, that America was supposed to be like a light on a hill. So it says, you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can't be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand and it gives light. It gives light to all who are in the house. So after making this illustration, then Jesus then instructs the disciples. He goes on to say, so let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. And so Jesus Christ wanted the church to be visible.

He wanted to be seen and heard. And that was the principle good work of the church, was preaching the gospel. Now after the original 12 of the commission, God began to call others. Let's go over to Acts 13, verse 1. Acts 13, verse 1.

The church is the assembly of God's people. It's not a building. It's the people themselves, the ecclesia, the called out ones. Now the church that was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers. There was Barnabas, there was Simeon, there was one called Niger, there was Lucius of Cyrene, there was Manaiyan who had been brought up with Herod, the tetrarch. So Herod was not a very good person, but one of the disciples had been brought up with him. His name was Manaiyan. And Saul. Verse number two, and as they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, now I want you to separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them to do.

You know, years ago we used to talk about the work. You probably remember that if you've been around for a while. The work. And you know, that's a biblical term. We don't use it very much anymore.

But it is scriptural. In fact, I'll for time's sake, I'll quote, just give you a few scriptures here. Acts chapter five and verse 38.

Acts chapter 13 and verse two.

Acts chapter 15 and verse 38.

Romans chapter 14 verse 20.

And Philippians chapter 2 and verse 30.

You know, the preaching of the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles was frequently called to work.

We've got something to do. All right. And that work down through the centuries has resulted in fruit, bearing fruit. It's a result in the belief of many. And some of us here are the benefit of all that. So it's clear from scripture that the Church of God has an ongoing responsibility before God to continue to preach about the reality of what's coming and the blessings that are going to come from it. And who's going to be in charge and the blessings that will follow. Let's go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 11.

And Paul said, as well as some of these overseas ministers that we talked about, that said, you know, woe unto me if I think Paul said necessity is laid upon me and woe is me if I don't preach the gospel. So Paul realized he had a responsibility and some of these ministers do too.

But how does Paul envision the accomplishment of this important mission? How did God inspire Paul that this was going to take place? Well, in this context here, 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 11, Paul is defending his apostleship. He's being challenged. So in a sense, that's part of the context, but I'm going to focus on a different part of the context here. Paul, in a sense, is going to assert his right to be supported by the church, just as other apostles were being supported. Let's take a look at that. Verse 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 11. He says, if we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless, Paul says, I haven't used this right. So he decided to back off. Apparently, he had the right to be supported. He decided to back off for various reasons. We know he was a tentmaker. We know sometimes he had to supplement, because in some cases, he just wasn't getting enough money. So he went ahead and supplemented his living in order to preach the gospel. He says, nevertheless, we have not used this right, but we endure all things, lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. Then he goes on to verse number 13. He says, don't you know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? He's talking about the Levitical priesthood. He said, you know, we'll talk about that in a moment, some of the scriptures, but don't you know that the priesthood, you know, they ate of the things at the temple, because they served there. They partake of the offerings of the altar. And notice verse 14, even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

Even Jesus, the Lord, has commanded that those who proclaim the gospel were to gain their livelihood through it. That's a command from Christ under the New Covenant in the New Testament. It's not a suggestion, it's a command. As we'll talk about in the Bible study later, Paul received a lot of commands from Jesus Christ. He had a very unique situation in that he was instructed directly from Christ himself. Very unusual situation.

He says the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from it.

Granted, Paul was willing to work with his own hands when he needed to, you know, to avoid offense, or maybe just because there wasn't enough help coming in.

All right, well, let's go on. Well, just as then today, the church has a commission that has to be financed. It takes money to reach the modern world by modern methods of mass communication. It requires funds to finance facilities to convey that message, to be able to train ministers, to be able to be shepherds, to oversee congregations, and to help them, to guide them towards the character that God is looking for, to be a part of his family. And so what have we done historically over time? We have instituted and used the tithing system. The tithing system. Let's talk about tithing as a biblical concept for a moment. There isn't any biblical scholar that would disagree with the fact that tithing isn't in the Bible. It is. It's biblical. It's here.

I'm just going to... we're going to cover some of these scriptures in detail in a moment, but I'm just going to give an overview. God accepted the tithes of Abraham and Jacob. We see that in the book of Genesis. God used the tithing system to finance the religious and secular needs of the children of Israel, the church, and the wilderness, the theocracy that he started. That's the way he decided to use it to make this all work. That's in Numbers and in Leviticus. We'll cover those in a moment. Tithing continued sporadically through the era of the judges and the kings of Israel and Judah. God verbally chastised his people for stealing his tithes in the time of Malachi, of the latter prophets. We'll cover that as well. And Jesus speaks about tithing in the New Testament, and Paul addresses it in the book of Hebrews, chapter 7. So we know that tithing is a biblical concept. So, spend a little time going through the scriptures here, the biblical record, when it comes to the fact that tithing is a command of God to his people. Let's take a look at the biblical record. We're going to start here with the most oldest first recorded record of anyone giving a tithe or a tenth of anything to anyone, and that's found way back in the first book of the Bible. Let's go back to Genesis chapter 13. Genesis chapter 13. So it goes back quite a ways, and this is about 400 years prior to Moses. So let's get some background here of what happened, and let's take a look at the story. Genesis chapter 13 and verse number 1. I think there are some interesting things here as we go through some of this that stood out to me a little bit more than I've seen it before. Genesis chapter 13 verse 1. It says, then Abram, so his name was going to be later changed to Abraham, but right now this is the time of his life that he's still known as Abram. It says, he went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and lot with him to the south.

And it says in verse 2, Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. So he was wealthy. He had a lot. Alright, verse number 3. And he went on his journey from the south as far as Bethel to a place where his tent had been at the beginning. So he's going back to where he'd been before. And his place was between Bethel and I, and to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. So there was a time long ago, prior to this, that he set up an altar and he said, God, you're going to be my God. I'm going to worship you. I'm going to honor you.

I'm going to obey you. And so he's going back to where he was. And it says in verse 4, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first, and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. So that God was his God. And verse 5, and a lot also who went with Abram, well, he had flocks, and he had herds, and he had tents. So he had a lot of stuff too, a lot of wealth here.

Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together because their possessions were so great they couldn't dwell together. Remember this part of the story? And so suddenly there was arguments, you know, the wells, maybe the strife was starting to happen between Abraham and his nephew Lot, and there was strife between the herdsmen. You know, all of this in too close of an area here. I like Abram's approach here. We didn't read verse 7, but it describes the fact that there was this strife. And the latter part of that says, and the Canaanites and the Parazites also dwelled in the land. And verse 8, so Abram said to Lot, you know what, please, let's not let there be strife between us. You know, between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, because we're the same family. We're brethren. Isn't the whole land, verse 9, before you?

So please separate from me. If you take the left, then I'll go to the right. And if you take the right, then I'll go to the left. Verse 10, Lot lifted up his eyes and he saw the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere. And this is before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. It wasn't good later, but it was good at that time. It was beautiful. It was like the garden of the Lord, he says, like the land of Egypt. I'm guessing in the Nile area as you go towards Zor. And verse 11, then Lot chose for himself that plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east, and they separated from each other. And Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and he pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.

So we know that God blessed these two. Abram had said, this is, I'm going to build an altar. This is my God. I'm going to worship him. And he was very wealthy, very blessed. Let's go to chapter 14, and we'll pick it up here in verse number 12. Because what we're going to see later is there's a battle between various kings in the area and various armies. And Abram's nephew, Lot, is taken captive along with some other people and along with some of their wealth and their spoils, in a sense. And Abram sets out to rescue him with a pretty small army, actually. But they went and they rescued with a small army. They went out and rescued not only Lot, but some of these other individuals that were taken captive. And Abram brings back a huge amount of booty from the campaign, as we see in verse 16. And it was an occasion that there was great rejoicing. So let's pick up the story in verse number 17. It says, and the king of Sodom went out to meet him, talking about Abram, because now the battle's over. Everything's peaceful again.

Went out to meet Abram at the valley of Shabbat, that is the king's valley after his return from the defeat of Kedaloramor and the kings who were with him. And then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. And who was this Melchizedek? Well, he was a priest. He was a priest of God Most High. And he, referring to Melchizedek, blessed him, referring to Abram, and he said, Bless be Abram of God Most High. So Melchizedek was a priest of God Most High, and Abram was blessed as well, because he was of God Most High. And then talking about God Most High, in verse 19, this God Most High is possessor of heaven and earth. Verse 20, and bless be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And notice, and he, Abram, gave him, Melchizedek, a priest of God, a tie of the ball. A tie of the ball. Now, I'll just refer to Hebrews chapter 7, verse 4. We're not done here, so you can turn there if you want to keep your finger here. But I'm just going to refer to it that says that the ties were given on the booty. They were given on the spoils on the agricultural and the non-agricultural products. So we're talking about everything. Okay? It says in Hebrews chapter 7, verse 4, now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.

So was Abram fulfilling some ancient law of tithing to Melchizedek, the representative of the priest of God? Was this merely a one-time event? Was this the only time he had ever tied? Did he tie it in the future? Those are good questions. I think there's several factors right here in this account that we can look at that maybe start to address some of these questions.

We're told in verse 18 that Melchizedek was the priest of God. He was the priest of the Most High God. Verse 19 also tells us that Abram was of the Most High God, and we're told that the Most High God is possessor of heaven and earth in verse 19. More than I think in this context, I think this was Abram giving a direct acknowledgment of God's sovereignty over everything.

Sovereignty and lordship over the earth. This God is possessor of heaven and earth, and I think this is his way of honoring this being that has given him everything he's got.

We read later in just quote Haggai chapter 2 verse 8, where God reveals that the silver is mine, the gold is mine, other places the earth is mine. Now Abram had quite a...remember he had a lot of the silver, he had a lot of the gold. So he's acknowledging here by giving back God a tenth of what is entirely his anyway was acknowledging his ownership of the earth, his acknowledgement of the ownership of every kind of wealth. Now the account indicates that the spoils belong to Abraham or Abram here by right of conquest. You know, it's traditionally what happens if you overtake or you win a military campaign. Everything's yours by right of conquest. But notice that Abram gives the tithes to Melchizedek before he even discusses the further distribution with the king of Sodom. Let's notice that in verse number 20 here. It says, and bless be God Most High, he was delivered your enemies into your hands and he gave him a tithe of all. Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, give me the persons and take the goods for yourself. So Abram's already given the tithes to Melchizedek. And now this king says, you know what, Abram, you can have what's left.

You know, you rescued us, you helped us, you saved our families, our children, and our wealth. I mean, we're just happy with our lives. We're free again and you can take the spoils.

Verse 23, Abram says, I'm not going to do that. Let's pick it up in verse 22. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I've raised my hand to the Lord God Most High, the possessor of heaven and earth. And I'm not going to take anything from a thread to a sandal strap and I will not take anything that's yours, lest you should say I have made Abram rich, except only what the young men have eaten and the portion of the men who went with me. So I just want enough food to be able to feed my men.

That's and that you have everything back. So we didn't take anything else that belonged to them originally. And that was how Abram handled that. Brother, we read about in Romans chapter 4 that Abram or Abraham was a father of the faithful. I think we're talking about God's people all through history up until the end of the age. That he was an example for you and I to look at, in a sense.

He's called the father of the faithful. His life was very exemplary. His faith was a prototype, I think, of all believers of God throughout time. Let's go over to Isaiah chapter 51 verse 1.

Isaiah chapter 51 and verse 1. God recorded Abram's act of tithing, I think, for a reason, to provide us with an example of the life of a righteous man. Isaiah chapter 51 and verse number 1. Isaiah chapter 51 and verse number 1. Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. The further he tells us this in verse 2. And look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you for I called him alone and I blessed him and I increased him.

You know, we remember some of the promises in the covenant that God entered into with Abraham and his descendants. God was going to bless him because of his obedience, because of his faith.

And he's an example of God's people, I believe, for all time. You know, I'll just refer to Galatians chapter 3 verse 29. You can write that down in your notes. But it says, if you're Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed. And you are heirs according to the promise, the very promise that he made to Abraham. So we see there's a legacy of Abraham in an example that he's given to us. And it's there for a reason, I think, in the scripture. Let's look at another example in Genesis chapter 28. So let's go back. We were in Genesis, I think, 13 and 14. When we talked about Abram, let's go now and look at his grandson, Jacob. Genesis chapter 28 in verse number 20.

God provides us with another mention here of the practice of tithing. This is prior to the time of Moses. Let's take a look. Genesis chapter 28 verse 20. It says, then Jacob made a vow and he said, if God is going to be with me, and if he's going to keep me in this way that I'm going, and he's going to give me bread and clothing to put on so that I can come back to my father's house in peace, you know, if this God can do all those things, then this God's going to be my God.

He says, does something similar to what his grandfather did. And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give to me, God, then I'm going to give a tenth back to you. That's how I'm going to honor you. I'm going to acknowledge that you're the giver of what you've given to me, and I'm going to give 10% back to you.

Again, tithing here in these times was an act or expression of worship. It says, it's plainly connected with the setting of an altar or a pillar, which was to be God's house, as it says in verse 22. It's an acknowledgement of God's sovereignty over everything, as he says, of all, I think that includes everything, the blessings in verse 22, all that you give to me, I'll surely give something back to you when he talks about a tenth. I'm going to follow my grandfather's example, because I could see how he was blessed.

Tithing, again, is not mentioned or discussed in the Pentateuch, also known as the first five books of the Bible, until the time of Moses, and with the establishment of the Levitical priesthood in God's nation of Israel. Let's go over to Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 5. We're going to talk about Levitical tithing here just for a moment. The tithes to the Levites, so the Levitical priesthood, and we may wonder why are we going to the New Testament to talk about what's something that was instituted in the Old Testament? Well, there's some information here. Hopefully it'll make sense when we get there. Matthew, or excuse me, Matthew. Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 5. Hebrews chapter 7 and verse number 5.

Talks about, indeed, those who are the sons of Levi who received the priesthood have a commandment to receive tithes. You know, I think the old King James says they have a commandment to take tithes, so it depends on which translation you have, but they have a commandment to either receive or take tithes of the people according to the law. And so we know here that that was part of God's law.

The Levites took the tithe, or they received it. But was it theirs? Was the tithe theirs?

Not according to God, not according to His word. Let's see who it belonged to. Let's go back to Leviticus chapter 27. Leviticus chapter 27.

We'll pick it up in verse number 30 of Leviticus chapter 27. The Levites took the tithe, but was it their tithe? Not according to the word here. Let's take a look. What Moses was inspired to write here. He says, in all the tithes of the land, whether it be the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's, and it is holy to the Lord. From there's a lot here, we may overlook it here in verse 30. There's two very important points.

The tithe, number one, the tithe belonged to God.

It was His. It is the Lord's. It's not yours. It's not mine. It's His. It's not the Levites.

It's His. And notice it goes on to say the second point, it is holy to the Lord. Like the Sabbath day is holy, it's sanctified, set apart for special use. This day is a special day.

God set the tithe also. He sanctified it. It's holy to Him. The tithe belongs to Him.

You know, at that time, God designated the tithe for use by the Levites and the priests for the function of the temple and the tabernacle. Let's go over to Numbers 18, verse 21.

There's more information here that God shares with us here. Numbers 18, verse 21.

And God said, And behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance and for their service, which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. God says, you know what? The other tribes, there were 12 tribes, the other 11 tribes are going to get land. You know, they're going to have an inheritance. They're going to have places to raise their families and this and that. But the Levites are going to serve me. And so, the tithe is going to be going to the Levites. That's their inheritance. They don't get any land.

They get this 10% every year. That's their inheritance. And they will use that, of course, not only for their personal living because they have to eat and raise families like the rest, but also for the service. It was to be used for the service, as it says here, the service of the tabernacle. So it says, as we read it again, And behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance for their service, which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. So that's what the tithe represented was their inheritance. Therefore, there's the work that they were doing. And God is defining as part of the Mosaic law, how His holy tithe is going to be used. He decides. It's His! He decides, though, how it's going to be used. And so, He gave it to the Levitical priesthood. So let's go on. What happened after Moses now? Let's go advance here to Nehemiah chapter 10 and verse 37. Nehemiah chapter 10 and verse 37.

You know, according to God's Word, the history of His people, the children of Israel back in those times, from the time of the death of Moses and onward, is a chronicle of a lot of different ups and downs and ebbs and flows. You know, they begin to get away from God. They begin to get corrupted. They begin to get into false worship. Then God would try to restore them. He'd send a judge. He'd send a deliverer. There'd be restoration after a while. They would sometimes have religious zeal and fervor. And then later on, it would slip back again. So there's this ebb and flow that's going on. You remember some of the history there, time and again in the scriptures. God warns them, look, if this happens, if you do this, then this is going to happen. There's the blessings and the cursings that He talked about. And eventually, they drifted away. And after several warnings, God said, okay, enough is enough. There's going to be consequences. Do you remember the history that the Assyrians came down and they took the northern ten tribes of Israel out? They brought in some non-Israelites. Some became to be known as Samaritans. Often, many of them still live there to this day, certainly at the time of Christ. And then even the southern tribe, the house of Judah, was eventually taken away captive. The Babylon, they eventually came back. Not all of them, though. Very small number actually came back. About 50,000 or so came back. After that particular captivity, they came back into the area of Palestine and Jerusalem after 70 years in Babylon.

When they came back, this small number of 50,000, which is a small number compared to the millions that there had been, God begins to restore His people. He begins to restore His nation.

And through the leaders that, you know, Zerubbabel and Nehemiah and, you know, Zerubbabel or Ezra, rather, through those leaders, the temple services begin to resume. And things begin to get restored. This tide system is revived. Nehemiah as governor re-establishes the Levitical priesthood and the offerings there. Let's take a look here as we read here in verse 37 of Nehemiah chapter 10. It was decided at that time to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and the oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God. And we'll talk about storerooms in a minute when we get into Malachi. Bring them into the storerooms for the house of our God and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all of our farming communities. And the priest and the descendant of Aaron shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of their tithes to the house of our God and to the rooms of the storehouse. So God gave the Levites the 10% and then they would tithe on that, if you will, you know, so that there be some for the Aaronic priesthood and for the storehouse of God. And you know, as long as everyone diligently obeyed God and performed their part of the bargain, things flourished! There were blessings! It doesn't make any sense humanly, but God blesses it! God blesses it! So at this time, it was a time of excitement, restoration, a real spiritual renaissance, in a sense, that was going on at that time. Okay, let's go to the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi chapter 3, verse 8.

It's an important scripture here because yet again, after this restoration, there was eventually a falling back again. God's people began to lose sight of God's love for them and His, you know, and their His love for them and their love for Him, and things began to deteriorate again.

So we're going to pick it up here in Malachi chapter 3, verse 8. God appeals to these people in verse number 7. He appeals them to look, give me your whole heart, give me your respect, give me your honor, give me your obedience, and your worship as you should. Is this covenant agreement that we had that you said you would? I'd be your God, you'd be my people. People ask, well, okay, God, you think we've kind of turned aside out of the way? What way do we need to return back to you?

And this is amazing to me. God answered, they addressed the question in verse 7. How does God reply in verse number 8? He says, will a man rob God? And yet you have robbed me. But you say, in what way have we robbed you? And God answers in tithes and offerings.

That's interesting to me. God addresses that as the first thing when He starts to address how to return back to me. You know, maybe it's just coincidence, maybe it's just that was the big problem. I don't know. But that's the thing that God says when they ask the question, how can we turn back to you? He talks about a lot of other things later on. But this is the first thing that He addresses. He says, you have robbed me in tithes and in offerings. Why didn't God say, will a man rob the Levites? Because it wasn't their tithe. It was God's tithe. The tithe was bigger than the Levites. It was bigger than the administration of the Levitical priesthood. It was always God's. He was just allowing the Levites to use it. It belongs to Him, and He can use it any way He chooses.

And He says, by not paying the tithe to the Levitical priesthood, the people were robbing, not them, but Him, because it was always His. And then He goes on to verse 9.

God calls his fate a spade. He said, because of this, He said, you're cursed.

You're cursed with a curse. For you have robbed me, He says. Even this whole nation, apparently was quite prevalent. You know, I don't think He would have utilized those terms. He said, you've robbed me, even this whole nation.

I think God says something interesting here in verse 10. Basically, God promises that if they'll do their part, He's going to do His. Look what He says here. He says in verse 10, bring all of the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and put me to the test.

Try me. You know, this is God speaking here. Try me. Put me to the test. If I will not open for you, if you give this tithe, and you don't rob me, these tithes and offerings, put me to the test. If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that you will not have room enough to receive it. Brethren, can you see when I, why I talk with some of these ministers? I try to be careful about it overseas. Then I said, you know what? Even if you make a dollar a month, a ten cents needs to go to God and put Him to the test. You know, don't look to me. Don't don't look to your own opinion. Either He's God or He's not. Either He makes this promise or He doesn't. And I know a lot of us, you know, I know I put them to the test with some of these scriptures. I know it because their first reaction is, they can't do it.

They don't have enough themselves.

I know some of us have asked that question when we had to decide whether we were going to be obedient to that law. I don't know if this makes sense to me.

How can 90% be more than 100%?

Well, if God gives you 200%, you know, then it's going to be more than the original 100% even after you tithe if you tithe in the 200%.

These are His words, and He doesn't lie. Now, it may take a while. It's going to test us, you know, going to be hanging in there when the times are tough.

God tells His people that they were being cursed because they were robbing Him, and they were failing to bring what was His, what was holy, into His house, and to use it the way that He said it's going to be used. He makes that choice. He is God. And yet, He also challenges it to put Him to the test. That if they repent, that they fulfill their obligation to God, in the instruction through His Word, that God would once again pour out a blessing that they wouldn't have room enough to receive it. And I know some of you have received some of those blessings. How does God do it? Verse 11, He says, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to rebuke the devourer for your sakes. And I don't know exactly what that means. I don't know who the devourer is. Is it insects that chew up a crop? I don't know exactly what it is. Is it our enemy in some way? I don't know. It only speculates. I will rebuke the devourer for your sake so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field.

You're going to get a good crop. And notice verse 12, and the people that see you, all the nations are going to call you blessed because you will be a delightful land.

That is amazing, isn't it? God says, I'm going to bless this whole nation. People are going to see what you're doing. They're going to wonder what's going on. That this is a delightful land. Look, they're blessed. There's blessings everywhere. It will be seen. It will be light.

So God promised to rebuke the devourer, whoever that is. But the people, as many still do today, they look to their own situation and their own thoughts and they say it's vain to serve God.

It's vain to serve God. There's no real prophet in it. Notice verse 14.

You have said, God said, it's useless to serve me. What prophet is it that we have kept his ordinance and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts? Well, fortunately, there were a few in Jerusalem who heeded God's warning through Malachi and they responded. Verse number 16. There were some that listened. It says, then those who feared the Lord, they got together, they spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them.

You know, I think that's kind of neat. They may have thought that they were just getting together on their own. But God heard what was going on. They feared God, they got together, and the Lord listened and heard them. And it's so a book of remembrance was written before him for those who feared the Lord and those who meditated on his name. And God says, they're going to be mine.

They're going to be mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them my jewels, and I'm going to spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. And then you're going to be able to discern again between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. You know, he's probably talking about many different ways that they weren't serving him, but certainly one of them was in tithes and offerings, and being obedient to God, and honoring him in that way. I hope we're getting, I hope I'm getting the fact that tithing honors God. It honors him. It's an act of worship. It's an act of acknowledging his sovereignty over everything that he's given to us. It's an act of understanding that we're going to give something back to him because we love him because he's done all this for us. And then God says, I'm going to take that 10% and I'm going to try to spread that word to other people that I want to be in my family and my kingdom. And so, in a way, it's brethren. It's also a way of our showing love to other people.

We've got an incredible God here who's trying to teach us how to give, to acknowledge him as the sovereign giver of everything, over everything, dominion over all. You know, he says, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. Brother, it's an act of love. So, one of his ways of teaching us to love him, saying thank you. And now this, I'm giving back to you according to what you've given to me. I'm giving back to you 10%. And I know you're going to use that to benefit other people.

Fill your tithe according to the book of Malachi. God inspired Malachi to write that it's robbery. It's an affront to me. It was possibly another symptom of the national disrespect for their creator. You know, as God stated here in Malachi chapter 1 verse 6, a son honors his father and a servant his master. Well, then if I'm a father, where's my honor?

Somehow God's people have forgotten that all belongs to him.

And he gives us, of everything he gives us, he says, I want you to give 10% back because it's not yours, it's mine.

And I'm going to use it. I'm going to use it in a way that I see fit.

God's people have forgotten that God owns the earth. They've forgotten what it says in Exodus chapter 9 and verse 29 that the earth is his.

He reminded his people to repent of not tithing, and then he would give, if they give the 10th to him, he would pour out a blessing so that they would not have room to receive it.

The same is true today.

Next time we're going to cover a little more information of what Christ taught, what the apostle Paul taught, we'll discuss the festival tithe, the second tithe, and we'll examine the scriptures a little more carefully so that we too may faithfully worship love and honor our God in the way that he commanded so that we can also receive the riches of his blessings.