Let's begin this study in prayer...
Psalm 86:1-7Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am devoted to You. You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long. Bring joy to Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to You. Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to You, for You will answer me.
Since there is much confusion, misunderstanding and misuse with
respect to this subject of tithing, let us first begin with a study
of the Old Testament laws with respect to the following three
ordinances relative to material giving within the religious community:
1. Tithing
2. Tax
3. Offering
And so let us begin with,
I. THE TITHE
A. DEFINITION
The definition of the tithe as stated in the Zondervan Pictorial
Encyclopedia of the Bible is as follows:
"The tenth of produce or property for the support of the
priesthood or for other religious objectives."
QUESTION: How did the tithe come about?
Well, let us search the scriptures and find out.
B. ORIGINS
As it turns out the concept of the tithe first came about when,
1. ABRAM PAID HOMAGE TO MELCHIZEDEK
To see this, let us read about what had happened.
a. LOT TAKEN CAPTIVE
Genesis 14:8-12
b. ABRAM GOES TO RESCUE LOT
Genesis 14:13-16
c. ABRAM PAYS HOMAGE TO MELCHIZEDEK
Genesis 14:17-20
We also find that Jacob vowed to give God a tenth of all he had
if God would provide him a safe passage to Paddan Aram as he
fled from his brother Esau's wrath,
2. JACOB PLEDGES A TENTH OF HIS POSSESSIONS
To see this, let us read from,
Genesis 28:20-22
And finally we find that the tithe was imposed upon Israel
through the,
3. MOSAIC LAW
We find this by reading,
Leviticus 27:30-34
QUESTION: What was the purpose of the tithe? Clearly God
did not need man to give Him what He created and owns. To
see this, let us read,
Psalm 50:9-12
So what was the purpose? Why did God command the Israelites
to tithe?
C. THE PURPOSE
First and foremost we find that the New Testament teaches us
that the Law was not an end to itself, it was to
1. TEACH US OF WHAT WAS TO COME
To see this, let us read from,
Hebrews 10:1(a)
We also find this lesson given to us,
Colossians 2:16-17
Notice vs 17
Since we, Lord willing, will explore this tremendous blessing
in part B of this study, let us move on to the second purpose
for the Old Testament tithe. Namely,
2. PROVIDE SUPPORT TO THE LEVITES AND DISADVANTAGED
This is clearly given to us by reading,
Deuteronomy 14:28-29
As it turns out, what we also find is that in addition to the tithe,
support to the Levites and the Priesthood was also to come from,
II. CERTAIN OFFERINGS
As one reads the Old Testament sacrificial system God had also
instructed the people that, except for the sin offering and whole
burnt offering, portions of their offerings to God was also to be
used for support to the Levite. To see this, let us read from,
Deuteronomy 18:1-5
As we found that the some of the sacrificial offerings supplemented
the tithe for the support of the Levites; we also find that there
were various laws concerning additional support that was required to
help sustain the poor of the land. In fact, let us go and read some
of these,
III. MISC. LAWS/CUSTOMS TO HELP THE POOR
One of the laws to help the poor was the law or ordinance relative to,
A. GLEANING
To see this, let us read from,
Leviticus 19:9-10
There was also the law concerning,
B. SABBATICAL RESTS FOR THE LAND
For this law, let us read from,
Exodus 23:10-11
Finally, there were also laws concerning the issue of,
C. LOANS
Relative to loans there were two basic principles to be followed.
The first concerned itself with the,
1. ATTITUDE OF THE GIVER
In order to best understand this law we must understand
that under the Mosaic Law all debts were canceled on the
7th year. Also on the 50th year, the year of Jubilee,
everything {i.e. lands, slaves, etc.) was reset to the
manner in which it began. In other words all was restored
to its former state. Now with this as a background, let us
now read about the attitude that one was to have with
respect to lending to the poor.
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
In addition to a generous heart, the loan was to be given
without interest. Hence, we find the law concerning,
2. INTEREST
For this, let us read from,
Exodus 22:25-27
Finally, in addition to the tithe, offerings and various laws
concerning gleaning, Sabbath rests for the land, etc., the
nation of Israel also had imposed upon them what was called,
IV. TAXES
As it turns out there were two types of taxes that were imposed upon
the nation.
A. GOVERNMENT TAXES
Actually, under government taxes, there were two sources from
which these taxes could come from. The first was the,
1. INTERNAL TAX
This tax was imposed to supply the provisions for the king
and his household. To see this, let us read from,
1 Kings 4:7-8...etc.
The second source of government tax could also come from,
2. FOREIGN SOURCES
An example of this tax is when Israel was taxed by Egypt's
Pharaoh Neco just before their Babylonian captivity.
2 Kings 23:31-35
However, for this study, the tax of interest was called the,
B. TEMPLE TAX
As it turns out this tax was first instituted during Israel's
exodus from Egypt. As can be seen the purpose of this tax was
for the service of the tent of meeting. In order to see this,
let us read,
Exodus 30:11-16
We find that this tax, as the tithe, continued throughout the
history of Israel. To see this, let us first read about this tax
during the days of,
1. SOLOMON'S TEMPLE
Here we read how King Joash reinstates the temple tax for
the repair and maintenance of the temple.
2 Chronicles 24:8-12
and,
2. REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE UPON RETURN FROM BABYLON
For this period of time in Israel's history, let us read
from,
Nehemiah 10:32
V. SUMMARY
As one reflects upon all the above laws and ordinances one can not
help but be overwhelmed; and just think we only covered laws relative
to providing support to the temple, the Levites, the poor and
possibly a foreign government. No wonder Peter responded the way he
did when he was confronted with the question about the necessity of
circumcision. In fact let us go and read his response,
Acts 15:5-11
QUESTION: What is the point here? What is the message?
Well, let us prayerfully consider the following.
VI. THE MESSAGE TO US ... THE CHRISTIAN
First we find that other than the taxes imposed by secular
governments, all the Mosaic Laws and ordinances were:
A. SHADOWS OF WHAT WAS TO COME
In fact at the beginning of this study we saw this when we read,
Colossians 2:16-17
With this in mind, let us now read from,
Hebrews 8:1-6
QUESTION: What are these better promises? What is this new
covenant?
Well, to find out let us continue our reading from,
Hebrews 8:10-13
But Lord Jesus I still do not understand. What is this covenant?
What is this "new" way? Well, what we find is that this "new"
way is that of love. For what Jesus teaches us is that,
B. LOVE FULFILLS THE LAW
To see this, let us remember how our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ responded to an expert in the Mosaic Law when asked which
one was the greatest commandment. In fact, let us go and read
about it from,
Matthew 22:34-40
Now with all this in mind, let us close by reading the
following exhortation.
1 Corinthians 13:1-8(a)
Let's end this study in prayer...
2 Corinthians 8:8-15I [Paul] am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."
Read the book by John Sweet, Jr.
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