8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings.
9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me.
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 3:8-12
This is a subject that makes me squirm - and rightly so.
The Bible makes it clear that God will provide all our needs. We are not to worry about tomorrow, what we shall eat or what we shall wear. We are instead to seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto us. In other words, if we honor God and stay busy about His business, He will surely provide for our physical and material needs as well.
I have no excuse for why I often pass on the invitation to give an offering. Either I am not present (at Sunday School next door), or I fail to get my money out in time to put in the offering bag.
Last Sunday's message from Pastor Paul was very direct on this subject. We are to give as cheerful givers from what little or much we have. Ref: the widow's mite.
So starting from this month, CA and I have set up a direct debit with the church so that $x goes straight to the church every fortnight on payday. And as our ability grows, we hope our giving will likewise do.
Help Thou mine unbelief Lord. Help me to truly, wholly and completely trust You for all things, the seen and unseen, the material and spiritual, things I need and things I desire. Keep covetousness and discontent from me, and let me give thanks for all things each day. Amen.
2 comments:
God gave His definition as a tenth of crops and animals which came from God's hand, not man's income. God NEVER commanded anyone to tithe on anything that man made or earned. Leviticus 27:30-33.
The ordinances (instructions, or laws) for The Lord's Tithe are in Numbers 18. God gave strict orders to take His tithe to the Levites. God NEVER changed that command. Anyone who takes God's tithe to anyone other than the Levites is being disobedient to God's Word.
There are others tithes in the Bible such as the Festival Tithe and the Tithe for the Poor. It is The Lord's Tithe that churches pattern their teaching after.
Church leaders ignore God's definition of His tithe, and ignore God's ordinances for His tithe. They change the words to fit their pocketbook. This is nothing but manipulation of God's Word. They are false teachers.
The Bible CLEARLY SHOWS that the tithe ENDED at the cross in the Book of Hebrews. In the first nine verses of Hebrews 7 the words tenth or tithes appears SEVEN TIMES. The ONLY place in the Bible, after Calvary, that tithing appears is in Hebrews 7.
In Hebrews 7:5 we are told that Levi (the Levites) took the tithes under the law. In Hebrews 7:12 we are told that when the priesthood changes, the law will change. Hebrews 7:18 is telling us that Numbers 18 was disannulled. Numbers 18 established the Levitical priesthood, and part of that establishing included tithing. When the Levitical priesthood ended (at Calvary, or at least in the year 70AD when the temple was destroyed), all laws that established that priesthood were canceled. If Numbers 18 wasn't canceled, we would still be under the Levitical priesthood.
Those who argue they didn't have money or income then really need to study the scriptures. They had money and wages, even in Genesis. The farmers had income from barter exchanges, and they had markets to buy and sell as proven in Deuteronomy 14:24-26.
Those who argue Malachi 3:8, robbing God, need to start with verse 7. God is talking about His ordinances in Numbers 18 which we learned were disannulled according to Hebrews 7:18. Also, if you start with Malachi 1, you will see that God is speaking to the priests, not the people. The priests robbed God of the tithe (Nehemiah 13) and the priests robbed God of the offerings (Malachi 1).
The New Testament teaches generous, sacrificial giving, from the heart, according to our means. For some, $1 might be a sacrifice while for others, even giving 50% of their income might not induce a sacrifice.
There is no percentage for giving in the Christian Church.
Gary,
Thanks for that very informative comment. You sure took a lot of trouble and I appreciate it. I am going to have a look at the references you mentioned.
Blessings on you and yours,
Serena
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