TITHES RESTORED AS A LOVE GIFT FOR OUR
LORD.
Nehemiah 10
prescribed for those priests, who minister in the house of the Lord, for he
contended that the labourer was worthy of his hire.’ ‘Bring the first-fruits 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 to bring
the tithes of our land to the Levites. They explain that ‘The Levites should
receive the tithes in all the farming communities, The Levites should bring one
tenth of their tithes to the house of our God.
Their allocation was God’s social service provision for the poor and
widows. Old covenant concepts apply to
the saints of our day
Later, plans
had gone astray for ’the portions for the Levites had not been given them, for
each of the Levites and singers who did the work had gone back to his
field. Nehemiah was incensed: ‘I
contended with the rulers, and said, ‘Why is the house of God forsaken?’ He acted promptly, ‘I gathered them together
and set them in their place.’ This resulted in ‘All
The last book
in the Old Testament probes man’s fallen nature, (Malachi 3:8) ’Will a man rob God?’ An angry
Godhead responded, ‘Yet you have robbed me!’ Then the weak self-justification,’
in what way have we robbed you, ‘Frankly, God replied, ‘In tithes and
offerings.’ How many believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, including those in
authority, are guilty of extortion of the eternal God? A solemn observation! The Lord added offerings
to tithes. Do we really believe the
literal Scripture in giving God our tenth and a love offering? Are we
financially faithful or untrustworthy?
God’s heart
broke when He cried, ‘You are cursed with a curse. For you have robbed me, even this whole
nation.’ In the opening chapters of the
Bible when man rebelled against the Lord, God pronounced a curse, “For in the
day you eat thereof, you shall surely die.’ At the end of the Old Testament, a
grief-stricken God cursed
Malachi also
showed the unmistakable grace of God, when the Lord invited His people to
’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse’ for the obvious purpose, ’that there
may be meat in My house, and‘(a further purpose) ‘prove Me now in this,’ says
the Lord, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for
you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it’ (Malachi 3:10).
Oh, the grace of God that the Lord’s very grievance was reversed in the cry
‘Bring all the tithes into the store house.’ God longed for His children even
though rebellious to prove His grace and His mercy. Do you prove Him in your home and family
church?
The open
windows of heaven included spiritual as well as material blessings, for He
added, ’ I will rebuke the devourer (that is, satan) for your sakes, so he shall not destroy the fruit of the ground,
nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of
Hosts.’ And a national recognition was promised, all nations shall call you
blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of Hosts.’
Our Lord warned
of painstakingly keeping the tithe, even as this Pharisee, whose heart was not
right with his God. In Luke 18, He boasted that ’I am not like other men,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector; I fast twice a
week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’
He could not cry, God be merciful to, me a sinner. His tithing was not acceptable to the living
Lord. How is your’s?
The Spirit of
God referred to tithing in Hebrews 7, so that New covenant saints cannot
challenge this. ’Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated King
of righteousness, and then also King of Salem, meaning King of peace.’ (v2) Scripture teaches we are children of
Abraham, clearly showing the King, ’without father without mother, having
neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God,
remains a priest continually.’ God’s Son received the tithe.
The writer
continued, ‘Consider how great this Man, to whom the patriarch Abraham gave a
tenth of the spoils.’ If the father of the faithful contributed his tenth, how
much more should we? (v4) The argument
follows, ‘The sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to
receive tithes from the people,
According to
the law, that is, from their brethren though they have not come from the loins
of Abraham.’ (v5)
‘He, whose
genealogy is not derived from them, received tithes from Abraham and blessed
Him who had the promises.’ This eternal charter was greater than a heritage
right. How much more does the pastor,
bible teacher or creative ministry director have the right to receive the
tithes of God’s people, to prosper the Lord’s ministry. Grievously, many churches throughout the
world neglect the Lord’s provision for His people. A former prayer partner visits great
Christian communities in Europe and
The conquering
Lord receives the tithe, not man. (v8), which is infinitely more acceptable,
for the risen Lord is the worthy recipient. ‘Here mortal man receives tithes,
but there He receives them, of whom it is written, that He lives.’ Tithing embraces the resurrection: this truth
is sadly overlooked.
Oswald J Smith
wrote the hymn,
I serve a risen
Saviour, He’s in the world today. I know
He is living, whatever man may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of
cheer, and just whene’er I need Him, He’s always near. Then the resounding
chorus, ‘He lives! He lives!, Christ Jesus lives today.’ If we withhold the
tithe from the glorified Lord, our giving paralysed, we deprive Him- and
penalise and spiritually bankrupt ourselves.
In Gwenda’s
training as a five year-old, her Mother gave one shilling (ten cents) weekly:
One penny for her Lord, one for clothing, one for spending, one for
banking. As a little child, Gwenda
hoped to evangelise the world.
As a medical
orderly in WW11, we each received five shillings daily, which we tithed,
amounting to thirty shillings monthly as our Lord‘s portion. .
As a medical student
on six Pound weekly for 6 years, while caring for a growing family and
purchasing our home, we taught our children to tithe.
In Missionary
work in Java My government allowance was sufficient for only a few days
monthly. Our Lord honoured tithing with providential family supplies, medicines
for a growing hospital, bibles for our students, and literature.
I operated a
Professional Trust fund in family medicine after our six children graduated
from university. The Lord richly blessed our tithing and offering.
My Veteran
affairs allowance for 22 years has permitted continuation of the biblical
process. Truly, My God shall supply all
your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus has been gloriously
fulfilled in our family life.
My wife and I
advocate tithing and offering for our glorious Creator, Sustainer and risen
Lord.