“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me! But you say, In what way have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings…Bring all the tithes into the store house, that there may be food in my house…” Malachi 3:8-10
I love learning very much and one of my favourite places to do so is the Discovery World Channel. It opens to you a world of knowledge that is beyond your physical abilities. However, I take exception to their channel promo that says in order to discover new things, ignorance is bliss. That is such grave error. Ignorance is certainly not bliss when you have suffered from its consequences as I and many others have. My life goal is to rid the saints of every form of ignorance that God’s grace enables me to because much of the suffering that we experience comes from being ignorant of our rights in Christ. Such is what applies to the doctrine of tithes and offerings.
Growing up as a new believer, the above scripture was used to manipulate and inflict spiritual terror on us to pay our tithes. It was so misused that the issue of tithes has been one of the subjects of contention in the church when it ought not to be if proper teaching was given. Most people saw tithes as a weapon of fear rather than a gift of love because of the error and sometimes deception that was deployed to get people to comply. I have seen all sorts of gimmicks in its misuse but hopefully this message will erase all those errors, answer your questions and give you a firm foundation of what tithes and offerings are and the important role they play in giving you access to the material and spiritual blessings in Christ.
Just the same way that knowledge of your parental background helps you to know who you are and understand certain issues of your life, so it is with having knowledge of your spiritual lineage. If you are a born –again person,(one who has accepted the Lordship of Christ in spirit and in deed as demanded in Rom 10:10) you are born unto a covenant inheritance that God made with Abraham. This implies that you have access to the promises, blessings and commands in that covenant. It is not voluntary but obligatory.
“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise” Galatians 3:29 NKJV.
The promise has a physical, spiritual, and material implication and though it cannot be covered in this article, a bit of it will be used to give you the right perspective of the topic. Abraham plays an important role in our relationship with God because of our connection through Christ. He is the first born of the faith in the new Israel (spiritual) that God created. Christianity came out of a covenant that God made with Abraham to have a people that will serve him in faith.
“And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou has obeyed my voice.” Gen 22:18 KJV
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say “And to seeds” as of many; but as of one,” and to your seed, who is Christ.
And this I say, that the law which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.
For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise Galatians 3:16 -18 NKJV
Suggested reading for a broader picture – Genesis 12:1-3, 17:1-7, 22:1-18;
Galatians 3, Romans 4. Hebrew 6:13 -20
When you are an heir under any form of inheritance, you have both benefits and obligation in order to gain access to your inheritance. Such applies under the spiritual inheritance we have in the Abrahamic covenant. Because our lineage is a spiritual one and is based on faith. It implies that the same way Abraham walked in obedience to God in faith and received the fullness of the blessings that God gave him under the covenant, so also shall we if we follow the path of obedience in faith. It is through these acts of faith that we experience the overflowing blessings of God in the covenant. Tithing and offerings are such acts of faith.
One of the many errors concerning tithing is that it is a law applicable to Jews under the Mosaic Law. This is not true. The practice of tithing started four hundred and thirty years before the introduction of the Mosaic Law. Abraham went to battle against the king of Elam and four of his partners in order to rescue his nephew Lot who lived in Sodom and was taken captive. God gave him victory and on his return, he met with Melchizedek, a priest of God who blessed him saying
“Blessed be Abraham of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be God most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand. Genesis 14: 18 -20 NKJV.
Abraham gave him a tithe of the goods recovered from the battle. This was the first incident of tithing. Jacob also continued this practice.
“And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house and of all that you give I will surely give a tenth to you” Genesis 28: 22 NKJV.
This is further explained in Hebrew 7:1 -2 NKJV
“For this Melchizedek, king of Salam, priest of the Most High God who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all…”
When Jesus came, he further affirmed the place of tithing in the New Testament life. While rebuking the Pharisees of being religious about tithes and not giving place to important issues such as justice, mercy and faith,
“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin and neglected the weightier matters of the law: Justice and mercy and faith. This you ought to have done without leaving others undone”. Mathew 23: 23 NKJV.
God considered tithes and offerings an important part of his relationship with us or else He would not have labeled its withholding robbery. The reasons for this will be explained in this message as well as the underlining mindset about tithing.
The Covenant Blessing is not a buffet where we choose what to take or discard. It is a whole package of blessings and obligations. If Abraham didn’t consider it a burden to bless God with a tithe of his possessions we should not either, especially with a thorough understanding of the issue. We are the children of Abraham in faith and must walk in the steps of faith he took.
“And the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised” Romans 4:12 NKJV.
Before creation experienced the introduction of sin that gave way to a spiritual separation of man (represented by Adam) from God and its experiences (Read Gen 3), the material resources of the earth was under the dominion of Adam (man). This was God’s plan and it was good.
“Then God blessed them and God said to them “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it…” Genesis. 1:28.
However, when Adam sinned, he lost dominion of the earth to satan and the effects of this was in labour and struggle to produce. (Genesis 3:17 -19). The Good news is that the coming of Christ restored us to that place of dominion when we accept His Lordship over our lives. Adam sinned because he and Eve were by their actions undermining the sovereignty of God over their lives. Sovereignty is very important in recognizing the Lordship of God over all we have. “The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness. The world and those who dwell therein” Psalm 24:1
Thus the payment of our tithes stands as an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty of the earth and an act of faith in His provision for us. It is also an act that separates us from the effect of the curse placed upon Adam and his descendants. Tithing is one of the fundamental keys to unlocking the manifold treasures of God into our lives and it goes beyond financial rewards. Consider the implication of what God said in relation to the benefits of tithing
“...I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you! Malachi 3:10. Living Bible
I want to emphasis an aspect called “The Blessing” in the above scripture. It is also referred to in Proverbs 10:22
“The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it”
The blessing is a whole rather than a part of the riches of God. It encompasses all aspect of life. It is beyond financial rewards. It includes guidance, health, wisdom, protection, preservation, knowledge understanding and wisdom. There is no measure of financial resources that can pay for a fraction of these blessings and yet these come with being blessed by God. Abraham’s life is a good example of one that lived under the cover of The Blessing.
“Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things” Genesis 24”1 Amplified Bible. Emphasis mine.
Eliezer, Abraham’s chief servant also made note of this
“And the Lord has blessed my master mightily and he has become great…” Genesis 24:35. Amplified Bible.
So do not take lightly the Word of God that The Blessing would come in an overflow that will be beyond our wildest dreams and imagination. In addition, it has no strings attached nor disadvantages. Where can you get such generosity on the earth yet all that is expected is to give a small fraction (yes, nothing given can compare to the benefits received) of our income to God in order to bring the expansion of His love to mankind. It’s the best investment policy that exists on planet earth.
Tithing is not just a financial issue, it is spiritual. Every time, we obey God, we make our stand in the spirit clear to the devil that we are not under his rebellious influence. This has great consequences on the earth. When we disobey, we are disassociating ourselves in that matter from the kingdom of God which also has it’s effect. We must give deep thoughts to these truths in order to reorder our steps and recover lost grounds.
We do not give tithes to become rich – that is an error. We are born unto wealth when we became born – again Christians. It is through tithing that we experience these manifold riches of Christ. It provides us with numerous opportunities to access the wisdom and favour of God.
In Malachi 3:8 -12 is revealed the three fold blessings of tithing. You receive an eternal blessing of manifold dimensions; rebuking the devourer – a reference to protection and preservation of life and assets and giving you honour among men.
God’s promises don’t fail and neither should you in your relationship with Him.
It is also important to understand the essence of tithing for without the revelation of truth; you are probably tithing in accordance with a religious mind rather than the spirit of love; sacrifice rather than obedience and trust.
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house” Malachi 3:10 NKJV
It is obvious that God cannot be referring to food in the material sense but in the way of substance for use in the work of God. It was first used to take care of the welfare of the priests and other works they had to carry out. This was before the introduction of the Levite priesthood under the law. With the establishment of the priesthood and the building of the temple came more responsibilities. The tithes made them independent and functional in doing their various tasks. Taking care of the magnificent temple certainly required a lot of resources.
“Behold I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting” Numbers 18:21 NKJV
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