Tithing is not just giving 10% of your money anywhere you want or think. It is an act of worship. You do it from the heart and mix it with faith. You should worship God with your tithe.
Deuteronomy 26
1 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; 2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.
This passage describes an Old Covenant ceremony of tithing. Tithing wasn’t simply where you got 10% and went and handed it to a priest. There was a process of worship you went through in which you acknowledged, thanked and worshiped God for what He had done for you. It was a wonderful type and shadow of a New Covenant reality. We who are in the New Covenant can study it and glean some great lessons on how we can worship God with our finances.
1. They took their tithe and offerings and first fruits to the temple.
God still has a house in the New Covenant. We the believers are that house. The temple of the Lord. And where we gather is the house of the Lord. This is where we should bring our tithe. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house” Mal3:10
The storehouse was a place in the temple where the tithes and offerings of the people were stored. It was a treasury, a depository or like a store. All the people’s offerings and money was stored there and the administration of the temple would draw from there to provide for the priests their needs and also to help the poor and the needy. The tithe is supposed to provide for the wellbeing of the church. To pay salaries, pay bills, run the house etc. so that the pastor and ministers concentrate on seeking God and ministering to their congregation instead of worrying about maintaining the house and taking care of their families.
Tithe where you are fed the Word of God. Ideally it should be your home church. That is where your storehouse is. The place where they baptize you, pastor you, disciple and equip you, counsel you, marry you, bury you etc. The local church is supposed to be that place. That is where the bulk of your finances should be going.
However, this is not always the case. There is a problem of local churches that are not feeding their people as they should. Churches where the preachers are always asking for money and yet the people are not growing. They are not being ministered to and built up as they should. In such a situation it is not wise to tithe and give the bulk of your finances in such a place. Especially if you are getting your spiritual nourishment and edification from somewhere else.
In fact you should not even be attending a church that is not feeding you and building you up. You should settle in a house where your spiritual needs are met and where you are given an opportunity to serve and to grow. This is where your tithe belongs. If your local church isn’t feeding you, leave. If for whatever reason you can’t leave then you shouldn’t give the bulk of your finances there. The principal is this. Give where you are fed and ministered to.
2. They gave their tithe and offerings to the priest.
3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us. 4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.
The second point we see is that the people gave their tithe to the priest in the temple. They didn’t give it to anyone they found, they didn’t give it to a beggar on the street or to anybody else. They took it to the temple and they gave it to the priest who was ministering at that time.
Hebrews 8
1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man
We in the New Covenant also have a priest over the house of God. Which house we are. His name is Jesus and He is our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus our High Priest now receives our tithe in the same way that Melchizedek received Abram’s tithe when he blessed him.
“Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.” Heb7:8
When we tithe we are bringing it to Jesus. This is why our tithe is sanctified and holy. It belongs to Jesus. Every time you tithe, recognize that you are giving to Jesus Himself.
3. They remembered God’s provision and protection and worshiped Him.
5 And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: 6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: 7 And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: 8 And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: 9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:
As the people gave their tithe to the priest, they confessed and declared some things to themselves and to God. That their fathers were strangers ready to perish, who went down into Egypt in a foreign land and became slaves, and they cried out to God in their affliction and oppression and hard labor, and with an outstretched arm God delivered them and brought them into His provision in a land flowing with milk and honey where they had prospered and increased mightily and become very prosperous.
In this way they acknowledged and confessed their faith in God as their keeper, deliverer, protector, source and sustainer. They acknowledged Him as their Lord and provider.
We also need to acknowledge God in this way as we tithe. We need to express faith in God as all of these things to us. Our keeper, deliverer, source, sustainer, Lord etc. Don’t just hand over your money without mentally acknowledging that you are worshiping and honoring God with your increase. Worship with your giving.
Colossians 1
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son Just like Israel,
God has delivered us from the power of darkness and captivity of Egypt. He has set us free and given us an inheritance. A land flowing with milk and honey. The kingdom of God. Every time we tithe we are acknowledging that it is God who gave us whatever we have. Our income, gifts, skills, talents, intelligence, strength, opportunities etc. As we tithe we should worship God and thank Him for what He has done for us and what He promised to do for us. Thank Him for His promises which are all yes and Amen in Christ as 2Corinthians1:19-20 says. Thank Him for the blessing which He has already given you in Christ as Ephesians1:3 says.
4. They rejoiced and gave thanks. They were cheerful givers
11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. 12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
After they had tithed, they went away thankful and rejoicing and celebrating the goodness and faithfulness of God and how blessed they were. They rejoiced in the good things God had done for them and their families and celebrated.
“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2Cor9:7
We in the New Covenant are given the same admonition today. To rejoice, to be cheerful, to celebrate and glorify God for how far He has brought us and how good He has been to us.
“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1Thes5:16-18
Phillipians4
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
We should rejoice in the Lord and be thankful at all times because He is always and only good to us. We should rejoice in the Lord because He is our source and provides for us and sustains us without fail. Because He is good and His love endures forever. This is how we tithe the tithe in the New Covenant.
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