Tuesday: The Purpose of Tithing
Read Leviticus 27:30 and Numbers 18:21, Numbers 18:24. What does God propose to do with the tithe?
Because God is the owner of everything (Psalm 24:1), He obviously doesn’t need the money. But because the tithe is His, He tells us what to do with it, and that is to use His tithe for the support of the gospel ministry. And, therefore, the needs of the ministers are taken care of with God’s tithe.
Image © Pacific Press from GoodSalt.com
The tribe of Levi — the ministerial force in the Old Testament — was not given large properties, as were the rest of the tribes. Levi was given certain cities, including the cities of refuge, with enough land around them for personal gardens. They were supported by the tithes of the others, and they themselves also tithed their income.
Read Acts 20:35. What’s the message here, and how does this relate to the question of tithe?
Tithing is important because it helps us establish a relationship of trust with God. To take one-tenth of your income and “give it away” (though, technically, it belongs to God anyway) truly takes an act of faith, and only by exercising faith will your faith grow.
Think, for instance, about the end-times, too, when those who are faithful cannot buy or sell, as depicted in Revelation chapters 13-14 (see week 11). To have developed a trust in God and in His providences and power and love will be of paramount importance when it seems as if all the world is against us. Faithful tithing can surely help develop that trust. Even before then, how crucial for all of us to have learned to trust God, regardless of our situation.
A second big reason for financial faithfulness is to access the promised tangible blessings of God. As part of the tithing contract, God has promised blessings that are so large that we won’t have room enough to receive them. With our surplus, we can help others and help to support the work of God with our offerings.
| In what ways have you experienced the great truth that it is, indeed, “more blessed to give than to receive”? |
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I need the work of the Spirit in my constant drive against self.
I'd like to quote today's post (of my brother in faith) about the meaning of the word altruism,
Thus, I need the work of the Spirit in my constant drive against self. Self does not fulfil, but I cannot live without it. Self becomes (unnaturally) selfish, because of choice, a social mechanism repeated by in-house examples. To balance self it is necessary to know the fountain of real Love. Love revealed in its most extreme form, the death of self for others. Happiness can be found in the balance of (one)self altruistically loving other selves.:)
Indeed, it is “more blessed to give than to receive”!
Drive also means "propel or carry along by force in a specified direction."
In case we consider that self can be this force, or direction, wouldn't be possible to "drive to(wards) self"?
🙂
In reading yesterday’s lesson, I found it interesting to note in Nehemiah’s account, that the tithe was used to support the priests and Levites, and also the singers and gatekeepers. It seems to me that any office, dedicated to the service of God, was provided for through the tithe.
Am I missing something in this lesson study today?
The purpose of tithing, the lessons summarizes by saying the purpose is two-fold:
1. It builds trust, and
2. We get access to God's blessings so we can give some of our extra to support others and God's work. This sounds so limp! It even sounds a lot like the "prosperity gospel".
Yes, the tithe teaches us to trust--teaches us to trust not only with the 10th but with the all, for it is our all that God wants, not whatever our feeble minds think is extra and what we can sufficiently afford.
And where is the even greater purpose in the tithe? That we by faith believe in the work of God, (reconciling the world to Himself, spreading the gospel of His love for us, the discipleship of a new life in Christ, and the news of His soon return -- yeah, that work,) that if we truly believe this, then we ought also to be eager to return at least our tithe to support those who are dedicated to doing these things and who do such without other means of support. The tithe is a way for all who return it to also be dedicated to this mission. Returning the tithe regularly reminds us of God's purposes, and that our lives here are only a temporary passing, and that the accumulation of stuff is folly (for the tithe was not returned only on money but on all increases, food, material possessions as well as cash). For it is God's mission that we are to focus on.
In Mark 16:15 and Matthew 28:19,20 Jesus commissions us to go into all the world, preach the gospel, make disciples, teaching them to observe all things, baptizing them, etc. God wants us to be involved in the most important work for us as Christians.
We can't all be preachers, evangelists, missionaries to foreign countries, though we can do our part in the place where we are. One of things we can do is help fund this mission from the resources God has given to us.
In our society today, people really don't give that much to fund the commission to take the gospel into all the world.
In Paul's letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor.9:14) it says that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
Even though human stewardship is often faulty, yet it is due to systematic giving of those who want to support the work financially, that the church now has representation and work going on all over the world.
I agree we should not be thinking about it so much as to "what do I get out of giving" be it spiritual development for ourselves, or trusting for financial benefits for ourselves, but rather what can I do to further the commission given to us and bring glory to God.
We also need to understand the Israelites had two different tithes.
1. Concerning the first tithe, we read,
2. But the second tithe was actually for the worshippers themselves, enabling them to come and worship.
I was wondering about that too.. Maybe it will be explained in the next lesson?
I will start by saying I deeply agree with tithing, but after reading the lesson I felt the author used the wrong New Testament verse in its defense. Acts 20:35 is part of Paul's farewell to the elders of the Ephesus church, where he was using his own example for those elders to follow. Paul was the one giving freely to "help the weak" (NASB Acts 20:35). He told the Thessalonians:
and Acts often mentions that Paul did not want to be a burden to the gospel, so he supported himself and his co-workers in Christ.
That said, Paul stated in 1 Tim. 5:17-18
The Tithe is for the support of those who give themselves fully to preaching and teaching of the Gospel. This verse and 1 Cor. 9:8-14 would have made a much more correct reference for this lesson, I believe.
When we don't tithe and learn to develop a generous heart, we may still experience material prosperity (God sends rain to the unjust too: Matthew 5:45); but we will not experience the peace and contentment that comes with trusting God.