Wednesday: The Storehouse
God has a storehouse for wind (Jer. 10:13), water (Ps. 33:7), and snow and hail (Job 38:22), over all of which He has total control. But God’s most precious storehouse is the one involving tithe. “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting” (Num. 18:21, NIV).
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This verse is the first mention of where the tithe is kept and is known today as “the storehouse principle.” God further instructed the Israelites to bring the tithe to a place of His choosing (Deut. 12:5-6). During the time of Solomon, tithe was returned to the Jerusalem temple. The Israelites easily understood what and where the “storehouse” was when the prophet Malachi said to them: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse” (Mal. 3:10, NIV). The storehouse represented the location from where religious services took place and where the Levites were supported.
What other names are used in Scripture to identify the storehouse? 1 Chron. 26:20, 2 Chron. 31:11-13, Neh. 10:38.
Bringing the sacred tithe to the storehouse is the model presented in Scripture. In every dispensation, God has had a central storehouse to manage the tithe. Seventh-day Adventists make up a worldwide religion/church in which the storehouse principle is accepted and practiced. Members are encouraged to return their tithe to the conference/mission through the local church where they hold membership. That conference/mission treasury is where pastors receive their salary.
“As God’s work extends, calls for help will come more and more frequently. That these calls may be answered, Christians should heed the command, ‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.’ Malachi 3:10. If professing Christians would faithfully bring to God their tithes and offerings, His treasury would be full. There would then be no occasion to resort to fairs, lotteries, or parties of pleasure to secure funds for the support of the gospel.” – Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 338.
| Think what would happen if people were to send their tithe to wherever they wanted. If everyone did that, what would happen to God’s work? Hence, why is it important that we send our tithe to where it belongs? |
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Wow, this lesson's theme is HOT! Yesterday's comments are a proof of it! This is great! This is what a "class" is all about! God made us thinkers, not simple objects... We can come out here and discuss anything we want... And we do not have to agree in everything... But I thank God that He left us with a guidance for the time of doubts! That is His Word! And I am free to believe in It or not, entirely or partially!
But I pray to God Who, in my concern, has left me with the Truth, not just part of it, the whole Truth!
May God give to all the full enlightenment of what His Word means! May we all grow in the knowledge of Who He really is, and what He really wants from us, His children - this concept includes all mankind!
I thank all of the participants and comments! God is certainly happy when people are concerned with His deals! May God bless this Group, Amen!
Some use the tithe according to their own views. They send it to missionaries or give it another purpose in the work of the Lord. Is there a blessing on this action? I think that God gave instructions and we should follow in obedience. Our own interpretation is not the storehouse.
Is it possible that people who redirect their tithe do so because the tithe is all they give? The Bible refers to tithes and offerings. We do have a choice as to where to give our offerings.
Very true Carla. I notice friends and families have left the church just so they can contribute their tithes to their separate organization but not the GC one. This was one of the main reason for breaking away or distancing them from the main GC organization.
Christians are called upon to 'rightly divide' (2 Tim 2:15) the Word of God. In the pursuit of this, I ask the following questions.
1) Was the directive in Mal 3:10 regarding the temple "storehouse" as the place to bring the tithes a specific-time-based directive that was to be applicable across all time and situations or was it a specific application of a broad principle with the broader principle being the thing that stands in all times and situations?
2) If it was a specific-time-based application of a broader principle, what is that broader principle?
3) What biblical evidence do we have for the answers to these questions?
“I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting” (Num. 18:21, NIV).
From this verse, I understand that the Levites received the tithes for the work they did while serving at the tent of meeting. Today many churches did not see their pastors for a number of sabbaths, may be one of the reason is that they are given responsibility of more than one church. Is there not enough tithe in our churches to pay for a dedicted pastor?
I am thinking MAYBE just maybe it's to avoid pastors be coming territorial and feel like this or that church is there's so moving them around comes up also maybe because of the success of how single churches are organized they don't need to be sitting in one church they are to be fully occupied with church business unlike other churches that their pastors have secular jobs. Now in places like Guyana they need more pastors as one pastor have to travel over water and land faaaaaar distances to get to churches but like in America lol they need more churches to one pastor. just kidding