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Awesome Hands - part 147 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – part 147

“Tithing as spoken of in Deuteronomy 14”

January 16, 2019

Tithing is a broad topic which has been very abused in the church world today. While the Lord Himself has no use for physical money, this is the focus that most churches and their members focus on when thinking or acting on the topic of tithing.

In our study today, we are going to focus on several old and new testament verses concerning tithing and also on what the overall concept of tithing means to the church of the living God today.

Our verses for consideration, keeping with the main concept of the awesome hands series, are found in Deut 14:22-29.

Deu 14:22  Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
Deu 14:23  And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
Deu 14:24  And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
Deu 14:25  Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
Deu 14:26  And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
Deu 14:27  And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
Deu 14:28  At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
Deu 14:29  And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Tithing today is quite different than what the Lord commanded when He first gave Israel the commandments concerning tithing.

Tithing in its basic form was a way to worship and thank the Lord for all that He had one for you during the year.

This can be seen in Deut 14:22-23.

Deu 14:22  “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.
Deu 14:23  And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

Why is it the Lord tells Israel (and us) to tithe the yield (increase) of your seed “before the Lord your God …… that you may fear the LORD your God always”?

The Lord wants us to know, recognize and acknowledge that He alone is the reason why there is an increase in the first place. He wants us to continually go through the motions of recognizing and acknowledging that it is He who has given us the increase.

Indeed, it all belongs to the Lord!

Psa 24:1  A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Fearing the Lord is much more than just simply “being scared” of what the Lord can or will do to do in an “or else” situation similar to “obey the Lord or else”.

Indeed, fearing the Lord is a form of acknowledgement and contentment in knowing that you are the Lords completely.

When reading, “The EARTH is the LORD’s and the fulness thereof”, we shouldn’t be thinking in physical terms only. After all, you have come from the earth the same as any crop!

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

When we till and toil in this life, it is much more than just trying to live day to day. What are we doing if all we are doing in life if trying to survive? Believe me I know what that feels like and how just surviving is all we can do sometimes.

However, that is NOT what life is all about. It is how we LIVE that makes our lives worth living. How we live is a MINDSET and has NOTHING to do with physical wealth or riches.

How we treat one another is where the “riches” are. In this day and age, you can see a dearth of famine in the way people treat one another.

Yes, fearing the Lord as it pertains to tithing is very important for us to understand.

I know this next set of verses is a lot to take in, but Ecclesiastes really helps  us to understand what tithing is all about.

The first several verses setup the context for the rest of the chapter. This chapter is mainly about the vanity of wealth and honor.

If you need any source other than the man given wisdom as a gift, than this may not be for you 😀 For everyone else, listen to the author of Ecclesiastes.

First, we setup the foundation:

Ecc 5:1  Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Know the “walk” you live in when representing the Lord as His ambassador.

Ecc 5:2  Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Ecc 5:3  For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.

Think before you speak. Let your words be few. What more needs to be said? I think we all need more of this!

Ecc 5:4  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
Ecc 5:5  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Don’t tell the Lord you will do something and then not do it. Before you think you do not promise things to the Lord, etc., please remember who Jesus of Nazareth is.

Act 22:7  And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 22:8  And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Ecc 5:6  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
Ecc 5:7  For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

Don’t say something and then go back on it and say it was a mistake. The Lord will not look kindly on this type of reneging.

The core of this chapter is dedicated to vanity of wealth and honor.

Ecc 5:8  If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

Vengeance is the Lord’s!

Ecc 5:9  Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

It is so easy to read this verse and think it is only speaking about a physical king residing over a physical kingdom. However, there is a King of kings that also is SERVED by the “field”.

Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

Ecc 5:10  He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
Ecc 5:11  When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

Anyone that loves MONEY will never have enough money. Likewise, anyone who loves abundance WITH PROFIT will never have enough profit. It is all vanity.

Ecc 5:12  The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Ecc 5:13  There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
Ecc 5:14  But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
Ecc 5:15  As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

We all know this to be true. “You can’t take it with you when you go” is something we all inherently know to be true; yet, we still go about just trying to accumulate more. That “more” will only end up in someone else’s hands eventually if that is our only goal in life.

However, it is much sweeter to help others, as you are able, because then you are tithing the way it should be….. with your increase. The increase is NOT only in physical increase, but more importantly, it is in SPIRITUAL INCREASE.

The sleep of a laboring man is SWEET is very powerful.

Ecc 5:16  And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?
Ecc 5:17  All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
Ecc 5:18  Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
Ecc 5:19  Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

To enjoy the “GOOD” of all our labor is a GOOD thing. This is the portion that Lord has given everyone. This ability to enjoy what the Lord gives us is a gift. There is much rejoicing in knowing that the Lord alone giveth and taketh away, and while He giveth, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the increase.

This is what the tithe is all about. Sharing the increase with others!

Money has nothing to do with tithing. It really doesn’t. Tithing is all about the increase. The way that money is mentioned as connected to tithing is spoken about in Deuteronomy 14.

Deu 14:24  And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
Deu 14:25  Then shalt thou turn it into money (the increase of thy seed found in verse 22), and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
Deu 14:26  And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
Deu 14:27  And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

Did you catch that? The Lord DOES NOT need nor want the increase for Himself. What does the Lord need with PHYSICAL things much less money?

The increase, as it pertains to money, was used to BUY “whatsoever thy soul lusteth after”. Whether it be a certain type of food or alcohol. Rejoicing with your household was also required!

Lastly, the Levite in your city was not to be forgotten. This is what the increase is all about. The increase came about because a tithe is of the abundance of the field.

When thinking about “thine household” please remember that “my words are spirit and they are life”. We aren’t only talking about our physical households. All of these admonitions need to be taken in to consideration as pertaining to physical and spiritual.

Listen to these words in connection to what has been said about tithing in this study.

Gal 6:8  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

We need to be “doing good” unto all men especially to those of the household of faith. However, remember what I said before. This is NOT about money. Tithing can be “turned into money” so that you are able to go to a place where the Lord’s name is and where He is to be worshipped, but this is much more about the increases that the Lord gives us spiritually.

It is all important to keep in mind that we cannot say we are spiritually rich while ignoring the basic needs of the flesh in ourselves and in others.

Jas 2:14  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Jas 2:15  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
Jas 2:16  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Jas 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Jas 2:18  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

Tithing is about much more than money. It about faith and acknowledging the Lord is working all things after the counsel of His will. When He works it out that we have an increase in our physical well being and situations, then we need to acknowledge that by sharing the increase.

Deu 14:27  And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
Deu 14:28  At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
Deu 14:29  And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

“All the work of thine hand” is not only monetarily “turned into money”.

If you are gifted in uplifting people in their time of lowliness, give of your increase.

If you are gifted in patience and understanding when someone needs a shoulder to lean on, give of your increase.

If you happen to be monetarily gifted by the Lord, find one of the many needs in the body, and give of your increase.

I hope this study has been used to scratch the surface of this topic in a way that shows that tithing in Deuteronomy is about praising the Lord for the “fulness” that He gives to the earth by sharing that increase with yourself, your household and the “Levite, stranger, fatherless and widows” among you, but especially those of the household of Faith.