Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
Here are some scattered, final thoughts of the issue of tithes and offerings that will conclude this series of Thoughts for Today on the subject:
Jesus said, "If Abraham were your father, you would do the works of Abraham." One of the works of Abraham was to render tithes to Melchizedek, an ancient figure of Christ (Ps. 110:4). Abraham's children live as Abraham lived.
Tithing was not merely a commandment given under the Law. Abraham and Jacob lived hundreds of years before the Law was given, and they both offered their tithes to God. The righteous have always known what was right to do and have done it. Paul said it this way: "The Law was not made for a righteous man" (1Tim. 1:9). Such righteous men did not need the Law of Moses to tell them to bring God His tithes and offerings. They were "a law unto themselves."
Tithing is one of the principal means by which we obey Solomon's admonition to his son, "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones" (Prov. 3:6-8). In hope that God would bless his young son's life, the wise king earnestly admonished his son with these words: "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shalt burst out with new wine" (Prov. 3:8-9).
God's system of tithes and offerings works against the flesh's natural desire to strive to be rich and to hoard up wealth. It teaches us to be like God, who gives liberally, in that we learn not to think of the wealth God gives us as something intended only for ourselves.
Those who beg for money from God's people are never satisfied. They never seem to have money sufficient to fulfill their grand schemes. The spirit of Christianity does not normally inspire ministers to do as Moses once did, when he said to the children of God, "Bring no more offerings now. You have given enough."
Some people claim that they earn too much money to bring God's tithes and offerings to the Lord, while others say they don't earn enough. Neither group is telling the truth. Nobody earns either too little or too much money to do the will of God.
Moses taught Israel that "All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed or of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's. It is holy unto the LORD. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even whatsoever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD." It is dangerous for an unauthorized person to touch what is holy unto the Lord. Uzzah touched the ark of God and was struck dead for his indiscretion. Korah and two hundred fifty of the princes in Israel were burned alive in God's wrath for being where they ought not to have been in the holy precinct. And the otherwise good King Uzziah was stricken with leprosy when he entered into the temple to offer incense on God's golden altar. None of these men was ordained to touch God's holy things.
Such stories teach us that a child of God will be in some serious trouble if he holds on to God's tithes and offerings. They are, as Moses said, "holy unto the Lord". It is also true that if someone gives God's tithes and offerings into the hands of a minister not anointed by God to receive them, then he has placed that minister in a dangerous position. What is God's must only be given only to those whom God has anointed to receive it in His name.
God only wants what is His. He does not want the money He has given you for meeting the physical needs of your family and yourself. He does not want you to give to any man the money that He has given to you. He does not want you to borrow money to give to Him. If you stay close to Jesus, He will protect you from ministers who would take what is yours from God. Jesus hates the work of men who steal from His children in His name. Of the money that God brings into your hand, all He demands is His tithes and offerings. That is not too much for anyone to give, though it will always seem to be too much to those who don't want to do it.
Someone has said that the tithe is the basket in which God gives us the money we need, and if we fail to bring Him the tithes and offerings that are His, we have stolen the basket.