Your Tithe Is Holy To God
"[A Tithe] One-tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD and must be set apart to him as holy.
If you want to buy back the LORD's tenth of the grain or fruit, you must pay its value, plus 20 percent. Count off every tenth animal from your herds and flocks and set them apart for the LORD as holy. You may not pick and choose between good and bad animals, and you may not substitute one for another."
. . . These are the commands that the LORD gave through Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites. Leviticus 27:30-34 (NLT)
If you want to buy back the LORD's tenth of the grain or fruit, you must pay its value, plus 20 percent. Count off every tenth animal from your herds and flocks and set them apart for the LORD as holy. You may not pick and choose between good and bad animals, and you may not substitute one for another."
. . . These are the commands that the LORD gave through Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites. Leviticus 27:30-34 (NLT)
Among the commands the LORD gave to His people for their prosperity and wellbeing was the stipulation that they were to give a tithe or one-tenth of their earnings to God. This was to be considered as holy to God. It was so important that God went into great detail about how to give it and even "penalties" to add when it was done outside of the regular stipulated way. One had to add an extra 20 percent if one decided to buy back the animal or produce that belonged to the LORD.
So, what was God's reason for stipulating that a tithe of the earnings was to be brought back to Him as an offering? The answer is given in Malachi 3:10, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be enough food in my temple." In other words, I want you to create a margin of ten percent in your income for my house to fund the preaching of the Gospel and the work of my Kingdom. Spend 90 percent on yourself but give 10 percent to my work.
God attached a blessing to the obedience of this stipulation, " If you do . . . I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!"
I find it simply amazing that many reject tithing with all kinds of arguments and in the process do not reap the blessings attached to this "command." Whatever your personal opinion might be, I encourage you to look at tithing simply from the viewpoint of giving because you love God and you want His work to be adequately funded. Tithing is God's basic plan to ensure that there is enough "food in His Temple." God's promise is that if we take care of His house, He will bless us beyond our storage capacity. In fact, He is so confident of this that He actually says, " Try it! Put me to the test!"
Listen: All that we acquire on earth, including what we refuse to give to God, can be wiped out in one natural disaster as we see from hurricane images all the time. They can be reduced to rubble in an instant! But what we give to God can never be wiped away because they have eternal value! They are spiritual and can never be touched by natural disasters.
Your tithe is Holy to God. Give it to Him! Put Him to the test! You will be blessed!
So, what was God's reason for stipulating that a tithe of the earnings was to be brought back to Him as an offering? The answer is given in Malachi 3:10, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be enough food in my temple." In other words, I want you to create a margin of ten percent in your income for my house to fund the preaching of the Gospel and the work of my Kingdom. Spend 90 percent on yourself but give 10 percent to my work.
God attached a blessing to the obedience of this stipulation, " If you do . . . I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!"
I find it simply amazing that many reject tithing with all kinds of arguments and in the process do not reap the blessings attached to this "command." Whatever your personal opinion might be, I encourage you to look at tithing simply from the viewpoint of giving because you love God and you want His work to be adequately funded. Tithing is God's basic plan to ensure that there is enough "food in His Temple." God's promise is that if we take care of His house, He will bless us beyond our storage capacity. In fact, He is so confident of this that He actually says, " Try it! Put me to the test!"
Listen: All that we acquire on earth, including what we refuse to give to God, can be wiped out in one natural disaster as we see from hurricane images all the time. They can be reduced to rubble in an instant! But what we give to God can never be wiped away because they have eternal value! They are spiritual and can never be touched by natural disasters.
Your tithe is Holy to God. Give it to Him! Put Him to the test! You will be blessed!
Prayer: Father, I ask that you will help me to give that which belongs to you. Amen.