You Are My Hiding Place: The Tithing Contract

 You Are My Hiding Place

“The Tithing Contract”

 

January 21, 2023

Larry R Evans

 

Introduction

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1,2)

 

It is good to praise the LORD

and make music to your name, O Most High,

proclaiming your love in the morning

and your faithfulness at night, . . .  (Psalm 92:1,2)

Last week our introductory Scripture reading was Psalm 25:1,4,5. There we found a reflection by David showing that he could place his trust in the LORD--the covenant God. That trust led him to pray for the LORD to show “me your paths” and to “guide me in your truth.”  Later, in verse 10, David gives his testimony, “All the ways of LORD are loving and faithful.” As we saw last week, experiencing God’s presence and guidance is at the heart of the Christian’s greatest desires.

 

This week we will be looking at the practice of returning the tithe to God.  Our experience with Him is both tested and deepened by faithful tithing. We’ve chosen Psalm 92:1,2 as our introductory Bible passage as a reminder that it is in God that we find security and hope in a world that has lost its bearings.

 

Recently someone sent me a little proverb that said, “Don’t depend too much on anyone in this world because even your own shadow leaves you when you are in the dark.” While humorous, it does express a timeless truth, “Who can we trust when things get really bad?”  David knew.  God was his refuge, his hiding place.

The Tithe

 

The first mention of tithe in the Bible is found in Genesis 14 yet it contains some basic principles for returning the tithe. In brief, during a rebellion that took place, Abram’s nephew, Lot, was living in Sodom. Along with others, he and all his possessions were carried off into captivity. Abram with “318 trained men” pursued the captors and recovered all the goods taken and also brought back Lot and his possessions. The kings who had been allied with Abram offered him the spoils of war, but he refused any to accept siting a vow he had made, “I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you” (Gen. 14:22). What Abram did do, however, was to return a “tenth” (v.20) to Melchizedek king of Salem and a priest of “Most High God” (v.18). In this recorded experience we find four theological concepts that have a direct bearing on the meaning of tithe.

 

1.     God is the Creator. Twice in the blessing narrative, God is addressed as the Creator--the Hebrew from which it is taken means to acquire, possess. Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to the Lord. The concept of creation is at the heart of tithe.

 

2.    God is the one who blesses. Clearly, the blessings preceded the tithe. God’s blessings are always an expression of His love and concern for us. Tithing is a recognition of the Lord’s goodness, and, therefore, it is always a response and not something done to be blessed.

 

3.    God Preserves Human Life. Tithing was based not only on the fact that God blessed Abram, but also on the fact that He preserved him by defeating the enemies.

 

4.   Tithe Is a Rejection of Selfishness. The context of Genesis 14 and the tithing experience reveals that Abram tithed because he had rejected selfishness as a force ruling in his life.

 

Today it seems there are so many devastating catastrophes. The needs are great.  Suppose for a moment, it is a few days before Sabbath.  You sit down and write out a check for your tithe and offerings. On Friday you hear sirens blaring and rush to the window and see your neighbor’s house on fire. Standing outside are your friends, the whole family. You hear them crying and saying, “What are we going to do? We’ve lost everything.”  Immediately you think of the check you’ve written but have not yet given it to the church.  So, the question comes to your mind and that of your spouse, “Seeing a great need, should we give our tithe and offerings to our desperate neighbors?  The Bible does say, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lk. 10:27) doesn’t it?”

 

QUESTION:  What should you do?  Should you give the tithe and offerings to your neighbors who need food, clothing, and other needs?

 

Breaking the Covenant

 

In 2008 Bernie Madoff was arrested for operating one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history. It's estimated that Madoff's fraud extended for more than 20 years and resulted in as much as $20 billion in cash losses and $65 billion in paper losses. He was eventually sentenced to 150 years in prison.  He earned just $710 after almost 3,000 hours of work while serving 12 years in a North Carolina federal prison.  He died of kidney failure in April 2021. 

 

QUESTION:  What was Madoff’s crime?

 

QUESTION: What was Israel’s crime?

 

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse —your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. -- Malachi 3:8-10

Key Points in Malachi 3:8-10 

 

1.     Misappropriating what belonged to the Lord was a serious crime in Israel. The tithe is not part of a person’s income even if it comes to us in a check. To consider it ours is called robbery.

 

2.    By not bringing tithes to the Lord the people made an important religious statement. They were denying God’s providential and loving care of them. 

 

3.    The people were accusing God of not fulfilling His part of the covenant but, they were robbing Him.

 

4.    “Return to me” implies that failing to return the “whole” tithe is based on a conversion experience. The “whole tithe” can be interpreted as either a partial tithe or no tithe.

 

5.    At the time of Malachi’s writing, the priesthood lacked respect for the Lord (see 1:6) yet the Lord expected faithfulness in returning of the tithe.

 

6.    Part of the robbery included not only the tithe but also offerings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tithe and Offerings

 

The Storehouse

 

As we saw in Malachi, the Lord said to “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”

 

QUESTION:  Which of the following is the storehouse for the tithe and offerings:

A.    The local church?

B.    The bank?

C.    A person in need?

D.   The local conference?

E.    The General Conference?

 

The Hebrew term for a storehouse (bayith) means “house, temple, palace.” In the Old Testament, the storehouse was in the temple complex and consisted of special rooms built for the specific purpose of storing the tithe and other offerings. There are three important characteristics of the storehouse system:

 

1.     There was a centralization of the collection of tithes and offerings. (2 Chron 31:10)

 

2.    The Levites were appointed to receive tithe and offerings. (2 Chron. 31:9,10)

 

3.    The distribution of tithes and offerings was centralized. (2 Chron. 31:14)

 

The Church recognizes “that the local conference level of denominational organization is the ‘storehouse’ to which all tithe should be sent and from which the gospel ministry is supported. For the convenience of the church members, the tithe is turned in to the local conference through the local church where membership is held.” GWWP, 05 20

 

 

The Purpose of Tithing

 

Numbers 18:20-21 explains that of the 12 tribes the Levites (Aaron) would not receive an inheritance in the land but rather the Lord would be their inheritance, and this was made possible by the tithing plan. However, and this is important, the tithe was given to the Lord for He is the owner (Lev. 27:30). It was not given directly to the Levitical priesthood. 

 

Offerings

 

In the Old Testament offering are mentioned more often than tithe. Worship and offerings are nearly inseparable. Tithe and offerings are not the same. Tithe is a specific amount and used for a specific purpose. Offerings are free-will offerings given out of thankfulness.

 

Giving an offering to God is not “automatically” a reflection of our commitment to Him.  In the story of the widow giving her small offering and the snickering of others looking on suggests that the amount not the criterion Jesus has in mind. Some principles to keep in mind:

 

·       The level of one’s commitment does matter.

·       True benevolence is more than sharing or giving. It has to do with the inner condition of the person, the spiritual strength of one’s love for God.

·       Jesus told the disciples that it is the responsibility opf the community of believers to provide for their needs. (Matt. 10:10; 2 Timothy 2:15)

·       The motivation for the giving of offerings is where Jesus placed His emphasis.

 

QUESTION:

 

Suppose your neighbor bought a brand-new motorcycle. You couldn’t believe it. It was something you had dreamed about. Your neighbor tells you to go ahead and sit on it. It felt so good. The owner saw that you liked it and said, “Take it for a good spin.”  “Really!” you said.  Sure. Take it for a good ride.

 

So, you did. You went to different places and then you came to a park where you stopped and got off.  While you were resting someone else came and began admiring the bike.  Wow! He said, “That is really some machine.”  So, you say, “Go ahead and sit on it.”  And he does.  You can tell he really likes it.  You ask him, “Do you really like it?”  “I really do”.  So, with a big smile on your face you say, “Ok, it’s yours!  I’m giving it to you.”  “Oh wow”, he says.   “Thank you.”

 

 QUESTION: What’s wrong with this story?

 

Can we give away what isn’t ours?  How does this explain the difference between the tithe and offerings?

 

In Summary

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1,2)

 

It is good to praise the LORD

and make music to your name, O Most High,

proclaiming your love in the morning

and your faithfulness at night, . . .  (Psalm 92:1,2)

In the Lord, we find our real security. He provides for us out of His love for us. John describes the essence of God a “love” (1 John 4:7,8).  He makes the statement in the context of Christ’s sacrificial death which is the revelation of His character and the reason why He is without fail “our shelter.” All of His actions, even those we do not always understand, originate with and are motivated by love. 

 

Faithfulness in our tithe and offerings is the openness to be continually be made more and more into His image. 

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. -- 1 John 3:2,3

 

*Special appreciation is expressed for the work of Dr. Angel M. Rodriguez who wrote, Stewardship Roots: Toward a Theology o Stewardship, Tithe, Offerings.