Chapter 50
Tithes and
Offerings
IN
the Hebrew economy one tenth of the income of the people was set apart to
support the public worship of God. Thus Moses declared to Israel:
"All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed 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, . . . the
tenth shall be holy unto the Lord." Leviticus 27:30, 32.
But the
tithing system did not originate with the Hebrews. From the earliest times
the Lord claimed a tithe as His, and this claim was recognized and
honored. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the priest of the most high
God. Genesis 14:20. Jacob, when at Bethel, an exile and a wanderer,
promised the Lord, "Of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give
the tenth unto Thee." Genesis 28:22. As the Israelites were about to
be established as a nation, the law of tithing was reaffirmed as one of
the divinely ordained statutes upon obedience to which their prosperity
depended.
The system of
tithes and offerings was intended to impress the minds of men with a great
truth--that God is the source of every blessing to His creatures, and that
to Him man's gratitude is due for the good gifts of His providence.
"He
giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." Acts 17:25. The Lord
declares, "Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a
thousand hills." Psalm 50:10. "The silver is Mine, and the gold
is Mine." Haggai 2:8. And it is God who gives men power to get
wealth. Deuteronomy 8:18. As an acknowledgment that all things came from
Him, the Lord directed that a portion of His bounty should be returned to
Him in gifts and offerings to sustain His worship.
"The
tithe . . . is the Lord's." Here the same form of expression
is employed as in the law of the Sabbath. "The seventh day is the
Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Exodus 20:10. God reserved
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to Himself a
specified portion of man's time and of his means, and no man could,
without guilt, appropriate either for his own interests.
The tithe was
to be exclusively devoted to the use of the Levites, the tribe that had
been set apart for the service of the sanctuary. But this was by no means
the limit of the contributions for religious purposes. The tabernacle, as
afterward the temple, was erected wholly by freewill offerings; and to
provide for necessary repairs and other expenses, Moses directed that as
often as the people were numbered, each should contribute a half shekel
for "the service of the tabernacle." In the time of Nehemiah a
contribution was made yearly for this purpose. See Exodus 30:12-16; 2
Kings 12:4, 5; 2 Chronicles 24:4-13; Nehemiah 10:32, 33. From time to time
sin offerings and thank offerings were brought to God. These were
presented in great numbers at the annual feasts. And the most liberal
provision was made for the poor.
Even before
the tithe could be reserved there had been an acknowledgment of the claims
of God. The first that ripened of every product of the land was
consecrated to Him. The first of the wool when the sheep were shorn, of
the grain when the wheat was threshed, the first of the oil and the wine,
was set apart for God. So also were the first-born of all animals; and a
redemption price was paid for the first-born son. The first fruits were to
be presented before the Lord at the sanctuary, and were then devoted to
the use of the priests.
Thus the
people were constantly reminded that God was the true proprietor of their
fields, their flocks, and their herds; that He sent them sunshine and rain
for their seedtime and harvest, and that everything they possessed was of
His creation, and He had made them stewards of His goods.
As the men of
Israel, laden with the first fruits of field and orchard and vineyard,
gathered at the tabernacle, there was made a public acknowledgment of
God's goodness. When the priest accepted the gift, the offerer, speaking
as in the presence of Jehovah, said, "A Syrian ready to perish was my
father;" and he described the sojourn in Egypt and the affliction
from which God had delivered Israel "with an outstretched arm, and
with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders." And he
said, "He hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this
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land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I
have brought the first fruits of the land, which Thou, Jehovah, hast given
me." Deuteronomy 26:5, 8-11.
The
contributions required of the Hebrews for religious and charitable
purposes amounted to fully one fourth of their income. So heavy a tax upon
the resources of the people might be expected to reduce them to poverty;
but, on the contrary, the faithful observance of these regulations was one
of the conditions of their prosperity. On condition of their obedience God
made them this promise: "I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your
vine cast her fruit before the time in the field. . . . And all nations
shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord
of hosts." Malachi 3:11.
A striking
illustration of the results of selfishly withholding even freewill
offerings from the cause of God was given in the days of the prophet
Haggai. After their return from the captivity in Babylon, the Jews
undertook to rebuild the temple of the Lord; but meeting determined
opposition from their enemies, they discontinued the work; and a severe
drought, by which they were reduced to actual want, convinced them that it
was impossible to complete the building of the temple. "The time is
not come," they said, "the time that the Lord's house should be
built." But a message was sent them by the Lord's prophet: "Is
it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie
waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye
have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye
drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none
warm; and he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it into a bag with
holes." Haggai 1:2-6. And then the reason is given: "Ye looked
for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did
blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is
waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over
you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I
called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the
corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the
ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the
labor of the hands." Verses 9-12. "When one came to a heap of
twenty measures,
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there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to
draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. I smote
you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labors of your
hands." Haggai 2:16, 19.
Roused by
these warnings, the people set themselves to build the house of God. Then
the word of the Lord came to them: "Consider now from this day and
upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the
day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, . . . from this day
will I bless you." Verses 18, 19.
Says the wise
man, "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that
withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." Proverbs
11:24. And the same lesson is taught in the New Testament by the apostle
Paul: "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he
which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." "God is
able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." 2
Corinthians 9:6, 8.
God intended
that His people Israel should be light bearers to all the inhabitants of
the earth. In maintaining His public worship they were bearing a testimony
to the existence and sovereignty of the living God. And this worship it
was their privilege to sustain, as an expression of their loyalty and
their love to Him. The Lord has ordained that the diffusion of light and
truth in the earth shall be dependent upon the efforts and offerings of
those who are partakers of the heavenly gift. He might have made angels
the ambassadors of His truth; He might have made known His will, as He
proclaimed the law from Sinai, with His own voice; but in His infinite
love and wisdom He called men to become colaborers with Himself, by
choosing them to do this work.
In the days
of Israel the tithe and freewill offerings were needed to maintain the
ordinances of divine service. Should the people of God give less in this
age? The principle laid down by Christ is that our offerings to God should
be in proportion to the light and privileges enjoyed. "Unto
whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." Luke 12:48.
Said the Saviour to His disciples as He sent them forth, "Freely ye
have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8. As our blessings and
privileges are
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increased--above all, as we have before us the unparalleled
sacrifice of the glorious Son of God--should not our gratitude find
expression in more abundant gifts to extend to others the message of
salvation? The work of the gospel, as it widens, requires greater
provision to sustain it than was called for anciently; and this makes the
law of tithes and offerings of even more urgent necessity now than under
the Hebrew economy. If His people were liberally to sustain His cause by
their voluntary gifts, instead of resorting to unchristian and unhallowed
methods to fill the treasury, God would be honored, and many more souls
would be won to Christ.
The plan of
Moses to raise means for the building of the tabernacle was highly
successful. No urging was necessary. Nor did he employ any of the devices
to which churches in our day so often resort. He made no grand feast. He
did not invite the people to scenes of gaiety, dancing, and general
amusement; neither did he institute lotteries, nor anything of this
profane order, to obtain means to erect the tabernacle for God. The Lord
directed Moses to invite the children of Israel to bring their offerings.
He was to accept gifts from everyone that gave willingly, from his heart.
And the offerings came in so great abundance that Moses bade the people
cease bringing, for they had supplied more than could be used.
God has made
men His stewards. The property which He has placed in their hands is the
means that He has provided for the spread of the gospel. To those who
prove themselves faithful stewards He will commit greater trusts, Saith
the Lord, "Them that honor Me I will honor." 1 Samuel 2:30.
"God loveth a cheerful giver," and when His people, with
grateful hearts, bring their gifts and offerings to Him, "not
grudgingly, or of necessity," His blessing will attend them, as He
has promised. "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that
there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord
of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a
blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Malachi
3:10.
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