Non-Wacked Out Giving (Part 3)

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Monday March 16, 2009

Tithes are still given in New Testament times:

Hebrews 7:8 (ASV)
And here men that die receive (present tense) tithes; but there one, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

But tithes originated in Old Testament times; even before the law! Let's look at the instances before the law in which tithes were given:

Genesis 14:14-24 (NIV)
14. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
17. After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). 18. Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19. and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21. The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself." 22. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23. that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, `I made Abram rich.' 24. I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me--to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."

Here we see that Abram defeated Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, rescuing Lot. He then gave a tenth of the SPOILS-- which were NOT HIS-- to Melchizedek! The other nine tenths went to the king of Sodom!

Notice that Abram had ALREADY taken an oath NOT TO TAKE ANY of the spoils! Abram left the battle with exactly the same assets as when he had arrived! He only demanded that Melchizedek receive a tenth of the spoils! So Abram payed a tithe from what was NOT EVEN HIS!

Next example:

Genesis 28:20-22 (NIV)
20. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21. so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God 22. and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

Here we see Jacob promising to give God a tithe; but this time it was Jacob's own assets that he promised to give! The strange thing is, Jacob said he would give this tithe IF God would be with him on his journey and provide food and clothing for him! That's the OPPOSITE of what many churches teach about tithing. They say to give the tithe first, and THEN God will provide for you!

God really originated tithing of your own assets through the law! Both examples before the law were of people offering to give a tithe that was not required from them, and in Abram's case, it didn't even come from his own possessions!

Yes, I believe in tithing; but are we "cursed" if we don't tithe?

We've probably all heard Malachi 3:8-11 at some point:

Malachi 3:8-11 (NIV)
8. "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, `How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9. You are under a curse-- the whole nation of you-- because you are robbing me.
10. 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 you will not have room enough for it. 11. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.

In these verses God explains that the Israelites were under the curse of the law. (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) The curse of the law explained that, if they did NOT obey God, a whole list of curses would come upon them, including crops being devoured and vines casting their fruit! God was telling them, in Old Testament times-- still under the law-- how to be redeemed from this curse of the law: by obeying the law!

But under the NEW Covenant, we have already BEEN redeemed from the curse of the law!

Galatians 3:13 (NIV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

We are ALREADY redeemed from the curse of the law that Malachi was telling the Israelites about! Believers are NOT CURSED; we are BLESSED:

Galatians 3:14 (NIV)
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

If any believer tries to tell you that you're cursed, they don't understand their own redemption, or what Christ accomplished for them at the cross!

Tithing is our PRIVILEDGE under the New Covenant; to take care of eachother's needs!! And Christ receives those tithes in Heaven!! But if you are a believer, you are NOT CURSED in any way! You've been redeemed from the curse of the law by Jesus' work at the cross!

PRAYER
Thank You Father for giving me Your written Word, which reveals Your Truths to me. Help me to keep my spiritual eyes open and feed on Your life-giving Word every day. Help me remember that You are for me and not against me.
In Jesus Name, Amen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out the Daily Word Archives at:
http://www.jimseekamp.com

To subscribe to the Daily Word, send an email with the subject "SUBSCRIBE" to mailto:dailyword@jimseekamp.com

If you wish to unsubscribe, please send an email with the subject "UNSUBSCRIBE" to mailto:dailyword@jimseekamp.com

To have Jim Seekamp speak at your church or group meeting, email him at: jimseekamp@jimseekamp.com