SEPTEMBER
TUESDAY 1st
Genesis 28:10-22
NIV (v22) – ‘. . . 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.’
ESV (v22) – ‘. . . and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.’
‘To be or not to be?’, this is the question, well not today, today the question is ‘To tithe or not to tithe’?
This story in our text today is a familiar story, where Jacob has a dream of a ladder reaching from earth up to heaven (v12) and he is so moved or overawed by the presence of God in the place that he puts a stone to mark the place, calling it Bethel, making it the house of God. He then makes a vow to God, ‘And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you’. This is the principal of a tithe.
Many today question the practise of tithing, which is a giving back to God a tenth of ones income, (practised by giving it as a tithe to support the local Church to which one attends) saying that it is linked to the Old Testament law and nothing to do with the Church as we are no longer under law but under grace. But as this Scripture here in Genesis records, Jacob was willing to give a tithe before the law was ever given and even prior to this we have a record of Abraham giving a tenth of his income to Melchizedek the priest. (Genesis 14:19-20) To tithe or not to tithe is a question that simply could be answered this way, has God been good in his provision toward us – physically, materially, but more importantly spiritually, consider the Scripture that reminds us ‘He who did not spare his son, but freely gave him up for us all’. If God has given us so much, surely to give something back to him would be the right thing to be willing to do? And this is where the principal of the tithe comes into the equation.
In the New Testament we are encouraged to give to support the work of the Lord, in 1 Corinthians 16 we read ‘On the first day of the week, each of you should put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collection when I come.’ In 2 Corinthians 9 we read, ‘The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!’
Although these Scriptures do not mention the words ‘tenth’ or ‘tithe’ they do talk about our giving and there is no reason why the Old Testament principal should not follow through the New Testament and through to the present age. On one occasion when Jesus was asked about paying taxes, he asked for a coin to be given to him. (Luke 20:24-25) ‘Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have? They said, Caesar’s. He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ Jesus made it very clear that the tax should be rendered, but at the same time he indicated that that which belongs to God should be rendered, and taking the analogy of giving out of your income to Caesar, would also indicate that Jesus was referring to giving out of your income to God.
At this point I want to personally thank you all at Emmanuel Pentecostal Church for your faithfulness in your giving, especially over the last few months during the pandemic, we give because we have already received from God’s bountiful supply, not because we want to get, and we give for the work of the Lord to be continued.