” For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
The Act of Tithing
“When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year—the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.— Deuteronomy 26:12-13 (NKJV)
The tithe is a HOLY THING from your house to God’s house.
“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.— Deuteronomy 14:22-23 (NKJV)
Fear (yārē) yaw-ray… Used of a person in an exalted position, yārēʾ connotes “standing in awe.” This is not simple fear, but reverence, whereby an individual recognizes the power and position of the individual revered and renders him proper respect. In this sense, the word may imply submission to a proper ethical relationship to God; EXAMPLE: the angel of the Lord told Abraham: “…I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (Gen. 22:12). Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words.
The purpose for tithing was to help keep the people recognizing Who was behind their increase.
Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey. Deuteronomy 26:15 (NKJV)
Like Jacob…God looking down from his holy habitation and blessed them.
Tithing invokes God’s blessings.
The Law Was a Type and Shadow of Things to Come
A man around a corner…you see his shadow before you see him. But once he rounds the corner, you don’t look at the shadow, you look at the man.
- A substance created that shadow…the shadow is not the real thing.
- A picture of a sunset never does the real sunset justice.
- Father-in-law loves to watch hunting shows…but you have to be there to understand the emotions and thrill of the kill.
- The Old Testament was about Jesus, He’s the substance of the law.
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Luke 24:44 (KJV)
If I brought out a lamb and cut its throat and sprinkled blood on you…you should get up and walk out…
But God for 4000yrs commanded it…until the substance came…Jesus. Hebrews 9:11-15 (NKJV)
Jesus is the substance of the Law.
Listen
You can listen to this week’s message online via the player below.
Or if you prefer, you can download the MP3. (Right click on that link and save the file on your local computer.)
