P
Pastor Eric
Guest
Shalom,
Mal 3:10 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].
Undoubtedly if you have been around CHRISTianity very long someone has spoken with you regarding "The Tithe"! Even though if we are truely living in CHRIST this is no longer supposed to be an issue. Eventhough as "True Believers" in CHRIST we understand that everything that we have is subject to being given to the work of the LORD at HIS prompting. The tithe is still the basic support of the work of the LORD. There are times when HE request more and there are times when less is acceptable; yet still it is to be our "very basic" level of support to HIS work on the earth!
In the verses prior to the intial verse quoted above we find what may be the most famous or infamous verses of CHRISTianity.
Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9 Ye [are] cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, [even] this whole nation.
More so in Protestantism than in Judaism or Catholocism the tithe is considered more along the lines of an "offering" to the assembly! This SHOULD NOT be for this IS NOT true! This is actually a very serious issue with the LORD.
When the Jews were in the wilderness and YHVH was dividing the Promised Lands among them HE set nothing aside for the Levites (the tribe of the priest). He provided no means by which they were to provide for themselves. It was the responsibility of the nation of Israel, "YHVH's children" to provide for them! The Levites were to be totally dependent upon YHVH to lead the others to supply for them through their giving to HIM.
Num 18:5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.
Num 18:6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you [they are] given [as] a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
~
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Num 18:20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I [am] thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
Num 18:21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, [even] the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
In return for their "total" service to HIM, HE would allow them 90% of what was given to HIM for their use.
Num 18:25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 18:26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, [even] a tenth [part] of the tithe.
When I first read this it didn't exactly read in English as it does in the Hebrew so let me show this to you from another version?
25 The Lord also told Moses, 26 "Say this to the Levites: `When you receive the tithes from the Israelites, give a tenth of the tithes you receive-a tithe of the tithe-to the Lord as a gift.
This is from the NLT but it really allows you to grasp the essence of what the LORD is attempting to convey.
Only 1/10th of what you bring with you to give to the LORD as a "tithe" is to actually make it into the work of the LORD in what we might call a "direct" or "tangible" manner. The balance is to be used by the Priest to sustain themselves as they serve the LORD FOR YOU while you go about doing other things. Even though the Apostle Paul was a tent maker and thus possibly the first "Bi-vocational" Priest/Pastor/Minister or whatever you desire to designate him as of "The Church" this was NOT what YHVH had established or planned. This is not the perfect will of YHVH for the lives of those who dedicated themselves to the calling of YHVH upon their lives as "Clergy"!
Now let's step back and look to the opening verse of this musing?
Mal 3:10 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].
We must look at this and ask of ourselves, "What have I brought to the storehouse?" Have you done your part as prescribed in scripture to insure that those who are serving you and YHVH can do so without having to spend their time doing secular or other things? Is there sufficiency within the house of the LORD? If you lack of the things of YHVH, the "meat" in your life, whose fault is it?
According to verse 9 you are even stealing from your neighbor in this regard.
Mal 3:9 Ye [are] cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, [even] this whole nation.
If sin is running rampant in the world it is in part the fault of the "church". As "the church" we have failed to provide for the blessing of YHVH to be poured out upon us. We have failed to provide that which the YHVH requires of us in order for HIM to open the windows of Heaven. We have made our selves, our needs, our wants our first love!
Mat 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness!
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Mat 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.
What's in your storehouse?
Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Where have you fallen?
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Mal 3:10 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].
Undoubtedly if you have been around CHRISTianity very long someone has spoken with you regarding "The Tithe"! Even though if we are truely living in CHRIST this is no longer supposed to be an issue. Eventhough as "True Believers" in CHRIST we understand that everything that we have is subject to being given to the work of the LORD at HIS prompting. The tithe is still the basic support of the work of the LORD. There are times when HE request more and there are times when less is acceptable; yet still it is to be our "very basic" level of support to HIS work on the earth!
In the verses prior to the intial verse quoted above we find what may be the most famous or infamous verses of CHRISTianity.
Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9 Ye [are] cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, [even] this whole nation.
More so in Protestantism than in Judaism or Catholocism the tithe is considered more along the lines of an "offering" to the assembly! This SHOULD NOT be for this IS NOT true! This is actually a very serious issue with the LORD.
When the Jews were in the wilderness and YHVH was dividing the Promised Lands among them HE set nothing aside for the Levites (the tribe of the priest). He provided no means by which they were to provide for themselves. It was the responsibility of the nation of Israel, "YHVH's children" to provide for them! The Levites were to be totally dependent upon YHVH to lead the others to supply for them through their giving to HIM.
Num 18:5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.
Num 18:6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you [they are] given [as] a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
~
~
Num 18:20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I [am] thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
Num 18:21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, [even] the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
In return for their "total" service to HIM, HE would allow them 90% of what was given to HIM for their use.
Num 18:25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 18:26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, [even] a tenth [part] of the tithe.
When I first read this it didn't exactly read in English as it does in the Hebrew so let me show this to you from another version?
25 The Lord also told Moses, 26 "Say this to the Levites: `When you receive the tithes from the Israelites, give a tenth of the tithes you receive-a tithe of the tithe-to the Lord as a gift.
This is from the NLT but it really allows you to grasp the essence of what the LORD is attempting to convey.
Only 1/10th of what you bring with you to give to the LORD as a "tithe" is to actually make it into the work of the LORD in what we might call a "direct" or "tangible" manner. The balance is to be used by the Priest to sustain themselves as they serve the LORD FOR YOU while you go about doing other things. Even though the Apostle Paul was a tent maker and thus possibly the first "Bi-vocational" Priest/Pastor/Minister or whatever you desire to designate him as of "The Church" this was NOT what YHVH had established or planned. This is not the perfect will of YHVH for the lives of those who dedicated themselves to the calling of YHVH upon their lives as "Clergy"!
Now let's step back and look to the opening verse of this musing?
Mal 3:10 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].
We must look at this and ask of ourselves, "What have I brought to the storehouse?" Have you done your part as prescribed in scripture to insure that those who are serving you and YHVH can do so without having to spend their time doing secular or other things? Is there sufficiency within the house of the LORD? If you lack of the things of YHVH, the "meat" in your life, whose fault is it?
According to verse 9 you are even stealing from your neighbor in this regard.
Mal 3:9 Ye [are] cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, [even] this whole nation.
If sin is running rampant in the world it is in part the fault of the "church". As "the church" we have failed to provide for the blessing of YHVH to be poured out upon us. We have failed to provide that which the YHVH requires of us in order for HIM to open the windows of Heaven. We have made our selves, our needs, our wants our first love!
Mat 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness!
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Mat 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.
What's in your storehouse?
Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Where have you fallen?
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.