Greetings to you all greatly beloved of God in Christ Jesus. Welcome to another beautiful day in the second month of the year 2021. We are thankful to God for preserving our lives each new day and for blessing us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.
In our today’s episode 636, we shall be concluding Chapter 3 of Malachi titled:
What The Bible Teaches About Tithing And Giving; Should I Pay Or Give?
Today’s message is going to be a unique one as we will be dealing with a very controversial topic, which has landed so many people including some preachers in so much confusion that they have given up teaching this topic. This same topic, because it has not been properly handled and interpreted, it has generated so much strife among church members.
As believers, we do not need to continue to grapple with the truth when we have the Word of God at our finger’s tip to show us the truth and that is exactly what we shall be considering here in this post.
The bible says in 2Tim 3:16-17 that the Scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God.
These Scriptures empower you by way of its instruction, correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and leading you deeper into the path of godliness.
And the result is for you to become a servant of God, who is fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfil any assignment God gives you.
Having understood the above objectives of the Scriptures, it is therefore very important for us to learn how to interpret the Scriptures to enable it to perform the functions of which it was sent.
The best and only way of interpreting the old testament books, as clearly demonstrated by the Apostles is to study the Epistles alongside. The various answers we seek from the Old testament books have been answered in the Epistles. All we need do is read and study carefully.
And that is why this study is coming to you right now. Please, grab a cup of coffee or tea, remove every form of distraction, relax and study along with us. This is going to be an interesting read.
Malachi 3:8-12 (KJV)
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
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.
11 And 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, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
I was examining the Hebrew transliteration of the word “rob” and here is what I found:
Rob = qâba`
Pronounced as /kaw-bah`/
It means to defraud someone or to act in a dubious way. I will explain this shortly.
And the Hebrew transliteration for tithe is called ma`ǎώêr
Pronounced as /mah-as-ayr’/
And it means a tenth part of something.
We will also find out shortly what they were tithing.
This means that these people were defrauding God in the area of tithing and offering.
Remember Prophet Malachi had been complaining about the activities of the Priests right from chapters 1 and 2 where they were offering to God terrible offerings such as lame, sick and stolen animals when they had in their stock very good-looking animals.
Then in chapter 2:1-2, he specifically rebuked the priests again and warned them to stop dishonouring God. In verse 8, he explained how they have departed from the right path and in the process led others astray.
All these put together was the reason he said in chapter 3 that God’s messenger was coming to purify the people especially the priests. He would refine them like gold so that they would start to bring the right kind of offerings to God.
As a matter of fact, some of them were even practising magic, committing adultery, they cheated, they took advantage of widows and orphans and carrying out so many atrocities. Please read 3:6.
What baffles me mostly is the fact that all these things are what many church leaders are still practising and you know what God says concerning them?
The prophet said: they will lose their relevance. That people will start to despise them, because they have chosen to dishonour God and have brought shame to the body of Christ. (Read 2:9).
Now, let’s talk about how they were robbing God in the area of tithe as mentioned in verses 8-9 where they (Levites) were not remitting the full amount of tithes to the store house.
Remember the instruction was already given in the law of Moses in Numbers 18:21-32:
I am going to paraphrase the whole passage to save space, but you have to read the entire passage for the full details.
The descendants of Levi were given the sole responsibility of collecting tithes from the people as their compensation for serving in the tabernacle (Num. 18:21-25)
As a result of this responsibility, they were not entitled to have any property in the land of Israel (Num. 18:23).
The moment they collect tithes from the people, they must take out 10% as a special contribution to the Lord (Tithe of tithes).
Who will receive these special contributions (10% of all tithes) from the Levites?
The Levites were to present them to the high priest. In Num. 18:28, they paid it to Aaron. This 10% must be chosen from the best that they have received from the people. Having presented the best part to Aaron, they and their families were free to consume the rest (Num. 18:30-31).
The former Levites (their forefathers) were observing all these rules faithfully (Mal 2:5-6), but this generation Malachi was addressing, decided to rebel against God (Mal 2:8-9) and refused to give to God the right offerings and the ones they tried to remit were taken from the sick, lame, stolen, and terrible looking animals, while they kept the best parts for themselves and God was not happy about this. Even the people were already learning from them too and practising similar wicked acts.
Don’t forget the sequence of instructions given:
The people were to pay tithes to the Levites from their produce, while the Levites were to turn in 10% of tithes collected from the people and the Levites refused to fulfil their part.
You will now agree that Malachi was not addressing the people. Rather, he was addressing the Levites and the priests.
How can we prove that?
Please, read Mal 1:6; Mal 2:1 and Mal. 3:3
You will find out that Malachi specifically mentioned their names in form of Levites and priests.
In addition to that, the people were not even allowed to bring tithes to the temple, according to the law of Moses, if they tried it then, they would die (Please read Numbers 18:22).
The Levites were saddled with the responsibility of taking tithes to the store house, which they failed to do or doing it wrongfully. Hence, the reason for Malachi’s rebuke.
Any preacher that threatens his congregation using Malachi chapter 3:8-9 about the payment of tithes, has not properly studied the Bible to know who exactly Malachi’s audience was.
It is very important for such preachers to start correcting their errors as a matter of urgency because it is a serious disservice to the body of Christ when a preacher communicates wrong interpretations of the Word of God to his followers, thereby leading them astray.
Am I against giving 10% of your income? Absolutely no. But I am against legalistic payment of tithes because Jesus frowns against it and none of His Apostles taught it either. And this is why I am taking more time dealing with this subject right now. Please, read along with patience and you will understand what the Bible says about this important topic.
The first place in the Bible where the concept of tithing was established was when Abram (later Abraham), was returning from the battle front where he won, and he met Melchizedek on his way.
Who was Melchizedek?
Melchizedek was the ruler of the city called ‘Salem’ at that time and he came out to welcome Abram. Recall that Melchizedek did not welcome him empty handed; he presented bread and wine as welcome gifts.
Why did Melchizedek do this and why bread and wine?
If we read 1Samuel 16:20, we will discover that bread and wine were special gifts usually presented to kings at that time.
In 1Samuel 16:20, when Jesse sent David to king Saul during the Goliath-Israel saga, Jesse mobilized David with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread and a bag full of wine to be delivered to king Saul.
Bread and wine have been known in Israel as royal gifts for many generations.
But Abram was not a king, why would Melchizedek present him royal gifts?
The truth is that it’s not easy to fight multiple kings at a time in those days. Whoever does that then would be accorded a special honour. It was a great feat for Abram to have achieved that with the help of God.
With that singular act alone, he qualified to be made a king in one of the cities in Israel at the time. As a matter of fact, he eventually became the progenitor of the people of Israel – Father of faith for that matter. A position bigger than the position of a king.
So, Melchizedek recognized this, and he honoured Abram and pronounced God’s blessings upon him.
Melchizedek did this because he was both a Priest of The Most-High God as well as King of Salem. Gen 14:18-20. This was the reason he foreshadowed Jesus Christ taking the role of a High Priest as well as a King according to the order of Melchizedek. Please read Hebrews 7:15-17.
To reciprocate this good gesture and honour accorded him, Abram decided to give Melchizedek a tenth of all the spoils that he brought from war.
As a matter of fact, there was no other place in the Bible where it was mentioned that Abram (Abraham) tithed other than this instance.
Again, remember that Abram was blessed first before giving tithe. He didn’t give and waiting to be blessed. Does that ring any bell? For me, yes. It means that Abraham did not give tithe to Melchizedek expecting to be blessed. Rather, he gave because he was already blessed. Melchizedek blessed him first. Besides, the Bible also says he was rich in livestock, silver, and gold – in short, he was a successful entrepreneur. Gen 13:1-2.
Now, let me shock you with this truth: Abraham never tithed from his business. Rather, he tithed from the spoil of war and this happened only once according to the Bible. There was no other place in the Bible where it was recorded that Abraham tithed repeatedly.
Later on, tithing became a law for the people of ancient Israel (Deut 14:22). The Bible was explicit about the purpose of making it mandatory at that time for the people of Israel and Levites according to Deuteronomy 18 and Numbers 18. It was because the Levites and priests had no job other than serving in the temple and no landed properties were allocated to the Levites. Therefore, their means of livelihood was basically from the tithes.
Another reason for tithing during that time was so that the house of God could be stocked with foods for widows, orphans, and the poor.
There are several other places in the old testament where tithes were paid and none of these instances mentioned money as what needed to be tithed. Every passage mentioned foods instead, which could be in form of plants or animals.
Does that mean there were no financial instruments such as money being used to transact business in those days? Money was definitely in circulation at that time.
A very good example was when Abraham’s wife (Sarah) died and Abraham wanted to secure a burial place for her, the Bible says in Genesis 23:16 that he paid 400 pieces of Silver being the amount agreed upon to secure the landed property for Sarah’s graveyard.
So, people were already spending money at that time, but there was no mention of it as a means of paying tithes. Tithes were specifically taken from food items only.
So, tithing in the law has always been from food items (both plant and animals) and not money. Let’s get some proofs by reading the following passages:
Leviticus 27:30 (tithe of grains and fruits etc)
Numbers 18:27 (tithe of new corn and new wine)
Deut 12:17-19 (tithe of corn, wine, olive oil, cattle, sheep)
Deut 14:22; 26:12 (tenth of crops)
2Chro 31:5-6 (tithe of corn, wine, olive oil, honey, etc)
Honestly, the list is very long and if you want more proofs, simply type the word tithe in the search bar of the Bible app on your phone and you will see all the Bible verses talking about tithes in the old testament and you will discover that they were all talking about foods and not money.
Some preachers even said that the old testament emphasized tithing of foods because their profession during that time was basically farming.
The above submission was wrong as there were several other professions at that time apart from farming. Professions like carpentry, house building or tent making. Musicians, decorators, sculptors etc were also common those days. So, tithing was basically on foods (plants and animals) only.
Remember that the law has been fulfilled after Jesus resurrected and the new covenant is now in force which gives everybody the liberty to give willingly, liberally and as many times as you want.
Why was the old testament law set aside to give room for the new testament?
The reason is because it was weak, useless and could not make anything perfect.
What? Says who?
Well, I didn’t say that. The Bible says so in Hebrews 7:18-19
In fact, the Law was not given by God in the first place. New testament books make us realize that it was Moses that gave the ancient Israelites the Law. And why was the Law given to them? It was simply because of the hardness of their heart. They rejected grace and Moses gave them the Law. John confirms this in John 1:17. Jesus said it Himself also in Matthew 19:7-8.
Apostle Paul also confirms this in the Epistle: Galatians 3:19
Ok, if we can’t pay tithe because it has been done away with, how about the mention of tithing in the new testament especially by Jesus Christ?
Yes, tithe was mentioned in the new testament. However, the fact that it was mentioned does not make it a doctrine. We need to study those passages contextually to understand correctly what the writers were saying.
We are going to start with Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 23:23 (KJV)
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
In the above verse, was Jesus endorsing tithe payment?
Capital NO!
He was simply rebuking them for their selfishness and hypocrisy. Note that Jesus called their activities “matters of the Law” and remember Christ has fulfilled the Law with all its associated burdens lifted.
He was actually preaching to them so they could readjust their value systems and embrace the most important things which are Love, mercy and upholding justice, which are also lacking in our dispensation today.
As a matter of fact, if Jesus supported tithing, He would have justified the Pharisee that went to the temple to pray during His parable of a Pharisee and a Publican narrated in Luke 18:9-14.
The Publican was justified while the Pharisee was debased and condemned. It means tithing and other matters of the Law have never been means of justification in the New Covenant.
Ok, if Jesus was not promoting tithing, how about the writer of Hebrews in Heb 7:6-9
The writer of Hebrews was not endorsing tithing either. He was not giving any instruction to pay tithe. He was simply making reference to what transpired between Abraham and Melchizedek which still boils down to the fact that these old testament people and their laws and practices had limitations and that was the reason Christ had to come to institute a new law called the Law of Christ which is Love for God and Love for humanity.
As a matter of fact, the writer of Hebrews already put a disclaimer that he was not promoting any matters of the law or the practices of old testament Patriarchs. Please read Heb 7:11-12.
11 If any of the Levitical priests who served under the law had the power to bring us into perfection, then why did God send Christ as Priest after the likeness of Melchizedek? He should have said, “After the likeness of Aaron.”
– 12 And furthermore, for God to send a new and different rank of priest, meant a new law would have had to be instituted even to allow it! (The Passion Translation)
Now, here are some golden questions for New Testament believers:
Is it wrong to give a 10% of one’s income?
The answer is no. It’s not wrong. Why? because the word tithe means 10th or one tenth of your income.
Your income is yours and you simply purposed in your heart without anyone forcing you to give 10%.
Some believers have purposed in their heart to give 20%, while some have decided to give even 90%.
Under new covenant, there is no limit to what you can give to support God’s work, your Pastor, the widows, and the poor in your church and around you.
Now, here is another golden question…
Is it wrong to mandate new covenant believers to “pay” tithes and to also threaten them that if they don’t pay, they won’t make heaven?
It is completely wrong because, Jesus Christ did not teach such message and none of the Apostles taught that kind of message either.
What was predominant in the early churches is giving out of a willing heart.
Please read:
Philp 4:16 (they met Paul’s needs through giving)
Gal 6:6 (give to your Pastor that is feeding you spiritual foods)
Romans 15:26; (people in Macedonia and Achaia made certain contributions for the Saints in Jerusalem).
And so on…
The most interesting teaching of Apostle Paul about giving was his testimony about some believers who gave beyond expectation according to 2Cor 8:2-5
What did they do?
Apart from the fact that they joyfully surrendered themselves for service to God, they also gave spontaneously not only according to their means but far beyond what they could afford.
In fact, they were even begging Paul and his team that they wanted to give more and more, and Paul was amazed and thrilled about their method of giving.
That’s how every believer should behave too. You do not need anyone to force 10% or 20% out of your pocket before you perform your responsibility as as believer. Every believer should be an addicted giver.
It’s so unfortunate that so many people have been paying tithes out of fear of:
“I don’t know what my papa or people will say”
Or
“I do not want to miss heaven”
Such giving is legalistic, and it is not acceptable before God, because it’s not done out of faith. It’s done out of fear and anything done out of fear is sin. Romans 14:23
To be continued… stay tuned and stay blessed.
Let’s pray:
Someone is reading this message now and I can see that all you need to make it in life so that you can become a blessing to your generation are already inside of you in form of ideas and concepts running through your mind and you have been wondering how to make them a reality.
I stand as an oracle of God Most High and call forth those amazing ideas and concepts within your subconscious begin to come to physical manifestation in your life right now, in Jesus name.
Begin to receive the connections and good relationships that you need to take you to your desired level of great achievements in life in the name.
I command God’s favour and mercy to locate you right now and you will not struggle to make it life. The Lord God will use all your past failures as steppingstones to your greatness, in Jesus name.
God’s infinite intelligence is guiding your steps already leading you in the right direction. I see you sponsoring good causes. I see you offering scholarships to the less privileged. I see you becoming financial partner supporting your Pastor and your church. I see you becoming a blessing to others. This will happen without delay, in Jesus name.
In the face of adversity, you will stand strong and victorious, in Jesus name. Celebrate, rejoice and give thanks to God right now! Hallelujah!
Bible Readings: Exodus Chapters 15 to 40 with Proverbs Chapters 1 to 8
I call you blessed now and always.
Wednesday February 10, 2021 (DDMI)
