Genesis 14: 18-24
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said:
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And he gave him a tithe of all.
Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
It is important to know that Abram did not give the tithe in order to be blessed by Melchizedek but it was rather in response to the blessing proferred on him by Melchizedek.
Abram also did not tithe from his income neither did he tithe from his wealth; he gave a tithe from the goods that was stolen from the king of sodom which he had recovered and he gave the remaining back to the king of sodom.
TITHING UNDER THE LAW.
Leveticus 27:30
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.
Deutoronomy 14:22-29
“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 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. But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you. “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
NEW TESTAMENT TRUTH.
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Man was separated from God after the fall of Adam and a lot was required for man to please God. Nothing was adequate until Jesus came to the world and died for man's sins and fulfilled the law.
The offerings was to be given to the priests under the law when man was separated from God. However, NOW, Jesus is our high priest and he has made us kings and priests.
The way to give to our high priest has been given to us in the new testament.
Matthew 25:31-40
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
TITHING TO THE LOCAL CHURCH.
Tithing to the local church shows your loyalty and commitment to the work of God that is being done by your pastor. Tithing can NEVER connect anyone to God's blessing. It is Jesus ONLY that can do that. Jesus broke the curse and reconnected man to The Blessing.
Ephesians 1:3-6
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
We have been blessed with all spiritual blessing IN CHRIST. That includes the blessing of Abraham that was promised to Abraham and to his seed, Christ.
2 Corinthians 9:6-9
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written:
“He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.
Every man should search scriptures for himself concerning every subject matter and not just limit his knowledge of God's word to what is being preached from the pulpit.
There is a fresh wind blowing in the body of Christ.
2 comments:
Another excellent post. I have to commend you. This really made me think about some things that I had often ignored. I've never heard anyone else discuss.many of the issues you brought to light. Kudos!
Thanks Stella. I'm glad.
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