More on "Eating the tithe"

If you have not read the comments on the previous post, I encourage you to do so. The summary I gave of tithing in general did leave me open to justifiable criticism. I certainly do not want to imply that we are still under the law in the sense that Paul uses this phrase. The idea that we are to tithe as an obligation under the Law is not held by me. I make the point that the Old Testament laws have principles behind them that we are to embrace with joy and gladness. The New Testament teaching on giving is about being a cheerful, generous giver since everything  belongs to the Lord.

The task of finding the principle behind many of the Old Testament passages, and indeed of the New Testament as well, calls for an enquiring mind under the control of the Holy Spirit. Our minds are to be renewed (Eph 4:23, Col 3:10), not ignored. If we now have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16) then we will be able to ask the right questions and get the right answers. We must not fall into the trap of anti-intellectualism.

A tithe is a token. It is the baseline if you like, of our giving. We are called to go beyond that and give all that we have to the Lord; to ask ‘what can I keep’, not ‘what can I give’.

Translating this into our time and space leads us along an interesting path. 

Firstly, If we are to bring the WHOLE tithe into the storehouse, then where is the storehouse. I used to think this was the local church, but now I am convinced that the storehouse is Jesus himself. We are to bring it to Him so He can decide where the needs are that need to come out of that storehouse.

Secondly, what are the practicalities that come from this?

This takes us back to the Book of Deuteronomy.

Deu 14:22-29 HCSB  "Each year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields.  (23)  You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of Yahweh your God at the place where He chooses to have His name dwell, so that you will always learn to fear the LORD your God.  (24)  But if the distance is too great for you to carry it, since the place where Yahweh your God chooses to put His name is too far away from you and since the LORD your God has blessed you,  (25)  then exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place the LORD your God chooses.  (26)  You may spend the money on anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or anything you desire. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your family.  (27)  Do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.  (28)  "At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store it within your gates.  (29)  Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come, eat, and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

There are several points to note here:

• 1.       They were to eat the tithe, or its financial equivalent, in the presence of the Lord and where He decreed.

• 2.      They were to learn the fear of the Lord through this.

• 3.      There was no restriction on what they were to spend the money on.

• 4.      We are to rejoice with our family in this activity.

• 5.      The tithe that went to the Levites was for their support and for the relief of poverty.

The question of the third year distribution has been discussed by scholars for some time, and it seems that they believe there were two tithes, possibly at the beginning and end of the harvest. The first was for the Levites alone to receive and the other was the one we are discussing here. I think this is speculation based on Rabbinical teaching. However I don’t want to get caught up in this. I will stick with the five points above.

It seems to me that we can distil the following principles for us from this passage.

• 1.       Serving and giving to the Lord is a joyful thing.

• 2.      God’s love is so great, and His mercy so strong, that what we give to Him, He gives back to us, and even more.

Even in the question of the Sabbath, Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Joy is such a common word in the New Testament. Those of us who love Jesus with a passion know how joyful this is, even in the midst of trial and difficulty.

• 3.      We are to remember Him around the table. That was the original point of the Lord’s Supper, not a ritual to be carried out symbolically. This should be done every time we gather around a table for a meal. But especially so, as a grand event, at certain times of the year.

After all, the Sabbath Seder was a recounting of the Exodus each week in Jewish homes. This was a full meal and a joyful occasion every week, in the family, and still is today. The father took time to teach the household about the Lord and His provision for them.

Family is in the forefront here, and the teaching of God’s ways is done faithfully in the family, each week, at this meal.

I remember with gladness the times when our children were very young, how Elizabeth and I had structured times each week teaching our children. In our case it was not over a meal, unless you call “Poppy’s  pancakes” a meal. But it was a structured time when I inputted to the children at least as much as I did to the church I pastored.

• 4.      There was to be  a real provision for the poor. I can hear clearly Paul’s admonition in  Cor 11.

1Co 11:18-22 NIV  In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.  (19)  No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.  (20)  So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat,  (21)  for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.  (22)  Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

The Corinthian Church did not even seem to notice the poor in their midst as they feasted in the presence of the Lord. There was to be a special provision made for those people who are often not even noticed.

Let me try to pull this together.

1.       Our financial giving is to be generous (absolutely more than a tithe) and given willingly and joyfully.

2.      There can be no guilt associated with our giving. Giving to the Lord is one of the ways He wants to bless us and how He wants us to enjoy our giving in many ways, some of which are:

a.      In our gatherings to remember Jesus for all He has done for us, we can use what the Holy Spirit has given us and what we have ‘given’ Him, to have a joyful meal at whatever level we decide is most appropriate. Remembering Him in this context does not mean a cursory saying of ‘grace’ before the meal, but a meal centred on Him. Our conversation is to be about Him, teaching &/or testimony, worship, prayer, etc.

Maybe this can be one new form of ‘church’, held entirely within the framework of a meal.

b.      These are not to be exclusive gatherings and should include those who have little or nothing, without expecting them, or anyone else for that matter, to contribute anything at all to the meal.

After all this is a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb!

c.       Outside of all of this we are also to use our giving to the Lord to alleviate poverty and suffering.

There are so many calls on our financial resources today, that we cannot give to everyone. This is where we need to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit to show us where this money is to go.

d.      In all of this we must be led by the Holy Spirit, otherwise it will all become carnal and meaningless as it seems to have become in Corinth.

Commentary Notes on Deuteronomy 26:12-13

Keil & Delitzsch

The delivery of the tithes, like the presentation of the first-fruits, was also to be sanctified by prayer before the Lord. It is true that only a prayer after taking the second tithe in the third year is commanded here; but that is simply because this tithe was appropriated everywhere throughout the land to festal meals for the poor and destitute (Deu 14:28), when prayer before the Lord would not follow per analogiam from the previous injunction concerning the presentation of first-fruits, as it would in the case of the tithes with which sacrificial meals were prepared at the sanctuary (Deu 14:22.). לַעְשֵׂר is the infinitive Hiphil for לְהַעֲשַׂר, as in Neh 10:39 (on this form, vid., Ges. §53, 3 Anm. 2 and 7, and Ew. §131, b. and 244, b.). “Saying before the Lord” does not denote prayer in the sanctuary (at the tabernacle), but, as in Gen 27:7, simply prayer before God the omnipresent One, who is enthroned in heaven (Deu 26:15), and blesses His people from above from His holy habitation. The declaration of having fulfilled the commandments of God refers primarily to the directions concerning the tithes, and was such a rendering of an account as springs from the consciousness that a man very easily transgresses the commandments of God, and has nothing in common with the blindness of pharisaic self-righteousness “I have cleaned out the holy out of my house:” the holy is that which is sanctified to God, that which belongs to the Lord and His servants, as in Lev 21:22. בִּעֵר signifies not only to remove, but to clean out, wipe out. That which was sanctified to God appeared as a debt, which was to be wiped out of a man's house (Schultz).

Matthew Henry

Concerning the disposal of their tithe the third year we had the law before, Deu 14:28, Deu 14:29. The second tithe, which in the other two years was to be spent in extraordinaries at the feasts, was to be spent the third year at home, in entertaining the poor. Now because this was done from under the eye of the priests, and a great confidence was put in the people's honesty, that they would dispose of it according to the law, to the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless (Deu 26:12), it is therefore required that when at the next feast after they appeared before the Lord they should there testify (as it were) upon oath, in a religious manner, that they had fully administered, and been true to their trust.

More comments and interactions please.