To My Friends, Colleagues, Church Fellowship, Curious People everywhere and especially my Grandchildren,
Always know that you are fully loved by God and you are loved by me. I pray that you remember our purpose is to reflect the entire Glory of God.
CHRIST INTRODUCES OFFERINGS AND THE "TITHE"
I want to share with you what I saw as the basic structure of the offerings Christ instituted. To do this we might as well tackle the big one first. The Tithe.
All offerings culminated with the "Tithe". When we talk about giving in the church these tend to be the questions.
What is the tithe? How much is the tithe? Is this really in the bible? Is this still an institute of the modern church or was it only for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament? The questions are numerous and perhaps you have asked some of these questions yourself.
For me to give these questions fair answers I begin in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers which we are currently reading.
Before we attempt to bring clarity to the questions of offerings and the tithe, permit me to clarify the difference between the ordinances Christ is instituting and the offerings He is asking His people to bring to the tabernacle.
Remember that the tabernacle is a part of the agreement Christ made with His people so that He would (not "could" but "would") travel with them to the promised land. Christ had stated He would not go with them to the promised land, because in His holiness he would destroy them before they arrived. He was Holy and they were not. His will, was that the people of Israel would move into the land He had promised for them. He knew they would be continually drawn to the building of idols in this world and the response of Christ would be harsh. Christ told Moses He intended to keep the promise of giving them a land of their own but He would send an angel to lead them. Moses asked for Christ to reconsider. Moses asked that rather than leave them to be led by an angel why not teach them how to live in relationship with Christ as they journeyed together. Christ consented to this and the tabernacle is built. Ordinances and laws are put in place and offerings are required. All of this is a part of the process Christ will use to teach His children what it means to be Holy in the presence of Christ Himself who is Holy. This brings me to the basic difference between a law that is to be followed and an offering that is to be given. This is the basic difference. Christ will use the ordinances and laws He is instituting to direct and teach us about His holiness as we observe and follow them. He will use the offerings and the tithe to bring us into right relationship and fellowship with Him as we repent, give and serve.
Let's begin in the latter part of Exodus as Christ begins telling Moses about several types of offering he is to institute. Let's do a quick overview of these offerings and their purpose.
Burnt Offerings - these were offerings to atone for sin
Sin Offerings - for sins that could not be atoned for
Guilt Offerings - for sins that could be atoned for
- Without doing a thorough study of the offerings we can see at a basic level these offerings keep us connected to Christ even when we fail to live up to His Holy Character in the ordinances and laws. Were it not for these offerings we could not stay in right relationship with Christ. Even if we can't live by the standards of His Holly character we can show we want to by our repentant hearts that obey the offerings. Both conscious and unconscious sin is dealt with in these three offerings.
Grain Offerings - these were offerings given in gratitude for abundant crops
- These offerings were a constant acknowledgement that everything Israel had comes from Christ. These do not mirror the Egyptian offerings that were given so that you would have a good crop. These offerings were given regardless of the bounty of the crop. They were given from good crop harvests and the same is required even in a poor harvest. All that we have comes from Christ.
Fellowship Offerings - these were in honor of our fellowship with God
- These were instituted as a reason for all Israel to come to Christ just to be in His presence. Not because they had sinned or failed, but rather because He wanted to be with them and they wanted to be with Him. A part of these offerings were the things they brought to the tabernacle to sustain it and the things they brought to the tabernacle because they were the people of Christ.
In addition to these offerings there were the offerings of our gifts and talents. Everyone had something they could do to work for God and His temple. Writing, Sewing, Woodworking, Metalworking, Music etc… Everyone was encouraged to contribute for the temple in their work.
Here was the catch. In most of these fellowship offerings we were to give freely as we felt called. There were annual offerings that had to happen but in relation to individuals it was between you and God when you brought one of these offerings to the temple or the church. In these times you came to just be in the presence of Christ and to be in fellowship with Him.
Here was Christ's decree in all of these offerings.
Exodus 34:20 - Christ says, "no one is to appear before me empty handed".
This brings us to the questions of a tithe. Leviticus tells us the tithe happened in a couple of ways. Whenever your land or your flock or your occupation increased you brought the “first fruits” of that increase to the temple. You were also asked every three years to not totally gather your fields and your flocks so that those who were poor (usually the orphans and widows) could use your produce to help feed and clothe themselves.
Why the "first fruits"?
Numbers 3:11 tells us the "tithe is His because He set aside the firstborn of Israel for himself in Egypt when He struck down all the firstborn of the Egyptians.
Why 10%
Leviticus 27:30 Christ tell us that the tithe is one tenth of everything that is first in your life. Crops, Animals, money, etc...
I have continued to say in these blogs that Christ in the books of the Old Testament must agree with Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
In the new testament (Mark 12 and Luke 21) we have Jesus Christ honoring a poor widow who was bringing an offering to the temple. It was a very small amount and yet she brought it. In the midst of very wealthy people giving offerings in the temple Christ called attention to this one small offering from the widow. He said to His disciples that this woman’s offering was more pleasing than the large amounts the wealthy were giving. Christ did honor and promote the idea of giving an offering and tithing in the New Testament.
The early church also practiced both offering and tithing. The bible tells us that people went and sold items or brought money to the church for the common fellowship and purpose of the church.
In our modern era when we receive an increase in our income on at least a monthly basis the idea of a monthly tithe is common. When we make money we give to the church and the community of believers.
A shoutout to my mother and father.
I have always given at least a tithe and often an offering each week or month since I made my first dime as a paperboy and cutting lawns in the summers at about 13 years old. My mother and father modeled this for me. When I began working at the age of 13, each week (that was how often I was paid) 10% of my income went into the offering plate of the church. As my income increased so did my tithe. The extra I might give to the church for things that were close to my heart were my offerings.
Joy and I as the pastor give 10% of our income and we give offerings as well. In our offerings we support things like sending kids to camp or special ministries. We support various youth projects in the church. We support things like Feed My Starving Children. These offerings are not a part of our tithe or a part of the 10% that we give in the general offering of the church. In addition to this we help many families outside of the church. We support the Optimist Club, many school fundraisers and various other community organizations.
I believe in tithing and I practice tithing. I believe in the offering and I practice the giving of various offerings. I go back to scripture and I would say again that the bible makes this a very personal decision between you and Christ.
The invitation of Christ is that His presence will move from a tabernacle into our hearts. This means as we journey towards the promise of an eternal life with Him (which is our "promised land") He will teach us how to be Holy as He is holy. We will fail in this and yes we must bring a sacrifice of repentant hearts into His presence if we want to be forgiven and restored to a place of holiness so we can have the blessing of His presence with us on this journey. It also means we bring fellowship offerings to Him in the form of our gifts and the first fruits of our labor. Christ instituted the church as the body of Christ in this world until He comes again. When He comes again the church will be obsolete and I will once again bring my offerings directly into His presence. Until then I give my tithe and fellowship to the church and my fellow believers in Christ.
I would be interested in other interpretations of the ordinances and the offerings from these books of the Old Testament.
I hope this foundation for the tithe and offering is a blessing to my family as it has been a blessing to me. Thank you mom and dad for teaching me even when I didn't fully understand the scripture supporting the practice.
Yol bolsun,
Tim
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