Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

The Three Tithes

This entry was posted on 10-15-2006 and is filed under Devotional.

"And the children of Israel and Judah...brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God they laid in heaps" (2 Chronicles 31:6 NKJV).

People rob God when they fail to tithe (Mal. 3:8). John MacArthur points out that God's people actually gave three tithes in the Old Testament. The first was for the support of the Levitical priesthood (Lev. 27:30-33), the second was for the festivals held in the Temple (Deut. 12:6,7), and the third - every three years - was for the support of the impoverished (Deut. 14:28,29).

From my youth I was taught that 10% of what I earned was to go to God. Tithing is a great antidote to materialism. But many Christians oppose tithing saying it was a part of the Law that was done away with at the cross. However, tithing is a principle that actually pre-dated the Law (see Gen. 13:20; 28:22). I can't get around the fact that if Christ is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 7:17), then surely our tithes go to Him just as much as Abraham's did to Melchizedek (Heb. 7:2,9). We are the spiritual children of Abraham (Gal. 3:29). Those who don't tithe not only rob God but also rob themselves of the blessings connected with tithing (Mal. 3:10). This brief Bible study probably won't convince anti-tithers or non-tithers but I hope it will be an encouragement to those who do practice the everlasting principle of tithing to continue to honor God with their tithes.

Song/Prayer: Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold/Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise/Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine/Take my heart, it is Thine own, it shall be Thy royal throne. (Frances R. Havergal)