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by Brandon Edwards (brandon [at] giftofwords.net)

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There is no doubt that tithing is a huge topic in the protestant church. Many of us have been brought up to believe that tithing is a command of God Himself. I have been dealing with this issue at my church lately and have wanted to do more research on the topic. I have turned my attention to Deuteronomy 26 for my main reading on the subject. I have also used a commentary from Enduringword.com.

And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.” Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. “(Deuteronomy 26:1-4)

1. God told the Israelites that they will get to the land that He promised them.

2. God tells them to give some of all the first produce from the ground to Him. Numbers 18:12 talks about the first fruits that must be regularly brought to the high priests. The first fruits in Deuteronomy 26 seem to be a special offering to God himself as thanks for the Promise Land.

3. God tells them to set it down before the alter of the LORD. First fruit giving honored the LORD. It shows a since of God- Reliance and unselfishness.

Later on in the chapter God commands the Israelites to set aside a tenth of all their produce. This verse is obviously where we decide to obey or disobey God’s commandment.

I believe the act of tithing itself is beautiful. It goes against our human nature to give money (first fruits). When we give out of our heart as an act of worship and reverence, God tells us that we will be blessed more than we can even imagine. That blessing may look different for some people than other people. When you tithe, you are not only giving God what is rightfully his, you are saying, “God you can do much better things with this money than I ever could.”

-Amen

Love everyone,

Brandon

Tags:   Brandon Edwards · Deuternomy · Money · Numbers · Promised Land · TithingNo Comments