Benefits of Tithing
Deuteronomy 14:22-27 (NIV):
Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away) then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice
When we tithe it is for the benefit of ourselves. In the Old Testament times the people were required to tithe of their crops and their herds. As you can see here in this passage they were actually required to eat it before the Lord as a sacrifice and to show that they feared the Lord. This is the same for us today except we do not earn our wages in animals or crops so we bring money a tenth of that what we earn before the Lord, however it is still so that we would be fed. Have you noticed that it says this in Malachi 3:10:
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it”
We bring our tithe so that there is spiritual food in the house, so that we are fed from the word. We know from the financial report Gavin brought to us not long ago that some of the elders are supported from the tithe to do the job that they do. The elders are there to shepherd us and to lead us so that we would grow as a people numerically and spiritually, this comes from being fed by them. If there is no food/tithe in God’s house then how can we as a people expect to grow? Let us be a people who do what is required, & even commanded of us to do in order that we would grow.
Deuteronomy 15:4-6
“However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.”
This is a great promise from the Lord that if we do what he commands us to do then we will be richly blessed and we will lend to nations and borrow from none. I believe that for us in this time we really need to get a hold of the word and run with God’s promises. In terms of growing as King’s Church to be thousands of people we need God’s miraculous provision for a new building and I know that God will richly bless us in this if we obey his commands.
Kelly Shennan
