Wealth and Poverty: Israelites

Wednesday, 19 October 2016

The tithe is recognized as God's

The Old Testament emphasised "freewill offerings" --

The Israelites, all the men and women whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill (voluntary) offering to the Lord. - Exodus 35:29

These were voluntary contributions beyond the tithe.

When the temple needed to be rebuilt, people were asked to provide freewill offerings --

Then the heads of the fathers’ households of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, all those whose spirits God had stirred up,[a]arose to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. All those who were around them encouraged them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods, with cattle, and with valuable things, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering. - Ezra 1:5-6

The Israelites got caught up in the thrill of giving --

And all the skilled men who were doing all the work on the sanctuary came, each one from the work which he was doing, and they said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the Lord commanded us to do.” So Moses issued a command, and it was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the sanctuary offering.” So the people were restrained from bringing anything more; for the material they had was sufficient and more than enough to do all the work. - Exodus 36:4-7

The emphasis here is not on the amount of the offering or the cause for it, but the willingness of each person's heart.

Voluntary offerings were a demonstration of love, joy, and worship. The grace of giving transformed a pack of gripers and whiners into joyful worshippers.

Moreover, because I delight in the house of my God, the [personal] treasure that I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, in addition to all that I have already provided for the holy house - 1 Chronicles 29:3

Then the rulers of the fathers’ households, and leaders of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with the overseers of the king’s work, offered willingly and gave for the service of the house of God: 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron. Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole and blameless heart they had offered freely to the Lord. King David also rejoiced greatly. - 1 Chronicles 29:6-9

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You. For we are [a]sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope [of remaining]. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy Name, it is from Your hand, and is all Your own. I know also, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness and integrity. In the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. So now with joy I have seen Your people who are present here, make their offerings willingly and freely to You. O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the minds of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You - 1 Chronicles 29:14-18

David measured the people's loyalty to God by their willingness to freely give to God.

Monday, 3 October 2016

Tithing and Systematic Proportionate Giving

“The Jews were constrained to a regular payment of tithes; Christians, who have received liberty, assign all their possessions to the Lord, bestowing freely not the lesser portions of their property, since they have the hope of greater things; as that poor widow acted who cast all her living into the treasury of God.” Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202) in Against Heresies

A few hundred years later, Augustine indicated that tithing was still practised --

“Tithes are required as a matter of debt, and he who has been unwilling to give them has been guilty of robbery. Whosoever, therefore, desires to secure a reward for himself . . . let him render tithes, and out of the nine parts let him seek to give alms.”

Note the clear distinction between the mandatory tithe and the voluntary offering of almsgiving. Alms were to be given -- above and beyond the tithe.

Jerome said --

“If anyone shall not do this [pay tithes] he is convicted of defrauding and supplanting God.”

Like Augustine, Jerome believed and taught that it is possible for New Testament Christians to “rob God” by withholding the tithe, just as it was for Old Testament believers. For the first four hundred years, the Church often, if not normally, considered the practise of tithing a minimum standard for giving.

And all the tithe (tenth part) of the land, whether the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. - Leviticus 27:30

“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings [you have withheld].9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, this whole nation! 10 Bring all the tithes (the tenth) into the [a]storehouse, so that there may be [b]food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more room to receive it. - Malachi 3:8-10

There were three tithes for Israelites. One tithe supported the the priests and Levites, another provided for a sacred festival and the third tithe supported orphans, widows and the poor.

The practise of tithing began long before the law of Moses. Abraham tithed to he high priest Melchizedek. Jacob promised a tithe to the Lord.