‘“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, ‘With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us.’ The priest will then take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. “You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation. When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves, we cried out to the Lord , the God of our ancestors. He heard our cries and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey! And now, O Lord , I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’ Then place the produce before the Lord your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him. Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration.’ Deuteronomy 26:1-11(NLT)
‘All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.’ Deuteronomy 16:17(NLT)
‘“O my people, listen as I speak. Here are my charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God! I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it. Do I eat the meat of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”’ Psalms 50:7-15(NLT)
WHAT IS IT?
Hopefully reading those verses yesterday began to give you an idea of how God views money. As far as tithing goes, it began as a command and exercise for God’s people to remember just exactly where their provision came from. Whether of their flock or of their garden, the first ten percent of whatever they gained was to be given back to God; and not only ten percent, but the best ten percent.
There’s something about giving your first back to God that reminds you that He actually is the reason you have any of it to begin with.
And there is nothing that will move faster and get a tighter grip around our heart than our money. As we’ll see in the coming passages, this tithing and returning back to God is actually less of an obligation and more of a gift – it helps us to keep our hearts from relying on something so fickle. It provides us with a tangible way of saying, “God, I trust you and I know that you can do far more with this ten percent than I could do with the ninety percent!”
Why do we tithe? Because it helps us to remember who our real Provider is!
from NEXT STEPS: Give