Proverbs 3:9-10 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: (10) So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
In our previous two verses we have uncovered the secret of good health: fear the Lord and to depart from evil. In today’s text we are given the secret of wealth: give to the Lord the firstfruit of your increase.
In the New Testament, not much is said about tithing except for a collection taken from the Greeco-Turk congregations to help the starving brethren in Jerusalem. In First Corinthians nine, Paul also refers to his right to receive tithes from his new converts, even though he prided himself in not taking advantage of it. For more information we have to go to the Old Testament.
Tithes constituted the firstfruits of harvests and of flocks. Tithes were to be given to the priests. It was their support as they administered to the temple the people. It also represented the bulk of the welfare system. Tithes also supported the care of the one temple in Jerusalem. Everyone else met in homes or simple meetinghouses called synagogues. God never asked for more. God’s ‘religion was not a financial burden on His people. It rather provided them with a system that literally filled their physical and spiritual needs.
God said that if people obeyed His ways of tithing, He would Himself make sure their barns would be filled with plenty, and their presses be bursting with new wine.
It is quite a biblically foundational principle, but what if tithes were only a voluntary matter? After all, why should God bless us if we don’t give from our hearts? The only way to know that is if tithing is voluntary. What if these tithes represented the salary of pastors, based on a percentage of what was received instead of on a set regular salary? What if also this money was used to feed the poor of the church? After all, why should God’s people depend on man’s governments for help them when our God own the cattle on a thousand hills?
There was another part to tithing. Every male that opened the matrix belonged to God. Jesus was the firstfruit among many brethren. He was a Nazarite who belonged to God. In essence, just like God gave His firstborn for the ‘cause’ so to speak, He also asks us to give our firstborn to Him in service. We are supposed to dedicate our firstborn for His service, meaning, we are supposed to train train into God’s service, not as assets to our own lives. Can you imagine how many missionaries we would have if we did that? I think it would make a difference in the world.
Why do we have to always re-invent the wheel?
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