Tithing is a picture of our covenant relationship with God. It says that everything I have is yours and everything you have is mine. Intimate relationships, such as marriage, work the same way.
A tithe, according to Leviticus 27:30, is a tenth of your produce. A tithe is measured in money—the first 10% of your income. The motivation is obedience. A tithe is always a tithe, and it is never meant to be substituted with time or talents.
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God does not NEED our resources or money; however, He asks that we give Him only a portion of what is actually all His. He had invited the Israelites to partner with Him in making a dwelling place. Why did He want them as a partner? To BLESS them with His giving presence.
God commanded the Israelites to bring forth offerings, but did not tell them the reason. Was God being sneaky? Of course not! By commanding His people to bring offerings He allowed them to demonstrate their trust in Him—trust in His plans, and trust with their resources of gold, silver, fine linens, spices, and gems. With trust developed between God and His people, THEN, and only then, was He able to trust them with His plan—a plan for a tabernacle that He would show them exactly how to build (see Exodus 25).
Take this in for a moment, God used the most beautiful and best gifts that HE GAVE to His people, and asked them to use those gifts to build a sanctuary for Him. This was to honor Him, and it was a way to invite Him into their lives. It is the same today… He still asks us to give of what He has provided for us so that He can be a part of our lives.
“For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.”—2 Corinthians 8:12
God desires for us to give because we want to give, not because it is needed. Again, He does this for our best interest. If we give only because it’s needed, we can feel guilty, obligated or manipulated. This is not God’s design. His design is for us to give cheerfully.
“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”—2 Corinthians 9:7
90% / 10% = ALL HIS…
The Creator of the universe and everything in it has provided a math equation… and it may not make sense at first.
God commanded His people to tithe. This was 1/10th of their “all.” Tithing was actually recorded in the Word before the law. Abram gave 1/10th to king Melchizedek acknowledging His authority and kingship.
Have you ever thought about this?… If God is Lord over all, then 100% belongs to Him. He asks you to give 10% of your best back to Him, and allows you to partner with Him and be a manager of the remaining 90%.
This is to capture our hearts. “For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.”—Matthew 6:21
He says to, “test Me in this…” From this He promises, “…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”—Malachi 3:10
While the discussion of money is never comfortable for anyone, this is all the more reason God has so much to say about it. He knows it can be a trap for us… but He asks you to trust Him, so that in the end you will have financial freedom and abundance!
