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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 21, 1903

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 80, No. 16.

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Gospel Finance

By William Covert

A Second Tithe

WILLIAM COVERT
(Concluded)
In addition to the first tithe and the offerings previously described, there was a second tithe devoted to sacred uses. A liberal portion of it was given for two years to the priests to provide a fund for hospitality and charity.
Of the first tithe, the Lord said, “I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel.” Num. 18:21. But another tithe is described by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy, which was used in a different manner from that which is mentioned above. Of this it is said, “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose. . . . And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.” Deut. 14:22-25, 27.
This tithe, or its value in money, was to be taken for two years by the people to the place where the sanctuary was located, and there used according to the following directions: “But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: and thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: and there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. . . . Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thine oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: but thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man servant, and thy maid servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.” Deut. 12:5-7, 17, 18.
The reader is asked to notice that the tithe herein named was to be shared with the Levites and many persons of all the tribes attending the annual gathering of the season. The event was to be a season of rejoicing for all. The tithes and the offerings brought, at the same time supplied the needs of the occasion, and provided for the necessities of others.
Every third year the second tithe was laid apart by the people in their homes, to be given to the Levites, the strangers, the orphans, and the widows. “At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: and the Levite (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee), and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.” Deut. 14:28, 29. “When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.” Deut. 26:12, 13. This could not possibly have been the tithe of which Levi was to have “all.”
When these instructions were faithfully carried out, the wants of every person were well supplied. The gospel workers were all made comfortable; the poor were clothed and fed, and the stranger made a welcome guest at the home of every Israelite.
On condition of obedience, the Lord’s providential blessings were to be visited upon the land, and his cause and people richly sustained by special care. “If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. . . . And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. . . . And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.” Lev. 26:3-5, 10, 12.

Support for Aged Laborers

If the Bible plan of finance were heeded, there would be no anxiety felt among ministers about support in old age. The system of tithes and offerings made ample provision for every person in the list of workers. Old and young were supplied from the funds thus secured. There was no refusing support to minister or priest because he had grown old. If such things do occur among any people, it is because the Lord’s plan of gospel finance has not been fully carried out.
The time of manual service in the sanctuary was to cease at the age of fifty with priests and Levites, but this limit did not apply to official service, or the performance of sacred rites. Aaron, the first of his order, was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died, but served as high priest from the day of anointing until the time of his death. According to the plan, the priest’s office continued as long as life lasted. For this reason the priesthood of Christ has no end. “By so much also hath Jesus become the surety of a better covenant. And they indeed have been made priests many in number, because that by death they are hindered from continuing: but he, because he abideth forever, hath his priesthood unchangeable.”
In this prayer, David expressed a sentiment to be found in the heart of every one who is approaching old age: “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. . . . When I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not.” Ps. 71:9, 18. Why should one who has given the strength of his life to the service of the Lord be cast aside when he is old? Surely the Lord will not forsake a faithful laborer who has grown old in his service. As the tithes and offerings constitute the Lord’s fund for the support of his workers, he certainly intended to continue to them their patrimony while life should last.
The labors of some men have yielded bountiful harvests when they were old. The Lord speaks of this result as if it were a matter to be depended upon. He says, “Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.” Ps. 92:13, 14. However, as matters now stand in the Christian world, and even in our own denomination, there is a question as to how the aged ministers are to be supported. It was the Lord’s plan that they should be supported to the end of their days from the same fund that theydrew from in the prime of their lives. It If the churches and conferences have neglected to do the Lord’s work in the right way, then they should make special provision for the aged laborers. It is not the province of these articles to tell what that provision should be.

Giving

Giving to the Lord’s cause is designed to bless the giver, while it bestows funds to maintain the work. It is enumerated among the gifts of the Spirit, and attention is called to the beauty and liberality in the gifts. Rom. 12:8, R. V. There is a general anxiety on the part of mankind to receive gifts, and to have them come in large amounts. A better thing, however, than receiving is proposed by the Lord to his people; for he says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” In this manner the Lord makes it possible for his children to get the greatest blessing. Even the poor who give all do more than the rich who give from their abundance, and yet withhold a larger sum. The poor widow who gave two mites, cast in a greater gift than the rich man who placed a thousand dollars in the treasury, and yet had an abundance left. “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” Mark 12:41-44.
It is the effort on the part of the giver, and the spirit of love and cheerfulness with which the gift is offered, that gives it worth. The liberality in a gift makes it sweet with the fragrance of love. The Lord owns all the gold in the vaults and the ore in the mines,—even the world with all its fullness is his,—and he could cause the rich to turn billions of dollars into his treasuries if that were for the best; but his people can not afford to have the supplies come in that way. Even though it should require all they possess, it would be far better for them to supply funds for gospel work, to give, than to have the world’s millionaires come forward and lift all these burdens.
There is no more serious mistake being made by the Lord’s people than the effort they are making to accumulate riches. Nothing else holds a man to the earth like a desire for property. Our Saviour in his sermon on the mount earnestly cautioned his people against trying to become rich in this world’s goods. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” Matt. 6:19, 20.
It is not the design of the Lord that his people or his cause should suffer for lack of means. He has therefore given them property enough to supply every need. All that is necessary is for Christians to comprehend the true situation of things, and act with consistency. It is inconsistent and unwise for Christians to withhold means from the Lord’s cause. The Lord’s design is to make them stewards of his property. The financial condition of things pertaining to the Lord’s cause could be very greatly improved within a month if clearness of conception and consistency of action were secured. The bountiful way in which God gave to man is set forth as an example to man, so that the Christian worker is admonished to “charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” 1 Tim. 6:17-19.
The works of God are so ordained that all things receive in order to give. That only can be kept and enjoyed which is given away. Thus the richest are those who have given most, and those have least who are grasping to retain the greatest amount. The giver shares in the joys of all who by his bounties are blessed, and so he multiplies his possessions only through his liberality.