p. 102 | God's Claim Upon Man by William Covert

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 30, 1913

God's Claim Upon Man

By William Covert

WILLIAM COVERT

MORTAL man can not escape his dependence upon God, and that dependence carries with it obligations which he can in no wise avoid. With these obligations there should be corresponding effort to do what duty demands, and the duty plainly points to cooperation with the Creator in carrying out the purpose which led to the creation of man. In speaking of God's lordship and divinity, David said that God possesses the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty; for all things in heaven and earth are his. The kingdom is his, and riches and honor come of him. Every gift and every power possessed by man is given him by the Lord, and man lives and moves and has his being in and by the Lord. Man is not his own, but belongs to God. Ps. 100:3. Not only did God in the beginning create all things, but this very moment he is upholding all things by the word of his power (Heb. 1:3), “and by him all things consist.” Col. 1:17.

Since God created all things and by his potency keeps all things, does it not follow that ourselves, our time, and our means all belong to him? God's ownership and lordship were both recognized when man was given possession in Eden and set at work there. He was permitted to eat freely the fruit of any tree or plant that grew except that which might be produced on the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But of that tree he was not allowed to eat. God reserved that tree that man's loyalty and willingness to obey might be tested.

Man was free to move about at will, but he must not touch the forbidden tree. Here was prohibition, simple, clear, and strong, in the first restriction which God made for man. Gen. 2:17.

This forbidden tree stood in the midst of the garden as a monument of God's ownership. Its central location made it to serve as a perpetual reminder of God's proprietorship. To care for the garden and refrain from touching the forbidden tree, was the obedience enjoined upon the first man and woman.

Easy as the requirement seems to have been made for our progenitors, the adversary caused Eve to think it was a needless restriction of liberty, which should be resented by breaking through the prohibitory bar to get at the fruit. So she followed the tempter's advice, and took the fruit and ate and gave it to Adam, and he did eat it.

In this act, which was man's first transgression, the sin was manyfold. They disregarded God's word and accepted the word of the adversary. In wilfulness they set their judgment up against the judgment of God, and showed a spirit of rebellion against him. But we speak especially of how they appropriated for their own use that tree which the Lord had especially reserved as an emblem of his authority and lordship. It was private to the Lord, a badge of his ownership, and as long as it was untouched by man it stood as an evidence of man's loyalty and obedience to God. But when man made it common property, and thereby showed his defiance to God in the matter of property right, it was time to cast the man out of the garden and arrange for a property test which could be applied to all trees, all fields, all herds, and the property value in the labor of all hands.

The Test Applied Outside of Eden

When man was sent out of the garden, the tree which had served as a test of his loyalty could no longer be used as a badge of God's ownership, neither could it serve to provide funds for what God's cause would need after man became a sinner; therefore the system of tithes and offerings was introduced, and through this financial system the principle of God's ownership was still maintained, and provision also was made for the support of evangelistic workers.

This system, which called for a tenth of all man's earnings and of the products of all his lands and herds besides additional offerings, became the property test for man. And it was also made to be a thing of utility to provide adequate funds for the support of gospel workers.

It was sin that made the gospel a necessity, and the tithing was introduced to meet the financial needs of the gospel work.

While man remained in paradise, he was not required to pay a tithe to the Lord, nor will he pay a tithe to the Lord after he gets back into paradise. Or stating it in another way, he was not required to pay tithes and offerings until gospel work began, and after the gospel work is finished he will pay tithes and offerings no more.

Paying tithes and offerings enables man to cooperate with the Lord in the work of saving souls from sin; and if it is done as the Bible directs, the whole burden is equalized and a sufficient sum provided to meet every need. The system is so arranged as to rest evenly upon all, and none can truly say, “I am not able to adopt it.” The tithe is ten per cent of man's income, and it is to be invested in evangelistic work. Offerings are, in almost every case, a specified amount to be paid according to the income of the individual; and these offerings may be used for various religious interests which are not provided for by the tithe.

What Should Be Tithed

In ordering the payment of tithes, Moses said, “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. . . . And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” Lev. 27:30, 32. These scriptures show that the tenth of the fields and trees and herds belongs to the Lord, and this increase is holy unto the Lord. And the same is true of whatever may be earned by hand labor, by gift, or by skill. “Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers.” Deut. 8:18.

Whatever a man may earn by agricultural pursuits or by any other proper means, should be tithed, so that the heavenly blessing may rest upon him and his labors. Never, under any circumstances, should any soul commit the folly of withholding from the Lord that which he says is holy unto him. Every soul of man should learn and never forget that the tithe is holy unto the Lord, and not one farthing or penny of it can ever belong to man. And any one who takes possession of it and keeps it is robbing the Lord of what belongs to him. Read and ponder over Mal. 3:8-11.