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Tithes and Offerings

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International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 9, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 35.

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Tithes and Offerings.

TITHING.

(Concluded.) (Lesson 12, September 21, 1889.)
1. WHAT portion of a man's time does the Lord claim as his?
"Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord; whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." Ex. 31:15-17.
2. What portion of a man's substance has God reserved as his?
"And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy unto the Lord." Lev. 27:30.
3. Can a man dispose of that which is the Lord's as he chooses?
"Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the Lord's firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep; it is the Lord's." Verse 26.
4. What class of offerings connected with the tithe went to the priest?
"And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage." Neh. 10:37.
5. What does God say of those who withhold tithes and offerings from his treasury?
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation." Mal. 3:8, 9.
6. What promise does he make to his people if they bring their tithes and offerings into the storehouse?
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts." Verses 10, 11.
7. If, while passing the flock under the rod to be tithed, the owner, for any cause, sought to exchange the tenth for some other, what direction did God give?
"And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto; or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation." "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. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it; and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed." Lev. 27:27, 32, 33.
8. Could the tithe be given to the poor? Why not?
"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth to the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again." Prov. 19:17.
9. Could a covetous man sacredly regard God's claim in the tithe and offerings?
10. Would it not then be reasonable to conclude that God's reservation of the tenth was to guard the heart from covetousness?
11. To whom, and for what purpose, was all the tithe appropriated?
"And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation." "But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave-offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit; therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance." Num. 18:21, 24.
12. What portion of the tithe were the Levites to give?
"Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave-offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe. And this your heave-offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fullness of the winepress. Thus ye also shall offer an heave-offering unto the Lord of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the Lord's heave-offering to Aaron the priest." Verses 26-28.
13. What other offering went to the priest who served at the altar? Verses 7, 11-13.
14. Is it a duty of those who receive the blessing of the gospel to contribute for its support?
"Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things." Gal. 6:6.
15. How does the apostle enjoin this duty? 1 Cor. 9:6-11.
16. How does the apostle show that the ministry should be supported?
"Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." 1 Cor. 9:13, 14.
17. Does not the apostle show from this that it is just as important to support the worthy laborer in the gospel as it was formerly to support the priesthood?

NOTES.

IN a certain sense, everything we have and are belongs to God; but there are some things that belong to him in a special sense. Those things which he has never given to man for his own use are God's, and his alone. The Sabbath, the tithe, and the first-fruits in the former dispensation, illustrate this fact. God has also permitted men to make gifts to him, and to especially consecrate a portion of their substance, their talents, or their time, to his service. This the Lord also accepts, and it becomes consecrated and holy. In theformer dispensation after men had consecrated a portion of their substance, if in any way they wished to change it the Lord would have them add one-fifth to it that they might realize the sacredness of his claims. When men realize and acknowledge the importance of God's claims, he has promised to let a special blessing rest upon them. The paying of the tithe also secured the heart from covetousness; for continual giving serves to cultivate the spirit of benevolence, which is a part of the grace of Christ.
THE Levitical priesthood received the tithe from the people, and they gave a tithe of what they received to the priests, those who had special charge of the work of God. Another tithe was taken for the poor. Thus there were two tithes, one going to the priests and the other going to the poor. The apostle, in 1 Cor. 9, teaches the duty of those who have received the gospel to support the same. He appeals to the law, and then applies it to the gospel. Men cannot give the tithe as a donation, because it never was theirs; but God has permitted them to handle the tithe, and then return it to God, that it may cultivate in them that spirit of liberality which was manifest in Christ's coming to this earth to die. The tithing system, therefore, is one of the greatest blessings to man.