Denominational Finance by W. T. Knox

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. · Jan 2, 1913

Denominational Finance

By W. T. Knox

Tithes and Offerings

A correct system of finance for the work of God must of necessity be founded upon the teachings of his Word. Any financial system for the maintenance of the gospel work resting upon other foundation, must be imperfect, unsatisfactory, and unacceptable to God. On the other hand, the Lord's method as revealed in his Word must always prove sufficient for every demand made upon it by the needs of his work, and at all times will be adaptable to every variable condition that may arise by changing circumstances.

The foundation upon which this system is built, is the tithes and offerings of his people. Back of that lies the recognition of God's ownership. To the departure from these simple principles may be attributed all the financial embarrassments and difficulties that at any time have been experienced by his people, both collectively and individually. "Will a man rob God?" the prophet Malachi asks. "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. 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. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." Mal. 3: 8-12.

We are told in 2 Chron. 31: 5-12 that after Hezekiah in his work of reformation restored the system of tithes and offerings, there was abundance for the work of the sanctuary, and great treasure in reserve upon which the priests could draw for increasing necessities. The same was also true in the days of Nehemiah, after his work of reformation. But when this, God's system, was departed from, then his work languished, and the temple service was deserted by the priests and despised by the people.

The original instruction to man for the rendering to God of tithes and offerings is not found in his Word. This, like other services rendered, such as the observance of the Sabbath, and the making of sacrifices, is first spoken of as a service already established, well recognized, and observed. The first offerings mentioned are those of Cain and Abel, rendered apparently in harmony with established usage, evidently in harmony with God's instruction, "in the process of time," or "at the end of days," as the margin of Gen. 4: 3 gives it.

The first mention of tithing is found in Gen. 14: 20, where Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek, the priest of God. This was on the occasion of Abraham's battle with the kings. The account shows that Abraham in defeating the kings took from them a large amount of booty, a considerable portion of which, at least, had been taken by the kings from the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. While Abraham in his generosity declined to enrich himself by the substance thus acquired, and returned it to the original owners, yet before exercising his privilege of doing what he pleased with that which had become his own by virtue of conquest, it first was necessary that he should recognize the Lord's claim before he could exercise generosity to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. So the record tells us that to Melchizedek he gave tithes of all.

This is not spoken of in the account as something strange, nor as the establishing of some new practise, but rather as the recognition of a service already established. So also in the account of Jacob's attitude to the paying of tithe. We find him in Gen. 28: 20-22 covenanting with the Lord as follows: "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

Jacob was not asking for great substance, but only for sufficient to eat and wear. Whatever should be the outcome of his sojourn in a strange country, whether he acquire great substance or only sufficient for life, he recognized that it would be the gift of God, and of it he covenanted to return the tenth, or tithe, to the Lord.

These cases are the only instances in patriarchal times where the tithe is mentioned, but they very clearly establish the fact that from the beginning this was a service required of man by his Creator, and served, among other things, to teach him God's ownership in all things. They also show that the tithe pertains to all that we possess, whether it is much or little; whether it is the spoil of an army, or the mere necessities of life.

Later on, when after their long bondage in Egypt God gathered out the descendants of Jacob, and delivered them from the hand of their oppressors, and established them in the land promised to their father Abraham, and gave them, through Moses, detailed instruction concerning the service of the sanctuary, in this service he required of them that they should return to him a tithe of all the increase of their flocks and fields. It is very evident from the foregoing that this system of tithes and offerings is not a requirement that at that time was new and peculiarly Israelitish, but rather that that plan which God had from the beginning devised for the good of all men, and for the support of his work in the earth, of necessity was incorporated into the sanctuary service of his people when they, the children of Abraham and Jacob, were delivered from their oppressors and became a nation themselves. The differing conditions between the times of the children and those of their forefathers Abraham and Jacob, made no difference in God's plan. His requirements were in both periods identical.

W. T. KNOX.