08/02/2022
๐ง๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ:๐ญ๐ฌ
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,โ Says the Lord of hosts, โIf I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it".
Malachi 3:10 NKJV
1) ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ?
The tithe is not money. It is strictly 10 percent of harvested food items such as grains, cereals, fruits, vegetables, spices, etc; animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, as well as oil, wines, assorted drinks including strong or alcoholic drinks (Deut 14:22-23; Lev. 27:30).
Malachi 3:10 also said the tithe is food. It didn't say money.
2) ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ?
The store house of Malachi 3:10 is also not the church, neither is it a church bank account. It's not the Levites' bank accounts, neither is the storehouse anything about church building.
The store house referred to in Malachi 3:10 is a community storehouse (a sort of silos) located across the then 48 Jewish towns where the tithes of strictly harvested food items, animals (meat) and assorted drinks are taken to for storage in order to provide food for the less privileged members of the communities as commanded by God.
The storehouse can be referred to as a community pool account (if I may use that word) used to hold in storage the food items donated as tithe by the agro-working class (those who cultivated their lands) in cannan for onward distribution to designated beneficiaries - the less privileged.
3) ๐ช๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ?
God did not leave us in doubt as to whom the beneficiaries of the tithe were. They were the less privileged members of the community, particularly, those of the household of God.
The beneficiaries of tithe included:
๐ถ) ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ - who has no land of their own. No inheritance, no owned business, nothing other sole service in the temple.
๐ถ๐ถ) ๐ข๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ - These have no fathers or mothers to care for them. They are disadvantaged.
๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ) ๐ช๐ถ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ - They are helpless because they had no husband to provide for them.
๐ถ๐) ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ - These are foreigners and the less privileged who live in the community. They are those with very little or no means/source of earning income. They are those in lack who barely earn a living either because they are weak or disadvantaged.
๐ฐ) ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ด๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด
The tithe payable and taken to the storehouse was commanded to be observed ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ, (not weekly, monthly or even annually) as today's denominational churches have made people to believe and observe. The Bible speaks and clarifies in Deuteronomy 14:28-29:
28 ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ, instead of using the ten per cent of your harvest for a big celebration, bring it into town and put it in a ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ.
29 The Levites have no land of their own, so you must give them food from the storehouse. You must also give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the LORD your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do.
(Contemporary English Version)
Besides the Malachi 3:10 tithes which is observed every 3 years, tithers were commanded to take their tithes ๐๐ก๐ก๐จ๐๐๐๐ฌ to the designated place of worship and ๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐๐ฆ together with their families as an annual feast in celebration of God's blessings of increase in harvests. In doing so, they should also remember the Levites who serve in the temple.
The Bible speaking in Deuteronomy 14:22-26 declares:
22 โYou must set aside a tithe of your cropsโone-tenth of all the crops you harvest ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ.
23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worshipโthe place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honoredโand ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God.
Speaking further in verses 24-26, it was emphasised that, even though there was money, the tithe was never meant to be 'paid' in money but food stuffs.
24 โNow when the Lord your God blesses you with a good harvest, and the place of worship he chooses for his name to be honored might be too far for you to bring the tithe.
25 If so, you may sell the tithe portion of your crops and herds, put the money in a pouch, and go to the place the Lord your God has chosen.
26 When you arrive, you may ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ โcattle, sheep, goats, wine, or other alcoholic drink. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ in the presence of the Lord your God and celebrate with your household.
27 And do not neglect the Levites in your town, for they will receive no allotment of land among you.
So, it's clear that the tithe is not money but basically food items meant to be eaten by tithers themselves and their families. It was never monetary even though money was in existence then as a legal tender - generally accepted means of exchange.
Right from the days before the law, nations had evolved and created various forms of money for buying and selling. Slaves were sold for money. Abraham used money to buy the land where he buried his wife. Sons of Jacob took money to Egypt to buy food items during the famine period. There was money, but nobody, whether before the law, during the law or after the law, ever paid tithe of money. There is no such command or example in the Bible.
The only exception was the portion of tithe of grains and fruits meant for the Lord, which was given to the Levites Priests. After giving them and you want to exchange it with money (buy back), you are required to give them not just the 10% equivalent in money value, you must also add additional 20% thus making it 30%.
The Bible speaking in Leviticus 27:31 provided for this exception:
"If you want to buy back the Lordโs tenth of the grain or fruit, you must pay its value, plus 20 percent".
(Leviticus 27:31 NLT)
This exception does not cover tithes of animals as they are irredeemable and cannot be bought back (verse 33).
๐ฑ) ๐ฃ๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด
Now, what exactly is the essence of tithing and the practice to which Malachi was calling the nation of Israel (sons of Jacob) to return? It is important to understand that the ordinance of tithing was not instituted in Malachi but in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Malachi was only calling them back to return to the ordinance because the Levite Priests had corrupted the covenant and the people had reneged from the commandment.
As a result of not obeying the command to tithe, the Poor - Levites, widows, orphans and strangers - who were the main beneficiaries of the tithe in the storehouse, were denied of their provisional source of livelihood - food from the store house. And God saw that as an oppression and robbery of the poor.
The Bible says God is the father of the poor - the fatherless and the less privileged. Therefore, he who robs the defenceless poor robs God. Hence, the clause - "you are robbing me in tithes and offerings".
The offering referred thereto were also not necessarily money. They included offerings such as sin offering, trespass offering, peace offering, first fruit offering, and heave offering.
It was clear in Malachi 3:5 that the Jewish religious leaders had reneged from obeying these commandments, and by that act, were oppressing the poor - the widows and the orphans, and depriving foreigners living among them of justice (see Malachi 3:5).
These oppressive acts, amongst other wickedness and greedy disposition of the religious leaders of Israel which had, by implications, denied the poor of their entitlements, are what God referred to as "robbing me".
Any difference in today's institutional churches? Judge for yourself.
God instituted tithing in the old testament to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, promote justice, fairness and equitable distribution of resources whereby the rich or the well-to-do contribute to the welfare of the poor and less privileged. This is the essence of tithing.
๐ฒ) ๐ง๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐
In clear defiance of the truth of scriptures that the old covenant that brought about tithing along with its all other ordinances and laws of commandments have expired and have been abolished by God Himself (Eph. 2:15, Heb 7:11-12, 18), religious leaders of today have gone back to selectively exhume the parts that involves tithes and first-fruits, not as God commanded it but have gone further to monetize them.
Even at that, Today's tithe adherents and preachers have completely turn blind eyes and deaf ears to the purpose, principles and practice of tithing as commanded in the Bible. They have completely ignored the essence, twisted the word of God, and turned it into an instrument of subtle but coercive extortion of money from gullible and unsuspecting brethren in the guise of giving to God.
But the truth is, God doesn't necessarily need our money. He doesn't even live in temples and houses built by humans. He is not hungry and so doesn't need food. Neither does He required man-made currencies for anything, for human hands cannot serve his needs. (Acts 17:24-25).
It is our needy brethren that needs our money, not God.
Today's monetary tithing, monetary seed-sowing, and all manner of monetary sacrifices as preached in the churches is completely at variance with the command of God, and serves only one purpose: to enrich the pockets and bank accounts of founders of denominations, their families and cronies as well as fund their personal empires in the name of giving to God
Today, self-designated Levite Priests like those of old whom Malachi was addressing and calling to repentance, have repackaged themselves, twisted the call and are now foisting it on their ignorant followers with threats of curses and devourers, just to extort them of their hard earned money.
We need to repent!
Pastor Abel Damina
