GIVING ACCORDING TO GOD'S PLAN - PART 2 (Various Scriptures)
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we began to look at giving according to God’s plan. We began by looking at four categories in which we must think about money and in which the Bible talks about money. Those four categories are: (1) How we feel about money; (2) How we earn money; (3) How we spend money; and (4) How we give money. Scripture has quite a bit to say about money, but by far, it speaks more about giving money than any of the other three categories and that is really the topic upon which we want to spend the majority of our time. We also spent some time looking at the idea of tithing or of giving 10 percent and whether this was a universal principle that we should follow because of the two instances in Genesis where we read that Abraham tithed and Jacob tithed and because the Law of Moses had tithing. We learned from the two instances in Genesis that in truth Abraham and Jacob choose of their own freewill to give a tithe or a tenth. Abraham’s tithe was one time, and it was not of all that he had but simply a tithe from the spoil he had taken in the battle of the five kings. Jacob’s promise to tithe from all that God gave him was an attempt to buy God and assure that God would be with him, provide for him and one day return him safely to his father’s house. Certainly not an event that we would want to build a universal principle from. From the offering of Cain and Abel to the offering of Jacob we saw that each was a freewill gift. We never found a command by God to give, nor an amount that was to be given. In every case it is a freewill offering.
When I began to speak about giving as seen before Moses and the Law, I said that every period of giving, remember we divided the history of giving into three periods or dispensations. Giving before Moses, giving from Moses to Jesus, and giving from Jesus to the present. In each of these time periods I said there were two types of giving, required giving and freewill giving. So far, we have only seen freewill giving in this first period. This morning we will look at required giving before Moses and we only have one instance of it. Let’s pray and then get into our Scriptures.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Again, like last Sunday I do not have a specific Scripture that I will be focusing on, and we will be in various passages this morning. But I thought, like last Sunday, I will read the Scripture reading again to set the context of giving according to God’s plan. Please turn in your Bible to 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 and if you are able, please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
2 Corinthians 8:1-9,
“Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well. But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:1–9, NASB95)[1]
REQUIRED GIVNG BEFORE MOSES
So up to this point in the time period before Moses all that we have seen is freewill giving. Even in the two cases where a tenth was given it was a voluntary choice to give that amount, never commanded by God. But as I said in the introduction, every time period had required giving and freewill giving. Let’s take a few minutes to see where this required giving was instituted.
We are still in Genesis and this morning we will begin in Genesis 41. This is an event that takes place in the life of Joseph. Remember that Joseph had been sold as a slave by his brothers. When he arrived in Egypt he was purchased by Potiphar, the captain of Pharoah’s bodyguard. Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and sent to jail. While in prison he met Pharoah’s baker and cupbearer who were also in prison. These two men had dreams which Joseph interpreted for them, God giving him the interpretation, and the dreams are fulfilled just as Joseph had interpreted them. The cupbearer was restored to his position and when Pharoah had dreams that none of his magicians, nor wise men could interpret; the cupbearer then remembered Joseph and tells the Pharoah that Joseph can interpret dreams. So, Joseph is called before Pharoah and hears Pharoah’s dreams and God gives Joseph the interpretation that seven years of good are coming followed by seven years of severe famine. Joseph gives advice to Pharoah at the end of his interpretation, he said in Genesis 41:34, “Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.” (Genesis 41:34, NASB95)[2] Joseph under the guidance of God tells Pharoah that he better get ready, and he tells him how, by taking a fifth of all the produce of the land in the seven years of abundance. How much is a fifth? A fifth is 20 percent. Here we have the introduction of taxation in the economy of Egypt. This was introduced by God through Joseph. How do I know this was introduced by God? First, because it was through this event that God would save Joseph’s family from starvation. Second, God had told Abraham that his descendants would live in Egypt, and it is through this famine that they move to Egypt. Third, Genesis 41:39 reads, “So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are.’” (Genesis 41:39, NASB95)[3] God introduced this tax, and this is the first time you find taxation of a nation expressed this way. And if you will notice we have not progressed much farther than what God introduced here.
Joseph told Pharoah to exact a fifth, 20 percent, and that is still about the rate of taxation for the middle class in America, 20 to 25 percent. Twenty percent tax was the basic taxation rate in Egypt. This was God’s plan as it was expressed through Joseph. And when they collected the 20 percent during the abundant years, that would supply them with the needed food for the years of famine. Let’s look at one other verse, go over to Genesis 47:24, Joseph says, “At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” (Genesis 47:24, NASB95)[4] Joseph tells them he will leave them four-fifths to provide for them and their households. One-fifth goes back to the government. Required giving in the Old Testament was 20 percent, it was instituted by God through Joseph in Egypt, and it was for funding of the national government.
This is what we have learned in the time period from Creation to Moses, freewill giving is directed toward the Lord, it is given voluntarily out of love and sacrifice, often in a response of gratitude for something the Lord has done or promised. Required giving is given to a nation’s governing authority, for administration and for supplying the needs of the people. Now let’s look at the next time period, from Moses to the time of Jesus, the time of the Law.
REQUIRED GIVING UNDER THE LAW
During this second time period, the tithe became a familiar term. Those who teach that we should tithe because it is God’s universal principle lean heavily on this time period for their definition and reasons for tithing. For this reason, let’s begin this time period by looking at required giving. I was taught that giving of a tithe was giving a tenth and this is what Israel gave. Let me show you how that is not biblically true.
Turn to Leviticus 27:30, almost the end of the book and listen as I read verses 30-33, “Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord. If, therefore, a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it one-fifth of it. For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; or if he does exchange it, then both it and its substitute shall become holy. It shall not be redeemed.” (Leviticus 27:30–33, NASB95)[5] This foundational tithe is called the Lord’s tithe or the Levites’ tithe. A tenth of all the seed of the land, all the fruit of the tree, and a tenth of the herd or flock. Remember the Levites were the tribe from which the priests came, and the Levites were charged with the care of the Tabernacle and later the temple. They had no inheritance in Israel like the other tribes. This tithe is called the Levites’ tithe because it was collected for them and given to them, this was their inheritance, a tithe collected from the rest of the tribes of Israel. Numbers 18:21-29 explains that this tithe is for the Levites and a tithe of their tithe is for the priests. Listen to some these verses, Numbers 18:21, 24-28, “To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting…For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, “When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe. Your offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat. So you shall also present an offering to the Lord from your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the Lord’s offering to Aaron the priest. ” (Numbers 18:21–29, NASB95)[6] These are the commandments from the Lord, the Levites’ tithe was ten percent of everything that the children of Israel had in terms of produce from the land and from their flocks or herds of animals. Now this was not an option, this teaches that this belonged to the Lord. This is not a freewill offering to God. This is His already, you are required to give it and if you do not, you are robbing God. Which is what was happening in Malachi and the Lord calls the Israelites out for robbing Him of the tithe. This tithe was given to the Levites and the priests to support them, and they were the ones who were the governmental authority in Israel. They ran the nation. So, here we have the first commanded tithe.
This is not the only tithe in Israel, there was a second tithe called the festival tithe. This tithe took effect when Israel had conquered the promise land and this second tithe was given for an annual celebration. The purpose of the festival tithe was to fund a religious celebration and to build mutual community among God’s people. They would bring this tithe to Jerusalem, and they would eat it there with family, servants, friends. It was like a national potluck. It was everyone sharing. Deuteronomy 12:17-18 says, “ You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand. But you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all your undertakings.” (Deuteronomy 12:17–18, NASB95)[7] The Levites’ tithe and the festival tithe together comprised a mandatory 20 percent.
In Deuteronomy 14 we find a third tithe, verses 28-29 say, “At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” (Deuteronomy 14:28–29, NASB95)[8] This was called the poor tithe, from the first tithe you have ten percent, from the second, ten percent, and the third three and a third percent every year since it is ten percent every third year. Now you are up to 23 percent. That was the Old Testament tithes. So, when somebody tells you the Jews gave 10 percent, it isn’t true. The Jews gave 23 percent to begin with. This third tithe, the one for the poor people, the widows, orphans, and foreigners, this was welfare. This is what we can see concerning the tithes, they were funding the tribe who ran the government, the Levites, they were supplying what was needed for national feasts, and the poor tithe was the welfare program. The tithes in Israel were funding for the national government and its programs. All three of these are taxation, not freewill giving to God. Tithing is always taxation, so that the program of the government could run. If you were an Israelite, you were not done yet, and we saw this in the book of Ruth. Leviticus 19:9-10 says, “‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:9–10, NASB95)[9] So this is a profit-sharing program for the needy and the stranger. Don’t harvest the corners of your field, don’t pick up what you drop, you leave it for the poor. The Israelite also had a third-shekel temple tax that they had to pay to help pay for the show bread and the grain and animal sacrifices of the temple. On top of this, every seven years you had to give your land rest, so you did not plow or sow or gather the fruit, you just let the land rest.
Ten percent is a long way from what it cost the Israelite to exist within the theocracy of Israel. You understand what a theocracy is? A government whose head is God, this is why the government rested with the Levites. 25 percent of the Israelite’s income was given to fund the government. This was required giving. In addition to this there is freewill giving. This includes the firstfruits and freewill offerings. The emphasis here is on the attitude of the giver and the quality of his gift, not the quantity.
FREEWILL GIVING UNDER THE LAW
We talked about the firstfruits when we were in the book of Ruth. The firstfruits were the first of your harvest from your fields. The Israelite would collect off the top the very best of his crop and take it to the temple and give it to God. This was before he harvested the crops, so he didn’t really know how much there would be when the harvest was done. The Israelite was believing God, and God was saying, if you will give to me firstfruits, right off the top even before you harvest, even before you know how much you are going to have, I will bring in your full harvest. That is a great promise. This promise is found in Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9–10, NASB95)[10] God’s promise to Israel is that if they honor Him with their wealth and bring to Him their firstfruits, then He will fill their barns, and overflow their winepresses with new wine.
God promises to Israel were fulfilled temporarily. We cannot make that same statement for New Testament promises, which are fulfilled spiritually. What is better temporal wealth or eternal spiritual blessing but for the believer there are both, spiritual and physical blessings. If you remember when we studied Malachi God was not happy because they were not bringing the best, they were bringing the blind, sick and lame animals to sacrifice, and God says that you forfeit my blessing when you do this. Freewill giving is just that, what you want to give, and you should always freely give the best to Him. It isn’t when you’ve spent all your money on yourself, and socked all your money away for the future to take care of yourself, that after that you trickle a little bit to God, give to Him first and off the top and the best. That is the freewill giving of firstfruits.
Proverbs gives us the principle of blessing in Proverbs 11:24-25, “There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:24–25, NASB95)[11] I like that, and I want to give like that. I know the board members are probably thinking how can we ever hope to make the budget if people don’t tithe. Let me quickly show you how it works. Turn to Exodus 25:1-2 and it says, “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.’” (Exodus 25:1–2, NASB95)[12] This is not an amount, this is a freewill offering, from every man whose heart moves him. Moses tells the people that they are going to build the Tabernacle and God says, “Give whatever your heart moves you to give.” No big fanfare, just give according to your heart. If we give this way, we will never meet the budget, isn’t that what your thinking? Go over to Exodus 35:4 and this is where Moses tells the people what God told him back in chapter 25. Verse 4 says, “Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying, “Take from among you a contribution to the Lord; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the Lord’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze, and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece.”’ ” (Exodus 35:4–9, NASB95)[13] Whoever is of a willing heart, in other words, just bring whatever your heart prompts you to give. Then go down to verse 29, “The Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the Lord.” (Exodus 35:29, NASB95)[14] Then look at Exodus 36:4-7, the result, “And all the skillful men who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work which he was performing, and they said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the Lord commanded us to perform.’ So Moses issued a command, and a proclamation was circulated throughout the camp, saying, ‘Let no man or woman any longer perform work for the contributions of the sanctuary.’ Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more. For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.” (Exodus 36:4–7, NASB95)[15] In other words they brought enough to do the work and too much, they had an overabundance of what was needed.
When people believe in the ministry, when they believe what you are doing exalts God, they give from a willing heart, and they give too much. This is an example to us that giving that is done with true motivation goes beyond the need. Do you understand? Required giving is always taxation. Freewill giving was always whatever came out of a willing heart.
This is not just an isolated incident, the same thing happened when David was preparing to build the temple, making the preparations so that Solomon could build the temple. We read in 1 Chronicles 29:9, “Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.” (1 Chronicles 29:9, NASB95)[16] There we see the same principle as in Exodus, they offered willingly with a whole heart, as they were moved, they gave. This freewill offering led to a praise service and in I Chronicles 29:16 we read part of David’s prayer of thanksgiving, “O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours.” (1 Chronicles 29:16, NASB95)[17] David is saying, “Lord, we have so much! All this abundance has come in to build your house.” That temple was something else. Absolutely unbelievable. Everything overlayed with gold. When you think about it, it is astounding what the people of Israel provided for the building of the temple. Why was this possible? Two reasons: God was in it, and the people who loved the Lord knew He was in it, and they gave, and they gave an abundance.
CONCLUSION:
As we wrap up this second part of this series, we have gone through the first two time periods in the history of giving. We have learned that tithing was taxation for the theocracy, the government of Israel. We don’t live in a theocracy, but our government is still ordained by God. Do you believe that it is God who controls our government and causes the rising and falling of those in authority? Our government is ordained by God. We are required to pay taxes, and our tax rate is about what the Israelites paid in tithes, remember about 25 percent and we are right around there especially when you add sales tax and property tax and all the other taxes we pay. We are not far off from what God originally instituted as the basics of taxation. This is not giving. Don’t get stuck at the tenth, and I am saying this to you as much as I am saying it to me. I must learn not be legalistic about giving. Instead, I need to listen to the Spirit of God to give abundantly, to sow or scatter bountifully that I may reap bountifully.
Next week we will look at giving according to God’s plan in the New Testament. The final time period in the history of giving, from Jesus to the present. I trust the Lord has spoken to your heart this morning.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[17]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.