Tag Archives: Tithing

Deuteronomy 26 on the Joys of Charitable Giving

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Deuteronomy 26

Deuteronomy chapter 26 discusses the joy of giving financially to those who are called and ordained of YHVH to do his spiritual work on earth as well as to the poor among you and the blessings that come on the giver as a result (vv. 1–15, 19). Giving is a holy activity (v. 13), and when YHVH’s people obey him in this area and observe his other commandments as well, he proclaims them to be his special people and promises to promote them high above the nations of the world as his holy people (vv. 17–20). This YHVH did for ancient Israel when they obeyed him, and he promises to do the same for those who obey him now (2 Cor 1:20). These eternal and immutable principles of the Torah are for all people for all time and have not changed over time regardless of men’s traditions and religious doctrines that say otherwise. 

You may not feel like YHVH has presently exalted you above all those around you, but consider this: What is your salvation worth and what will your status be after you’ve received your glorified body and are ruling and reigning with King Yeshua over this earth after his return?

Deuteronomy 26:4–11, You shall answer.This was the prayer that one was to make when one brought their tithe to YHVH. Bringing one’s tithe to YHVH was an act of gratefulness and worship and was brought with a joyful heart for the blessing the Almighty had bestowed upon the tithe-giver.

Deuteronomy 26:11, You shall rejoice.Bringing one’s tithes and offerings to YHVH is to be a joyful event since it is a reflection of our gratitude to him for abundantly blessing us. (Compare this verse with 2 Corinthians 9:6–11.) Giving to YHVH is a form of worship since it allows us to put our treasure where our heart is (Luke 12:34). Please join me in praying this prayer: 

Father, help us to give to you out of the abundance of our hearts joyfully and with gratitude for your blessings and bounty in our lives. Help me not to be a fair-weather giver only, but to give out of obedience, even sacrificially, that we may learn to have faith in your promises of provision and to obey you no matter the circumstances. Amein.

(For a brief study on tithing and giving, please see my teaching entitled, “Is Tithing for Us Today?” which is available on our ministry website at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/tithing.pdf.)

Deuteronomy 26:12, You shall give to the Levite, to the proselyte, to the orphan, and to the widow.Throughout the Tanakh, YHVH has a special place in his heart for the “underdogs” of society, as did Yeshua in his ministry. There are those, who through no fault of their own, and some due to their own faults, need help and extra grace and mercy. What is your attitude toward those who fall into this camp? What are you doing to help them?

Deuteronomy 26:13–15, Prayer offered when giving. This is the prayer that the tithe-payer is to pray upon bringing his tithe to YHVH. Tithing leads to prosperity, but for whom? Just the individual? Notice in verse 15 the wording: “bless your people Israel…” The tithe-payer is praying for blessings not just upon himself, but upon the entire nation. What can we draw from this? Is there room for selfish prayers here? What happens when the whole community is tithing and everyone is praying for everyone else’s well-being and blessing?

Deuteronomy 26:17–19, You have distinguished YHVH…YHVH has distinguished you.What does this mean? What is YHVH’s attitude toward Israel? What does the word avouched or distinguished (some translations read: proclaimed or agreeing) mean here? What is transpiring here with the people distinguishing YHVH and YHVH returning the action in verse 18? The resulting action is in verse 19.

 

Deuteronomy 26—Giving Financially Brings Blessing and Promotion

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Deuteronomy chapter 26 discusses the joy of giving financially to those who are called and ordained of YHVH to do his spiritual work on earth as well as to the poor among you and the blessings that come on the giver as a result (vv. 1–15, 19). Giving is a holy activity (v. 13), and when YHVH’s people obey him in this area and observe his other commandments as well, he proclaims them to be his special people and promises to promote them high above the nations of the world as his holy people (vv. 17–20). This YHVH did for ancient Israel when they obeyed him, and he promises to do the same for those who obey him now (2 Cor 1:20). These eternal and immutable principles of the Torah are for all people for all time and have not changed over time regardless of men’s traditions and religious doctrines that say otherwise. You may not feel like YHVH has presently exalted you above all those around you, but consider this: What is your salvation worth and what will your status be after you’ve received your glorified body and are ruling and reigning with King Yeshua over this earth after his return?

Deuteronomy 26:4–11, You shall answer.This was the prayer that one was to make when one brought their tithe to YHVH. Bringing one’s tithe to YHVH was an act of gratefulness and worship and was brought with a joyful heart for the blessing the Almighty had bestowed upon the tithe-giver.

Deuteronomy 26:11, You shall rejoice.Bringing one’s tithes and offerings to YHVH is to be a joyful event since it is a reflection of our gratitude to him for abundantly blessing us. (Compare this verse with 2 Corinthians 9:6–11.) Giving to YHVH is a form of worship since it allows us to put our treasure where our heart is (Luke 12:34). Please join me in praying this prayer: 

Father, help us to give to you out of the abundance of our hearts joyfully and with gratitude for your blessings and bounty in our lives. Help me not to be a fair-weather giver only, but to give out of obedience, even sacrificially, that we may learn to have faith in your promises of provision and to obey you no matter the circumstances. Amein.

(For a brief study on tithing and giving, please see my teaching entitled, “Is Tithing for Us Today?” which is available on our ministry website at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/tithing.pdf.)

Deuteronomy 26:12, You shall give to the Levite, to the proselyte, to the orphan, and to the widow.Throughout the Tanakh, YHVH has a special place in his heart for the “underdogs” of society, as did Yeshua in his ministry. There are those, who through no fault of their own, and some due to their own faults, need help and extra grace and mercy. What is your attitude toward those who fall into this camp? What are you doing to help them?

Deuteronomy 26:13–15, Prayer offered when giving. This is the prayer that the tithe-payer is to pray upon bringing his tithe to YHVH. Tithing leads to prosperity, but for whom? Just the individual? Notice in verse 15 the wording: “bless your people Israel…” The tithe-payer is praying for blessings not just upon himself, but upon the entire nation. What can we draw from this? Is there room for selfish prayers here? What happens when the whole community is tithing and everyone is praying for everyone else’s well-being and blessing?

Deuteronomy 26:17–19, You have distinguished YHVH…YHVH has distinguished you.What does this mean? What is YHVH’s attitude toward Israel? What does the word avouched or distinguished (some translations read: proclaimed or agreeing) mean here? What is transpiring here with the people distinguishing YHVH and YHVH returning the action in verse 18? The resulting action is in verse 19.

 

Can you buy your redemption through charitable giving?

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Exodus 30:15 and 16, To make atonement for your souls. Some will read these verses and conclude that one can buy their redemption through charitable giving and therefore circumvent the need to place one’s faith in Yeshua’s atoning death on the cross. Does this passage suggest a theology where man can save himself from his sins by acts of charity? Let’s dig a little deeper to see what these verses are really teaching us.

In this passage, YHVH instructed the Israelites to pay an annual half-shekel temple tax. This money went, in part, toward, the service (verse 16) and constructing of the Tabernacle of Moses (e.g. Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the OT, vol. 1, p. 459; Exod. 38:21–31), and later toward the purchase of the animals the priests sacrificed (The Temple and Its Service, by Alfred Edersheim, p. 48). In this way, the people were participating vicariously in the act of sacrificing an innocent animal as an offering or atonement for their sins. Again, the Scriptures reveal that this sacrificial system merely pointed prophetically toward the Greater Sacrifice that would come later in the Person of Yeshua, the Redeemer of Israel. (Read Isa 53.) On the point that the paying the half-shekel was a merely a temporary solution to the problem of man’s sin, Keil and Delitzsch say in their commentary on this passage,

As an expiation [atonement] for souls, it pointed to the unholiness of Israel’s nature, and reminded the people continually, that by nature it was alienated from God, and could only remain in covenant with the Lord and live in His kingdom on the ground of His grace, which covered its sin (ibid.). 

Keil and Delitzsch’s point is further strengthened in Exodus 30:16, which says,

And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before YHVH, to make an atonement for your souls. (emphasis added; ibid.)

The giving of the half-shekel was a memorial to what? The Hebrew word for memorial is zikrown (Strong’s H2146) meaning “reminder, token, record.” According to The TWOT, a zikrown is an object or act which brings something else to mind or which represents something else. It reminded them of their sinfulness and pointed prophetically to a Redeemer—Yeshua the Messiah— who would come and take away their sins once and for all (Heb 10:10). For a more detailed study of this subject, please see our teaching article entitled, “The Atonement: Bloody or Bloodless? Understanding the Concept of Atonement in the Torah” located on the Hoshana Rabbah website at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/atone.pdf.

 

On Joyful and Grateful Giving

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Deuteronomy 26:11, You shall rejoice.Bringing one’s tithes and offerings to YHVH is to be a joyful event since it is a reflection of our gratitude to him for abundantly blessing us. (Compare this verse with 2 Corinthians 9:6–11.) Giving to YHVH is a form of worship since it allows us to put our treasure where our heart is (Luke 12:34). Please join me in praying this prayer: 

Father, help us to give to you out of the abundance of our hearts joyfully and with gratitude for your blessings and bounty in our lives. Help me not to be a fair-weather giver only, but to give out of obedience, even sacrificially, that we may learn to have faith in your promises of provision and to obey you no matter the circumstances. Amein.

(For a brief study on tithing and giving, please see my teaching entitled, “Is Tithing for Us Today?” which is available on our ministry website at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/tithing.pdf.)

Hundreds of people read this blog every day. For the several of you who appreciate the spiritual food and fresh manna that we provide here free of charge and who express that gratitude by giving financially, we give you our heartfelt thanks.

As some of you know, the tithes and offerings that come into this ministry do not go into my personal pocket (unless the giver specifically specifies that their gift is for me personally, which happens rarely). Rather, they go to help pay for ministry expenses, which are substantial. Web sites cost money to own and maintain, and my wife and I appreciate those who recognize this and contribute toward this activity.

For those who follow the biblical command to give financially to those who are feeding you spiritually, we pray that YHVH will richly bless you for your gifts, and thank you for considering this ministry to be fruitful ground in which to sow your financial seed!

Deuteronomy 26:13–15, Prayer offered when giving. This is the prayer that the tithe-payer is to pray upon bringing his tithe to YHVH. Tithing leads to prosperity, but for whom? Just the individual? Notice in verse 15 the wording: “bless your people Israel…” The tithe-payer is praying for blessings not just upon himself, but upon the entire nation. What can we draw from this? Is there room for selfish prayers here? What happens when the whole community is tithing and everyone is praying for everyone else’s well-being and blessing?

Here is the prayer:

When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year—the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, then you shall say before YHVH your Elohim: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of YHVH my Elohim, and have done according to all that You have commanded me.  Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey. (Deut 26:12–15)


 

The Bible Law of Reciprocity—You Reap What You Sow

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Genesis 28:22, I will surely give the tenth. To whom would Jacob ultimately tithe? We don’t know, but Jacob may have been making a prophecy about his descendants bringing their tithes and offerings to the house of El or the temple that would eventually be built on that exact spot.

Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28 was his first, life-changing personal encounter with the Elohim of his fathers (Gen 28:10ff). What was his response? It was to serve YHVH and to worship him by giving him one-tenth (a tithe) of his increase (verse 22). What prompted this response on Jacob’s part? Why was such a response appropriate?

When did you have your first encounter with your Heavenly Father and Master? In following the example of Jacob, have you faithfully used the first fruits of your increase to honor, worship and express your gratitude to him ever since? If not, why not? Scripture calls not tithing “robbing Elohim” and that as a result a curse may be on your finances (see Mal 3:8–11). Proverbs 3:9 lays out a solid truth about how tithing is a form of worshipping the Creator. “Honour [glorify] YHVH with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase, so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

The Scriptures reveal the importance of the spiritual law of reciprocity; namely, you reap what you sow (Gen 8:22; Gal 6:7–9). If you don’t sow you will not reap. If you sow evil or good you will reap the same. Jacob had to learn this law the hard way. In Job 4:8 we read, “Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.”

Jacob gained the birthright through posing as Esau (a deception) and Laban in turn deceives Jacob by putting Leah under the veil posing as Rachel in Jacob’s marriage bed. It is very easy to see the principle of reaping and sowing in others’ lives, but can we see it in our own life? This is very difficult to do! Aren’t we prone to concoct every excuse and argument imaginable to justify our sinful actions and then blame the results on others? Prayerfully take a long and hard look at your life, examine hardships and trials, and honestly ask yourself the question: Am I reaping what I have sown? It is never too late to repent and make a course correction—to bring your life into agreement with YHVH’s Word and will, so you can start reaping Elohim’s blessings.

Honesty, patience and submission to authority are fruits of righteousness. What did YHVH have to teach Jacob about these fruits of the Spirit? Jacob was impatient in submitting to YHVH’s will and waiting for the birthright to come to him in a righteous way. How did YHVH use Laban to correct these character flaws in Jacob? Jacob had to go into the Babylonian world for a season in order to be refined before being ready to be a patriarch worthy of honor and an example of righteousness as the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.

What is YHVH allowing you to go through to refine you of character flaws and defects to prepare you for the future mission he has for you? Are you submitting to his refining fires that are burning the wood, hay and stubble out of your life (1 Cor 3:12–15), or are you resisting him thereby forcing him to “turn up the heat” of his discipline to help you “to get the point” and learn your lesson? (Read Heb 12:5–15.)

Jacob was forced to go east (toward Babylon) as a form of exile and punishment for his sins. After serving as a bondservant to Laban for 20 years, he returned westward to Canaan, the land of promise. This eastward-westward movement was a pattern followed by Jacob’s descendants later on several occasions. Even Abraham left Babylon and went west to Canaan. What are the prophetic implications of this in the end times when YHVH is calling his people to “come out” of spiritual Babylon (Rev 18:4)?

Jacob builds a complete family in “exile” consisting of twelve tribal leaders. To return to the Promised Land of Canaan, he had to encounter Esau (or Edom) who is the father of many of the modern day Arab peoples. What is this a prophetic picture of? Did history repeat itself when the Jewish exilic remnant again encountered Esau’s descendants when they come back from Babylon under Ezra and Nehemiah? Isn’t this same thing happening again in our time as the exiled Jews return to Israel—their ancestral and Elohim-given homeland? Who currently is opposing their return and is openly vowing to annihilate them? Consider Edom’s opposition to Jacob past, present and future. What (or who) is really behind this opposition to Israel’s (Jacob’s) inheriting his birthright that includes a land inheritance whose borders are from Egypt to the Euphrates River in modern Iraq?

Jacob vowing to tithe to Elohim was his acknowledging his submission to Elohim and to his will—that Elohim was the Lord over his life. Complete submission to Elohim came hard for Jacob. The same is true for us, and when we tithe this is an act of worship of Elohim and acknowledgement that we have come to a higher place of surrender in our lives.

 

Tithing—An Act of Grateful and Prayerful Worship

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Deuteronomy 26:4–11, You shall answer. This was the prayer that one was to make when one brought their tithe to YHVH. Bringing one’s tithe to YHVH was an act of gratefulness and worship and was brought with a joyful heart for the blessing the Almighty had bestowed upon the tithe-giver.

Deuteronomy 26:11, You shall rejoice. Bringing one’s tithes and offerings to YHVH is to be a joyful event since it is a reflection of our gratitude to him for abundantly blessing us. (Compare this verse with 2 Corinthians 9:6–11.) Giving to YHVH is a form of worship since it allows us to put our treasure where our heart is (Luke 12:34). Please join me in praying this prayer: 

Father, help us to give to you out of the abundance of our hearts joyfully and with gratitude for your blessings and bounty in our lives. Help me not to be a fair-weather giver only, but to give out of obedience, even sacrificially, that we may learn to have faith in your promises of provision and to obey you no matter the circumstances. Amein.

(For a brief study on tithing and giving, please see my teaching entitled, “Is Tithing for Us Today?” which is available on our ministry website at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/tithing.pdf.)

 

Have you paid your dues?

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Leviticus 10:13, Because it is due. In the days before coinage, a man’s wages were weighed out in silver bullion or bartering occurred. In the case of the Levites (including the priests), they were given a portion of the offerings and sacrifices as their wages for serving the people. It is often the attitude of those in congregations that ministers should serve the people for free—without pay, and they are therefore negligent in giving. This is contrary to the Torah, which commands the Israelites to remunerate the Levites for their services (see Lev 27:30, 32). YHVH even calls the tithe to his ministers “their inheritance” (Num 18:21, 26).

Although the Testimony of Yeshua doesn’t overtly promote the concept of tithing per se, it does teach the Torah principle of giving to the ministry. For example, Paul instructed the believers in Philippi about giving. He addresses the issue of supporting his ministry and that by their faithfulness in giving to him it was in effect giving an offering (or a sacrifice) to YHVH, and that the Philippians would be blessed for this (Phil 4:16–19). He goes on to say that we are to give to those who spiritually feed us (1 Tim 5:17–18). Paul backs up this assertion by quoting a Torah principle here.

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, “You shalt not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn,” and, “The labourer is worthy of his reward.”

What’s more, the Scriptures tell us that great blessings from heaven accrue to those who tithe or give to YHVH’s spiritual work on earth (Mal 3:10–11).

To not give, according to the Scriptures is called “robbing Elohim” (Mal 3:8–9). Those who refuse to give financially bring a curse upon themselves (Mal 3:9). Paul rebukes the congregation in Corinth for not supporting him financially, and states that he has “robbed” other churches who did support him, thus forcing him to use their offerings to pay his ministry expenses in Corinth (2 Cor 11:8–9). Corinth was not the only stingy congregation in the first century. The problem seemed to be widespread then (Phil 4:15) as it is today.