51.d. Wilderness – 15.j. “It is holy to the LORD.”

 

 

 Deu 14:22  “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.

 Deuteronomy 12:6    and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.

 Deuteronomy 26:12-15    “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled,  then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.

 Leviticus 27:30-33  “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD.

The purpose of tithing; to build an honor and reverence for God. The paraphrase in the Living Bible puts it plainly: The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives. (Guzik)

The whole appointment evidently was against the covetousness, distrust, and selfishness of the human heart. It promoted friendliness, liberality, and cheerfulness, and raised a fund for the relief of the poor. They were taught that their worldly portion was most comfortably enjoyed, when shared with their brethren who were in want. If we thus serve God, and do good with what we have, it is promised that the Lord our God will bless us in all the works of our land. The blessing of God is all to our outward prosperity; and without that blessing, the work of our hands will bring nothing to pass. The blessing descends upon the working hand. Expect not that God should bless thee in thy idleness and love of ease. And it descends upon the giving hand. He who thus scatters, certainly increases; and to be free and generous in the support of religion, and any good work, is the surest and safest way of thriving. (Henry)

 The sacrificial meals were to be held before the Lord, in the place where He caused His name to dwell (see at Deuteronomy 12:5), that Israel might learn to fear Jehovah its God always; not, however, as Schultz supposes, that by the confession of its dependence upon Him it might accustom itself more and more to the feeling of dependence. For the fear of the Lord is not merely a feeling of dependence upon Him, but also includes the notion of divine blessedness, which is the predominant idea here, as the sacrificial meals were to furnish the occasion and object of the rejoicing before the Lord. The true meaning therefore is, that Israel might rejoice with holy reverence in the fellowship of its God. (Keil)

Giving is important, tithing is commanded, and generosity is blessed. I must admit, at times, I am discouraged by all of the requests for money by mega church outreach radio ministries. They use worldly marketing ideas. They offer, “for free”, a book or booklet for a donation, they want you to join their purpose, they want to have your support.  Don’t get me wrong, many of these ministries have outreaches that give food and shelter, protect the sanctity of life, and disaster relief. This is good. However, what would happen if people of the local church tithed and gave offerings to their local church and ministries for outreach. I would think there would be more local growth and outreach. 

Some of the ministries ask support for the sermons and teaching that is broadcast on radio. I find few that preach the whole Word of God. They preach / teach in nice comfortable shallow concepts that make a person comfortable rather than convicted of sin. This is their approach; Are you hurting – God, Are you troubled – God, Are you having marital problems – God, Are you having financial problems – God, Are you needing a miracle – God, Are you having problems at work – God, … These are all about you and what you can get from God. Where is the Teaching / Preaching about sin? Where is the Preaching / Teaching that convicts a soul to repentance? Where is the Preaching / Teaching that dives into the holiness of God? Where is the Preaching / Teaching that rightly explains God’s wrath, anger, judgment……? Where is the Preaching / Teaching that declares Sin? 

Far too many pastors / teachers preach about what you can comfortably “get” and speak in comforting words that neither convict or lead a person to evaluate themselves in light of the holiness of God past the Gospel of Jesus Christ and eternal life.

Far too many “Christians” are lukewarm and shallow because of this. Far too much of the world and its pleasures and what it deems important are finding ways into the church. Why??? Studying God’s Word is neglected. Why??? Far too many Christians go to church to listen to a sermon and there is no studying in their lives apart from this. Why??? Far too many Christians are confused about worldly events and cultural norms. Why??? Far too many Christians feel they are “being” Christ-like because they listen to Christian music channels all day. Why???  Why has the Christian life taken on a “look” that resembles exactly what the lost are doing??? 

Could it be that there is only focus on what you can get as blessings from God and never challenging the heart, mind, and soul to reflect on the holiness of God and the sinfulness of sin? When is the last time you were convicted by God’s Word and repented? When was the last time you actually studied God’s Word to learn how you might honor and glorify Jesus Christ? 

If we are not studying and preachers and teachers are not proclaiming more than comfortable messages, how are we ever to grow in knowledge and understanding of sin and the holiness of God that leads us to repentance?  How is the heart to be searched and the thoughts examined if God’s Word is not being used as the light into them? 

The Christian life is not about checking the box to giving, attending church, listening to Christian music, etc… it is bout growing in the understanding and knowledge of God so that in every thought, word, and deed Jesus Christ is honored and glorified. Growing requires effort, steadfastness, commitment, faith, patience, determination, and purpose. There is no way to gain this understanding and knowledge through osmosis or neglect or complacency. 

Paul said it like this; though you ought to be teachers by now, you are in need of being taught.

182. How long will you limp along?

2 Kings 17:24   And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord.

But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. They also feared the Lord and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the Lord, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, but you shall fear the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, but you shall fear the Lord your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner.

So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

1 Kings 18:21    And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

How close do we resemble “limping along between God’s word and what the world/culture/society approves”?  A heart and mind divided on how to worship, honor, follow, obey, and trust God will take paths in life that do none of these.  To honor, serve, follow, obey and trust God requires faith, an undivided faith.  It is a faith that does not look to luck, fortune, or fate but sees all things in and through God’s hands, God’s plans, and God’s purposes. Their faith is built on and continues to grow through their time in His word with seeking and desiring heart to know more and more of His holiness, grace, and mercy.

I fear we limp along in our walk with God because we share our time, thoughts, and actions with Him and what the world has to offer, committing to the one deemed most important at the time.  We can not have it both ways.  We either serve God with our whole heart, mind, and soul or we don’t.  There is no half or partial way that is recognized by God as sufficient.