Please open your Bible to 2 Chronicles 31.
We are going to push pause on our study of the Gospel of Mark for this week, the last time we’ll pause until we’re finished with the series on Easter, and have part of a message I gave last month on December 1 on the subject of generosity.
The Bible is full of teaching about money and possessions. Most of us spend our lives surrounded by stuff. Especially in our culture there are very very few of us who have literally nothing. All of us interact with money and possessions on a day-in-day-out, indeed moment-by-moment basis. What are we supposed to do with them?
There are a few categories of answer to that question. We are supposed to use them to live, to survive and thrive. We are supposed to enjoy them with contentment (no matter how much of little we have). We are supposed to invest them for the future as we plan ahead wisely for our needs, saving for a rainy day or the day when we’re unable to generate an income. And we are supposed to share them and give them away to help others.
In December we looked at 2 Corinthians 9 which teaches us that these basic categories: bread for food, seed for sowing, and for giving away.
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (CSB)
“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way…”
Generosity. What does that mean? How do you know if you are being generous? How can you calculate or determine the amount of money you are supposed to be giving away? In December I studiously avoided giving you a number or a percentage. Generosity is a matter of the heart. Of your motivation and attitude. And I want to encourage you to review that passage and perhaps that sermon occasionally. How is your heart doing today with this spirit of generosity? But the Bible is not entirely silent on the idea of a percentage.
The Old Testament law contained a principle called “the Tithe” or “the Tenth” that informed the nation of Israel’s generosity, giving, and sacrifice, and there are principles that we can take from the Tithe, even though we are no longer bound by that same system of laws and regulations.
So let's look at our passage for today. In 2 Chronicles chapter 31, we find King Hezekiah reinstating the proper worship of God according to the scriptures, after long neglect. It shows us a picture of the blessing that results when God’s people obey His command to be generous with their stuff.
2 Chronicles 31:5–12b (CSB)
5 When the word spread, the Israelites gave liberally of the best of the grain, new wine, fresh oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in an abundance, a tenth of everything. 6 As for the Israelites and Judahites who lived in the cities of Judah, they also brought a tenth of the herds and flocks, and a tenth of the dedicated things that were consecrated to the Lord their God. They gathered them into large piles.
7 In the third month they began building up the piles, and they finished in the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and his officials came and viewed the piles, they blessed the Lord and his people Israel. 9 Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the piles. 10 The chief priest Azariah, of the household of Zadok, answered him, “Since they began bringing the offering to the Lord’s temple, we have been eating and are satisfied and there is plenty left over because the Lord has blessed his people; this abundance is what is left over.” 11 Hezekiah told them to prepare chambers in the Lord’s temple, and they prepared them. 12 The offering, the tenth, and the dedicated things were brought faithfully.
The Tithe
So this repeated phrase “the tenth”, or in most other translations “the tithe” (which is just an outdated english word meaning “tenth”) is mentioned here. And the point of this passage is that when God’s people faithfully bring the tenth or the tithe as their offering, blessing abounds. Everyone involved in the service of God’s temple, has enough, and piles are left over!
Traditionally, Christians have used this idea of “the tithe” or “tithing” to talk about how much we should give in offering to the work of the church. And I want to show you why that is today. Because it is not as simple as “the Bible says to tithe”.Spoiler alert, I’m going to show you that in fact the Bible does NOT say that! So why is it usually taught?
To get there, we have to unpack the Bible’s teaching on “the tithe”.
What is a tithe?
Because the word “tithe” has somewhat lost its meaning, being an archaic word that really only exists in our vocabulary still because of the King James translation tradition, we need to define it. It just means “tenth” and not like the fraction “one tenth” and definitely not “ten percent”, but rather, the tenth thing in a group. First-second-third-fourth-fifth-sixth-seventh-eighth-ninth-TENTH-eleventh-twelfth-etc. The command to tithe is detailed in Leviticus.
Leviticus 27:32 (CSB)
32 Every tenth animal from the herd or flock, which passes under the shepherd’s rod, will be holy to the Lord.
So let’d do some math.
If you had ten cows, that tenth one would be your tithe. If you had nine cows, what would your tithe be? Zero. Not ninety percent of a cow.If you had fifteen cows, what would your tithe be? One. 20? 2. 25? 2. You get the idea.
Grain and oil and other produce were also tithed, so that was a little more straightforward, but still it would be the tenth of whatever measure was being used. The tenth bushel, not 10% of the total grain.
Why does this matter? I’m trying to show you that calculating one’s tithe in the Old Covenant was a little more complex than just “10% of your stuff.”
Scriptures on the Tithe
Pre-law. Two times in Genesis, we see the concept of tithing being referred to. Genesis 14, Abraham to Melchizedek, and Jacob in dedicating things to God in Genesis 28. This shows that the concept of tithing as an act of worship or fealty to a king was a known thing in the ancient near eastern culture.
Three Tithes. Israelites in the promised land under The Old Testament law tithed three times. So even if we’re talking about a principle we are to see, we’re not looking at 10%, we’re looking at something more like 23.3%!
- The Tithe to the Levites - Found in Numbers 18:20-24 - Was a Tithe that the nation of Israel gave to the Levitical Priests. It was the way God had set in place that the Levites would be supported, because of all the tribes, the Levites did not receive any land to support them. It was presented to them each year during the festivals. Additionally, the Levites themselves who received the tithes, tithed the best things to the priests. So even those who were supported by the tithe, were themselves to tithe. One way of saying this is that this tithe was given to support those who worked in ministry.
- The Festival Tithe - Found in Deuteronomy 12 and 14 - Was a tithe that the Israelites were commanded to recognize in order to fund the festival celebrations! They paid it each year… to themselves!To buy rich food and strong drink and throw a party in worship and celebration of God.
- The Charity Tithe - Fond in Deuteronomy 14 and 26, every third year another tithe was given, and it was given in order to meet the needs of the poor, the widow, the orphan, and foreigners in their midst. Think of it like a massive welfare system.
So three tithes. One for providing for the needs of the priesthood, one for funding the worship of God, and one for meeting the needs of the poor.
There are also references in the Old Testament prophets about the consequences for not adhering to God’s law, specifically in the areas of the tithe, that brought curse instead of blessing to Israel.
Other kinds of giving in the old testament
The tithe isn’t the only kind of giving shown in the Old Testament. There are four other ways the Israelites gave their money.
- Vows: Vows are mentioned in the Old Testament. They were common things in the ancient near east. They were very serious things, and honor demanded that you kept them. The OT Law regulated the making of vows for the safety of the nation.
- Offerings: There were five specific offerings prescribed in the Old Testament Law. Three of them had to do with offerings to atone for sin. One was a voluntary gift as an expression of gratitude toward God. And one was an all-purpose offering as God would lead you.
- Contributions: Exodus 25 and 35 describe contributions for the construction and maintenance of the tabernacle, and later this was used for the temple. This law provided additional funds for the upkeep of their place of worship.
- Taxes: Taxes were eventually instituted in the law, and these were basically parallels to our taxes today, providing for the operation of the government.
So that’s the Old Testament Background on the different ways the Israelites were commanded to give their money for the worship of God, providing for the priests, celebrating, expressing gratitude for the Lord, providing for the upkeep and maintenance of their place of worship, providing for the needs of the poor. You can see why it is tempting for New Testament Church leaders to point to it as instruction for church members.
Tithing in the New Testament?
But that was the nation of Israel. Is it right to use it in the context of the church? And if so, how? Well, the answer is yes and no. I’ll start with the no.
The Old Covenant Law is now obsolete in the life of New Testament Christians.
Hebrews 8:13 (CSB)
“By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.”
We are no longer under the Old Covenant law because it’s purpose has been fulfilled by Jesus in his first coming. The Tithe Laws are no longer in effect for God’s people.
So why did I bother with them today? Because they set the backdrop for the discussion. The early church, receiving commands from Jesus and his Apostles, in the scriptures, to be generous with their money, would have had this whole system in mind. It would have been the calibration of their mind when it comes to God’s expectation for your generosity.Paul even alludes to the system when he is instructing churches on how to support their ministers.
1 Corinthians 9:13–14 (CSB)
Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.
Christian giving is “post-tithe” - the law system was sort of like training wheels for our spiritual life, and now the training wheels are off. But the tithe system informs our understanding of how we should think of our stuff when it comes to the worship of God, and carrying out his mission and his ministry. We are to give “in the same way.”
If we insist on thinking in percentages, the Israelites had a base giving, taken as a whole community, of 23-1/3rd % And then contributions for the upkeep of their place of worship, and additional offerings of thanksgiving on top of that.
This amount provided for the workers, the buildings, and all the stuff needed for worship, as well as generous charitable work in the community for the poor and the foreigner. I can only imagine what would happen if every believer at Stonebrook Church pitched in at that level to pool their resources for that purpose. That is, after all, what our church budget is about. What we are asking you to give toward.
So as you are praying about what generous giving looks like in your life, I wonder if this might be the prayer guide.
Many of you are already giving generously. And I trust that each one of you are dealing with your personal situation, and working with God on what you should be doing. I do happen to know that only about 50% of the households in the church do give regularly.We have room to grow here as a congregation.
For those of you who are following God faithfully in your giving, I want to commend you for your faith. This is not an easy ministry! I hope the reason that motivates you is the reason the New Testament gives. If you remember back to last month, I pointed out:
2 Corinthians 8:9 (CSB)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Paul roots his whole exhortation to generous giving in The Gospel itself. God promises to provide everything we need. On what basis does he prove that he will follow through on that promise? On the basis of Christ giving himself for us.
Romans 8:32 (CSB)
He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?
If we trust God with our eternal soul, certainly we can trust him with this month’s budget.
God has proven that he is willing to give us whatever we need by giving the most precious possible gift for our greatest need, his own son, sacrificed for us. This good news counters all our rebellious suspicions that God is a stingy God, that he won’t provide all our needs. It frees us to trust him with everything we have, all of which is a gift from him in the first place.
Do you want to increase your generosity? Start with your heart by remembering what Christ has done for you.
And if you don’t know him, no amount of generosity is going to matter in the long run. Keep your money. You can’t buy God’ favor with cash. The only thing he is after is your heart, that you trust his son Jesus with your life.
Practical Help
But for the 50% of you here, who have been coming for some time, but who have yet to join in this ministry work of generously giving financially, to partner together with the rest of us to help carry out Jesus’s work through this church, into the community, the nation, and the world… …if you need help knowing where to start, we have a few great opportunities coming soon.
First, the finance team is always available to help advise and give counsel in this area.
Second, our small groups are all going through a five-week book study this Spring called “Gospel Generosity” that I think does a good job with the heart of giving.
Third, if the help you need is more tactical, on February 1, we will be holding a personal finance seminar here at the church that will help walk through all kinds of things regarding money that will help you see how generosity can even be possible, no matter your financial situation.
In December I taught that financial generosity in the church is a wonderful gift from God that results in amazing things. And I just wanted to remind you of those good things: God gets glory, the needs of the saints are supplied (ministry work gets done), your faith is proven and so it grows, affection and unity in the church increases, and your capacity for generosity increases, which goes back to God getting more glory, more needs being met, more unity and affection in the church, and on and on it grows! Giving is itself a gift from God that I hope you will experience.
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