Week 53

This Weeks Passage: Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17

(Note: This is part 4 of a 5 part series on giving through tithing from the passages found in Deuteronomy 11-16.  If you missed the first three please go back and read starting at #47 as it will provide context.  You can find the link below.)

In 605 BC, Israel was taken captive by the Babylonians in three stages and were in exile for 70 years.  Stop and think about how long 70 years is to a society.  Many Israelites had taken on the culture of the pagan Babylonians.  When they returned in 538 BC they began to rebuild the temple, but their hearts were far from God in many ways.  They rebuilt the temple after much challenge from their enemies that is reported in the book of Esther and then around 458 BC eighty years later Ezra came to help bringing the Torah to them and the book of Ezra is dedicated to explaining the challenge they had to figure out who were truly priests and could serve in the temple.  Many of the genealogies had been lost.  Then they realized that the people had intermarried with pagans.  This makes them unqualified to lead, serve in the temple and sacrifice.  It’s a huge problem and there is a lot of weeping in the book of Ezra as they read the Torah for the first time and realize how far away from God they had moved.  Ezra had to make them divorce non-Israelite wives, it was a very painful time but was necessary to re-establish their priestly leadership.

Then Nehemiah came to help rebuild the walls around the city and the temple around 445 BC which was about twelve years later.  Between Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther and Daniel it was about 150 years of activity and challenges of rebuilding their land, this didn’t happen overnight.  A lot was happening and much of it was not good due to people not knowing what God required any longer, and the fight to have a temple and nation again.  This is when Malachi came on the scene to prophecy.  It’s important that we understand the historical timeline and what was happening when we read these prophets.

There was a lot of corruption within the priesthood and the people were not focused on God, but on just building their lives and in many ways living like the pagans.  The prophet Malachi addresses this huge problem.  He starts by letting them know that God loved them, but then he rebuked the priests for the way they were living and the corruption they were engaged in.  They had married pagans, there was a lot of corruption within the priesthood and now they were bringing the defected animals to be sacrificed to God and keeping the good ones for themselves.  The priests were not honoring God and the land was cursed. 

He then turns his attention to the people in chapter 3 by letting them know He hasn’t changed from what His word said and needed them to return to his requirements because the entire nation was cursed as a result of their failure to provide for the priests, widows, orphans and foreigners.  This was the foundation upon which the nation functioned and received God’s provision and His blessing.  When they failed to do their part it meant everyone else suffered beginning with the priests who were now taking care of themselves rather than providing the proper sacrifices God required.  He challenged them to return to His ways by tithing again and they would see the nation flourish again and there would be enough food for the priests, widows and orphans and they could trust Him to provide everything they needed as well.  He challenged them to test Him so they could see it was true.  The food they brought fed the nation and they would be blessed once again when they got back to doing the plan he laid out through Moses.

Let me finish this weeks lesson by saying the reason there is no teaching on tithing in the New Testament is because the plan never changed.  They all knew what God required and whenever giving is mentioned in the NT it is always related to supporting or helping the poor.  There is never a reference to giving to a church not that it’s wrong to do so.  When Rome took command of the church in the 4th century through the years they adjusted tithing to become more of a tax by requiring it to raise money.  They began selling blessings called indulgences and many of these practices got converted into the protestant church in the 15th Century.  Scripture was often adjusted to fit the practice and has continued to be used this way.

Next week for our final teaching on the subject we’ll focus on trying to see the big picture of tithing and how we can do it today so that our hearts can really connect with God and see the blessing He intended for it to be.  Preachers often say that if you don’t want to be cursed then you need to tithe.  The truth is that word was never directed at people it was a commentary and word on the condition of the nation when people had turned away from God.  He was not saying tithe and you will be blessed, He was saying return to me, turn your hearts back to loving me and obeying me and your nation will be blessed once again.  These are words we really need to hear even in our day.  May we as a people return to God.