I'm studying my Sunday School Lesson on Giving. The writer of the book mentioned that our tithe is a form of worship. He was using Psalm 96 as a guide to worship. Mr. H. Joseph Miller pointed out that there is singing, preaching, offering, prayer and service mentioned in this Psalm.
Psa 96:1 O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
Psa 96:2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.
Psa 96:3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
Psa 96:4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
Psa 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
Psa 96:6 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Psa 96:7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Psa 96:8 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.
Psa 96:9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
Psa 96:10 Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.
Psa 96:11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
Psa 96:12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
Psa 96:13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
vs. 7 and 8 say GIVE unto the Lord. Worship by giving. That was new to me. I think of tithe as what I OWE God. He deserves at least a 10th doesn't He. But NO... look at that... I WORSHIP Him by giving. So I looked up tithe on my e-sword today and read what the commentators have to say about it.
Jamieson, Faucet and Brown says this about tithe in Leviticus 27.30...
The whole produce of the land was subjected to the tithe tribute - it was a yearly rent which the Israelites, as tenants, paid to God, the owner of the land, and a thank offering they rendered to Him for the bounties of His providence. (See Pro_3:9; 1Co_9:11; Gal_6:6).
So of course... I looked up Gal 6.6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
Thank you... Thank you God. And of course... a good way to say thank you is by WORSHIPING as you tithe.
This is a GREAT Sunday School class we are having. I really enjoy the discussion. The teacher keeps reminding us how he doesn't like to teach, but he seems to be doing fine. If a 1 period class turns into 2, because we are learning so much... isn't that a good class? I'd say so. Thanks for the challenge to keep on digging. I look forward to all I'm going to learn about giving this week.
Although the thoughts sound good they are not biblical.
ReplyDeleteThe Psalm describes offerings and not tithes.
Firstfruits were very small token offerings which were brought to the Temple and consumed by the priests inside the Temple. (Deu 26:1-10; Neh 10:35-37a).
Tithes were the tenth which could not be calculared until the last of the crop was harvested. They went directly to the 48/13 Levitical cities whee the 98% Levites and priests who were not ministering in the Temple needed it for food (Neh 10:37b).
In other words only a very small portion of the tihe ever went to the Temple per Neh 10:37b-39; 12:44.
Neh 10:37b And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work.
The above text proves most of what preachers say about OT food tithes to be wrong. See my essay, book and DVD at www.tithing-russkelly.com
With all due respect to Russ Kelly PhD, I think you totally and completely missed the heart of Jennifer's post. She is talking about the heart attitude in giving to the Lord. Its to be done with a heart of gladness and heart of worship. What exactly is unbiblical about that?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the terminology is not exactly right, but I don't think the terminology is the emphasis of the blog post. The emphasis is the heart attitude of giving.
Thank you Jennifer for the encouragement to give to the Lord with a heart of worship.
Susan
Giving with a worshipful heart is not biblical? Wow; now there's a concept.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with Susan that you have missed the point. I also find it unfortunate that you seem to find the need to "correct" a stranger by holding yourself up as an expert - and your own information really isn't any more accurate, either. The OT tithe was used for a variety of things, including provision for those who had devoted their lives to the Lord's work (the offerings comprised an even larger portion of that support!), provision for the needy, and even celebration. (Mal. 3:10; Num. 18:21-32; Deu. 12:17-19; Deu. 14:22-29; Deu. 26:12-14; Neh. 10:37-38 & 13:4-5,12)
Much more importantly, though, as Jennifer pointed out, the Bible does talk to us about the attitude with which we give: "...for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work....while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God...."
I agree with Susan. I think that Jennifer was talking about our heart attitude toward giving to the Lord. We give our tithes out of love for God because we are New Testament Christians and are no longer under the law but are under grace. I do agree with Jennifer's comments that giving our tithe is a form of worship. We can do nothing of ourselves it is through grace that God allows us to be saved. We can worship God through our time, talents, and tithe.
ReplyDelete2Corinthians 9:6-8.
Deacon & Usher were here
ReplyDeletedeaconandusher.wordpress.com
Wow -- maybe I should blog on TITHE more often... the commentors are coming out of the wood work. :giggle:
ReplyDelete