Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The tithe is one of the most debated topics in the Church today. The debate is whether the tithe is required today under the New Covenant. There is one side of the Church that believes the specific requirement of the tithe was annulled (declared to have no legal existence) when the Law was fulfilled by Jesus Christ and the New Covenant manifested replacing the Law. The other side of the Church believes the requirement for the tithe continues to this day and into the future. So, which is right? Let’s examine what The Scriptures have to say.
The word “tithe” is the Hebrew word “maaser” or “maasrah” and is translated “tenth, or tenth part.” The Greek word for tithe is “apodekatoo.” In both Hebrew and Greek, it means a “payment or giving or receiving of the tenth.”
When did the tithe begin? The first time the word “tithe” is mentioned is in the Book of Genesis 14:20. Genesis is known as the “Book of the Beginnings.” There is one absolute KEY about Genesis. All that occurred in Gensis was BEFORE the Law. If something existed BEFORE the Law, then the Law didn’t introduce it. Remember to make note of this.
Genesis 14:20
And blessed be The Most High God, Which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he [Abram] gave Him [Melchizedek] tithes of all.
Abram is returning from his conquest of the four kings that captured Sodom and took the people and all the possessions. Lot, Abram’s nephew, was living in Sodom at the time and was taken along with his family and all his possessions. Abram, with only 318 armed servants which were trained in his household, defeated an army of tens of thousands and took back all that was captured of Sodom, including Lot, his family, and his possessions, and took all the spoils of the four kings. Abram tithed to Melchizedek “tithes of all.” Everything Abram brought back, he tithed 10% to Melchizedek.
I’ve written about Melchizedek in previous emails. Melchizedek is Jesus preincarnate in the earth. No, it wasn’t some other man. It was clearly Jesus. Read Hebrews and Psalm 110:4. Genesis 14:18 tells us Melchizedek is the King of Salem [present day Jerusalem] and the Priest of The Most High God. Man was not a “priest” of God until the Law came into effect in Exodus. And, once Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the river Jordan, the priesthood of man ended. John symbolized the LAST of the Aaronic priesthood (father was a priest and mother was of the daughters of Aaron). Jesus came into the earth as the King. However, He wasn’t the Priest until He was baptized by John. This signified the transition from the priesthood of Aaron to the Priesthood of Melchizedek – Jesus. Now, order is restored with the Kingship and the Priesthood reestablished in the Son of man, Jesus Christ. Notice what John and Jesus say in Matthew 3:14-15.
Matthew 3:13-15
13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John forbad Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered Him.
The bolded portion of verse 15 is Jesus stating, in so many Words, we must fulfill The Word and transfer the Priesthood into the Order of Melchizedek, an eternal priesthood. There is much more that could be taught, but it is too much for this message. I encourage you to do a study of it. We’ll come back to Melchizedek later.
Now, I have two questions for you: where did Abram learn to tithe and where did Cain and Abel learn to bring an “offering” to the Lord God in Genesis 4? And what was the “offering” Cain and Abel brought? Hmmmm, something is up here. Let’s look at Genesis 4:4.
Genesis 4:4
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Notice some key words in this verse: “brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.” Abel brought God the first of all that he had received – the firstfruits (can someone say “the tithe”). Abel also brought “the fat thereof.” “Fat” is translated from Hebrew as “the richest or choice part.” Abel’s offering to God was the first and the best he had and a blood sacrifice.
God was so honored by Abel’s offering that Abel received first billing in the Hebrews 11 Roll Call of Faith.
Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Abel’s “firstlings” or “firstfruits” and “the fat thereof” is the first recorded act of faith in The Scriptures. Abel gave God the first part of all that he had and the richest or best part of the flock. He did this by FAITH.
Notice what his older brother Cain did. It is very telling in Genesis 4:3.
Genesis 4:3
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
This verse tells us the heart of Cain. He didn’t bring the first or the best of the fruit of the ground to God, and he didn’t bring a blood offering. “In the process of time” tells us that Cain eventually got around to bringing God the offering. What God doesn’t say here tell us a lot. God said Abel brought “of the fat thereof.” God makes it a point to say He received the richest or the best of Abel’s flock. God doesn’t mention anything about Cain’s offering other than it wasn’t the firstfruits and it wasn’t offered on time. There is NO FAITH in Cain.
Don’t miss God’s lesson for us in these first few verses of Genesis 4. God expected firstfruits and the richest, best, or choicest part and a blood offering. He accepted Abel’s because Abel honored God by bringing his firstfruits, the choicest, richest, and best part, and a blood offering at the right time. He rejected Cain’s because it was not firstfruits, it was not on time, it was not the best, and it was not a blood offering. Hmmmmm, this sounds very much like Malachi 3. But Larry, Malachi 3 is under the Law. Yes, you’re right. Genesis 4 is not. What’s the big deal about Malachi 3 if it is under the Law? It shows God’s attitude about the tithe. Yes, the same attitude He had toward Cain in Genesis 4 – WAY BEFORE THE LAW. Remember, God doesn’t change. If he had this attitude in Genesis, do you think He has the same attitude today? If I were a betting man, I’d put it all on the “same attitude today.” Let God be true and every man a liar.
Malachi 3:8-12
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
This means God considered what Cain did to be robbery. Cain was taking from God that which rightly belonged to Him, so God rejected Cain’s offering. The offering wasn’t acceptable to God because it wasn’t the first, it wasn’t the best, it wasn’t on time, and it wasn’t blood.
Let’s back up a minute. Who taught Cain and Abel to tithe? I can see some of you fidgeting. Larry, it didn’t say tithe, it said offering. Ok, we’ll address this in a little while. Just humor me.
It stands to reason that Adam and Eve taught Cain and Abel because God taught Adam and Eve. Yes, you have a point. The Scriptures never say God taught Adam and Eve about the tithe or the offering or that Adam and Eve taught Cain and Abel.
Notice in Genesis 3:7 when Adam and Eve had sinned and fallen, they now noticed they were naked, although they had been naked since creation. Genesis 3:7 tells us “the eyes of them both were opened.” Prior to the sin, Adam and Eve had walked using their spiritual eyes of faith. When they fell, they lost the sixth sense of God’s faith and begin seeing things through their physical eyes – their senses. They now were filled with a new nature, the nature of Satan.
Notice in Genesis 3:7 that Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons to cover their physical nakedness. This was not accepted by God, Who shed the innocent blood of animals to clothe them with skins in Genesis 3:21. God purposely shed the blood of “innocent” animals to “cover” the sins of Adam and Eve. Notice a pattern here that will later be fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Adam and Eve learned from this and evidently taught it to Cain and Abel. Abel honored his parents and God by observing this and Cain did not. God rejected Cain’s offering.
We see Cain and Abel bring offerings in Genesis. We also see in Genesis that Noah gave offerings after the worldwide flood that destroyed all of mankind except for the eight in Noah’s Ark. Then we see Abram build altars in Genesis 12. The purpose of the altar was for burnt offerings. So, we know Abram gave offerings. We can see that each generation was taught of the requirement to bring the offering, the tithe, to the Lord God. Yes, there will be those that try and argue The Word doesn’t specifically say this. At best, it’s a lame argument. This would be the same as me saying, “I live in New York. I arrived in Los Angeles,” and someone arguing I didn’t depart from New York because I didn’t specifically say it. Regardless of how I arrived in Los Angeles, I had to start, at some point, from New York.
In closing this Part One message, we’ve established God made the first blood offering by sacrificing innocent animals to clothe Adam and Eve. We’ve established Abel and Cain brought offerings to God and that God expected the offerings to be firstfruits, the choicest or the best, to be on time, and to be a blood sacrifice. We’ve established that Abram tithed to Jesus preincarnate, Melchizedek, from all that he took from the four kings. We’ve established the Order or Priesthood of Melchizedek was before the priesthood of Aaron. We’ve established that Melchizedek is both a King and a Priest. We’ve established that God separated the role of the king from the role of the priest under the Law. We’ve established that Abram offered sacrifices because he built altars throughout Canaan to honor God. And we’ve established this ALL took place BEFORE the Law was given.
All of the above summation paragraph is very important. It is critical to the outcome of our investigation of whether the tithe is still required in the New Covenant. Next week we’ll delve further into the evidence provided by The Word of God.
“Your celebration is a demonstration of your expectation.” Bill Winston.
In Christ,
Larry