Tithing - An Intriguing Aspect of Giving - Genesis 14:1-24 - Pete's Bible Commentary

Could I think of a more controversial topic to discuss? Tithing. Firstly, the question is, why is tithing so controversial for so many people? For some, I sense that to tithe (or to give the first 10% of your income to God) comes to the heart of the Christian life; that is, will we put God first in our lives? When the rubber hits the road, we can talk about reading the Bible, lifting up prayers and helping those in need, and these are great expressions of the Christian life, though giving of our financial resources challenges what we do with what we have been given. What will I do with that $1000 for the fortnight? Will I let go of $100 of it, and tithe it to the local church?

Now, we are going to explore some biblical texts related to tithing. This post does not seek to be a complete intellectual expose of everything tithing, but rather I would like to offer an intriguing aspect of giving.

Before I look at this intriguing aspect of giving, lets consider Moses and his trip up Mount Sinai. On this mountaintop God (YHWH) released a blue print to him that would become the codes for living for the Israelite people. What was offered to Moses, for the Israelite community was the 'Law'. The word law conjures up primarily negative images in our contemporary minds, but back then, many of the laws offered were related to health and wellbeing, and were offered to the people of Israel thousands of years before they had the luxuries of 'surfing the Internet' to find a solution to their leprosy!

Within these laws, God taught his people to tithe. He asked for people to tithe, and he desired people to tithe to him. A tithe was the giving of the first ten per cent of their produce that they received off the land. Actually at times, God required people to ‘tithe’ or sacrifice a tenth of their livestock, not just their grain. That’s a lot of steak sandwiches right there!


What does the Old Testament texts say about tithing?

Leviticus 27:30 - 30 "'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.


Deuteronomy 12:5-7 - 5 But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; 6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and donations, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.

So giving of a tithe and above that, offerings, was a celebration of the fact that God had blessed you. What a concept! Giving a tithe to the priesthood, was not a legalistic thing (atleast that was not what God was wanting), but rather so that people would firstly, put God number one, and secondly use this giving as an opportunity to be thankful for all the blessings God has given.

BUT this is NOT what has been intriguing me. I mean, I know about tithing, and giving ten percent. I know that it is a way to celebrate and put God first in our lives. I know that. I also believe that tithing is a concept/law that passes on to the New Testament believer. Though I am not going to enter into that debate. I think it is somewhat irrelevant, because generous giving in the New Testament seems to be above and beyond 10% anyway! The picture of the NT Scriptures is that tithing was seemingly the bare minimum for a mature follower in Christ. I mean, I have never sold a house and laid the money at anyone's feet before! (Acts 4:34-35).  

BUT this is NOT what has been intriguing me about tithing.

Stop and have a read of the following story in Genesis 14:11-20:
Genesis 14:11-20 11 The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. 12 They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. 13 One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. 17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Did you read the passage? Let me unpack it for you. Abram (soon to be named Abraham), finds out his nephew Lot had been captured, along with his possessions. Abram rallied a few hundred of his trained men to attack the kings who had captured Lot, and obtained back Lot's rightful possessions. What happens next intrigues me. Melchizedek, who was a priest of 'God Most High' blesses Abram, and mentions that God was the one who blessed him in battle that day. It was the Creator of heaven and earth who delivered the enemies into Abram's hands. What was Abram's response? "Thanks Melchizedek, we should do coffee some time..." No, his response was that he gave the priest a tenth of everything. Imagine how much livestock this would have been? There would have been enough sheep to make New Zealand proud. What an amazing response by Abram. Melchizedek, the priest, makes Abram aware of the fact that God had blessed him in battle, and Abram's response was to give back to God.

What intrigues me the most about this tithe is this... Abram tithed before it became law. We know that Moses had not gone up the Mountain yet. Moses had not passed on the law to the people of Israel. In fact, Moses wasn't even born yet! Abram did not have the law in front of him that read, 'You shall give a tenth of your livestock to God'. This is the point - When Abram became aware that God was blessing him, he gave back to him to show his appreciation. This was Abram's automatic response; one of generosity. God blessed me, therefore I will bless God.

This is the point of tithing. It is not a law, per se. It is not a religious duty. It is an act of thankfulness. It is an act of giving that expresses gratitude to God, for being created, for the blessing in life, for having anything of value in the first place! Let us learn from the intriguing story of Abram, when he realised God had blessed him, so he gave God a tenth of his possessions.

I can learn something about generosity from this story in Genesis 14:1-24.
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This glance at Genesis 14:1-24, Leviticus 27:30 and Deuteronomy 12:5-7 on tithing/giving, is part of a growing collection from Pete's Bible Commentary.
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Law No. 10 - The Law of Connection - John C. Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

The Law of Connection says, 'Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand'.

John Maxwell is on to something here! I listened to a Christian evangelist preaching up a storm recently, and he knew something of the law of connection. He was preaching to a group of teenagers, most of who had never heard him preach, other than maybe looking at YouTube prior to the event. Did he just simply dive into his message? Did he just walk up to the stage, offload his theological persuasions, hoping someone might respond? He did quite the opposite. He began by playing his saxophone, to some background music, and got the crowd involved in singing some well known radio tunes. Why? Was it because he lacked enough content for a full sermon? No. He was building a connection with the listening audience. Then when he came to the crux of his message, he had people willing to respond. His name is Reggie Dabbs - YouTube him if you dare.

You may not be in the Christian ministry context, but the principle is the same. That's why Dale Carnegie (How to Win Friends and Influence People), highlights the point that if you walk into an unknown person's office, and you are seeking something from them, e.g. to sign over their money, you need to build a connection with them. He says that to make this connection you should quickly scan the room, and find something that you can talk about that connects with the person. I remember for instance walking into the office of a School Principal's office. I had never built a connection with this Principal before. As I entered the office, I scanned the room and saw a Certificate for being trained in Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People literature. I immediately leveraged off this to build a connection. I asked, 'How long have you been training people on the 7 Habits? It's a good book hey?' Very quickly I had built a connection. He began talking with excitement about The 7 Habits, and how he uses it to empower people to be better leaders.

While developing the connection with people is again, not rocket science, but John Maxwell is on the right track, and so many people miss it. They enter an important meeting with an executive and they talk more about themselves than anything else, and no connection is built. Or what about when you have two people on two different occassions speak on pretty much the same topic, and one of the communicators has connected with you so much more effectively? There are many factors involved in this connection, and some of them are:

• Your respect for the communicator. The higher the respect, the greater the connection.
• Their ability to emotionally connect with you, the listener. The greater the emotional connection, the greater the connection, e.g. they may share a story about being a foster child when they grew up, and if you were a foster child, you probably will feel an emotional connection.
• The personality of the communicator and listener. Sometimes different personalities can either inspire us, or grate against us. An example being, that an organised, methodological kind of personality, may communicate about time management, and struggle to build a connection with a spontaneous, laissez- faire personality type. A communicator/leader who can build a connection with others across differing personality types is a seasoned professional!! 
• Similiar likes and hobbies is an easy way that connections are built with others. You can hone in on the similarities and an emotional connection is established. We see this around the BBQ, when guys are talking about football, or cars, and a connection is built. 

Establishing a connection with another person is vital in leadership. A CEO who fails to emotionally connect or inspire his management team is on a road to failure. A Pastor who struggles to connect with their congregation, will constantly struggle to have support and 'buy-in' for their God-given dreams. A leadership trainer, who gather 15 people together for a session on 'Management styles in the 21st Century' for example, needs to build a connection with the listeners. The 15 will learn more if they emotionally connect with the trainer! That's a fact, and we all know it!!

So, how well do you connect with the different audiences/groups/meetings you take part in throughout your day? There are different techniques that can be used to connect with different size groups as well, and those of us who are leaders in these differing groups, must employ each of them to connect well in each context. Briefly, communicating to a large group, you might share a personal story that many can relate to. In a mid-size group, you might spend a moment thanking the people in the room that have helped to make the business/organisation what it is today. In a one-on-one meeting, you might, as mentioned, focus on the hobbies and passion of the one you are speaking with.

The Law of Connection from John Maxwell, puts some framework around what is intuitive to great leaders. You must connect with others before you can expect them to follow.
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Acknowledgement goes to John C. Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, from which he writes Law No. 10 - The Law of Connection.
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Join www.facebook.com/petebrookshaw to continue discussion on leadership and Christian mission.
Also have a look at the TOP 100 Leadership Tips here.
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Luke 15:11-32 - The Parable of the Lost Son - Pete's Bible Commentary

Luke 15:11-32 (The Parable of the Lost Son) - 11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. ' 22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. 25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' 28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31 "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

The Parable of the Lost Son is such a well known parable spoken of by Jesus. That being said, is there something we can glean from this story that will inspire us?

Larry Osbourne writes the following notes on Luke 15:11-32, taken from his book Sticky Church. He says:

• Setting the Context for the Parable of the Lost Son: Religious leaders were upset that Jesus welcomed rather than excluded people of questionable character.
• God would rather restore than punish.
• How do you love and respond to a rebel?
• When they insist on leaving, Let Them LEAVE!
• When things get tough, let them hit rock bottom.
• 'If we soften the blows, we'll lengthen the rebellion.'
• When the prodigals comes back run to greet them!
• After they're back, don't punish the obedient.

(Sticky Church, Larry Osbourne, page 169).

The Geneva Bible Translation Notes says about the Parable of the Lost Son, 'Men by their voluntary falling from God, having robbed themselves of the benefits which they received from him, cast themselves headlong into infinite calamities: but God of his singular goodness, offering himself freely to those whom he called to repentance, through the greatness of their misery with which they were humbled, not only gently receives them, but also enriches them with far greater gifts and blesses them with the greatest bliss.'


The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Both Christianity and Buddhism

There is a parable similar to that of the Lost Son, recorded amongst Buddhism, though it contains some interesting differences. You can find an interesting article here. Ernest Valea writes, 'The Buddhist parable has a different message [to that of Luke's Parable of the Lost Son]. One cannot simply reach Buddhahood at once. The process is very long and demands a progressive accumulation of wisdom. Escaping from ignorance and suffering, attaining nirvana and becoming a bodhisattva is attained gradually by a day-by-day effort in training the mind and overcoming karma. Grace, in Buddhism, cannot be shown directly, but only as the disciple deserves it, which in fact is no grace at all.'The son who returns says something interesting in verse 19. He says, 'I am no longer worthy to be called your son'. The word 'worthy' is the Greek word ἄξιος (axios) and denotes one who is deserving of a due reward. Think of this for a minute from the perspective of the father. You have a child that you cherish, and love with all your heart. Since when does a loving father ever call a child to be worthy, as somehow having to earn our relationship with him? Most fathers I can think of, love their children to bits. They long for their children to do what is right, but the children are not called to earn their relationship with them!

Much of Western culture unknowingly follows this Buddhist mantra. When you consider the rebellion of a family member, who say, have stolen considerable amounts of money from the family, have rebelled against the 'rules' of the household, we quite often call them to gradually earn back their respect in the family. The grace we show is limited. We say things like, 'He's going to have to make up for that!' or jokingly, 'She'll be doing the dishes the rest of his life!' We quite often make the person work to earn back our trust, and our love for them seems to be rooted in whether or not they behave themselves in the future.

Now for a moment, let's contrast this with the Parable of the Prodigal Son as recorded by Luke (15:11-32). The Father runs towards his son, wraps his arms around him and kisses him! What an example of unconditional love and irresistible grace! This is the Father's love for his children. God is quick to forgive. As Osbourne says, 'God would rather restore than punish'. While God looks favourably upon a repentant heart, and he requires a repentant heart, he does not then call the son to 'earn' back his relationship with the Father. What God requires of the prodigal son is to turn away from the sin and follow him. This kind of change of life, is not about earning back the respect or love of God, but rather about the son's love for God being naturally expressed in a life that pleases God.

Lord - Bring back the prodigals!
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The Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32), is part of Pete's Bible Commentary.