The First Commandment: Statues and Precepts (48)
Deuteronomy 14.22, 23
22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.”
Part of the Lord’s tithe was to go to the support of the priests and the Levites. Part of it was to be consumed in this feast, so that even in our tithes to the Lord He can be seen to be caring for us. What we give in obedience to the Lord redounds to our wellbeing, so we should be neither stingy nor sluggish in giving.
Even today people benefit from the offerings they bring to their churches – facilities, staff, resources, and so forth all depend on the giving of the Lord’s people. We should not feel bad about the fact that we “spend the Lord’s money on ourselves,” as long as we are not neglecting the purpose of the church and her ministry.
T. M. Moore
The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
