Tithing is a subject most all of us love to hate. We hate it for the same reason that the love of money is the root of all (kinds of) evil. 

 

 

Money gives power, privileges and comfort, which our flesh craves. While these things can be blessings from YHWH, after we get saved they should not be the focus of our lives, because our flesh should no longer rule us.

 

As gentiles, our focus is on pleasuring ourselves; yet after we become saved we are to focus on building and expanding our Husband’s empire. Our Husband gives each of us a new life in Him, which is referred to in the parable below as a ‘mina.’ Those who use their minas to expand Yeshua’s empire are greatly rewarded in the next life; whereas those of the delegation who refuse to serve Him (in verse 14) are put to death.

 

 

From Yeshua’s perspective: those who do not spend their lives extending His empire here on earth are considered to be His enemies. They do not receive eternal life. This is a much higher standard than many seem to realize. What it means is that if we want to receive eternal life, we have to make the Great Commission our top priority; and it needs to reflect in all that we do, including what we do with our money.

 

No one is born saved, and it is not possible to keep Torah by accident. The lusts of the flesh lead us in a path that is contrary to the Way YHWH wants us to walk; and if we walk in the lusts of the flesh then we will not bear fruit in the Spirit. In order to be worthy of eternal life we must overcome the lusts of the flesh through discipline in the Messiah Yeshua.

 

Our flesh wants power, money, sex and privileges over others. It does not desire to serve our fellow man, but rather to rule over them. YHWH wants us to overcome all of these selfish lusts and desires, with the aid of His Spirit.

 

 

Brother, are you still the sovereign of your own life? Is your life “all about you”? Or is your life transformed so that you honestly place the Great Commission first? Is expanding Yeshua’s empire the top of your priority list? Or are you like those in the Parable of the Minas who want all of the good things, but who do not want Yeshua to reign over them (verse 14, above)?

 

Our forefathers have a saying, that the last part of a man to be converted is his wallet. They say that “The way a man spends his money is the truest measure of his faith.” The truth is that men only spend their money on Yeshua to the extent they love Yeshua. Other than that, they want to keep all of their money themselves.

 

YHWH is the one who put the standard for tithing at ten percent, plus gifts, plus offerings. Why does YHWH do that? YHWH has no need of ‘our’ money, sacrifices, or even of us. However, if we are willing to accept it, the reason He wants us to tithe is that it is one of the truest tests of our love for Him. 

 

People only spend money on things that they want; so YHWH wants to see how much they want to help build His Son’s kingdom.

 

Consider things from YHWH’s perspective. Which man among us would take a wife who would not willingly part with ten percent of her money helping him further his career? Wouldn’t we think of her as unloving? So if we as mortal men would reject a wife who was not willing to help us with even ten percent of what she had, then how much more will Yeshua not desire all those who do not wish Him to reign over them (verse 14 in the Parable of the Minas, above).

 

The Jews have an old saying: “Kees, Ka’ahs, Kiseh” (כיס, כעס, כסא) which translates to “Purse, anger, chair.” This means that one can tell a lot about a man by what he spends his money on, what gets him angry, and whom he chooses to sit with (i.e., who or what he spends his time on). What then does this say about a man who chooses to get angry about YHWH’s tithe?

 

Yeshua encourages all of us to turn away from valuing earthly treasures, and learn to value spiritual riches instead.

 

 

The kind of person YHWH wants for a bride is one who is eager to do all he or she can to build His Son’s reign, who is resourceful in overcoming obstacles with the help of His Spirit, and who takes the Great Commission seriously. Those who want His blessings but who do not work to further His empire do not qualify.

 

 

Brothers, let us be honest, for this is a matter of life and death. Is the Great Commission always on our minds?

 

If you really listen to their messages, most of the book and tape salesmen in the Messianic movement teach that the Great Commission is no more; and that there is no more need to come together as one Body in Him. While they would never say it, they seem to suggest that all we really need to do is to get together with friends, read a little bit from the Torah, and buy their books and tapes. But is that the same as the Great Commission? And why do they teach that there is no longer any requirement to come together as one Body? 

 

In YHWH’s eyes, isn’t this kind of thing really like letting ourselves into YHWH’s house, eating His food, and then talking it up with friends, but doing nothing to take the Great Commission to the world? Surely it is good that we feed ourselves; but what Master is pleased with servants who just feed themselves, and sit around and talk? Whatever happened to forming one Body, so that we can expand His Son’s dominion here on earth?

 

Expanding His kingdom takes work. It takes resources; and those resources are to come from us. It means preaching, evangelism and missions, putting the Good News in front of those who have never heard it before. Even though YHWH is the One who causes all things to happen, He wants us to be active in these things.

 

In ancient times the apostles traveled to far and distant lands, bringing the Good News to those who had never heard of Yeshua or YHWH. If they had just sat around Jerusalem, reading and talking waiting for others to come to the Good News on their own, we would never have heard of Yeshua of Nazareth. Our salvation came, though, because men helped send missionaries forth; and if we say we love Yeshua, then don’t we owe it to Him to pay the favor forward?

 

 

To whom more is given, more is required. YHWH did not call us out and give us knowledge of Hebrew Roots so we could sit around and pat each other on the back, congratulating ourselves on how superior we are to the Christians, even though they give of their finances to extend our Husband’s kingdom (and we don’t).

 

What will become of us if we continue to lay our minas up in a handkerchief, as the book and tape salesmen encourage us to do? Do we think we are above the Great Commission? Is faith without works somehow alive, just because we rest on the Sabbath and festival days?

 

 

Jeremiah tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.

 

 

Messianic believers say they understand that Yeshua did not come to do away with the Torah; but since most believers do not really understand what it means to die to the flesh, and since the flesh does not desire to submit to Yeshua (verse 14 of the parable), most believers make excuses for not tithing. These excuses generally fall into one of two classes:

 

1.    They try to twist Scripture, to make it say things that it does not really say; and/or

2.    They try to put the blame for their desire to break Torah on someone else.

 

One of the myths people like to believe is that ‘Shaul never asked the people to support him in the work.’ They also suggest that Shaul actually preferred making tents (or tallits) to working for YHWH full time. Do these myths even make any sense? Shaul makes dozens of statements to the contrary (which we will explore in later chapters), and no one lays down his life in the world to minister to YHWH’s people, and then voluntarily takes time away from the work. This is especially true considering how great the harvest is, and how few workers there are. There is always more kingdom work that needs to be done than there are resources to accomplish, and it just makes no sense to think that Shaul would willingly take time away from his service to YHWH.

 

Further, Shaul lovingly asked the people to support him full time in the work in almost every epistle he ever wrote: and when those he ministered to were not eager to support him in the work, he lovingly let them know that their attitude was not set-apart. He let them know that they should earnestly want to give. And as we will see, it was good and right that he was supported by the people: not only so he could spend more time at the work, but also because it gave those he served an opportunity to show their dedication and faith (through their giving). As we will explain in later chapters, one of the main functions of any priesthood is not just to offer up sacrifices (or to teach), but the priests are also to bear the people’s sin, and to give them an opportunity to demonstrate their faith unto YHWH (through giving).

 

 

It should not surprise us that people do not like to give to YHWH’s work. Love means sacrifice. To sacrifice something means to give something up; and our flesh does not like to give things up. Our flesh wants to get fed the good spiritual word, but we don’t want to have to give anything back to Him. We do not want Him to “rule over us.” The problem is that YHWH says one of the ways we are to show Him we love Him is precisely by sacrificing of our material things. This shows our faith, and also supports those He has called to teach.

 

 

If someone is called to do a job full time, then he needs support. Even someone as dedicated as Shaul needs some kind of support; and every hour he had to spend making money to support himself was an hour that he had to take away from counseling, teaching, preaching, studying, and doing all the thousand things that need to be done to bring YHWH’s people closer to Him.

 

To understand Shaul, we need to realize what it means that he went forth as a sower in the service of YHWH. His job was to sow the good seed for Yeshua.

 

 

Shaul’s mission, if you will, was to help others love their Husband so much that they wanted to send forth missionaries to other lands, so that their Husband’s empire could be taken to the ends of the earth. Yet what Shaul found in Corinth was an attitude similar to that of the believers today: the people were hungry for knowledge, and they wanted Shaul to teach them everything that he knew, but they did not want to give anything back. They were like the delegation of Verse 14 that did not want Yeshua to “rule over them.” Shaul lovingly let them know that their attitude (their spirit) was wrong. In Scriptural terms, ‘their eyes were evil.’

 

 

Like so many things, the key to understanding the inner workings of man is found in Genesis One. The true seed brings forth more seed after its own kind, whose seed is within itself. This in turn brings forth even more seed after its own kind, so that it not only perpetuates, but grows. Seed which does not do that is corrupt.

 

 

Corrupt plants do not bring forth seed after their own kind, whose seed is within themselves. But brother, let us be honest: which kind of seed are we?

 

Do you know of anyone who feels superior to those in the Church, and yet who shuns organization, shuns the Tithes, and yet call himself ‘Torah obedient’?

 

Do you know someone who does not want to tithe, and who says he is afraid that the ministers will use the money inappropriately; and yet they purchase books and tapes and DVD’s from those who sell the Word of YHWH for a profit (which brings division into the Body of Messiah, and is not what the Word says to do)?

 

Brother, are you that person?

 

Are we, like the Corinthians, counted among the seed that only lets itself into the Master’s house to feed itself; and which wants to be fed the good spiritual food, but which does not wish to bring forth the good spiritual fruit of sacrifice, so that missionaries can go forth?

 

Having fallen down at the feet of Yeshua, begging His forgiveness for our sins and promising Him devotion in exchange for our soul, have we backslidden to the point that we are not willing to give back ten percent of all the increase that He gives to us, even when it is needed to help expand and grow His kingdom?

 

 

Scripture is all about showing our Master how much we love Him, by our sacrifices. To make a living sacrifice is to give up our lives in the world, and figure out how we can further His realm here on earth. And if we are not willing to do that, then all our ‘Torah obedience’ is just empty words. It is a ruse, and YHWH knows.

 

 

Those who do not want to tithe suggest that the reason they should not have to give is that they are afraid their leaders would use the tithe unwisely. They say that in the past they gave to pastors who used their tithes selfishly, or unwisely; and so this excuses them from obeying the Torah of the Tithe. However, let us see this for the excuse that it is.

 

First, we are all imperfect. Except for Yeshua, there is not a man living or dead who would ever use the tithe money 100% perfectly wisely; and we cannot expect that anyone ever will. Further, YHWH’s servants are also human, and we need to expect that they will be human. With the exception of celibate Nazirites, the priesthood is supposed to be able to have a family, and money to raise their children properly. While we do need to be careful to pray and give YHWH’s money to those who are doing His work, we cannot expect that it will always be spent how we see fit. While we do need to be careful, prayerful and aware, if Moshe or the apostles were in charge of the nation today, people would still likely criticize their use of the tithes.

 

Even Yeshua was criticized for his use of the tithes, gifts and the offerings.

 

 

Second, if we made poor choices about where to give our tithes in the past then we just need to learn, and move on. YHWH does not find this to be a valid reason for not helping build His Son’s empire.

 

Third, the requirement is not to judge our brothers, but to work out our own salvation in fear, and in trembling. If a pastor or minister misuses the funds YHWH gives him, let us have trust that YHWH will deal with him. He is YHWH’s servant, and YHWH is not mocked. YHWH is completely in control of all things, and He knows what He is doing. The only intelligent response, therefore, is to quit looking for flaws with binoculars, and to start looking for flaws with a mirror, as Yeshua also says.

 

 

Those who judge that they cannot and should not tithe because it would only go to someone greedy and evil should take care to re-read Yeshua’s warning in verses one and two.

 

Fourth, there are those who believe that only farmers should have to pay tithes, so that the rest of the world does not have to.  We will deal with this in the next two chapters, but it should be plain to see that this is just another excuse for not wanting Yeshua to rule over us (and when you are looking for an excuse, any excuse seems to do).

 

Finally, some want to excuse themselves from the Torah of the Tithe because the Levitical Priesthood is no longer standing. However, in later chapters we will show how we are under the Melchizedekian Order at the moment; and in the next chapter we will show how the Torah of the tithe long predated the Levitical Order, and how it goes all the back to Qayin (Cain) and Hevel (Abel).