YHWH never said that it was alright to steal from one person and give to another, so long as the majority of the people will support you in the polls. Rather, YHWH just simply said not to steal.

 

 

YHWH dislikes stealing so much that He tells us not even to covet that which belongs to our neighbor.

 

 

YHWH chiseled these two commands into stone as the Eighth and the Tenth Commandments (respectively); and the fact that He put them into stone ought to tell us how He feels about them: and yet stealing and coveting is an accepted part of most Western government.

 

In the Torah Government study (in the chapter, Four Spirits of Heaven) I showed how there are four spirits loose upon the earth which work primarily in the realm of government. These are symbolized by the colored horses of Zechariah and Revelation.

 

 

As explained in Torah Government, these four different colors of horses represent socialism, capitalism, the laissez-faire Church system and submission to Elohim (which is what Islam is supposed to be about).

 

1. Red: Communism and (Democratic) Socialism.

2. Black: Capitalism and Free Market Economics.

3. White: Catholicism, Protestantism and ‘the Church.’

4. Dappled/Strong/Green/Pale: submission to Elohim.

 

In verse 5 we are told that these spirits have gone out from their station before the Adon of the whole earth. The fact that they all have stations before YHWH means that they can be productive of good.

 

 

In order for these spirits to produce good they must be at their stations before YHWH. That is, they all have a place in His kingdom, but unless they are in their places, evil results. As our fathers say, “A place for all things: and all things in their places.” When all things are not in their places then the kingdom is out of order (as it is today).

 

The rule for economics is free-market Capitalism. To try to insert socialism into the free market equation only causes problems, as socialism is antithetical to the free market principle. However, as I will show in a later chapter, YHWH has a place for socialism in His kingdom. For example, the Levitical Order is socialist and the Melchizedekian Order is communist, with all things being held in common (the big difference being that it is faith-centered communalism, not secular).

 

 

However, in violation of YHWH’s command, almost all democratic governments today practice some form of secular socialism. They take from those who have and give to those who have not; and in so doing they garner the people’s support. Once they have popular support they are then able to raise and control an army, which essentially puts them in the kingship role. The problem with this is that this is not YHWH’s kind of kingship. In YHWH’s kingdom, kings are anointed of Him rather than being popularly elected by the masses; and if we will consider this fact we should be able to see why all democracies ultimately become socialistic, and then later they become fascist (and hostile towards those who follow YHWH’s laws).

 

Governments usually establish secular social welfare programs for the citizens of their own nations. In a sense, then, are instituting a national form of socialism. Let us realize that ‘National Socialism’ is the exact word-for-word definition of Nazism. 

 

The process by which people first turn from YHWH and then ultimately adopt Nazism and totalitarian fascism is easy enough to follow: First the people turn away from listening carefully to YHWH, and then they turn away from listening carefully to YHWH’s anointed. Since they no longer understand that they are not to covet other people’s wealth, they elect a king who promises to steal from those to whom YHWH has given, and then redistribute the wealth to them. Slowly but surely, Scripture is then removed from the schools and from everyday life, so that the people do not feel guilty for breaking YHWH’s Torah. Finally it reaches a point of ‘critical mass’ in which Satan is able to establish a new kind of world order’ and then he attempts to kill anyone who still believes in following YHWH.

 

At the time of this writing we can see the establishment of a nationalistic socialism taking hold in America. The Red Horses have come to make their home, and the Scriptures tell us that this pattern will continue. Once the tipping point is reached Satan will be able to move his agenda forward very rapidly, and life will become very difficult for us. Thankfully YHWH promises to save us; but only after a trip to the wood shed.

 

 

YHWH speaks on a ‘Biblical scale.’ When He says He will not let us go ‘altogether unpunished’, what that looks like to us is probably extreme loss of life, limb, and damage to or loss of property. When will we as a people learn to keep our focus solidly on Him, and on His anointed, so we do not have to suffer punishment?

 

But if YHWH does not want us to turn to secular social programs, then when He brings us back to His land, how does He want us to take care of the poor? What principles does He give to guide us?

 

In YHWH’s world, it is not government that takes care of the citizens: it is families that take care of each other. In YHWH’s eyes, if anyone does not take care of those of his own family, then he has denied the faith, and he is worse than an unbeliever.

 

8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.  

 

The catch, as I explain in Torah Government, is that Israel is just such a family. Although the Patriarchs are no longer with us, YHWH has called each and every one of us out of this world, and has joined us to His spiritual family Israel. And although we may come from every tribe and tongue and nation, and although we may have every color of skin, when YHWH calls us His sons and daughters, then we are.

 

 

If we are sons and daughters then we are all members of His family Israel; and as such He expects us to take care of each other like family members.

 

Now, YHWH’s way is that nuclear (or ‘birth’) families still play a central role. The nuclear family is the basic building block of all civilization, and YHWH does not want to provide too much outside support, which would only weaken the family (as happens under secular socialist systems). However, he does tell us to provide a basic ‘safety net’ for those who have no family, or when the family’s ability is exceeded. Whether we like it or not, all societies have those who are unable to care for their own needs. Some are born with medical issues from the womb, while others develop medical problems later in life. Even if we manage to escape all these things, most of us will eventually reach a point where we are no longer able to care for ourselves. As the body becomes older and weaker we need help just to get through the day. If we have a family to take care of us then we will be much better off; but if not, then there still needs to be some kind of help for all of YHWH’s spiritual family.

 

In the chapter on the First Levitical Tithe we saw how YHWH wants us to give the first tithe to the priesthood, to pay for their work. Then in the last chapter we saw how YHWH wants us to use the Second Tithe to pay our way to go up for the three annual pilgrimage feasts. However, even though we pay the first and the second tithes each year, we are only to pay the third tithe once every three years.

 

 

There are two ways we can understand this command. One is that we should establish a separate three-year count for the Third Tithe, and should follow this count regardless of whether it falls on a land rest (Shemittah) year or a Jubilee, in which Israel is not supposed to harvest. However, this does not make sense. YHWH cares for the poor, and would not want them to miss out on support. That is why it makes more sense that what YHWH really means here is that we are to give the Third Tithe in the third and the sixth years of the seven-year Shemittah (land rest) cycle. As we saw in the Torah Calendar study, YHWH promises to give us a double harvest in the sixth year, so that we still have something to eat when the land lies fallow.

 

 

If an agricultural crop is consistently doubled each sixth year of the seven-year Shemittah cycle, then a tithe in this year would mean twice as much support for the poor than a simple tithe. It also makes more sense to set this tithe on a harvest year than to allow it to follow a simple three-year cycle, such that it would sometimes fall on a non-harvest year. (We should also remember that the poor are still allowed to glean during the Jubilee and the Shemittah years, so a third tithe in the third and sixth years makes much more sense.)

 

But if the Levites already receive the whole of the First Tithe for their support, why does YHWH name the Levites as recipients of the Third Tithe (even before the stranger, the fatherless and the widow)? One possible reason is that YHWH is an Elohim of order, and the only way the Third Tithe will be distributed fairly is if all of these funds are delivered to the Levites for fair distribution. We already saw (and will see again) how vital it is for all of the people’s First Tithes, gifts and offerings to be brought up to one central location, as this is the only way that all of various duties of the priesthood will end up being properly funded. If it is not done that way, and the people decide for themselves who they want to give their First Tithes to, then most people will give their tithes to a priest in a ‘high visibility’ position. However, this would lead to an unfair and uneven distribution, which would mean that no one would want to do any of the important but ‘low visibility’ jobs that need to be done to keep the priesthood functioning.

 

The third tithes must also be brought up to one central point, but from there the Third Tithe is to be distributed by cities, here called “within your gates.”

 

 

It just simply is not logical to assume that the people may bring out their third tithes one by one, to plunk them down in the middle of the village square, and to expect an orderly and even distribution to ensue. Those who are bedridden, sick, lame, or just too old to be out in the village square must have someone to act as an advocate on their behalf; and this is the role of the Levites. However, there will unlikely be some costs incurred in storing and distributing the Third Tithe monies; and while these expenses should surely be held to a minimum, the Levites who oversee this very important duty should not have to bear these costs out of their own pockets. Rather, these expenses should be paid for out of the Third Tithe fund.

 

We know that the Third Tithe has a special place in YHWH’s heart, for in Deuteronomy 26:12 YHWH calls the year in which we pay the Third Tithe “the Year of Tithing”, and a special ceremony takes place then.

 

 

This is a literal supplication that YHWH wants us to make unto Him in each Year of Tithing (i.e., the third and sixth years of the seven year Shemittah cycle), so that YHWH will be merciful to us, and bless us. It is not mistake that YHWH tells us to make this supplication in the Year of Tithing.

 

Some interpret this passage to mean that we only need to give one single tithe every three years. However, the reason this does not work is that we have already seen how YHWH wants us to give a full first tithe to support the priests in their work; and that a second full tithe is needed to pay our way to go up to the festivals each year. If we were only to pay one single tithe every three years, then the Levites (who comprise some eight percent of the population) would have no choice but to abandon their duties in the Temple, and find some other way to feed their families. Further, the people would have no money to make three pilgrimage trips to Jerusalem each year; and if they did go there would realistically be nothing substantial left to give to the poor, the widow and the orphan. The reality is that this would mean abandoning them, which would be contrary to YHWH’s heart.

 

Finally, to be complete, the Greek Septuagint (LXX) is reportedly an official translation of the priestly Hebrew scrolls that existed some 300-400 years before Yeshua’s ministry. The Septuagint calls the Third Tithe the ‘Deutero-Epidekaton’ (δεύτερονἐπιδέκατον), which means the ‘Second Additional Tithe.’ So if the Septuagint calls the Second Tithe the “First Additional Tithe” then the “Second Additional Tithe” surely refers to a Third Tithe.

 

 

Finally, while Josephus is not Scripture, he tells us that the Third Tithe was to be given “every third year.”

 

 

If we read the language carefully we can see that back in Josephus’ time, the Third Tithe was brought up to Jerusalem and was given to the priesthood, so as to be distributed fairly to women that are also widows, and to children that are also orphans.

 

We cannot reasonably pay three full tithes in the Dispersion, because even in America, secular taxes take more than 50% of the average person’s income. To take an additional 30% that would leave people with nothing for food, clothing, or shelter. This is one reason why we are under the Melchizedekian system of tithes as long as we are out in the Dispersion, is that the Levitical system would break us. However, this is not a reason for celebration: it is a terrible thing not to have a faith-centered means of supporting the poor, the widow and the orphan in Israel. The world’s secular government programs only establish taxes and programs apart from His kingdom, which lead His people further and further away from Him. Further, because they provide for families outside of faith in Yeshua they actually weaken the family unit (and end up causing more problems than they initially solve). All of this is just an integral part of the cost of being out in the Dispersion.

 

While Nazarene Israel is a Melchizedekian ministry, it seeks to do all it can to re-establish YHWH’s Levitical Order. Even though we are presently in the Dispersion Nazarene Israel does collect Third Tithe funds for those who wish to pay them. These funds are carefully and prayerfully distributed to those in the Body who are in need, and who meet the requirements laid down by the Apostle Shaul some two thousand years ago.

 

There is always more need for Third Tithe support (as well as mission support) than there are those who are willing to help by paying into it. If you would like to be one of those who helps to support the poor, the widow and the orphan, or if you would like to help with missions, you can send your contribution to Nazarene Israel earmarked either “Third Tithe”, or “For the poor, the widow and the orphan” (or however YHWH leads you to mark it). You can also mark your contribution for your local country’s use, or for overseas. However you mark your Third Tithe funds, we will do our prayerful best to make sure that your donation reaches those who are worthy to receive this support.

 

May YHWH look down from His set-apart habitation, from heaven, and bless His people Israel and the land which He will give us, just as he swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”