We’ve Been Robbed!
Christians have been stripped of God’s instruction! Greco-Roman teachers in their arrogance and ignorance have denied the Torah’s authority and silenced Spiritual instruction from believers who identify with the God of all creation. They belittle His directives concerning wealth and His portion. Such a sad reality. Most Christians live from paycheck to paycheck, rarely getting ahead and remaining in debt. All along God has implicit commands concerning finances. I like to pose a question: If Christians are exempt from the Torah instructions concerning tithes, then please tell me how is rejecting and ignoring the commandments working for them?
I posit that the His Divine instructions are for our good. Then, should we explore them? Should we consider them? Remember there was no New Testament at the time of this writing.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Tim. 3:16.
So, let’s consider what the instructions of God are concerning receiving increase and tithing.
“Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So, shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” Proverbs 3:9-10.
Even though this particular passage is regarding agricultural gain it is connected to the principle of livelihood and finances. God requires us to honor Him with our increase (wealth or substance), SO THAT we won’t be in need but have plenty for our livelihood. It is apparent He doesn’t want His people going without, hungry or living in debt.
The First Fruit is deemed holy
We must grasp that the firstfruits (tithes) are His – and they are holy. Concerning a paycheck, this means the first 10% belongs to Him. The funds are deemed holy and sanctified unto Him for His purposes. This portion simply CANNOT be used for one’s own benefit.
God’s portion is spiritual – already ordained and committed for the use of His Kingdom purposes and providing meat in His storehouse for the poor. This 10% portion is included in the gross numbers on one’s paycheck, biblically speaking, the Spiritual portion cannot be converted to regular use like the 90 %.
Firstfruits do not belong to us, and we cannot use them on our own needs or wants. To use them at your own discretion is robbing God.
The words in Deuteronomy 18:4 echo this instruction; “The firstfruits of your grain, of your new wine, of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you are to give him.”
By offering God the firstfruits substance it is an obedient response and demonstration of faith in God’s firstfruits Instructions to you. Yeshua said if you LOVE me then obey my commandments. Would Yeshua change His commandments? He is the Torah brought to life an example for us. To obey His instruction is to have faith. It is trusting and believing in His promise that our “barns be filled with plenty, and the presses shall burst out with new wine”. In other words, God will work it out for your benefit – to provide for you as His response according to your obedience. Faith is taking action on His Instructions.
Senior and Junior Partners
Giving what belongs to God is a responsible reckoning of your collective business affairs and more importantly an act of faithfulness to your business partner. Would it be right to cheat your business partner and take all the profits from your business all the while knowing it is the continual investment of the senior partner that makes your enterprise even possible?
God gives us breath, energy, direction, creativity, ideas, motivation, opportunities, favor abilities, giftings, wisdom, callings and purpose. All of these things are crucial ingredients provided by God to help us create wealth. He is the giver of what we need in order to create the 90% substance for our own livelihoods and to also create for Him the 10% substance for His Kingdom plans. We are partners. He is the Senior partner providing the initial investment and we are His Junior partners using all the materials He has given us to produce wealth along with Him.
But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. Deut. 8:18
God’s ROI
In the world of business and commerce, monitoring the “Return on Investment” (aka: ROI) is a wise practice, an act of fiscal responsibility. In our partnership with God, it is considered an act of worship. There is a principle of return for the obedience of giving back to God His firstfruit portion. It is an acknowledgment of where the blessing has originated from.
“So now, look! I have brought the first of the fruits of the soil that You have given me, Adonai.’ Then you are to set it down before Adonai your God and worship before Adonai your God” (Deuteronomy 26:10).
Spiritual Substance
If the tithe is Spiritual, then there is an “other worldliness” attached to it. If It’s not given to the God of all Creation – it is available to the god of destruction. It’s spiritual money!
It must be understood that any attempt to spend the firstfruits on yourself will immediately put your finances in a deficit as the devourer now has rights to the spiritual portion of your wealth.
Protecting the 90%
“If the part of a dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches” (Romans 11:16).
Giving the first portion of your finances to God will cause all the remaining portions of your finances to be holy. In other words, the giving of firstfruits tithe causes God to protect and treat all your finances as holy. He gives you favor because your finances are intimately and obediently connected to His sacred firstfruit.
Your home is blessed, your car is blessed, the work of your hands is blessed… everything comes under the protective blessing of God. He imparts His blessing on your home and positions you to have healing in your physical, spiritual, and emotional areas of your life and that of your family. When you give back what belongs to God, not only do you and your family benefit but also all who enter your home to visit.
Abraham Gave Offerings to Melchizedek
The apostle Paul explains exquisitely to the new believers in Yeshua about the firstfruit offering.
Melchizedek was both king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He was the one who went out and gave Abraham his blessing when Abraham returned from killing the kings. 2 Then Abraham gave him a tenth of everything he had. Hebrews 7:1,2
To win such a battle against three kings, Abraham knew there was someone who was making intercession for him. There was someone else involved in the supernatural favor to overcome the enemy and then obtain the gain of wealth from his victory. Abraham knew it and He had to go pay tribute to the High Priest of Salem! It was an act of worship to honor the mediator between God and man. Abraham brought the spoils of battle as a tithe to the altar of God.
If Yeshua declared that ALL that is written in the Torah and the Prophets is about Him, then the priesthood of Melchizedek is about Him! Yeshua is the High Priest that constantly makes intercession for us.
Priests are given a tenth of what people earn. But all priests die, except Melchizedek, and the Scriptures teach that he is alive. 13 The person we are talking about is our Lord… 17 The Scriptures say about him, “You are a priest forever, just like Melchizedek.” Hebrews 7:8,13a,17
As Abraham honored Melchizedek with tithes, we as Abaham’s children should also honor Yeshua, our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, with our tithes.
Our Storehouse of Blessings
We must not be greedy and put our needs or wants above God – stealing from Him the spiritually sanctified portion of wealth that is not authorized to function in our physical world. Instead, we are to give back to God, our Senior business partner, His portion, sanctified to do His will in the Kingdom of God.
We are introduced to God’s “Storehouse” in Malachi 3:10.
“I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test. Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse so there will be food in my house. Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing.”
The Storehouse was also known as the Temple, and the Temple was the hub of worship. The place where the hearts of the righteous came to meet with God. The offerings were given to God to provide for His priests who had no other income other than what God provided to them from worshippers. Provisions contained in the Storehouse were also intended for the poor. The meat and grain that was given as offerings, were distributed among the poor and widows. In this way, the community that cared for by God’s firstfruit principles (not government programs).
Without doubt, my husband and I have been greatly—even supernaturally blessed over the years. Yet there was a time when that was not the case. There was a time when we depended more on the entire paycheck as our financial security rather than God and His instructions. Thankfully, through some financially harrowing times, we learned to live by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit. We learned that to walk through life on God’s principles when its tough, is the perfect opportunity to take up God on His challenge.
Whether your income is $500 or $500,000, the covenant exchange between you and God remains the same. The first portion belongs to Him.
Pray to find where God wants you to sow your firstfruit offerings. It belongs to Him, and there are many ministry efforts advancing His purposes to bring about His Kingdom. There are workers on the frontlines of faith (like the priests in the Old Testament) who minister to the people of God and the lost. There are organizations and foundations that help the poor, widows, and orphans. It may be a church, a ministry or at times you might just come across someone who is financially desperate. God will show you where He wants His 10% to go. Listen to His Spirit!
Remember the Lord’s powerful words in Matthew 25:40, “…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
For those who say, “I can barely provide for my own family, how can I give a firstfruit offering?” I say – You can’t afford not to! Without doubt, many struggle to make ends meet, yet God’s Word remains the same. It is the plumb line by which we measure how to live a life that brings Him glory, honor, and praise. God’s economy is principle based, revolving around earning and tithing, giving and receiving, sowing and reaping, ownership and stewardship. It is a perfectly balanced and genius system.
In Closing
Don’t neglect to give God the divine and holy portion of your increase so that you too may enter into the wonderful promises of the harvest.
Why not take God up on His challenge when He says, “Test me in this”. Why not believe that the King of the Universe created the firstfruit principle? We can’t change His principle of gravity – if we throw something up the principle of gravity brings it back down. It’s a constant law.
Trust God in His firstfruit principle. It is like gravity – also a constant! And it’s there for your benefit – for your good! What a wonderful and awesome God we serve.
