BETTER TO GIVE THAN RECEIVE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.”

“At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”

Deuteronomy 14:22-29

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we continue our study of Deuteronomy 14, we need to know that this passage, coupled with the directives found in Numbers, chapter 18, provided guidance for the people of Israel on tithing.

We need to know that the word “tithe” is actually a Middle English word derived from the old English word “tegotha” which means tenth. In regard to the church, this lends to the following giving standard:

A tenth part of something paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax especially for the support of a religious establishment.

This standard definitely applies to what we see in our verses today. Let’s look again at them here:

“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.”

“At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” Deuteronomy 14:22-29

Here, we find Moses telling the Israelites to “set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year”. This tenth was to go to the Levites who you’ll remember were not permitted to produce their own sustenance. The scriptures tell us that they had “no allotment or inheritance of their own”. And so God gave the people of Israel responsibility for tithing and taking care of those He had appointed to be the spiritual leaders and tabernacle sanctuary maintainers.

We also read where a portion of the tenth given to the Levites was to be eaten “in the presence of the Lord…at the place He (would) choose as a dwelling for His Name” for by doing this Israel would “learn to revere the Lord…always”. Through this, we see where God expected His people to come together and share a communal meal of thanksgiving and praise to the One who provided their bounty, the bounty from which they would be eating from.

After this, we find our scriptures addressing a potential problem. For what would happen if the place where God wanted Israel to go and present their tithe was too far for someone to haul their tithe to? How would this get resolved so the person could still go to the appointed place and provide what was expected?

Well, in regard to the solution, we’re reminded that our God always has a “Plan B”. For in the instance mentioned, anyone who couldn’t transport their tithe a long distance would simply exchange their tithe for silver and then bring that silver to the place God had set aside for the tithe collection. Once there, the silver would be used to purchase whatever the person liked which might include “cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything” else. Then, once the purchase was made, the person who had traveled a long distance and their household could eat with the others “in the presence of the Lord…and rejoice”.

God had a workaround for His people and He does the same for us today when the occasion calls for it.

Now, we also need to note that every three years, the people of Israel were to “bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in (their) towns, so that the Levites…and the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows” could “come and eat and be satisfied”. Through this, the people of Israel would find themselves blessed “in all the work of (their) hands” by the Lord. In other words, the hard work and effort that went into the harvest would bring great satisfaction to the harvesters by way of the blessing it provided to those in need.

Simply put, the Israelites would learn that it’s far better to give than receive.

This principle of intentional actions to care for the less fortunate was expounded on by Jesus when He said this in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel:

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.”

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’”

“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’”

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’”

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.'”

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’”

“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’”

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Vv. 31-46

Here we find Jesus leaving no doubt that He expects His created people to care for those who are experiencing difficulties and/or hardships in life. Everyone is to look after those who are struggling or suffering or hungry or thirsty or in need of clothing or incarcerated, or in trouble, giving what it is needed to provide help within their circumstances. It’s not optional and as we see in the Matthew passage, there are eternal consequences for those who are not in Christ and therefore reject doing the good He expects unto others.

For those who are in Him and commit themselves to live as He did, they can fully relate to the joy and satisfaction that comes through selfless sacrifice to care for someone who is down and out. Indeed, there is a blessing of internal contentment that comes from being a blessing to another person.

But we need to see that there is another reason to be joy-filled through caring for anyone who could be counted as the “least of these”. For as we help them, we see through the very words of our Savior that it is as if we are doing it to Him. And in doing that, we revel in knowing that we’ve gained an inheritance through belief in Him, the  “kingdom prepared since the creation of the world”…the place where we will dwell with God the Father and Christ His Son forever.

No one can gain this is they are self centered and selfish, unwilling to surrender their lives to the only One who can save them, Jesus. These are the goats that Jesus talks about, the ones who are destined for Hell because they never took the time to help anyone who was disadvantaged.

Conversely, Christ followers, the sheep under the leading of the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18), willingly and gladly seek to make a difference in the lives of others, especially those who are in the greatest need. And in emulating the heart and Spirit of their Lord, they learn that it is far better, both now and forever, to give rather than receive.

Thanks be to Jesus for the opportunity to do just that, each and every day.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.