I have blogged before about the rise of tithing in the US. no, it wasn't standard for quite a while. they tried taxing towns for the church ( making professionals oft he ministers, as in England) they tried charity drives, and finally settled upon tithing as the way for churches to make money.
http://tithing-russkelly.com/id135.html now, all of this is based on.. well Abraham tithed so it's pre law, so it must be in force today Abraham had a choice to make. Serve God or join the warring kings .like Sodom, who basically did it for booty. Sodom became filthy rich off its wars. He tithed off what he took when he went after Lot who had been captured. You could say he tithes off Lot's stuff! Sodom offered all the goods, just return the people.. Abraham gave it all back, except what his men had eaten .He knew the battle was the Lord's . He would not allow Sodom to declare it has enriched him, He did not go to war for goods. Where else do you find Abraham tithing? If it was a law, why didn't he kill ten percent of his lambs, etc every year? Sacrifice, yes, freely and often but a voluntary (free will) offering. The sanctuary. that tent in the wilderness, was built entirely on offerings. when Moses brought in the tithe, it was strictly for the upkeep and for the Levites,who were to depend on the Lord.That was their portion..As a matter of fact, there were different offerings, 2 years, the 3rd and the 7th being singled out. one for the levites, one for the poor, the widows, the strangers (and levites).. that all might eat. The tithe was agricultural only. the tithe was on the LAND. the very thing God gave them. Kind of puts the widow's mite in a new light, It wasn;t just about the rich and proud giving more, or her total trust in the Lord. It was about the rich ignoring their obligations to the poor. They just saw widowhood as an opportunity to steal property for little or nothing ( houses). Even in their strict 10 percent, they were ignoring the reason for the tithe. "I would have mercy and not sacrifice." Everything devolves from not bringing tithes ( the Temple was abandoned a few times...) to accepting money, to making everyone exchange money for temple purposes....I assume partially because they had to have money for Roman taxes.. Well we know what Christ thought of that.. It is pointed out that the first Christians gave 100 percent. yet some widows starved...men had to be set as stewards over the people. and it should be pointed out, Peter's commune failed. Let's tackle Malachi. the last prophet before a prophetic silence, the last before the birth of Christ. He said the Temple was being robbed. Most of the book is about the priests, about the failure to give God his due.. but a promise , too, of a messenger before the coming of the one to the temple itself, and be like a refiner's fire ( i would hold that that is Jesus, who did indeed come to the Temple and expose the corruption, and that John the Baptist had the spirit of Elijah., as Jesus Himself said...but the last verses are more interesting... Elijah would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.That seems to fit with Jacob;s Trouble or other references to the Apocalypse...Malachi could be seen as showing the slide of Israel into corruption, much as Moses said would happen. One part says the priests are corrupt, that they should bring in their tithes and offerings ( no other nation was required to tithe. think about that) blessings and curses were for Israel. It also talks about "it is vain to serve God, and what profit is it" and says the proud do better...a dirge sung many times over the centuries, from David, to the prophets.... so who is promised the promises? they that fear the Lord! It;s about Israel abandoning God! But the few, the ones that kept His statutes would be saved. A book of remembrance, how cool is that. Paul did not demand tithes. He did ask for money for Corinth,,, and for Jerusalem. ( the saints in Jerusalem to be exact) He was a pharisee, trained in the law. Here is what has happened because of the notion of tithing. Poorer people making their families go without to pay tithes to a church, yup, I have seen it. Churches that are insanely wealthy, not using their money for the poor, the widows, etc. Osteen actually reluctantly opened his huge building to hurricane survivors.. but only church members and if you gave more, you got a better spot. An elderly widow being thrown out of her church for not paying the tithe. when worshiping God becomes a tax, people can dust off their hands, sit in their pews, and not give anything of their time or talent,we do the same thing to our ministers..you deal with all the sick and suffering.I can sit and be fed ( non irritating messages) every Sunday. Jesus didnt just send out the disciples..he sent 70 men out, with the great commission. God loves a cheerful giver. If the Holy Spirit is working in you, the suffering of others should move you to do what you can. especially other Christians. Those of you who tithe, good, now ask for an accounting of that money. Stewardship of church monies matter too and for goodness sake pay your pastors. Will it really take persecution and going underground before you understand? none of these buildings are anything more than that ...the government can tax or take them at any time. WE are the church. all of us. One body. I would have mercy and not sacrifice.... |
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