“Divine Disciplines for Financial Health” - Pt 2 of 2

Date: Oct. 29, 2006

PPHC – A.M. Service

I. The Tithe

 A. The Law of Firstfruits

 1. The first section of this diagram is called firstfruits.

  a. What part belongs to God? ALL of it. BUT, He only asks for a portion of it back!

·         Exodus 13:2,11-13  “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, [both] of man and of beast: it [is] mine. And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males [shall be] the LORD'S. And every firstling of an donkey thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.”

  c. “Redeem” in v. 13 is not the same as we are most familiar with (ga’al – “to purchase”).

   1. It does not mean to purchase.

   2. Here the word found in the Hebrew language is padah and means to sever or to release from..

   3. Numb. 3 – The tribe of Levi did not inherit property with the other tribes when they

crossed into Canaan. As the other tribes tithed to the Lord, they tithed to the tribe of Levi.

This was their inheritance. The priesthood received the firstfruits from the rest of Israel.

(This was their only means of survival. Israel severed themselves from the 1stfruits)

   4. Compare scripture: Exod. 23:19 “The first of your firstfruits of your land you shall bring to

the house of the Lord your God.” Now look at READ Gen. 4:3-5: “…Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock…and the Lord respected Abel and his offering. But he did not respect Cain and his offering…”

   5. According to Scripture, there is a definite curse associated with touching the firstfruits.

B. The Curse of the Cherem

·   Lev. 27:28-29 “Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the Lord of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the Lord. No person under the ban, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death.” (NKJ)

  1. Note the wording, “Under the ban.” The Hebrew word for “under the ban” is “cherem”.

   a. This is a very important word for us to understand – it is a MAJOR KEY to financial

freedom and blessing!

    1. Note Lev. 27:30-31 “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord. If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it.” (NKJ)

     a. Translation: If we want to use the tithes elsewhere, there is a 20% surcharge!

      1. Custom: To “borrow” the tithe, you had to first declare it to the priest, then add 20%. But it’s a dangerous thing to do…because like a child borrowing from a father, it seems to get swept under the rug after a period of time.

*Illustration - After I had been tithing a year or more, through no fault of mine or my family but through sickness, we got rather deep in debt.

The enemy said to me: "It is not right for you to give a tenth of what you make to the church when you owe these bills. A Christian pays his debts. You should pay these creditors, and when all your obligations are settled you can give more than a tenth to the church."

That sounded very religious. In fact, it sounded so much like the thing to do that I took his advice. His advice was wrong and this is what is wrong with it:  a Christian should pay his debts, but he should not use God's money to pay them. He should use his own.    (Jarret E. Aycock)

 2. Verse 32: “And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under

the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the Lord.”

• God has declared that 1/10th of our possessions belong to Him, but which tenth? The 1st!

     a. Prov. 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your

increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

• God has promised to sustain us if we are obedient in honoring the firstfruits principle.

·         Important note: Ceremony of the Firstfruits - Israel could not begin their harvest of barley and other crops until the high priest had offered this firstfruits sheaf to the Lord in a special ceremony. As the Lord of the Harvest, God had to receive His special portion “before” the rest of the harvest could be reaped. The Levitical Priests would wave the first fruits of the harvest before God as a first of “identical fruit” to follow.

·         As we are obedient in tithing (the first fruits of our income), God will be faithful to see that identical fruit will follow. This should make tithing a joyful occasion for the Christian. Paul said that we are to give “hilariously”. We will never out give the Father…it’s an impossibility.

 2. Cherem means “devoted to destruction…”  -  “an accursed thing”. What is God’s plan for the

tithes (the firstfruits)? It is devoted to “destruction.” It is devoted to be “consumed.” I am

not responsible for its destination once I give it to God.  (Read Josh. 6:17-19) Note how

the accursed thing “attaches itself” to whatever it may contact.

  a. The firstfruits were always brought for one of the three reasons: To be (1) burned,

(2) destroyed, or (3) consumed.   “Dollars & Sense”   John L. Terry, III.

• Note: The meal brought to Elijah (he “consumed” it); Jericho (devoted to “destruction”); Achan (devoted to “destruction”). Achan attached the curse to himself & his family. Josh. 7:23-26

   1. The firstfruits were never to be used for personal gain. – READ Deut. 26:1-4

    a. “We bring the curse of the cherem upon us if we walk in disobedience to the law of

firstfruits. “By not putting God first, we place whatever we spend our money on as a

priority above God, making it an idol.”

• “If we use it for a car payment, house payment, clothing, doctor bill, repair bill, groceries, etc. it will eventually explode for it curses whatever is attached to it!”  Dr. Larry Pyle  “Divine Disciplines for Financial Health” - CLST

    b. Read Deut. 26:13-14 – “I have not eaten any of it when in mourning (translation –

“when we got in a pinch, we didn’t bother the tithe!”

    c. We are to remove the cherem from our house.

     1. v. 13 – “Then ye shall say unto the Lord, I have removed the Holy Tithe from my house.”

    d. Malachi 3:6-11 “For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept [them]. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet, ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye [are] cursed (cherem) with a curse (cherem): for ye have robbed me, [even] this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that [there shall] not [be room] enough [to receive it]. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.”

     1. The Storehouse Illust. – O.T. Levitical cities   

     2. God is not hungry!! The storehouse is where we are supplied with food – you don’t shop for your groceries at Bi-Lo and then pay Kroger. You pay at the storehouse!

     3. Sometimes, people are angry at the pastor – They w/hold their tithes! – They are hurting

themselves… “cursed with a curse…”

C. Tithing & the Mosaic Covenant

 1. Inevitably, the question is always asked. “Well, wasn’t tithing an Old Testament principle?

Now that the Law is done away with, hasn’t the season for tithing also passed with the Old

Covenant?” 

  a. Tithing started 400 years before the law was ever given to Moses on Sinai.

  b. It was established by Abraham giving a 10th of all his possessions to Melchisadek, the priest

of Salem (a type of Christ).

  c. The question is, “Is the Melchisadek priesthood still in effect today?”

   1. Heb. 7:3 “Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of

days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.”

• “We can lay hold of the promises today, if we obey the law of firstfruits.”

Material gathered from teaching by Dr. Larry Pyle - Christian Life School of Theology