Just Another Messianic Weekly Devotional Question:

How do I know that TITHING is right and how much is a Tithe!?!

Nov 4, 2016

By Rabbi John Wesley A. II  PhD.

To Tithe or not to Tithe that is the question … and how much is the tithe!?!  Why never promote a person based on Talent alone. Because once the heart is exposed then you will truly see if the external attributes match the necessary internal fortitude and selfless service to make it to the spiritual summit.  In most cases unless the person's Time (in the body of your vision), Talent (is willing to be used to further the kingdom in your vision) and personal Tithe (is consistently given without fail and not begrudgingly) which  is consistent with the tenets of faith over time- then their heart is not congruent with your vision. They will not last through a formidable spiritual battle, much less be a candidate for ministry. They will MOST DEFINITELY become a casualty of war; and IN EVERY CASE they will BECOME A CANCER  to the body of the prophetic movement IN YOUR LOCAL ASSEMBLY if not cut off in time.

Okay so we left off with first understanding that the first of the tenth part of your income is what Yah desired for you to tithe. Disobedience to this simple commandment means the person is CURSED! We also talked around the terms submission & commitment in order to reveal AREAS OF SELF RELIANCE  in contrast to Yah’s reliance.

We asked the following; shouldn’t have Yah considered all the effort (TIME) Cain had contributed in order to produce such a wonderful harvest? Yes and Yes the Heavenly Father did indeed take note of this; but Cain disregarded the important fact that Yah had cursed the ground in the first place. Cain became infatuated with his ability to produce a great harvest from something which was cursed of Yah. Even the best that the land could produce would not negate the curse, nor excuse the requirements of Yah’s specific desires. Okay then why does Yah require “First Fruits Offerings” from the ground (Leviticus 23:9-14 NASB) then if it is cursed? I would think it is a type of tithe according to scripture right (Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV)!?! Yes! But don’t forget what the sole (the word “soul” is appropriate as well here) purpose is in these life lessons from Heaven. Everything that Yah requires of us has attached to it a reason which when you “WAIT FOR IT …” it produces (this is a pun which was intentional He He He … ) His desired result. Basically His perfect (Teleios Gr. 5086) will for our lives (Romans 12:2 KJV). In the Greek; the word for perfect here is as stated; “Teleios” which is defined as … perfect, (a) complete in all its parts, (b) full grown, of full age, (c) specially of the completeness of Christian character. Last time we agreed that Adam was not created according to the greek word “Teleios”  but instead he was a work in progress. He was created as a “VERY GOOD” prototype (which is two hebrew words: Hr. 3966-Meod & Hr.2896-Towb) but NOT a completed product by any means (Genesis 1:31 KJV). So since there are some uncompleted parts within us which need to be completed or grown up to full maturity; Tithing works towards achieving the end goal of this divine process.  

What about the two hebrew words “Meod & Towb”  for the english term “VERY GOOD.” let’s take a look:

MEOD - מְאֹ֑ד

Mem / Water -מְ

Mighty, Chaos, Blood

Aleph / Ox Head -אֹ֑

Strong, Power, Leader

Dalet / Door-ד

Move, Hang, Entrance  

TOWB - טוֹב

Tet / Basket -ט

Surround, Contain, Mud

Vav / Tent Peg -וֹ

Secure, Hook, Add

Bet or Vet / Tent Floorplan-ב

Family, House, In

Before we begin allowing the Ruach to shed some spiritual light on these hebrew letters above let’s look once more at the whole verse in Romans 12:2 KJV “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that GOOD, and ACCEPTABLE, and PERFECT (Teleios), will of God.

Good-agathos (Gr. 18)-intrinsically good, GOOD IN NATURE, good whether it be seen to be so or not,

Acceptable/ Well Pleasing-euarestos (Gr.2101)-acceptable, WELL-PLEASING (especially to God), GRATEFUL.

Okay which one of these terms best depicts the first adam before sin? I agree; “euarestos” in the greek or Meod- Towb in the hebrew.  Hmmm!?! How does this connect with tithes. Easy! We were created in His image and after his Likeness right? Yes that is found in Genesis 1:27 KJV. Okay the likeness part of this passages only comes through tithing our Time, Talent & First Fruits to Him daily.  How is this possible? Ask Enoch, and he will tell you it works! For this reason the following old testament passage is so powerful: Deuteronomy 26:12-15 KJV;

“When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. “You shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments. ‘I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the LORD my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me. ‘Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.’

In Conclusion: Now I know there will be a plethora of questions pertaining to the different years of tithing to include the different types of first fruits of your produce. Please understand that they were an agricultural / animal husbandry society. Therefore the yearly agricultural season to include sabbatical & Jubilee cycles made so much sense to them.   They understood the tithe to the High Priest; to include the first fruit of their produce and the place where they would share some of their bounty with strangers, fatherless, widows, & levites which were separate events. This is where things get extremely convoluted in the body of Messiah to include the jewish movement; which should not be. A simple breakdown is as follows: 10% for the actual tithes to the priest; 10% for the individual themselves, A small portion of approximately 2% or less would be set aside for an ONEG type celebration for the stranger, widows, fatherless, & Levites.  We will discuss this in more detail and their yearly cycle of tithing /  offerings  in our last devotional about the tithing question.

Shalom shalom until next time … Rabbi John Wesley A. II