Ron Graham

What if We Tithed?

By Jason Lovelace

Key Scripture:

Malachi 3.8-12 -- "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 with a curse: 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 herewth," 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. ""And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land," saith the LORD of hosts.

Genesis 14.20 -- And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Genesis 22.17 -- That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies...

No nation in the history of the world has been as economically blessed as the United States of America, save, perhaps, Solomon's Israel. Since the end of World War Two, the U.S. Economy has steadily increased, improved, and grown, far out pacing the rest of the world (combined, in many instances). However, in recent days, huge ecomomic crises loom. In the past decade-and-a-half, the U.S. Economy has slowed down significantly. With the recent housing melt-down, skyrocketing prices for oil, and the depression of the American Dollar on the world stage, not to mention stiff competition from Asian Markets (particularly Red China and Japan) and the European Union, the U.S. Economy looks to be on the brink of disaster. Could there be a Biblical reason for the economic chaos and downturn in the United States of America? Is there a Biblical Solution? Let's take a look...

Tithes = Ten Percent = Care for God's House and His Workers -- In the Bible, we see the word "Tithe" quite often. What, exactly, is "tithe"? It is merely the first 10% of any kind of income or earning that a person makes. Time and time again in the Bible we see examples of men and women giving tithes, giving offerings, and brining gifts to God. In the Old Testament, the Children of Israel were instructed by God to bring in the firstfruits of their earnings, whatever those earning were, to the Temple or the Tabernacle to give to God. These were to be given and consecrated to God, and if the person or family followed the instruction to bring their firstfruit tithes to God, God, in turn, promised to bless the people. As promised, time and time again we see examples of how people were blessed by God for their giving. In fact, the only amount that God askled for in return was only the first 10% of whatever was earned; after giving, the rest of the earnings was to be used by the person who earned it. Even today, in these post-modenr times, in the Church of Jesus Christ, people are called to tithe and to give their first 10% to God. The second reason to give to the tabernacle and temple (in the Old Testament) and to the Church (in the New Testament) was becasue it was the tabernacle's/temple's workers and Early Church Leader's only source of income. The Old Testament High Priests were forbidden to do any other work than to care for the spiritual well-being of the people. The tribe of Levi was designated to be the keepers of the tabernacle and temple, and to do all the maintainence work involved in it, and though they worked in rotation every so often, the times that they were workign in the temple or tabernacle provided them with their only source of income. Becasue of this, it was vitally important that the people tithed and gave offerings, for if no offerings were given, the tabernacle and temple would suffer. This was the same with regards to the Apostles of the Early Church. The Twelve who followed Jesus gave up their trades (four of them were fishermen), and as a result, when after Jesus had ascended these men were in the leadership and, as the Old Testament High Priests before them, were responsible for the spiritual well-being of the Early Church followers (see Acts 6.1-4). In the Church of Jesus Christ today, it is the same. Many pastors cannot have a second job, and as their only income is from the church where they serve, tithing and giving is of vital importance. Further, the reason so many Churchesi nthe USA have maitainence problems and structural woes is because of the lack of tithing. An Evangelist said during a revival, "If people would simply tithe, there'd be no need for building or special event funds..."

Great King, Good King, Bad King, Worse King -- In looking at the Books of First Samuel through to Second Chronicles, it is easily evident that when the King of Israel, and later, of the divided kingdoms, tithed and gave offerings to God, his kingdom was blessed. There is no greater King of Israel in the Bible than David. Though King David sinned horribly, when he was right with God, his giving was regular, his tithes going to the House of God. ecasue of King David's faithfulness, Israel was blessed, and that blessing was even more pronounced when David's son Solomon took the throne. It is written in both I Kings and II Chronicles that under Solomon (so long as he remained faithful) that silver was accounted the same as we account gravel today! The trouble started when King Solomon left off serving God, which included tithing (I Kings 12). Only under the good kings of Judah was there any kind of an economic revival. In reading I Kings through the end of II Chronicles, it becomes clear to see that kings Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah all prospered and lived in relative peace because they followed God wholeheartedly, again, including bringing tithes and offerings into God's house. When evil kings were on the throne, or when a good king went bad (such as Kings Rehoboam, Abijah/Abijam, and Joash) and left off following God, that the prosperity vanished. When King Solomon left off following God with his whole heart and mind, and started following idols, his kingdom was not only take naway from him, but the economic prosperity of the people later vanished also, so much so that Solomon made the people of Israel to work like slaves.

Giant Economic Bears -- In the world today, we face economic problems like we have never before seen. Many speculators and economic pundits see $200-per-barrel oil as a reality in the very near future. Food costs are spiking primarily due to Western and Technologically Advanced Cpuntries attempting to wean themselves off of Arabian and OPEC Oil by means of growing food plants for Bio-fuels instead of for edible consumption, and the fact that weather problems and natural disasters -- such as the cyclone that hit Myanmar/Burma and the massive quake in Sichuan China last month -- continue to wreak havoc in food-producing countries. This crunch is readily seen in the United States, where fuel costs, food prices, and transportational charges have all skyrocketed in the last year. Further, the housing "boom" that once was just two and three years ago is now a housing glut, thanks to the sub-prime interest rate and sub-prime loan dilemma, massive numbers of housing foreclosures, and once-dream-but-now-empty houses now filling cities and towns. Not only is this problem felt in the USA, but world wide, as banks in Japan and Europe have been hard hit by the sub-prime loan defaults. This has also caused many banks to hike up intererst rates in other areas, especially that of credit cards. No other nation on earth has as much credit card dfebt per person as the United States of America, with many people owing tens of thousands of dollars to creditors, all of this rotating in with high credit card interest rates. In the U.S. Mainstream Media, there has been talk of a recession thanks in large part to all of these economic woes coming home to roost for the American People. Both of the U.S. Presidential Candidates from the two major parties are talking aobut solutions to these problems, but both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama seem not to have really any true sense nor strategy on how to prop up the faltering U.S. Economy. What, then, is the solution?

Tithing - The Key to God's Blessings -- If the United States (or any other country, for that matter) really and truly wants God's blessings, the answer is simple: tithe. In Malachi 3, our Key Scriopture for today, God states clearly that if we as a people and a nation will tithe -- not just individually, but collectively, as a nation -- he will bless us, insomuch that he will open the windows of heaven and we will be a blessing to others. For the first 200 years of our existence as an Independent Nation, this is exactly what the United States experienced. No other nation in history has accomplished what the United States has in such a short time. It took England a millennia to build up to her world-wide Empire as seen in the late 1800s under Queen Victoria. France -- lonmg a worldwide power, whose armed might was feared across Europe and the world, took a similar amount of time to become the great nation that she has been. The same can be said for all of the Ancient Powers, such as Rome, Han and T'ang China, Egypt, greece, and Persia. however, the United States has become a prosperous nation in less than three and-a-half centuries. There can be only one explanation for such a rapdi rise to greatness: the blessings of God Almighty. The flip side of that coin can gbe stated with just as much proof, clarity, and evidence: The USA is suffering economically because God's hand of blessing has been withdrawn, or is wthdrawing. Unless and until the USA both collectively as a nation and as individual people start to give God his due and proper respect, we will continue to suffer. This writer would daresay that if the United States would begin to give back to God merely 10% of our National Income on a regular vbasis, ALL of these hard economic problems would disappear, most of them overnight.

A Modern Example -- A modern example of how God is blessing a nation and a people because of faithfulness to him is the Republic of Korea (commonly referred to as "South Korea"). Depending on the pollster, the Christian Population of the Republic of Korea is anywhere between 47% and 51% of the total. Though South Korea is feeling some of the economic crunch that has come about as of late, the Economy of South Korea has grown steadily since the end of the Korean War (1950-53). Unlike her East Sea Neighbor, Japan, South Korea's economic growth has been steady, efficient, and self-sustaining. In 2007, the United States signed a free trade agreement with South Korea, something that was eagerly sought by the United states (and rather opposed by a good number of South Koreans). Though South Korea is a small country with a small population, her economic growth is very srtrong, with many of her industries being sought by international corporations for partnership. South Korea could be a major economic player internationally in the future, if her gorwth continues. The reason why South Korea has seen this economic growth is because of the faithfulenss of South Korean people to God, and the fact that South Koreans give and tithe to their churches.

Conclusion: Economic Problems Happen because People Stop Tithing -- When a person stops tithing, financial ruin on a personal basis is just around the corner (this writer knows and understands first-hand what can happen to an individual's finances when s/he ceases tithing). The same is true for a nation. When a country and its people cease to give God his requested 10%, economic ruin, chaos, and problems will abound. The only way to truly end major economic crises is to tithe, plain and simple. God even says to try him and test him in this. He has promised to open up the windows of heaven for blessing. This writer believes that if President Bush were, tomorrow, to enact an Executive Order, giving ten percent of the Nation's Income to God, our oil woes, housing crises, energy problems, and high food costs would disappear like fog in a hot, Summer, noon-day sun. Until we as a nation and as a people do the same, financial crises will be the norm. So long as we ignore God, his promises, and his requests, denying him his firstfruit tithes, we will suffer economically.

Prayer -- Heavenly Father, it is simple, clear, and easy to see: when we tithe, you bless. When we withhold, you allow cursing and crises. Help us all to see this and understand you clearly today, we pray, in Jesus' Name, Amen.

Verse to Remember:

"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall the vine cast her fruit before her time in the field,” saith the LORD of hosts. “And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land,” saith the LORD of hosts.

--Malachi 3.11-12