A couple of weeks ago we talked about the Israelites preparing to leave their bondage in Egypt. You will remember they were told to prepare an unblemished, year-old, male lamb by roasting him whole, and they were to eat this lamb completely with no left-over’s. They were to supplement this meal with bitter herbs and unleavened bread which would later symbolize the bitterness of their slavery and the hurried way in which they left Egypt. Another aspect of this meal was the Israelites were to eat it "dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry." All of this preparation preceded them being released from their slavery in Egypt.
After the events of that horrible night, at least horrible for the Egyptians, Pharaoh surrendered to Moses request and "the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, ’We’re all going to die!’" As they began getting their belongings together and preparing to leave "The Israelites acted on Moses’ word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD gave the people such favor in the Egyptians’ sight that they gave them what they requested." Israel then marched out of Egypt as a freed people, freed by GOD’s rich grace and mercy.
Shortly after their departure Pharaoh recapitulated, called his chariot army together, and pursued the Israelites. Very soon Israel found themselves caught between the Red Sea and the advancing Egyptian army, "They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’" But we all know how this situation was resolved and once again, by GOD’s mercy, they were spared destruction. In order to make Israel sound like more than a bunch of whimpering ingrates, they did gather and sing praises to the LORD once the Red Sea had completely destroyed Egypt’s army, "Miriam sang to them: Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea."
As they continued their journey through the wilderness, heading toward this land of milk and honey Moses had so eloquently promised, they became thirsty. "They journeyed for three days in the wilderness without finding water. They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter... people grumbled to Moses, “What are we going to drink" So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable." Are you getting the picture here; the people of Israel were hard to satisfy, difficult people?
This whole story of the exodus would make a great television series. If it were a TV show, what I have just covered would have been prefaced with a voiceover saying, "Scenes from previous episodes." Following an indeterminate number of commercials this week’s episode would begin with an actor continuing from last week’s dialogue. This sermon is not much different from that television show. As we read our Old Testament text for this week we once again find "The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, ’If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!’"
Thinking about it more, this would probably be a number one hit on television; the plot is shallow and repetitive, does not require much thought to catch the underlying meaning of the dialogue, and is just irritating enough upon our emotions to make us come back and watch more. There is also enough whining and complaining to bring it to the level of one of the "most watched" shows on television. But this is not a television show, this is a story of real people; their travails, travels, and challenges to a loving generous GOD.
How generous and loving is this GOD? As Israel departed Egypt, the Egyptians gave them silver, gold jewelry and clothing. When they were trapped by their adversary, GOD provided them escape and annihilated their enemy. As their journey continued and they became thirsty, GOD granted them with abundant water. Now as they journeyed farther their provisions were running low and they were once again supplied with sufficient bread and meat, "The LORD spoke to Moses, ’I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the LORD your GOD.’"
As most of you, I have read this story or heard it told many times. One statement, made more obvious by its omission, is the statement, "LORD, You have been so good to us, what can we do in return? What can we give back to You?" GOD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you." Doesn’t that sound like a generous GOD?
When we hear this account of Israel, I want us to hear the story of one way giving, the deafening silence of the recipients in an offer of a return gift. Our GOD gives us more than we will ever be able to return to Him, but is it too much to ask of us to offer to return a portion of our many blessings?
A man went to his pastor and said, "Pastor, I have a difficult problem I need to discuss with you." The pastor invited him into the office, shut the door, and asked, "What is this problem." The man, looking down at the carpet, began "I’m not quite sure how to tell you this. When I was just beginning work and was making less than $15,000 a year we had no trouble tithing to the church. Now as the years have passed and I have succeeded quite well with this company I am now making $500,000 a year and I can no longer tithe. It is just too difficult for me to give up $50,000 a year to the church." The pastor thought about that for awhile and replied, "I can see where this is a burden upon you. Let’s pray about it, ’Dear LORD, brother Fred here is a lifelong member of this church and has been a hard worker for Your kingdom these many years. He now faces a dilemma with his ability to tithe. Hear our prayers LORD; return brother Fred to a $15,000 salary so he can once again afford to tithe to the church.’"
That may seem a bit facetious, but the point is we also are often reluctant to give our required tithe to the church as we progress upward in our lifestyles. Do you remember this story, "He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins. "’I tell you the truth,’ He said. ’This poor widow has put in more than all of them. For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.’" This is not to say, those of wealth do not tithe; in fact many of the most wealthy people in the world are immense philanthropists and willingly give "of their surplus." What I am asking is: Do we as the body of Christ offer our common tithes?
Tithing is a subject which is difficult to approach in the church, but it shouldn’t be. Tithing is our opportunity, our mandate, to bless GOD with our efforts of showing Him our appreciation for His abundant grace. I do not want to know how much each of us tithe, that amount is between us and GOD, He knows what we are able to give. My concern is that we do tithe, we are willing to return to GOD that which is GOD’s; and return it with a gladness of heart.
When Israel returned to Judea following one of their exiles and they rebuilt Jerusalem and the Temple they recognized their need to tithe. The rebuilding process was an expensive proposition, even though King Artaxerxes had quite heavily funded it. The people were still deeply invested in the process. Once the building was completed they determined to, "bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the LORD’s house year by year...we will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough...a tenth of our land’s produce from our lands belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns." It took Israel several generations to get the picture of obedience to GOD’s requirements, but it finally did settle in with them. Just to be sure we understand the totality of the requirement to tithe, hear these words "Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD a tenth of the tenth;" this is the pastor’s call to tithe.
We tithe to support the administration of GOD’s house. Offerings are another story, that is the money we give above our required tithes to accomplish the work of the Church in the world. What does GOD think of us when we do not tithe? GOD’s words get rather harsh when He addresses Israel through the prophet Malachi. "Because I, Yahweh, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed. "Since the days of your fathers, you have turned from My statutes; you have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of Hosts. But you ask: “How can we return?" "Will a man rob GOD? Yet you are robbing Me!” You ask: “How do we rob You?” "By not making the payments of 10 percent and the contributions. You are suffering under a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. Bring the full 10 percent into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your ground, and your vine in your field will not be barren,” says the LORD of Hosts. "Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of Hosts." Notice GOD told them to quit robbing Him, to "make the payments of 10 percent and the contributions." When they do these things what will be the result? "See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure."
Friends, I am not asking us to get ourselves into such a personal financial bind we are doing without the basic necessities of life. All I am asking is that we return to GOD His required portion of the abundant blessings He has supplied us with. When we do that, we will be blessed; and that is a promise from GOD, "See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven."
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT...AMEN
