Putting God First
-Intro: Last week we talked about the tithe being a “trust” fund. Why did we call it that? Because whoever you give the tithe (the first tenth of your income), that is where you are putting your trust. Every time you receive income there is a test. Every time you receive a check you have an opportunity to worship someone with the first fruits of your increase. What you do with the tithe shows who you trust. Today we’re planning to build on that theme as we talk about the priority of the tithe. Not only does it show who you trust, but it shows who is first in your life.
-Now I realize these are bold statements that you might take exception to. And maybe you just flat out disagree. If you’ve heard me preach very long, you might have picked up on the fact that I don’t always draw the lines in bold. I tend to leave room for people to consider the truth they can see in God’s word and draw their own conclusions. I have no choice but to do that today as well; however, what I’m about to share with you could change your life! While I’ve always been a practicing proponent of tithing, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the principles of giving God the first part pop out so clearly as in this study. “Now these things became our examples.” (1 Cor. 10:6). We can learn from the examples in the OT to see what is important to God.
-Before we jump into the text, I wanted to get the word, “first” imprinted on your mind, so enjoy this vintage clip from Abbott & Costello.
[Play Abbot & Costello Clip, Who’s on First?]
Exodus 13:1-2 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal."
Exodus 13:11-14 11 "After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your forefathers, 12 you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons. 14 "In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
1. The first-born must be sacrificed or redeemed
-Notice here that only clean animals are sacrificed to God. It was an act of worship to sacrifice a clean animal to God in the way He had instructed. As a side note, I find the word sacrifice very interesting. When people came to worship God in OT times, they would sacrifice animals. I don’t know what comes to your mind, but in my mind I’m thinking that the animal is the one sacrificing or giving up something. After all, it dies!
-A hen and a pig were asked by the barnyard committee to consider making a contribution to the morning breakfast of bacon and eggs. The hen said, "Why, sure, I'll be glad to help." The pig snorted, "Now, wait a minute. Bacon and eggs! For the hen it's a contribution; but for me it's a real sacrifice."
-The word, sacrifice can refer to the "act of giving up one thing for another; something given up for the sake of another." But the word sacrifice literally speaks of doing what is sacred. And then I think of when King David said that he would not sacrifice to the Lord that which had cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). Every sacrifice and gift that we bring to God in worship should cost us something. It is the act of giving up one thing for another. When someone sacrificed a lamb in OT times, they were giving up the value of that animal. Animals were part of their currency, their wealth. So, giving up the first part of our money as a tithe to God is a form of sacrifice, doing what is sacred as worship to God. We’re bringing it to Him because it never was ours in the first place. If we make it ours, then we are really taking it from God, and the Lord called it robbery in Malachi 3:10. So, it might seem to hurt, when we give a sacrifice to God, but the alternative is disobedience. The alternative is living with our finances under a curse. No matter how much comes in, it will be devoured before it does us any good. Sound familiar?
-Okay, back to Exodus 13:13. The firstborn of clean animals are sacrificed to God. The firstborn of unclean animals are redeemed with a clean animal for sacrificing to God. This idea that there is God’s part (first fruits or the tithe), and our part (the rest) is all through Scripture.
-In the Garden of Eden, every tree was given to Adam and Eve to enjoy and to eat from. Lots of fruit and veggies. But there was one tree that was in the middle of their paradise of blessing that God said they couldn’t have for themselves. They could see it. It was real and it was there. But they were to pass that fruit on by. It was a test. God said, “That tree is Mine. Don’t eat its fruit.” There was God’s part and man’s part. And of course the enemy convinced them (just like he tries to convince us) that they couldn’t make it without the part God said was His.
-Now, follow this example of the clean and unclean through with me. We are the unclean. Jesus alone is clean. Therefore, Jesus was sacrificed for us to redeem us. And just as the donkey’s neck was to be broken if it was not redeemed with a clean lamb, so we were unclean, broken, and destroyed by our own sin. We were unredeemed and dead in sin.
-There is a sense in which Jesus is God’s tithe. God gave Jesus first! While we were still sinners and dead in our sins, God gave Jesus as the clean sacrifice to redeem us and bless us. Jesus is called the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29), and the firstfruits (1 Cor. 15:20-23). God gave Jesus in faith, expecting a return.
-So we also give the tithe first in faith!
-The tithe, like the first-born, belongs to God. And the first portion is redemptive. When you give the first fruits to God, the rest is blessed. When you keep the first, the rest is cursed.
-Would you rather have 100% of all your increase with a curse, or 90% with all of it blessed? Remember, this is a basic heart issue. Where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Any first thing given to God is never lost.
• Tithing is so much more than giving 10%. It is giving the first to God. It is putting God first in the area of finances. What’s in your wallet? (No, What’s on 2nd. Who’s on first in your wallet?)
2. The first-fruits must be offered
Exodus 23:19 "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.
Proverbs 3:9-10 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
-One example of firstfruits in the Bible was Jericho. Why did God tell them not to keep any of the spoils for themselves? Joshua 6:17,19 “The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury.” Jericho was the first fruits of the land God was giving Israel. So He said, “Don’t touch it. It’s mine!”
-But Achan decided he couldn’t live without it, and he didn’t. He brought a curse on himself and his family. Joshua 7:11 God said, “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions.” It doesn’t belong in your house; it belongs in God’s house.
-So, when we get paid, the first tenth is consecrated to God. It is sacrifice, doing what is sacred, honoring God as Creator, Owner, Lord, and Provider, by returning His part to Him. And if we decide that we just can’t do without it, according to Malachi 3:9, then the rest of our finances are under a curse. Malachi 3:8-9 “You are under a curse-- the whole nation of you-- because you are robbing me” [In tithes and offerings].
-Look at another example from the lives of Cain and Abel.
Genesis 4:3-5 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
• Cain brought AN offering, some of the fruit; Abel brought the FIRSTBORN.
• Cain did not bring of the first-fruits.
• God cannot accept an offering that’s not first. Why? Because He is Supreme! He is Almighty! He is worthy of the first and the best of everything.
3. The tithe must be brought first.
2 Chronicles 31:5-10 5 As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. 6 The men of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the LORD their God, and they piled them in heaps. 7 They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month. 8 When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the LORD and blessed his people Israel. 9 Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; 10 and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok, answered, "Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the LORD has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over."
-That’s what happens when we trust God and obey Him with our finances. He blesses us with great amounts left over. Now you might tithe, but maybe you’re still kind of waiting for the piles of blessings to come. Look a little closer and remember how blessed you are compared to 3/4 of the world. Count the blessings that do not have presidential pictures on them.
-Notice the word “bring” or “brought” as opposed to give. You can only give what is yours to give. But you bring what belongs to someone else. And we bring the tithes to the house of the Lord. Some would say that since the Jewish temple is long gone, that we do not need to tithe. Is the church God’s idea? Some insist that it is a broken model and it’s just filled with hypocrites being religious when it suits their needs. Well, the temple in Jesus’ day was run by corrupt mafia-like priests and leaders who repeatedly took advantage of poor Jewish pilgrims through extortion and cheating. But Jesus still called it His house – even if it was built by crazy man, Herod the Great. And Jesus had a lot to say about His Church, including the fact that He would build it and that the very forces of hell would not prevail against it! The Church, the people of God, are still the house of God. There is structure, there are leaders, and even in Acts 15, there was government. Bible believing churches are still houses or dwelling places of God today, and it is still God’s plan for His people to give Him the first portion of their increase!
“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.” (Lev. 27:30).
• You can give 10% and not be tithing. (b/c the tithe is the first portion that is spent).
• We need to give to God first. The first tenth is considered the redemptive portion that blesses what remains, when you bring it to God!
-Don’t give God the leftovers, hoping to have enough after all the bills are paid and your wants are filled! Give to Him first!
CLOSING:
-If it is true (and I believe it is) that your heart is where your treasure is, then we cannot truly say, “Lord, I give You my heart,” until we can say, “Lord, I give You my treasure.” And I also believe that this is an amazing gift you can pass on to your children. The verses we started out with in Exodus 13 end with this: 14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
-So, think about a Jewish boy who sees his dad kill a firstborn lamb and offer it to God. At some point he will ask his dad, “Dad. What does this mean? Why are you killing something we could really use for ourselves?” His father looks at him and says, “Son, our family has not always been in the ranching business. We used to be slaves but God delivered us from bondage and brought us to this land of blessing. So when He asks for the first and the best of everything, we are delighted to bring it to Him out of gratitude for what He has done for us.”
-And when your children see that you are more attached to God and His word than you are to money, they will grow up and ask the same question. “What does this mean? Why are you giving our money away? We could do so much more with that!” You will be able to answer, “Son/Daughter, our family has not always been blessed like we are now. We used to be slaves, but Jesus bought us with His own life and set us free. And we are delighted to bring Him the first and best of everything because of what He has done for us.” Don’t miss the blessing! Who’s first in your heart/life/finances?
(Some thoughts and ideas borrowed from Robert Morris, The Blessed Life)
