Deuteronomy 14:22-29 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 14:22-29. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 14:22-23 (NIV)
22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.
23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
On verses 22-23: In Deuteronomy 14:22-29, we learn five reasons why it is important for us to tithe (i.e. set aside a tenth of our income and give it to God at the place – that is, the house of God – where we worship Him). The first reason we learn from verse 23: By tithing we “learn to revere the LORD your God always” (v23). Tithing trains us to have an attitude of worship toward God no matter what our circumstances are like. Tithing is a tool for our own spiritual maturity, training us to put God first in our lives.
Deuteronomy 14:24-26 (NIV)
24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away),
25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose.
26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice.
On verses 24-26: Notice verse 24 does not say that if the place where you go to worship God is too far away, don’t worry about tithing. Instead, verses 24-26 say that if the place where you go to worship God is too distant and it is hard to physically bring your tithe there, find another way to bring your tithe to the place where you worship. Remember that back in Moses’ time, the Israelites would not tithe in the form of money but in the form of livestock and grain, so bringing your tithe was hard work! So Moses tells the Israelites that if the Israelites would rather not lug their cattle, sheep and grain all the way to the place where they worship, they could instead trade their original tithe for silver and use it to buy cattle, sheep and grain at the place where they worship.
Applying this principle to us today, if the place where you worship is far away, or it is inconvenient to physically bring cash or a cheque to the church building where you worship, find another way to bring your tithe, such as through online giving. In other words, don’t let inconvenience stop you from bringing your tithe and your best worship to God. For the second reason why it is important to tithe is because God deserves our worship. May we not be those who worship God based on convenience. Like David, may we say, “I will not sacrifice to God that which costs me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24). Since Jesus paid the highest price for us and gave us His everything, it’s not too much for us to give a tithe (a tenth) back to Him.
Deuteronomy 14:27 (NIV)
27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
On verse 27: Here we learn a third reason why it is important for us to tithe: through tithing we take care of those who have dedicated their working lives to serving in the house of God. As verse 27 says, “do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own” (v27). As we learned in Deuteronomy 12:17-19, tithing serves a practical purpose: by tithing we take care of the pastors and church staff and their families who rely on our faithful tithes for their livelihood.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29 (NIV)
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns,
29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
On verses 28-29: Here we learn a fourth reason why it is important to tithe: by tithing we are equipping our church community to accomplish its mission to demonstrate God’s love and spread contagious hope to those in need. As verse 29 says, “so that…the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied”.
Here we also learn a fifth reason why it is important to tithe: “so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands” (v29b). When we tithe, we give God an opportunity to bless us even more. The only time in the Bible that God invites us to test Him is in Malachi 3:10, which says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
In my experience and in the experience of many others, when you tithe in faith, even when it hurts, God provides in ways we would not ask for or imagine, and we are always better off and more blessed in the end.
For all these reasons, Church, when it comes to tithing, may we not make excuses like “I forgot” or “it’s not convenient”. Let’s be intentional about tithing.
Father, since You gave your very best for us, may I come to You not empty handed, but with a thankful heart and with something to offer in return, knowing that when we seek God’s kingdom first You add everything we need. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
