Word of Encouragement (03/24/2022)

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” (Gen. 28:20-22)

Jacob makes another promise in this vow: “...and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house.” What did he mean by this? As far as we can see, he did not build a temple there. After waking up from his dream, in which God extended His covenant with Abraham to him, Jacob named that place “Bethel,” which means “the house of God”. Whatever he meant, we later see how God took it as. When Jacob returned with his family, the LORD told him, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau” (Gen. 35:1). And that is what Jacob did. It may be that his desire to build a temple there was premature in God’s redemptive plan. So, God might have considered the building of an altar as the fulfillment of Jacob’s vow.  

Jacob also promises to give a full tenth of all that God gives back to Him. This was what his grandfather, Abraham, did when Melchizedek blessed him in the name of God Most High as he was returning from defeating King Chedorlaomer and rescuing his nephew Lot with God’s help: he gave a tenth of all the spoils from the battle (Gen. 14:20). We also know that this practice of tithing became institutionalized in the Mosaic Law for all the people of Israel (Deut. 14:22).

We don’t know the rationale behind the giving of a tenth to the LORD. Maybe, in God’s providence, this looked forward to the provision God would make for the tribe of Levi in the promised land. As you know, the tribe of Levi, which was set apart to serve the Lord at the sanctuary as the substitute for the (other) twelve tribes, did not receive the inheritance of the land. A tithe from the other tribes would roughly make up for the inheritance of the land, which the tribe of Levi did not receive. The Lord told the priestly tribe that they would not receive the inheritance of the land because the LORD Himself would be their Inheritance. So, the LORD gave them the tithes that the other tribes offered to Him.

According to this vow, the tithe was an expression of Jacob’s gratitude to the LORD for fulfilling His gracious promise. It was also an acknowledgment that all that he had was a blessing from God: “...of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” This sums up well the reasons that we should give our offerings to the Lord, don’t they?

Should we tithe? On one hand, there was the institutional element: for Israel, it was God’s command. This had a lot to do with the institution of the Levitical priesthood in Israel. Now that there is no temple and therefore no need for the priesthood, this institutional element no longer applies to the people of God under the new covenant. On the other hand, there was also a commonsense element to tithing as was the case of Abraham and Jacob: it must have seemed to be a good portion to give back to the Lord. This commonsense does not pass away with the temple and priesthood.

However, we should keep in mind that, even in Israel, tithing was not the only offering they made to the LORD. They had thank offerings and peace offerings as well as votive (that is, vow-related) offerings. It may also be that every three years, they had to offer an additional tithe to support the poor and needy and widowed (Deut. 14:28). What is more, we must admit that, as New Testament believers, we have received much more of God’s grace than the Old Testaments saints because we have Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the promises they had received. Jesus said, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” (Luke 12:48). We owe God so much more. May it be reflected in our expressions of thanks to our wonderful God and Savior!

‍