Dictionaries define tithe as “a tenth part of something” or “10 percent.” This definition is likely taken from the Bible narrative. Tithe is simply returning 10 percent of our income, or increase, to God. We understand that all we have belongs to Him in the first place. The tithing legislation given to Israel at Mount Sinai points out that the tithe is holy and belongs to God (see Leviticus 27:30, Leviticus 27:32). God asks for only His 10 percent. Our offerings of gratitude are separate from and in addition to the tithe. The tithe is the minimum testimony of our Christian commitment. Nowhere in the Bible do we find any indication that God’s portion is less than a tenth.

Read Genesis 14:18-20 and Hebrews 7:1-9. What was Abram’s response to meeting Melchizedek? What does this teach us about how far back in history the practice goes?

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The first mention of tithe in the Bible is in Genesis 14:1-24, which tells the story of Melchizedek’s meeting with Abram. The last mention of tithe in the Bible recalls the same encounter, but the words “tenth” and “tithe” are used interchangeably (see Hebrews 7:1-9). Note in the Hebrews story that neither Melchizedek nor Christ were of the tribe of Levi, so tithing precedes and follows the specialness of the Levites. Tithing is not exclusively a Jewish custom and did not originate with the Hebrews at Sinai.

Read Genesis 28:13-14, , Genesis 28:20-22. What did God promise to do for Jacob, and what was Jacob’s response to God?

When Jacob left home, running from his angry brother, Esau, one night he had a dream of a staircase that ascended from earth to heaven. Angels were going up and down on it. And God stood at the top and promised to be with Jacob and someday bring him back home. This single young man had a real conversion experience and said, “The LORD shall be my God. … And of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You” (Genesis 28:21-22, , NKJV).

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 14:18-20; Malachi 3:10; Deuteronomy 12:5-14; Leviticus 27:30; 1 Kings 17:9-16; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2.

Memory Text: “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10, NKJV).

In Genesis 14:1-24, Abram had returned from a successful hostage rescue mission in which he had saved his nephew Lot, Lot’s family, and the other people taken from Sodom. The king of Sodom was so grateful for the rescue that he offered Abram all the spoils of the battle. Abram not only refused the offer but gave a tithe of all that he possessed to Melchizedek.

Immediately after Abram’s tithing experience, the Lord said, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” (Genesis 15:1, NKJV). In effect, the Lord was telling Abram, “Don’t worry. I will be your protector and provider.” Then, much later, Moses told Israel as they were about to enter Canaan, “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year … that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always” (Deuteronomy 14:22-23, , NKJV).

Ellen G. White wrote: “Men were required to offer to God gifts for religious purposes before the definite system was given to Moses, even as far back as the days of Adam.” — Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 393.

What does all this mean for us today?

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 21.

Sunday–>

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Making a Deal With God

By Andrew McChesney

Dmitry Bagal, a student from Russia, ran out of money several months after enrolling in the master’s in theology program at Friedensau Adventist University in Germany. His options seemed limited. He could work on-campus or in a nearby retirement home, but the income would only partially cover his tuition. As a foreigner, he could not take out a state loan like the German students. But he could apply for a scholarship, which was smaller than the loan but did not require repayment.

As Dmitry prayed over the dilemma, he felt impressed to make a deal with God. “Lord,” he prayed, “if you bless me with this scholarship, I promise to set aside a second tithe to support mission work.”

Dmitry applied for the scholarship and, to his joy, it was approved. He began setting aside a second 10 percent of his gross income for mission work. As the semesters rolled by, he was approved for the scholarship again and again, and he kept giving a second tithe to mission work. Despite the second tithe, he still somehow always had enough money to cover tuition and other expenses. He even was able to set money aside for an emergency.

Then Dmitry’s five-year-old laptop began to act up as he worked on his master’s thesis. Twice he had to buy spare parts to self-repair it. One day, he found that he could no longer close the laptop’s screen. The hinges refused to budge. A new laptop was needed if he hoped to finish his thesis, and he was glad to have the small emergency fund.

But as he prayed about the situation, he remembered a friend, also from the former Soviet Union, who was serving with his family of five as missionaries in the South American jungle. High humidity had ruined his friend’s tablet, and a robust device was desperately needed to continue his work. Dmitry couldn’t understand why he was thinking about his friend in South America when he was the one in need of a laptop to graduate. But he bought a waterproof, dustproof laptop and mailed it to his friend.

Shortly after sending the package, an online advertisement popped up on Dmitry’s laptop screen that offered the very hinges that he needed for the laptop. He ordered the hinges and, after installing them, the screen opened and closed like new. Amazingly, the laptop still works today, eight years later.

Dmitry has no doubt that God blesses those who put mission first. “The Lord has prolonged the life of the laptop,” Dmitry says. “Truly it is written in the Bible, ‘Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done’ [Proverbs 19:17, NIV].”

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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Further Thought:

 “Whenever God’s people, in any period of the world, have cheerfully and willingly carried out His plan in systematic benevolence [tithing] and in gifts and offerings, they have realized the standing promise that prosperity should attend all their labors just in proportion as they obeyed His requirements.

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When they acknowledged the claims of God and complied with His requirements, honoring Him with their substance, their barns were filled with plenty. But when they robbed God in tithes and in offerings they were made to realize that they were not only robbing Him but themselves, for He limited His blessings to them just in proportion as they limited their offerings to Him.” — Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 395.

The Bible is very clear that we are saved through faith alone, a gift of God’s grace. Our obedience to God’s commands is a response to God’s grace; it doesn’t earn it (after all, if it were earned, it wouldn’t be grace: see Romans 4:1-4).

Indeed, when we look at God’s bilateral covenant with us, we can see both our blessings and our responsibilities. By our responses to what God offers to us, we establish our relationship with Him and, to a great degree, determine our own destiny. Obedience — the service and allegiance of love — is the true sign of discipleship. Instead of releasing us from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render the obedience that God asks from us.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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It was said of Jesus that “the common people heard him gladly” (Mark 12:37). Most of the people in the large crowds who followed and listened to Jesus were members of this class, the common people. They were the ones who were fed on the mountainside, and who heard the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said to them, basically, I know you are concerned about providing for your families. You worry about the food and drink that you will need daily and the clothing that you need for warmth and protection. But here is what I propose . . .

Read Matthew 6:25-33. What was promised here, and what were the people to do in order to receive those promises?

Many of the promises of God  have elements of a bilateral covenant. That is, in order to receive the blessing, we need to do our part as well.

Read Isaiah 26:3. What are we asked to do in order to have the peace of God?

Read 1 John 1:9. What will Jesus do if we confess our sins?

Read 2 Chronicles 7:14. What are the “ifs” and “thens” of God’s proposal here?

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All these verses and many others deal with the important fact that although God is sovereign, although God is our Creator and Sustainer, and although salvation is a gift of grace and unmerited on our part, we still have a part to play in the great controversy drama here on earth. Using the sacred gift of free will, free choice, we must choose to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit and obey what God calls us to do. Though God offers us blessings and life, we can choose cursing and death instead. No wonder God says, “[T]herefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19, NKJV).

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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