Did You Know?

Did you know that if your tithe is in the form of money (gold, silver, shekels, mites, coins, dollars, etc.), you are NOT permitted to give it to anyone?

Did you know; if you are a "tither," you are commanded by God (no, it's not a suggestion, it's a direct commandment from God) to spend your tithe money on yourself; spend it on anything you want, spend it on anything you desire...did you know that?
You didn't know that?

What?!...you mean your pastor or favorite Bible teacher hasn't told you that? Well, well; I wonder why he hasn't done so? Perhaps he is making up his own "tithing rules;" you know, the traditions of men that MAKE VOID the Word of God. Maybe he knows a lot less about tithing than you thought he knew. Or, perhaps he simply couldn't care less as to what God's Word ACTUALLY SAYS, and is after as much money as he can get out of you as possible, even if he has to lie to you, or withhold Biblical facts from you, hoping you NEVER find out for yourself.

So, is this true? Are tithers really told NOT pay tithes to anyone as money? Let's take a look at GOD'S WORD concerning the tithe and see if it is true. God's Word says this very clearly concerning the tithe...

"Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:" - Deuteronomy 14:25

Note: "bind up the money in thine hand" ...that is to say, GIVE IT TO NO ONE. Or, it is NOT to leave your hand, leave your possession, until you do with the money as God says to do with it; NOT what your pastor or favorite Bible teacher says to do with the money.

KEEPING IT ALL IN PROPER CONTEXT

Under what conditions did God instruct "Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand"?

The condition was this; God's commended tithe was limited to ONLY fruits, vegetables and clean animals from the Promise Land, NEVER MONEY. NO SCRIPTURE exists where God's word describes the tithe to be paid to anyone as money, all tithes were to be fruits, vegetables and clean animals from the Promise Land, FROM NOWHERE ELSE, IN NO OTHER FORM...

Lev. 27:30, 32, Num. 18:27, Num. 18:28, Deut 12:17, Deut. 14:22, Deut. 14:23, Deut. 24:21, Deut. 26:12, 2 Chron. 31:5, 2 Chron. 31:6, Neh. 10:37, Neh. 13:5, Mal. 3:10-11, Matt. 23:23, Luke 11:42...

...but if a tither could not easily transport their tithe to the location where God has placed His name (i.e., the place of the feast), the tither could convert it (usually by selling his tithe) to money. If it was converted to money, that is to say was now in the form of money, the tither was NOT permitted to "pay his tithe" in the form of money to anyone. The tithe, now as money, was to be spent on the tither himself to purchase anything he wanted to purchase with the money.

In other words, UNDER GOD'S SYSTEM OF TITHING (the only one we care about, the only one that counts, the only one that is true), NO ONE was permitted to pay anyone a tithe in the form of money.

THE FACTS FROM GOD'S WORD

If we are supposed to be tithing money, or at all for that matter, as tithing teachers claim; why are we not supposed to be doing what God says with the tithe money? Like this...

1. Do not pay the tithe in the form of money. Keep the money in your hand (bind it to your hand) until you...
2. Buy wine with it.
3. Buy strong drink (harder liqueur) with it.
4. Buy livestock and other food.
5. Buy whatever you desire, whatever you lust after.
6. Only convert your tithe money back to fruits, vegetables and clean live stock, (by buying these items), etc., at the location you will share it with your family; if it's too far to transport it in the form God says it is to be in; fruits, vegetables, clean animals from the Promise Land.
7. Learn to fear and respect the Lord by doing one through six above.

>> Why don't tithing teachers tell their faithful tithers this?...

ref. Deuteronomy 14:22-27...

v22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
v23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.
v24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:
v25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:
v26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

WHAT IF THE TITHE WAS NOT IN THE FORM OF MONEY?

God's Word has the answer to that question; the tither consumed the tithe himself with his family...

ref. Deuteronomy 14:22-23...

v22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
v23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.

What does God say was to be done with the tithe? Again...

"And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God" ... "the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks," etc.

CONCLUSION

If your pastor, or any other teacher, is telling you to tithe to them, or tithe to anyone with money, they're teaching a blatant false doctrine and are deceiving people. God's Word says what it means, and it means what it says. DON'T CHANGE IT TO SAY WHAT YOU WANT IT TO SAY...

"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." - Deuteronomy 4:2

"What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." - Deuteronomy 12:32

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." - Isaiah 40:8

As for your tithing teachers; perhaps they should read this...

"Perverse disputings (or claims) of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself." -1 Timothy 6:5

Note: "supposing that gain is godliness" ...making money off people who are paying them "tithes" (and other scams) ...from such withdraw thyself...stay away from them.

So...if your "tithe" is in the form of money, do what God's Word says to do; SPEND IT ON YOURSELF.

______________________________

Copyright 2019-2020, Anthony Todd, All rights reserved. Permission to copy and distribute this article must be obtained in writing from Tithing Study Online.

Permission can be requested at: tithingstudyonline@gmail.com. Upon permission to do so, it is granted under the strict condition that no content of any article be removed or altered, and that all articles are to remain intact as is when used. You must include a notation that any article distributed originated from Tithing Study Online, and include our blog URL as: https://ExaminingTithingDeceptions.blogspot.com.

No Room To Contain It?

No Room To Contain It?

Tithing teachers often attempt to entice people into tithing on their income by twisting Malachi 3:10...

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

Particular emphasis and focus of attention is often placed on the "windows of heaven" being opened and a blessing poured out that the tither will not have room for and can't contain (i.e., vast wealth is promised to the tither); "tithe to my organization and God will provide so much money to you that you won't be able to contain it all" they tell their listeners.

In the light of these following facts, the claim that the tither will receive "so much money from God as a reward for tithing it can't be contained," is nothing short of poor theology, ignoring obvious and blatant scriptures on tithing (including scripture seen on Malachi 3:10), rejecting common sense and twisting scripture to say what it doesn't say but rather what the tithing teacher wants it to say.

FACTS...

1. If God's commanded tithe was in the form of money, the promise of "there shall not be room enough to receive it" makes no sense at all. I have a bank account; that bank account could receive and contain an unlimited sum of money.

There is no limit as to how much money could be deposited in that account. It could receive and contain billions and billions of dollars, in fact thousands of billions of dollars. If it had a limit, I could simply open an unlimited amount of bank accounts and other accounts to receive as much money you can possibly imagine.

If the return, or reward, for tithing was material goods such as homes, cars, food stocks, furniture, natural resources, boats, works of art, stocks and bonds, etc.; as with money in my checking or other accounts, there would be no realistic limit as to where such things could be received and contained. I could received and contain millions of homes, large warehouses of food, furniture, natural resources, etc. If the tithe was commanded by God to be money and the return in the form of money, God's word would not have stated "there shall not be room enough to receive it."

As I noted in a previous post; "Last I heard my bank account can hold as much money as anyone can give me. If anyone wants to, pour it on, and let's see if my account bursts open and unable to contain it."

2. There is a simple and wise concept we must understand and abide by; God's word means what it says and it says what it means. God may speak in the form of parables, proverbs, types and shadows, epistles, gospels, histories, Psalms and more, but God expects us to take His word seriously and believe it AS IT IS, unchanged and unaltered to suit or fancies. God's word warms us;

"You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." - Deuteronomy 4:2 

"Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar. Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." - Proverbs 30:5-6 

"Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it." - Deuteronomy 12:32

3. God's commanded tithe was NEVER MONEY, NEVER MONETARY IN SUBSTANCE, there is no such thing in God's word as a tithe commanded by God to be paid or surrendered in the form of money. In fact, if the tithe, for the purposes of transportation, was temporarily converted into the form of money, IT MUST NOT BE USED TO PAY A TITHE, and must be spent by the tither; on whatever the tither desires to buy with it. It must be "bound to the hand," not given to anyone until it is used to purchase anything the tither wants...

Deuteronomy 14;

"23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.

24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:

25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:

26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,"

Remember; God's word means what it says and it says what it means. EVERY SCRIPTURE where God speaks of what the tithe was to be is ALWAYS spoken of as FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND CLEAN LIVESTOCK, NEVER MONEY...

The tithe was ONLY fruits, vegetables and clean animals from the Promise Land; FROM NOWHERE ELSE, IN NO OTHER FORM...

> Please see and study closely; Lev. 27:30, 32, Num. 18:27, Num. 18:28, Deut 12:17, Deut. 14:22, Deut. 14:23, Deut. 24:21, Deut. 26:12, 2 Chron. 31:5, 2 Chron. 31:6, Neh. 10:37, Neh. 13:5, Mal. 3:10-11, Matt. 23:23, Luke 11:42. Remember, AGAIN; God's word means what it says and it says what it means, DON'T CHANGE IT OR ADD TO IT!

In the above verses, NOT ONE VERSE mentions a tithe in the form of money (or gold, silver, shekels, mites, coins, etc.). And, NO; fruits, vegetables and clean animals WERE NOT THE CURRENCY in Israel during the writing of scriptures; neither in Old or New Testament times. They had and used money much as we do today as their currency...

> Please see and study closely; Genesis 23;12-16, Exodus 38:28, Exodus 38:29, Leviticus 5:15, Leviticus 27:3, Leviticus 27:4, Leviticus 27:5, Leviticus 27:6, Leviticus 27:7, Leviticus 27:16, Numbers 3:47, Numbers 3:50, Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 12:41-42, Acts 8:20. Remember, AGAIN; God's word means what it says and it says what it means, DON'T CHANGE IT OR ADD TO IT!

4. We must ask; what was the blessings the nation of Israel would receive for tithing? A blessing coming from the windows of heaven that could not be contained?

First, it must be understood that Israel in the time of the writing of the Book of Malachi was mainly an agricultural society, their farming success (i.e., their food supply) relied heavily on what is refereed to as "dry farming;" that is to say they relied on the natural cycles of rain fall to irrigate their fields with enough water to produce an abundant yield of crops. They did not have modern irrigation systems as we do today, and had to plant and harvest crops based on rain fall cycles and seasons. If the natural rainfall failed in a given year, there was a very real danger that their crops would fail, and even the danger of deadly famine was ever present. Again; they relied on RAINFALL CYCLES to produce abundant food supply.

So again; what was blessing coming from the windows of heaven that could not be contained?...IT WAS WATER, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT WATER. Without God providing  water (or withholding water), the Nation of Israel faced famine and everything that famine brings with it; the total devastation of a nation.

If the nation of Israel would obey God and tithe, God promised to POUR OUT A BLESSING OUT OF HEAVEN (the sky above) of water that would be more than they could contain, more water than they could ever use or need. The result would be a nation with more food than they could possibly need, prosperous and divinely protected farms and livestock, and farming lands that would yield great harvests.

That is why Malachi 3:11-12 makes perfect sense in the light of the blessing, ABUNDANT water supply, given to the nation of Israel if they obeyed God and tithed. Notice that Malachi 3:11-12 refers to the result of abundant water supplies for growing produce, and divine protection of the produce coming from and growing on the land of Israel...

"11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts." - Malachi 3:11-12

What happens when you withhold WATER from a nation, from it's farming efforts? Answer; their fields (their farms) dry up and the fruits of their grounds, and their vines, cast their fruit before the time in the field. That is to say they DRY UP, DIE, FALL TO THE GROUND AND ROT, or simply don't take root and grow at all. Results?...famine, death and a cursed nation.

5. Malachi, Noah and the Kings. The words used in Malachi 3:10 "the windows of heaven" are the exact same words used to describe the flood of WATER God brought in the time of Noah. These words clearly refer to WATER coming from "the windows of heaven."

Consider...

Seen in Malachi 3:10; "WINDOWS OF HEAVEN"...

>> "WINDOWS;"

Hebrew: ארבּה
Transliteration: 'ărubbâh
Pronunciation: ar-oob-baw'
Definition: Feminine participle passive of H693 (as if for lurking); a lattice; (by implication) a {window} dove cot (because of the pigeon {holes}) chimney (with its apertures for {smoke}) sluice (with openings for water): - {chimney} window.
Note: "with openings for water"

>> "OF HEAVEN" (from/of clouds, the sky);

Hebrew: שׁמה שׁמים
Transliteration: shâmayim shâmeh
Pronunciation: {shaw-mah'-yim} shaw-meh'
Definition: The second form being dual of an unused singular; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds.

The same Hebrew words for "WINDOWS OF HEAVEN" are used in Genesis 7:1 referring to the massive outpouring of WATER in Noah's flood...

"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the WINDOWS OF HEAVEN were opened." - Genesis 7:1

And in...

"The fountains also of the deep and the WINDOWS OF HEAVEN were stopped, and the rain (WATER) from heaven was restrained; And the WATERS returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the WATERS were abated." - Genesis 8:2-3

And in...

2 Kings 7:2;

"Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make WINDOWS IN HEAVEN, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof."

2 Kings 7:19;

"And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make WINDOWS IN HEAVEN, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.."

Note: Both 2 Kings 7:2 and 2 Kings 7:19 are referring to God opening the WINDOWS IN HEAVEN and pouring out badly needed WATER for the people of Israel who were enduring a deadly siege that was causing famine and death.

The Hebrew words "ărubbâh" (window[s]) and "shâmayim shâmeh" (of heaven) ARE ALWAYS used in the context of, and in the meaning of, ONLY WATER, OR RAIN WATER, not money.

The Hebrew words used in 2 Kings 7:2 and 2 Kings 7:19 [WINDOWS] "IN HEAVEN" are the same as Genesis 7:1 and Genesis 8:2-3.

Genesis 7:11, Genesis 8:2, 2 Kings 7:2 and 2 Kings 7:19...AND MALACHI 3:10 use the Hebrew words "ărubbâh shâmayim shâmeh"...WATER COMING FROM THE SKY PROVIDED BY GOD, not piles and piles of money for tithing to some tithing teaching who is after your paycheck and is promising bags of money from God for sending in your tithe check.

"ărubbâh shâmayim shâmeh" refers to water and is never used figuratively or otherwise as money. In proper context "ărubbâh shâmayim shâmeh" in Malachi 3:10 is a CLEAR reference to God pouring out more water for their farms than they could possible contain or need for an abundant crop.

CONCLUSION

In dry farming (i.e., not using man made irrigation systems), they could not contain all the water God would supply and "pour out," it would flood out and overflow their farms making their farm lands very fertile and productive; hence God promising the nation of Israel this...

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the WINDOWS OF HEAVEN (ărubbâh shâmayim shâmeh), and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. - Malachi 3:10

And the results...

"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts." - Malachi 3:11


The tithe was NEVER MONEY, the tithe was ALWAYS fruits, vegetables and clean livestock (farming and ranching products), and the results of tithing for the nation of Israel who was commanded to tithe WAS AN ABUNDANT WATER SUPPLY FOR THEIR FARMS AND LIVESTOCK.

______________________________

Copyright 2019-2020, Anthony Todd, All rights reserved. Permission to copy and distribute this article must be obtained in writing from Tithing Study Online.

Permission can be requested at: tithingstudyonline@gmail.com. Upon permission to do so, it is granted under the strict condition that no content of any article be removed or altered, and that all articles are to remain intact as is when used. You must include a notation that any article distributed originated from Tithing Study Online, and include our blog URL as: https://ExaminingTithingDeceptions.blogspot.com.