The Tithe
Josh 6:17-18
[Jericho] shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing,
lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing,
and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
Jericho – First battle was God’s
Everything in the first city was “accursed”
Cherem: devoted, accursed, set aside for destruction or special function
Everything in the first city was devoted to God
Josh 7:1
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing:
for Achan, the son of Carmi… of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing:
and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.
When Achan took what was devoted to God – it became accursed
Israel was defeated in their 2nd battle – they began to cry out to God
Josh 7:10-12
And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up;
wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? – quit praying & deal w/ your disobedience
11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen,
and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies,
but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed:
neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment,
and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight,
then I coveted them, and took them;
and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
The Principle of the Devoted Thing is a Covenant Principle
Lev 27:28b, 30
Every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord.
30 Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees,
is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.
The tithe (10th) is devoted to the Lord – it is holy
However, if you keep it, it becomes accursed
The Tithe is not Law
It is a Covenant Principle that has been in place from the beginning
Gen 2:15–17
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Gen 3:17
To Adam He said…
“Because you have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
Apples – health fruit; “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”
Antioxidants help protect against cancer-inducing oxidative damage
However, the seed of this healthy fruit are poisonous, contain amygdalin
Amygdalin releases cyanide when it comes in contact with digestive enzymes
(Seeds are harmless when intact, but when chewed or damaged amygdalin becomes cyanide)
Apples are the blessing
Seeds are the devoted thing
When seeds are used right – the cause increase
When seeds are used wrong – they poison
Tithe is your seed
When you eat your seed – or don’t tithe
1. You poison yourself – turn the devoted thing into the accurse thing
9 You are cursed with a curse
You turn the thing that is supposed to increase you Into the thing that poisons you
Your stuff is cursed – bound, limited, hemmed in, can’t expand
2. You rob God
8 How have we robbed You?’ In your tithes and offerings
Rob: threat of bodily harm
Harm the Body of Christ
· The Church can’t do what it’s supposed to do
· Cause the church to use methods & means not intended by God
o God has to wash cars to fund His ideas
When we DO tithe
1. I will open the windows of heaven, and pour out blessing
Blessings? Money? No
Rain – create favorable circumstances for our increase & success
“Your field will not fail to bear fruit”
2. I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes
The devourer consumes everything
God will stop that!
We get God on our side
Our enemies become His enemies
This is all a Setup for the Presence of Jesus
Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.
And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple;
and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight,
behold, he is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
7 Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.
But you say, 'How shall we return?'
8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me.
But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me
To prepare for His coming to us and our return to Him
He doesn’t talk about prayer, revival, anointing
He talks about the tithe
He says, ‘Stop robbing Him’
He wants to give us true riches
Luke 16:11
So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth,
who will trust you with true riches?
Let’s prove “Trust-worthy”
God says, “Prove Me”