HF107 - What About First Fruits
To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Fri Dec 19, 2003
Subject: Bible Study HF107 - What About First Fruits
Hebraics,
Beth asked a good question, "After the destruction of the temple and the Levitical priesthood around 70 A.D. was the new 'Church' required to pay tithes? And if so to whom did they pay them?"
To answer her questions in simple form, the answer is 'yes', and 'no'. The 'no' means that no one was required to tithe. This was generally considered to be part of the Law of Moses. But the 'yes' means that the earliest Church writers encouraged believers to go beyond the tithe in their giving, that is, in the spirit of their giving, and in the amount that they gave.
Since the earliest Christians were all Jews, the issue of first fruits wasn't something they had second thoughts about. You can pick up on this in the apostolic writings if you know what to look for. I'll share on this later in the study.
As to Beth's second question, first fruits was generally a practice in the local assembly. Its purpose was not only for the ministers of the Christian (churches) synagogues, but it was also for the benefit of the needy of the congregation and the stranger.
Lois provided a good response to Beth's questions. However there is more to be said on the issue of the 'tithe'. To appreciate what the tithe was really about we need to place it in its larger context, which is the idea of honoring God with first fruits. And true first fruits giving is not something that can be done properly as a matter of Law. It can only be done as an act of worship in honoring the Lord.
But before I begin this study there are two things I want to point out. First, if a believer is convinced that first fruits (tithing if you prefer) has no place in the new covenant, then by all means don't participate in it under those terms. Actually it is better never to give if the giving cannot be done in freedom of conscience and with a proper motive.
Secondly, I ask that members set aside preconceived notions about the tithe or first fruits in considering this study. Read what I have to share with an open mind. You can draw your own conclusions afterwards.
Let's take a look at this interesting subject.
This is Bible Study HF107 - What About First Fruits.
John Bunyon made an odd but Biblically based statement. He said, "There was a man, some called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had." Bunyon simply used prose to state a Biblical principle that is found in both the former testament and in the apostolic writings.
Here are Scriptures that line up with what Bunyon said:
"There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want." (Prov11:24)
"Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure -- pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." (Luke 6:38)
"The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." (Gal6:6,7)
Notice that each of these statements comes from a different period in Biblical history, that is, under the law, then according to Christ, and finally according to the apostle. The summary is simple. There is something about our giving that relates to both our heart and to our own personal blessings.
But what does all this have to do with first fruits? It has much to do indeed. While some folk run through the Scriptures to prove that new covenant believers should not be tithing since it was under the Law, the truth is that we should be attempting to find out what the issue of first fruits was really about, and if it has any application to our lives today.
Once again this is where we need to understand terms. As a beginning place let's go to the first place in the Scriptures where we see anyone offering the first of anything to the Lord, that is, as a form of worship. For this we go to Cain and Abel. Listen to the reading:
"So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell." (Gen4:3-5)
There is much to be brought out of this scene but for the sake of our study let's stay with the act of bringing something to the Lord. Where did Cain and Abel get the idea of offering (in Abel's case) the firstlings of his flock? Notice it has to do with worship. Evidently this was something that they 'knew' to do. It was appropriate.
Why did the Lord reject Cain's offering? According to Scripture it included Cain's attitude. Without laboring the point, I'll simply reemphasize what I said earlier. "It is better never to give if the giving cannot be done in freedom of conscience and with a proper motive." (Abel's 'firstlings' meant the 'first born'. You can figure that one out easily enough. Abel gave from the 'first.' There is also a reflection here of his faith in the promised Messiah.)
Not much else is said about 'firstlings' or 'first fruits' or 'tithing' until we get to Abraham and then Jacob. But it does appear that the first fruits (tithing) was something that the righteous did as a way or worshiping or honoring the Lord. It related to their faith in the Lord God Himself. Here are the Abraham-Jacob Scriptures:
[Abraham] "Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.' He [Abraham] gave him a tenth of all." (Gen 14:17-20)
Did you know that this took place before Abraham was instructed to circumcise all the male members of his family? What does this have to do with Christians? Paul said, "[we are to] follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised." (Rom4:12)
Abraham's giving was a thing of the heart. And while it is called a 'tenth' of everything, what Abraham did was of faith and not because some law was hanging over his head. It was a thing of the heart. Evidently the giving of first fruits does have some roots in Abrahamic faith. (Not as law but a thing of the heart.)
It seems this idea of first fruits (tithing if you will) carries over into the Abraham's family. Perhaps this is one of those things that the new covenant says is written in our hearts and upon our minds.
Now we come to Jacob. Let's hear about this man:
"He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, 'I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac ... "
After reassuring Jacob of certain promises, the patriarch awakes. Listen to what he says; "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." Afterwards Jacob makes a vow; "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You." (Cf. Gen28:10-22)
Isn't this of special interest? Jacob admits that the God of Abraham and Isaac had not yet become his own God. But if the Lord God would fulfill his promises, Jacob would take Him to be his own God, and the proof of his faith in the Lord God would including the 'tithe' or 'first fruits.'
Let's leave the patriarchs behind. Next we know that the tithe was made part of the Law of Moses. There it was greatly expanded on and also regulated. As the Old Testament writings close, we hear,
"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nature of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,' says the Lord of host, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field casts its grapes,' says the Lord of host. 'All nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,' says the Lord of host." (Mal3:8-12)
And here is where we get in trouble over the teaching of the tithe from Malachi. Malachi was speaking to a people group who were under the Law. Why preachers pick up on the tithe statements while ignoring the whole of Malachi's writings is beyond me. Malachi was writing to a people whose lives betrayed their distance from the Lord. It was much more than the tithe.
What else does Malachi speak to? He speaks to how men mistreat their wives as a reason the Lord refuses to answer their prayers. The prophet calls attention to the prevailing arrogance in the man that has spilled over into all his life. The following statements are found in Malachi. Listen carefully and you see a pattern that is in place today:
Man says, "The table of the Lord is defiled."
"My, how tiresome it is."
"How have we robbed You?"
"Why won't God accept my offering with favor?"
"Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them?"
"Where is the God of justice?"
"It is vain to serve the Lord!"
Now the big question. Does any of this do away with honoring the Lord with first fruits? Not really. Again we have to come back to the heart and to our motives in why we do what we do. Whether we wish to call our giving a tithe, or an offering, or a first fruit, or a sowing, or whatever, the issue remains the same. Our giving has to do with honoring the Lord. Should we honor Him from the first of our living? You can decide that for yourself.
I shared earlier that with regard to first fruits in the new covenant, you can pick up on this in the apostolic writings if you know what to look for. For example when Paul described New Testament ministry, he used the temple services as a backdrop. Listen to these statements from Paul with regard to caring for those who minister the gospel:
"Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?"
"For it is written in the Law of Moses, 'You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.'' Then, "He is speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops."
"If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?"
"Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?" (This reflects on the tithe.)
"So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel."
"The hard-working farmer ought to be the *first to receive his share of the crops."
And again, "For the one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." (Cf. 1Co9:1-18; 2Tim2:6; Gal6:6,7)
In bringing this part of the study to a close I realize that we have members on HF who have not found a home church where they can participate in corporate giving. What should these members do? I cannot say for certain. I would suggest that these members ask the Lord to direct them in their giving as to what would be proper for their situation.
Just keep in mind what Bunyon said; "There was a man, some called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had." Then keep in mind what the prophet of old said; "Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until he comes to rain righteousness on you." (Hosea 10:12)
The study is open.
Blessings,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)