God’s Mission
Numbers 18:21
I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.
~ The Lord
Note the language in the quoted verse: God is the one giving the tithe to the Levite priests. It is God’s gift – but He is providing it through their brothers. Think about that: God is giving to His people through His people. It is still God’s stuff – always is – even in our hands. Levites, designated as life-long priests of God, had not been allotted a land inheritance like other tribes of Israel. Why? God Himself is their inheritance (Joshua 13:33). But their families still had physical needs and that was where the tithe came in: God provided for His priests by means of their brothers so that they did not suffer lack as chosen workers of the Lord’s temple.
That set of laws is no longer in place with the church of today. Tithing is not required. We live under a different covenant – the new covenant (“testament”) Jesus brought about. Not everyone agrees about how the principle of tithing carries over to the church of today and her full-time workers (nor will that be explained here). This devotion looks to spur thought and personal meditation. It is informative, not exhaustive. I like to think of givers in the New Testament Era as partners, a term the Apostle Paul likes to use. Are you a partner in the Gospel? Are select portions of your resources earmarked for partnering in the work in the church? God still calls such workers, even in a different era. AND God still gives such gifts for His ministry (see 1 Timothy 5:18). Ask yourself: Am I facilitating God’s gift-giving through my resources or impeding Him?
1 Timothy 5:18
18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”
Prayer
Lord God, forbid that I impede any gift-giving on Your behalf. Expand and deepen my understanding of partnering in the Gospel. Further develop Your gift-giving through me, both in the organized church and on my own. Let me know the joy of partnering with You! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Micro-Meditation Scripture
Psalm 95:1-11
- Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. - Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song. - For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods. - In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him. - The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land. - Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; - for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice, - “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, - where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did. - For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, they area people whose hearts go astray,
they have not known my ways - So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’
Micro-Meditation
Teaching or Command of God
Deuteronomy 32:3-4
Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Psalm 103:10-11
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Micro-Meditation Pondering Point
Sing and shout out, come and extol – celebrate God, the great King with music and song. Songwriter Chris Tomlin echoes this sentiment with these lyrics: "How great is our God! Sing with me How great is our God".