tithes – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

Muzzling oxes? What does this have to do with me?

One thing I have tried to do as we go through Deuteronomy is show the relevance of these laws to us.

And again, an important principle to keep in mind is what Jesus and the apostles say about it.

In verse 4, it says,

Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain.

The idea is that while an ox was working in the field, it should be able to eat grain that had fallen to the ground.

What does this have to do with us? Are any of us farmers?

Paul tells us.

For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.”

Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake…

In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:9-10, 14).

Paul makes the exact same application in I Timothy 5:17-18.

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

One of the main reasons for tithes in the Old Testament was to support the priests and those who worked in the temple. And Paul says that in the same way, we should support our pastors financially.

God felt in the Old Testament that 10% was sufficient for the support of the priests in the ministry they did, and that’s one reason why we encourage tithing today.

If you haven’t been tithing to your church, I really encourage you to pray about it and see what God will tell you to do.

But one more thing, on a totally different topic.

God told the Jews not to give more than 40 lashes to a criminal, so that the person would not be degraded in their eyes.

It made me think of Jesus. The Romans didn’t follow Jewish law.

How much was Jesus degraded for our sake when he was beaten and crucified?

In a prophesy of Jesus, Isaiah said this,

See, my servant will be successful;
he will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted.

Just as many were appalled at you—
his appearance was so disfigured
that he did not look like a man,
and his form did not resemble a human being—
so he will sprinkle many nations. (Isaiah 52:13-15)

Lord Jesus, thank you for the price you paid for us.

Is tithing Biblical?

Some people may see this and wonder, “Why are you talking about tithing? That was Old Testament law. The New Testament says nothing about Christians tithing.”

That’s true.

When Malachi was talking to the Israelites, he was talking to people under Mosaic law.

Some people point to Abraham tithing to Melchizedek, who the writer of Hebrews uses as a type of Jesus (Hebrews 7), and say this proves that since tithing was before the law of Moses, it’s applicable to the Christian too.

I’d be more convinced if the point of the passage were that Christians should tithe. It isn’t. It’s merely pointing out the superiority of the Melchizedek priesthood to the Aaronic one.

To take this passage and say therefore “All Christians should tithe” seems to be stretching things beyond the limits of the passage.

That said, I think that there are some things to point out about tithing that are applicable to the Christian today.

First, God does ask us to support our churches, and namely our pastors.

As we saw in Nehemiah, the people were not supporting the Levites and as a result, they had to leave their posts in the temple and work in their fields just to survive.

If we force our pastors to split their time between ministry and supporting their families, who does that hurt? Not just them. It hurts us as well.

Paul wrote (and this is New Testament),

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:17–18)

In 1 Corinthians 9:7–12, Paul says that while he and Barnabas did work to support themselves, they had every right to be supported through the ministry they were performing.

That’s why God told the Israelites,

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. (Malachi 3:10)

The food wasn’t for God, who doesn’t eat. It was for the priests and Levites who worked there.

Second, there seems to be an attitude that some Christians take saying, “This is my money. And since I’m not required to tithe, I’m not going to.”

But remember this: As a Christian, your whole life belongs to God. You were bought with a price, the blood of Jesus.

That means that everything that you have really belongs to Christ. You are merely his steward. So it’s not your money at all. It’s God’s. You see this in the parable of the talents. (Matthew 25:14–30)

And while people often think of this story solely in terms of using the spiritual gifts God has given them, remember that another gift (though not a spiritual one) that he has given us is the ability to make money.

As a result, he will hold us responsible for how we use the money we have earned.

God reminded the people of this by sending them poor crops.

And he told them, “You’re taking what is really mine and using it for yourselves alone. That’s why you’re struggling so much. But if you’ll remember who all this really belongs to, I’ll send so much blessing upon you that you can’t contain it.”

How about you? Do you feel your money belongs to you? That it’s yours and yours alone to use for your purposes.

Remember who you belong to. And remember that as a result, your money is his as well.

Not ten percent. But 100 percent.

Are you using it solely for your purposes. Or for his purposes as well?