The Principle of the Tithe

INTRODUCTION: “The Heart Test”

Imagine two FARMERS standing in the same FIELD. One HOLDS ONTO his SEED, fearful that PLANTING it will leave him with NOTHING. The other SOWS his SEED, TRUSTING that RAIN and TIME will MULTIPLY it. One ends up with EMPTY HANDS, the other with a HARVEST.

The TITHE works the SAME way; it’s a TEST of TRUST. God doesn’t NEED our MONEY; He DESIRES our FAITH. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” MONEY is the MIRROR of the HEART. The way WE HANDLE what’s in our HAND reveals WHO HOLDS our HEART. The TITHE is not about what God can GET FROM US, it’s about what He can DO IN US.

Today we’ll look at 3-TRUTHS about “The Principle of the Tithe”: its ORIGIN, OBLIGATION, and OPPORTUNITY.

SCRIPTURE: Malachi 3:8–10 “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 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.”

3-TRUTHS ABOUT THE PRINCIPLE OF THE TITHE

I. THE ORIGIN OF THE TITHE: A PATTERN ESTABLISHED

a. The very first mention of tithing in Scripture occurs long before the Law of Moses. 

i.Genesis 14:18–20 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of

the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of

heaven and earth: And he gave him tithes of all.”

b. Abraham, the father of FAITH, met Melchizedek, the king and priest, after a great victory. 

II.THE OBLIGATION OF THE TITHE: A PRECEPT ENFORCED 

a. By the time of Moses, the PRINCIPLE of TITHING was ESTABLISHED as a COMMAND for God’s PEOPLE. 

i.Leviticus 27:30 “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is

the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.”

b. The TITHE wasn’t theirs to KEEP, it was HOLY unto the Lord. “HOLY” means “SET APART”, belonging

EXCLUSIVELY to God.

III. THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE TITHE: A PROMISE EXTENDED

a. There is the only ONE PLACE in Scripture where God INVITES His people to TEST Him.

i.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.”

1.  This is the only place in Scripture where God invites His people to TEST Him. 

2.  He says, “PROVE ME.” In other words, “TRY ME and SEE IF I WON’T KEEP MY WORD.”

b. The PROMISE attached to the TITHE is supernatural PROVISION, “the windows of heaven” opened, and

blessing POURED OUT until there’s not enough room to CONTAIN it.