First Things First: Honoring God with Our Finances

Listen to today’s passage – Leviticus 26 – 27

Follow along on Blue Letter Bible – Leviticus 26

Second Milers also read – John 19 – 21; Proverbs 13; Psalms 66 – 70

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

Read the “0213 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by Charles Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from today’s passage – “The Choice is Yours“

In our reading today in Leviticus 26 – 27, we came across a verse that reminds us of the privilege that we have of participating financially in the Lord’s work. Many believers would rather avoid the discussion of giving, but God talks about it quite a bit. 

“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.” – (Leviticus 27:30)

I really do not understand why the subject of giving back to God is such a difficult one for many people. Everything we own ultimately belongs to God anyway. We are merely custodians, or stewards, of His possessions. The principle of tithing has been around for a long time, well before the Law was established. You will remember that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20), and Jacob promised God that he would give Him the tenth all that God blessed him with (Genesis 28:22). Jesus even commented that the Pharisees were right when they gave their “tithe on mint and anise and cummin” (Matthew 23:23).

In Malachi, the Israelites were rebuked for not giving. In fact, God stated that they were robbing Him:

“8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 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. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Mal 3:8–12)

Did you notice that God promised them that He would not only bless them by supplying their need (“open the windows of Heaven”), but He would also protect their crops and cause their resources to last longer (“rebuke the devourer”).

I do not believe, however, that the New Testament Christian is under any law to give ten percent of his or her income to the church. We do live in the age of grace and all such laws have been nailed to the cross. Having said that, though, when I teach new believers regarding principles of stewardship, I will tell them that the tithe is a good place to begin in giving. They often look at me as if I am crazy, and I guess if you were to judge me by the world’s standards, I am. But, think about it. What better way is there for a young believer to declare that they acknowledge God’s ownership of their money and possessions. There is also no better way for them to demonstrate their dependence upon the blessing of God. To many new Christians, this is a tremendous leap of faith, and unfortunately, some will never take it.

I remember when I first trusted Christ. My wife and I were only married a few years, and as is typical with many young, married couples, my financial situation was a mess. Wouldn’t you know it, the first church service that I attended as a new believer, the pastor preached on tithing. I was sure that all that these people wanted was my money. Slowly, however, God began to impress upon my heart that I needed to trust Him and to put Him first in my life, and if I was going to do that, it would mean that I would have to trust Him with my money. We started tithing, fearfully at first, but God has always kept His end of the deal. He has been faithful to take good care of me and my family. There has always been food on the table, clothes on my back, and a roof over my head; and there have even been many wonderful “desires” thrown in along the way. God is good!

Consider the following New Testament verses:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt 6:33)

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)

“15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” (Luke 12:15)

“6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9:6–7)

“I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.” (2 Cor 8:8)

Years ago, my son and his wife purchased a beautiful home in a nice part of our community. He paid less than half of what his neighbor paid for a similar house years before. We have other young couples in our church who have purchased homes, and they were similarly blessed. Why? Because they had learned to put God first. They have recognized that God can be trusted to take care of them. All of these couples that I am thinking about right now give far above the tithe, by the way. And their giving is not limited to money, either; they give of their time and talents as well. Like the Macedonian Christians of Paul’s day, “they gave their own selves to the Lord” (2 Corinthians 8:5). And because of that, God is blessing them abundantly.

Today, it seems like it is much more difficult to give to the Lord’s work at this level. Considering the costs of housing, food, utilities, insurances, and taxes, it is very difficult to survive, let alone give. However, this principle of putting God first in your life needs to be prioritized. You can trust that God will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19) if you are prioritizing the Kingdom of God in your life.

The practical suggestion that I give to all the new believers at our church is to pray about what God wants you to give, and then be consistent about it. Give faithfully.

Friend, you can trust God. Keep “first things first” in your life; and the first thing needs to be God.


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Ithamar the Accountant: Faithfulness in the Details

Today’s Passage – Exodus 36 – 38 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 19 – 20; Proverbs 1; Psalms 6 – 10

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89:1

Read the 0201 Evening and Morning devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from the passage – “Too Much?”

“21 This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. 22 And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. 23 And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.” (Exodus 38:21-23)

The Details of the Tabernacle

In this morning’s reading from Exodus 36 – 38, we see a detailed account of the construction of the Tabernacle including all the furniture items as well as the hangings that were used to make up the walls. It is very interesting that God gives us very precise details of the dimensions and descriptions of every aspect of the Tabernacle (See Graphic Below).

The Duties of Ithamar

My thought this morning is about Ithamar, one of the four sons of Aaron. Ithamar was responsible for overseeing the Merarites and the Gershonites, which were two of the families of the Levites that served as ministers for the Tabernacle. The Gershonites were responsible for setting up, dismantling, and transporting all the “hangings and coverings” of the Tabernacle (Num 4:21 – 28). The Merarites were responsible for setting up, dismantling, and transporting all the “boards, bars, pillars, and sockets” (Num 4:29 – 33). There was another family, the Kohathites, who were responsible for the transportation of all the furniture items, but the Kohathites were not directly under the supervision of Ithamar. 

A second duty of Ithamar that we see from our reading passage today in Exodus 38 is that he was responsible for accounting for all the gold and silver that went into the Tabernacle. He had to work closely with the builders, Bezaleel and Aholiab, to make sure that they had everything they needed to complete the project. We learned from chapter 36 that they had collected far more materials than were necessary for the project through the freewill offerings of the congregation. The people were actually told to stop giving. According to most estimates, the amount of gold that went into the Tabernacle was over a ton (approximately $156 Million today), along with approximately four tons of silver (approximately $9 – $10 Million today), and two and one-half tons of brass. This was likely bronze, which is an alloy made up of mostly copper plus tin – approximately $30 Thousand today. [Note: These are spot values for pure metals; actual worth would be higher with craftsmanship, and prices fluctuate daily—check current markets for the latest!]

Thoughts from the Passage

There are two thoughts that I would like to point out from this passage:

  • The task of accounting is something that we do not normally associate with the office of the priest. Yet here we clearly see that Ithamar was given this responsibility. Sometimes ministers will have to do all kinds of duties that are outside of their main job description in order for God’s service to function properly. Paul called the elders from Ephesus “overseers” (Acts 20:28). Today, there are deacons that assist churches in both ministry and administratively (Acts 6). Romans 12 speaks of people who are specifically equipped to rule (“he that rulers” προΐστημι – proistēmi), which means to superintend, guard over, or protect. 
  • The priest office was very much a family affair. Moses and Aaron were brothers, and the main priests in the Tabernacle were Aaron’s sons. I once had a man tell me that he left a church because the pastor had hired his son as an assistant. He claimed that it was “nepotism” and that someone outside of the family should have been hired. However, there is no biblical admonition against hiring family members, and here in Exodus it was actually God’s plan for this family to serve together.

How does seeing God’s detailed accounting in the Tabernacle challenge your own stewardship of time, talents, and treasures today?


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