Right. Tithing. We’re going to spend the next four days really getting to grips with what that means, and what God’s heart for it is. We think that there’ll be a few surprises along the way – it’s not *quite* as straightforward as popping 10% of your wallet’s contents in a little wooden dish. Sooooooo… let’s start at the beginning.
In the Old Testament, the first mention that we get of tithing is when Abraham meets an absolutely fascinating figure called Melchizedek (who, quite probably, was actually a pre-view of Jesus… yeahhhhh, look ‘Christophany’ up if you have time). Abraham’d just been to battle, and he promised God not to keep any of the spoils (Genesis 14:14-24). When he meets Melchizedek, he recognises something massively-Godly about the guy, so he gives him a ‘tithe’ of the spoils. Now, this happened before Moses was around, so it was a point in time before God had passed His laws (including today’s Leviticus verse) to His people. Abraham was under no obligation to give 10% away like that. The thing is, though, he’d already dedicated the whole 100% to God, in his promise not to keep any of the spoils. He didn’t consider a single bit of plunder to be his, AND he gave the other 90% away after meeting Melchizedek anyway. Everything Abraham received was all God’s already, in his eyes. Which is the first tithing-lesson we reckon we should learn… Count it *all* as God’s. Yeah, He gives us a portion of this world and its resources to steward. But it’s His, for us to use for Him, not ours to jealously guard.

What Now?
Know someone who God shines through? Share something God’s given you with them, today.