Dt. 14:22-29--3d commandment The Economic Implications of God's Holy Name





You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.



How does the tithe relate to God's Name?

It just happens that Deuteronomy 14 is one of three chapters in Deuteronomy that emphasizes

the place where God shall put his name.

The first is Dt 12 (relating to worship/2d commandment)

The third is Dt 16 (relating to the feasts of Israel/4th commandment)



Last time we looked at the purity laws.

Since God has called Israel to be his son,

he has placed his name upon his people.

The children of a holy God must themselves be holy;

they must be separate and distinct from the nations around them.

We saw that this applies to the church-not in the precise detail of the OT purity laws,

but in the character of our lives.

The church must not look like our culture.



There is an interesting connection between holiness and economics in the Scripture.

We often think about holiness as a purely moral matter.

We don't usually think about holiness as a financial matter.



Last time we connected Deuteronomy 14 with Isaiah 52

"Come out of Babylon, touch no unclean thing,"

where we heard the call of the Lord to Israel returning from Babylon,

emphasizing the need for Israel to maintain ceremonial purity.

Then we saw how this is echoed in Revelation 18,

where the church is called to come out of Babylon,

and not share in Babylon's impurities.

Look again at Revelation 18.

18:3 depicts the whore Babylon as the economic power of the age.

"The merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living."

We usually think of the Babylon of Revelation simply in spiritual terms-

she is the center of idolatry and false worship.

But Revelation portrays her also as the economic power of her day:

"as she glorified herself and lived in luxury,

So give her a like measure of torment and mourning." (18:7)

Yes, the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her (18:9-10),

but the merchants also mourn her fall (18:11-20).



Babylon the Great-the mother of prostitutes-

is both a spiritual AND an economic power.

Indeed, her idolatry is expressed in her confidence in her own glory and power:

"I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see." (18:7)

"For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine,

and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her" (18:8)



Revelation calls her "Babylon" because this was the attitude of the original Babylon.

But in the first century, this language fits Rome perfectly.

But the imagery is not limited to Rome:

it depicts every political and economic power that does not submit to the Lord God.

As such, it speaks to our own day,

warning us about the economic powers of our day,

to "come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins,

lest you share in her plagues" (18:4)



We are exiles and sojourners.

This is not our true home.

We live in Babylon, but we must not share in her economic attitudes.

We live in a consumer culture,

where everyone around us is preoccupied with material things.

We must not be consumed by such things.

But how can we avoid being ensnared by the lures of our culture?



Deuteronomy 14 calls us to remember the holy name of God.

Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.



God called his people to bring their tithe to the place that God chose to make his name dwell.

For Israel, that was the tabernacle-the temple.

In Christ, however, we have a new and heavenly temple.

Indeed, the church is the living temple of our holy God.

God has chosen to make his name dwell in his people-his church.



The tithe was designed to remind Israel that all that they had was from God.

Dt 8:17 warned Israel,

"Beware lest you say in your heart,

'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.'"

Now Dt 14 gives Israel a practical way of remembering this:

once a year, every year, bring a tithe of all the produce of your land to the tabernacle.



Notice that the tithe was not entirely given to the priests and Levites.

Every three years the tithe was given to the Levites and the poor (v28-29),

but the other two years, you would bring the tithe and have a big celebration.

(This would coincide with the Feast of Tabernacles-16:13ff).

You would include the Levites and the poor in these celebrations,

but two-thirds of the time, you would partake of your own tithe.

Does this surprise you?

Perhaps it would be useful for us to explore briefly the OT teaching on tithes and offerings

in order to understand how all this applies to the church today.

The faithful Israelite would have several economic obligations to God.



1) the firstfruits

Every year, at the feast of Pentecost,

you were to bring a freewill offering of the first of your produce.

The amount is not specified-only that you shall give

"as the Lord your God shall bless you." (16:10)

In addition, the firstborn of every clean animal was to be brought as a sacrifice,

as well as a sacrifice for every firstborn child (Ex. 13)

In these offerings, the priest would receive a portion,

but the worshiper would partake of most of it

(though always called upon to remember the Levite,

the sojourner, and widows and orphans)

The point of the firstfruits is to remind Israel that God is the giver of the harvest,

and he deserves the first portion of all that we have.



2) the tithe

At the end of the harvest, at the feast of Tabernacles,

you were to bring a tenth of the final harvest (Dt 14; 16).

But again, it was only in the third year that the whole tithe was given to the Levites and the poor

The tithe was to remind Israel that the whole harvest belongs to God,

and that he is their sovereign Lord.

The tithe goes back to Abraham and Melchisadek (Genesis 14).

By blessing Abraham,

Melchisadek claimed to be Abraham's superior

(for as Hebrews 7:7 says

"it is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior")

And by giving Melchisadek a tithe,

Abraham acknowledged Melchisadek as his superior.

The tithe, therefore, is the response of the vassal to his lord.

As God has blessed his people,

therefore the people of God bring their tithes and offerings to their king.



3) various sacrifices

In addition, various sin and trespass offerings would be brought in the case of serious sin.

Peace offerings and freewill offerings would be required as well.

Add all this up and the faithful Israelite would probably use at least 20% of his produce

in the worship and service of God.



4) gleanings

But in addition, the Israelites were not allowed to fully harvest their crops!

They were forbidden to glean,

but were commanded to leave the gleanings for the poor.

(Probably another 5-10% of the harvest)



So the faithful Israelite would devote probably a quarter of his produce to the worship of God,

and care for the poor.



You can imagine that I am not very impressed with the argument

that says that Christians should simply tithe!

We have received every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

We have received the fulfillment of the promises made to Israel,

and we only give 10%?



I should also point out that the firstfruits, the tithe, and all the offerings of Israel,

were household offerings.

If you were a servant or a day laborer,

your tithes and offerings would be given by your master.



This practice of household tithing was taken up by the medieval church,

which more or less tried to reproduce the Old Testament system.



The practice of voluntary tithing is only about 150 years old.

In the mid-19th century the church was wrestling with how to conduct her finances.

For centuries in Europe there had been a "tithe" of sorts that was essentially a tax,

but in America that system didn't last very long after the American Revolution.

The church tried different methods of finance:

the first was subscription,

where people subscribed a certain amount of wood, produce, or whisky;

but if the harvest was poor, then the pastor might not get paid!

So then they tried pew rents-where you would rent your pew for an annual fee;

but that smacked of elitism-since only the wealthy could afford the best seats.



Finally the church combined the principle of firstfruits with the principle of the tithe,

along with Paul's comment about collections on the first day of the week,

and developed the principle of "systematic benevolence."



Only in the 1860s did people cautiously start to talk about tithing.

(Only Roman Catholics and Mormons tithed prior to 1860-

and most Presbyterians mocked them for doing it)



One reason for this is that the apostles do not refer to "tithing" in the New Testament.

The economic world of first century Rome was a different place than ancient Israel,

and the once-a-year tithe didn't make much sense in a cash economy.

But the apostles insist that the same principles apply to the church as to Israel.

Paul says in 1 Cor. 9:13-14

"Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service

get their food from the temple,

and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?

In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel

should get their living by the gospel."

The offerings of Israel were to provide sustenance for the priests and Levites.

The offerings of the church should provide sustenance for the ministers.

Likewise, the church is to care for the poor and needy:

1 Cor. 16:1-2 says "Now concerning the collection for the saints:

as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.

On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside

and store it up as he may prosper,

so that there will be no collecting when I come."



In addition to the offerings for the maintenance of the gospel ministry,

there should also be offerings for the poor and needy.

This is why the Reformed churches distinguish between the regular offering

(which goes for the support of pastors, and the general expenses of the church),

and the diaconal offering, which is devoted to the care of the poor.

The diaconal offering seems to be an occasional thing-whenever it is needed.

Paul is directing the church at Corinth to take a special offering for those in need in Jerusalem,

above and beyond what he expects them to contribute regularly

for the support of their pastors.



People sometimes ask questions about how to tithe:

do I tithe before taxes or after taxes?

If you are focused on giving 10%,

then your focus is in the wrong place.

If God had wanted Israel to focus on a certain percentage,

then he wouldn't have commanded so many ways of giving.

And he certainly wouldn't have told them to partake of their own gifts!

But I would suggest that you should make it your goal to use a quarter of your income

in the direct service of God.

If we consider the equity of what Deuteronomy is saying,

then this is a complex thing:

1) obviously your offerings given in worship are included.

Neither the OT nor the NT gives a percentage of your income

that should be given specifically for the maintenance of the gospel.

But both the OT and the NT declare that the laborer is worthy of his hire,

so you should make sure that you give enough to provide for your pastor.

What is the proper amount?

He should not have the highest salary in the church,

he should not have the lowest salary,

but probably should be somewhat above the middle.

To put it simply,

the amount you pay your pastor reflects

what you think of the importance of the means of grace.

But these offerings are not merely for the pastor and the church building;

they also go for the spread of the gospel throughout the world.

Paul mentions gifts from Philippi in Philippians 4,

suggesting that they were the only church that gave him financial aid.

2) Part of your tax money is included in this

(since our culture has chosen to have the state care for the poor).

Every society has done this.

So when you pay your taxes,

consider that portion that goes to the poor as a diaconal gift,

and pray that God will use it for the good of those in need.

This is why I sometimes encourage Christians to seek government jobs-

especially in the social services.

What would it look like if Child Protective Services

were staffed by those who fear God?

3) money you spend on hospitality, fellowship meals, going to the zoo together,

or whatever you do together with the saints.

The tithe was to be eaten together with the whole people of God,

including the Levites and the poor.

When you spend money on fellowship with the saints,

you are tithing to God.

"Spend the money on whatever you desire-oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink,

whatever your appetite craves!" (Dt 14:26)

Wait a minute!

We said earlier that Christians must beware

of getting drawn into the consumer culture of our day.

And yet God commands us to spend money on whatever our appetite craves?



Yes.

When we have come to the place where God has placed his name;

when we have gathered with the saints,

to worship God and fellowship with each other;

then, with the holy name of God upon us,

we may revel with holy joy in the good gifts which God has provided.

Delight in the bounty of this good creation over which God has made you stewards,

but delight not for your own selfish pleasure.

Rather, delight in God's good gifts with one another.

Include one another in your celebration.

And in the midst of your revelry,

give thanks to God-because he is the one who has given you these good gifts.



If you struggle with your finances,

there are those in the church who can help.

Getting out of debt; setting up a budget-these are ways of managing the gifts of God for his glory.



Let us pray.