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The Steps You Take—Faithful Stewardship
Deuteronomy 14:22-29
22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. 27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
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All of Deuteronomy chapter 14 deals with the fundamental theme of holiness and thus may be loosely linked to a special concern for the divine name (the third commandment). God’s name is holy and not to be profaned. God’s people must embody that holiness, honoring the special name of God. The chapter begins with a prohibition of certain mourning practices involving laceration of the body and then focuses on bodily dietary restrictions; then there is a command for annual celebration and triennial provision for the economically vulnerable. The motivation for such legislation is the new identity of the people: they are the children of God, a holy people. Holiness is not just for the realm of the spirit; it is also for the body. Being “holy” means being totally dedicated to God and, by implication, separated from everything else. Holiness is particularly associated with life and wholeness: the signs of death must not mark the bodies of Israelites (vv. 1-2), their diet (vv. 3-21), or their economic existence (vv. 22-29).
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Tithes. There is a smooth transition from diet to tithing as the Israelites are now commanded to have a yearly feast with their Lord, consuming their tithes in fellowship with him.
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14:22—Tithing (giving a tenth of one’s income, mainly understood in the Bible as agricultural produce) was to be practiced once a year, regularly, and it was to be a time of celebration and joy. The people were to enjoy a feast of their firstborn clean animals and a tenth of their produce in an annual family celebration. If the sanctuary was too distant, the produce was to be converted to “cash” so that worshipers could purchase the food necessary for the “tithe” feast at the place of worship. The Israelites were being commanded to come to the Lord’s house as a family to enjoy a meal and fellowship with their divine host (Psalm 23).
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In 14:27-29, we find a law that is distinctive to Deuteronomy (see Amos 4:4). Every three years the Israelites were to gather a tithe in the local villages and distribute it to those without natural means of support (i.e., land): Levites, foreigners (refugees), the fatherless, and widows. God wanted his people to enlarge the circle of celebration and fellowship to include the “quartet of the vulnerable.” He attaches a special blessing to the tithe: “So that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands” (v. 29). Tithing required faith; it was a powerful temptation to use the tithe for one’s own personal good, but that would mean forfeiting the divine blessing (26:12-15; Matthew 3:8-10).
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.” (Psalm 112:9)
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
- Paul’s main reason for writing 2 Corinthians was to prepare the way for his forthcoming visit (12:14; 13:1-2) in order to avoid two unfortunate but possible outcomes:
- (1) that his repeated and confident boast to the Macedonians about the Corinthians “eagerness to help” (v. 2) and their expected readiness on arrival should turn out to be without foundation (v. 3);
- (2) that if delegates from the Macedonian churches arrived in Corinth with Paul, the Corinthians would still be unprepared and this would be acutely embarrassing for him—not to mention for the Corinthians themselves (v. 4).
To make sure neither of these predicaments arose, Paul decided to send the three-man
delegation on ahead to Corinth to supervise the final arrangements for the collection there (v. 5).
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9:6-15—Generosity Encouraged. Having spoken to the need for generosity (8:1-15), Paul explains the twofold result of generosity:
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(1) The “cheerful giver” (v. 7) who sows generously will also generously reap both the spiritual grace and material prosperity that God provides (“God is able to bless you abundantly,” v. 8), permitting them constantly to give spiritual and material benefits to others (“you will abound in every good work,” v. 8).
- (2) Because generous giving is an evidence of God’s grace (v. 14), it prompts “many expressions of thanks to God” (v. 12).
- Giving should result from inward resolve, not an impulsive or casual decision. We should give cheerfully, “not reluctantly” (as though giving involved a painful loss) or “under compulsion” (because there seems to be no alternative or because of exerted pressure).
- As regularly as generous giving depletes the resources of the cheerful giver, God’s grace replenishes what is needed. This gives such a person a complete sufficiency (“all that you need”) that comes from depending on an all-sufficient God.
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9:10—Seed. Paul argues from God’s bounty in nature to his even greater liberality in grace. If God supplies humans with the seed needed to produce a harvest of grain and thus food (cf. Isaiah 55:10), he certainly will supply and multiply all the resources (“your store of seed”) needed to produce a full harvest to good deeds (“your righteousness”).
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9:12—The overflow of giving to the needy is praise offered to God. Paul did not place these two purposes of the collection (human relief and divine praise) on an equal footing.
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Is not only…but also. “Not only” here has the nuance of “not merely,” which indicates that the historical purpose is secondary to the theological aim.
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9:15. The doxology is a final appeal to the lofty grandeur of divine giving (cf. vv. 8, 10-11; Romans 8:9).
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Indescribable gift. This may refer to “the surpassing grace” (v. 14) that God imparts, but the primary reference is to the Father’s gift (Greek charis) of his Son (cf. Romans 8:32). This key word charis occurs 10 times in chapters 8—9, and the NIV appropriately renders it in a variety of ways:
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(1) grace, referring either to God’s lavishly displayed generosity (8:9; also 9:8, “bless”) or to God’s enablement, especially his enabling them to participate worthily in the collection (v. 14; 8:1);
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(2) privilege, used of the honor and opportunity of participating in the offering (8:4);
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(3) act of grace or offering, denoting that the collection itself expresses and proves goodwill (8:6, 19);
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(4) grace of giving, referring to grace as a virtuous act of sharing or as gracious help (8:7);
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(5) thanks (v. 15; 8:16).
Questions
- How do the teachings of Deuteronomy and Romans apply to our lives today? What is the meaning of and purpose of biblical tithing, and how does it enlarge our view of Christian stewardship?
- What principles of biblical tithing do you practice? Are there other biblical tithing principles you need to consider?
- If you have not reached the benchmark of tithing, what steps will you take to reach your goal? What course of action will you take to increase your giving if you are already a tither?
- What does a picture of holistic stewardship look like to you?
