No More Manna

You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year.   Deuteronomy 14:22

Moses was speaking in the desert to a group of people who didn’t own an acre of land. The land was still in the hands of their enemies. Moses was saying, “What God has done for the last forty years with manna from heaven, he will now do through the crops of the land. But remember, it is still God who gives you everything you have. So every year, work out your income, divide it by ten, and give that portion to God.”

In addition, every person in Israel had to attend three festivals: the Passover (the Feast of Unleavened Bread), the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths. These festivals were to be marked by joyful giving: “All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 16:17).

God’s principles of giving have not changed. The New Testament emphasis is on the spirit in which we give—“God loves a person who gives cheerfully” (2 Corinthians 9:7)—but the act of giving is still important. When you write a check supporting your local church, let it be an act of worship! Let it be an expression of your joy in what God has given you. The more the Lord prospers you, the larger your tenth will be, and the greater your joy in giving will be.

God was teaching his people how to maintain their spiritual health in a materialistic culture. When they entered the land of Canaan, the greatest danger was that their spiritual life would be swamped by the pursuit of wealth and that the blessing of God would stifle their spiritual life. So God called them—as he calls us—to develop a habit and a culture of giving.

How is your giving to God? Jesus says, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:21). If you keep all your treasure, then God will never have your heart.

For further reading, see Matthew 6