THURSDAY November 13, 2025
Tithes and Freewill Offerings
...but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
Hebrews 7:6-7
Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils to this great man, Melchizedek. This is the first time recorded in biblical history of a person paying tithes––a tenth. Once the Jewish, Levitical priesthood was established, according to the Law, the Levites were to receive tithes from the people:
Numbers 18:21: “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.”
Numbers 18:26: “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, a tenth of the tithe.’ ”
From all the tithes received from Israel, the Levites were commanded to give the Lord a tenth. In the Old Testament, a tithe of 10% was willingly given to the Lord. On one occasion, Moses asked the people to give to provide for the building of the tabernacle. Do you know what happened? The people gave so much, Moses had to ask the people to stop giving!
Exodus 36:3-5: ...they [the artisans] received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. Then all the craftsmen ... spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.”
Exodus 36:6-7: So Moses gave a commandment, ... throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much.
That kind of giving is not what we see today! The work of the Lord can only continue as people are moved by His Spirit to obediently tithe.
How shall we use God's trust fund-namely, all we have––for His glory?
~John Piper~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
