Sermon Tone Analysis

“Divine Disciplines for Financial Health” - Pt 2 of 2

 

Date: Oct. 29, 2006

PPHC – A.M. Service

!

I.

The Tithe

/ A.

The Law of Firstfruits/

 1.

The first section of this diagram is called firstfruits.

a.

What part belongs to God? ALL of it.

BUT, He only asks for a portion of it back!

·         *Exodus 13:2,11-13*  “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, [both] of man and of beast: *it [is] mine*.

And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee, That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males [shall be] the LORD'S.

And every firstling of an donkey thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou *redeem*.”

c.

“Redeem” in *v.

13* is not the same as we are most familiar with (*/ga’al/*/ /– “to purchase”).

   1.

It does not mean to purchase.

2.

Here the word found in the Hebrew language is */padah/* and means to sever or to release from..

   3.

*Numb.

3* – The tribe of Levi did not inherit property with the other tribes when they

crossed into Canaan.

As the other tribes tithed to the Lord, they tithed to the tribe of Levi.

This was their inheritance.

The priesthood received the firstfruits from the rest of Israel.

(This was their only means of survival.

Israel severed themselves from the 1stfruits)

   4.

/Compare scripture/: *Exod.

23:19* “The first of your firstfruits of your land you shall bring to

the house of the Lord your God.” Now look at *READ* *Gen.

4:3-5*: “…Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord.

Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock…and the Lord respected Abel and his offering.

But he did not respect Cain and his offering…”

   5.

According to Scripture, there is a definite curse associated with touching the firstfruits.

/B.

The Curse of the Cherem/

·   *Lev.

27:28-29* “Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the Lord of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the Lord.

*No person under the ban*, who may become doomed to destruction among men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death.”

(NKJ)

  1.

Note the wording, “Under the ban.”

The Hebrew word for “under the ban” is “/cherem/”.

a.

This is a very important word for us to understand – it is a *MAJOR KEY* to financial

freedom and blessing!

    1.

Note *Lev.

27:30-31* “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's.

*It is holy to the Lord*.

If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall *add* *one-fifth* to it.”

(NKJ)

     a.

*Translation: If we want to use the tithes elsewhere, there is a 20% surcharge!*

      1.

*Custom*: To “borrow” the tithe, you had to first declare it to the priest, then add 20%.

But it’s a dangerous thing to do…because like a child borrowing from a father, it seems to get swept under the rug after a period of time.

*Illustration - After I had been tithing a year or more, through no fault of mine or my family but through sickness, we got rather deep in debt.

\\ \\ The enemy said to me: "It is not right for you to give a tenth of what you make to the church when you owe these bills.

A Christian pays his debts.

You should pay these creditors, and when all your obligations are settled you can give more than a tenth to the church."

\\ \\ That sounded very religious.

In fact, it sounded so much like the thing to do that I took his advice.

His advice was wrong and this is what is wrong with it:  a Christian should pay his debts, but he should not use God's money to pay them.

He should use his own.

(Jarret E. Aycock)

 

 2.

*Verse 32*: “And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under

the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the Lord.”

* *God has declared that 1~/10th of our possessions belong to Him, but which tenth?

The 1st!*

     a.

*Prov.

3:9-10* “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your

increase; so your barns will be /filled/ with plenty, and your vats will /overflow/ with new wine.”

* *God has promised to sustain us if we are obedient in honoring the firstfruits principle.*

·         Important note: *Ceremony of the Firstfruits* - Israel could not begin their harvest of barley and other crops until the high priest had offered this firstfruits sheaf to the Lord in a special ceremony.

As the Lord of the Harvest, God had to receive His special portion “*/before/*” the rest of the harvest could be reaped.

The Levitical Priests would wave the first fruits of the harvest before God as a first of “*/identical fruit/*” to follow.

·         *As we are obedient in tithing (the first fruits of our income), God will be faithful to see that identical fruit will follow*.

This should make tithing a joyful occasion for the Christian.

Paul said that we are to give “hilariously”.

We will never out give the Father…it’s an impossibility.

 

 2.

Cherem means “devoted to destruction…”  -  “an accursed thing”.

What is God’s plan for the

tithes (the firstfruits)?

It is devoted to “destruction.”

It is devoted to be “consumed.”

I am

not responsible for its destination once I give it to God.  (*Read Josh.

6:17-19*) */Note how/*

*/the accursed thing “attaches itself” to whatever it may contact./*

a.

The firstfruits were always brought for one of the three reasons: To be (1) burned,

(2) destroyed, or (3) consumed.

“Dollars & Sense”   John L. Terry, III.

 

* *Note*: The meal brought to Elijah (he “consumed” it); Jericho (devoted to “destruction”); Achan (devoted to “destruction”).

Achan attached the curse to himself & his family.

*Josh.

7:23-26*

 

   1.

The firstfruits were never to be used for personal gain.

– *READ Deut.

26:1-4*

    a.

“We bring the curse of the cherem upon us if we walk in disobedience to the law of

firstfruits.