And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: "If God will be with me, in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God; and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that You shall give me I will surely give the tenth unto You." (Genesis 28:20-22)
Jacob had learned that God is everywhere and that everything exists only in Him, and so he accepted Him as his God. His vow expressed recognition of God, and is not to be considered as a bargain made with the Lord. This is apparent on the face of it, because when all things are known to come from God, one cannot think of enriching Him by giving a portion back to Him.
"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 unto the Lord." (Leviticus 27:30)
God has reserved the tithe to himself, just as He has reserved the seventh day out of the week.
"The seventh day is the Sabbath," (Exodus 20:10) and nobody can change it. It is God's Sabbath day, whether anybody keeps it holy to Him or not. Likewise the tithe is the Lord's, even though we do not give it to Him. If we withhold it, and use it upon ourselves, we are guilty of robbery. (Exodus 20:10)
What good does it do God for us to devote the seventh day to Him, and to give Him the tenth part of our earnings? No good whatever; for, "Who has first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things." (Romans 11:35-36)
God's requirements are not for His own benefit, but for ours. It does us good to recognize God, and to acknowledge Him in all our ways; for to know Him is life eternal. The Sabbath was given that men might know God and His sanctifying power. (Exekiel 20:12,20) The tithe serves the same purpose, also, in a different way.
We are constantly receiving life from God,--continually earning, by the strength that He gives us, the means of continuing our existence. Now we are forgetful creatures, and apt to lose thought of God; but if as often as anything comes to us from His hand, we religiously lay aside one-tenth to be sacredly devoted to His cause, we cannot forget Him. It is simply an acknowledgment of the fact that: "In Him we live, and move, and have our being." (Acts 17:28)
The tithe is a test of our trust in God, not merely for temporal things, but for eternal salvation; for if, through stress of poverty, or the fear of want, we keep the tithe, how can we make it appear that we trust God as our everlasting Saviour? If we cannot trust Him to provide us a living for a few days or years, how can we trust Him to keep our souls alive in eternity?
"In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:6)--Present Truth, August 29, 1901--Genesis 28:20-22.
E.J. Waggoner