In the Storehouse of the Temple

(…continues from part five…)

6)            If you always have more than enough food, wine, and money to pay for your children’s education and wellbeing, are you poverty stricken? It is a rhetorical question, needing not an answer: for in the question lies, comfortably, the answer. For the creation of wealth for His beloved Family, i.e. the Church, Jehovah did not only decree tithing, He went another step forward, bent on wealth creation for His darling Church with the promise of, “prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11) And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 12) And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land,” and these blessings are accruable to the Christian who takes tithing of his resources seriously. Selah!

Jehovah – I AM THAT I AM

The philosophy behind tithing is captured in what Melchizedek told Abraham. Genesis 14:19-20 19) “And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20) And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” On account of the fact that Jehovah is the Possessor of everything found, gained and owned, it is apropos and most wise to offer a reasonable portion in honour to the Divine Owner of all. Abraham was never hand or arm twisted to give the first ever tithe – outside the Mosaic Law –; neither did Abraham give the tenth of the best part of what divine aid put in his grip out of sheer religious superstition. He offered the first ever tithe very willingly, knowing fully well that he was truly honouring God with his possession. Abraham gave based on the philosophy of: God is possessor of heaven and earth.

This takes us to the teaching of the wisest man that ever lived. Solomon, known for laconic expressions, wrote in Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10) So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”The word ‘proverbs’ is mâshâl (maw-shawl’): ‘aphorism, parable; sentences of ethical wisdom, ethical maxims; superiority in mental action; properly a pithy maxim, usually of a metaphorical nature.’ We understand where Solomon got his wisdom (1Kings 3:11-13). The words of Solomonic Book of Proverbs are actually Divine communication to mankind. And if Solomon wrote, “Honour the LORD with thy substance,” and it is quite understandable that tithing was prevalent among God’s people when Solomon wrote this verse; it must continue in God’s House, the Church.

Philosophy behind tithing

Church tithing promises, from the mind and intent of the Divinity, much, much more than what one gives in God’s Church: for it says through the Spirit inspired, “So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” Solomon must, of necessity, employ laconicism in every verse of the Book of Proverbs; maxims do not have to beat about the bush to get thoughts, especially, that of the Divinity across to those who wish to walk with the LORD God. Whoever warped Damina’s mind against the LORD hates him too much. The words of the Proverbs of Solomon, coming from God’s oracular afflatus, must, of necessity, be eternal. Even when we stop working, as eternal citizens of heaven, our continual praises to the Most High constitute honouring the LORD God with the substance of our free moral agency. Amen.

                Damina and his incongruous teachings have no respect for God’s mind. It reads in Philippians 4:15-19 15) “Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. 16) For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. 17) Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. 18) But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. 19) But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The ‘giving and receiving’ of verse 15 certainly reminds us of “Honour the LORD with thy substance:” pithy but speaks volumes in didacticism. What does Paul mean by, “but I desire fruit that may abound to your account?” This is a banking terminology. Paul is not truly in need of their monies; his desire is to get them to sow the money as seed.

God loveth a cheerful giver (2Cor. 9:7)

Whatever comes into Paul’s hands gets them connected to divine beneficence. As the spiritual head of the Church, Paul serves as go-between and whatever every believer gives is credited to an account of the bank of heaven. The word ‘account’ is the Greek logos (log’-os): ‘something said (including the thought); by implication a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension a computation; specifically (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (that is, Christ).’ By extension logos is defined as ‘computation, reckoning, score;’ and to contextualize verse seventeen, it is the banking understanding of logos that well fits its definition; and this is what to do if you want to tread the path of exegetical stance of the Bible, as opposed to the more rampant delve into isogesis of teaching-bent by most of so-called pastors.

Getting born again is a conscious effort on the part of an individual. Get born again. You were born in sin. Say this sinner’s prayer.

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!”

(…to be continued…)

Read part five here

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