March 03, 2010

A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the Lord and must be set apart to him as holy.

-Leviticus 27:30

Our understanding must change if we are to see that the tithe already belongs to the Lord. When we return it to Him, we are not giving. In fact, if it already belongs to Him, we are actually robbing God if we use the tithe or spend it!

Not only does the tithe belong to Him, but also it is holy to the Lord. The tithe is holy money, set aside for His holy use. When Achan stole from Jericho something that had been set aside unto God, judgment fell upon Achan and his house (Joshua 7).

Another aspect of the tithe is that it belongs to the Lord as His advance provision. In Mark 11:3, the little donkey was there by God’s prophetic command (Zechariah 9:9), marked out centuries before as provision for what the King would need in that generation.

A final point regarding the tithe is that God will return your tithe to you with a blessing for your obedience. Weren’t the owners of the donkey told, “The Lord needs it and will return it soon” (Mark 11:3)? God is not robbing you of ten percent when you tithe-He is using it as an opportunity to bless you!

Daily Readings: Leviticus 27:14-Numbers 1:54 • Mark 11:1-26
• Psalm 46:1-11 • Proverbs 10:23

The One Year Devotional used by permission from Bethany World Prayer Center and Pastor Larry Stockstill . For more information, please see www.bethany.com or www.bccn.com.