Hi all,
I've
been talking about tzedakah, often translated as 'righteousness' in our
Bibles, and how tzedakah in Hebrew culture and the Bible is both
vertical AND horizontal. Tzedakah states for a person to be right with
God vertically he must also be right with his fellow man
'horizontally'.
Giving and tzedakah
The word tzedakah means righteousness, but it so emphasizes the horizontal it is often translated as almsgiving, giving, or charity. Such is the importance of righteousness, that it also means 'giving to others'.
Think
of that contrast for a minute - we've been taught in traditional church
that righteousness means 'right standing with God', but the very word
of tzedakah means 'giving to others' which is a natural part of the flow
from a person in right standing with the Father.
Contrast why people give money, skills, talent, resources
In
modern church culture people sometimes give to get - whether 100 fold
return or trying to bribe or manipulate God as a means of meeting their
need. Sometimes people give to remind Him they have a need and it is
urgent. We've been told to "plant a seed, give to get, and God will
help, you bet."
Relatively
rare is the person who gives purely out of love of God and appreciation
for the work of ministry someone is doing, with no return expected.
That is where the true blessing is. The Rabbi's noted the same human
nature in their day, and stated the most pure form of giving is to
help bury the dead, for that is the one way of giving there is
guaranteed no way for a person to get something back from them, lol. I
prefer to say "giving is its own reward".
In tzedakah giving is a natural outflow of our right standing before God
as a way of life, not an event. In Jesus' day it was taught that people
who received alms - the lepers, the lame, the blind, the widows, the
Levite's and priests - were expected to take from what they received and
give part of it to someone else in need, so the cycle of giving and
receiving in Israel never stopped, but made a big circle.
The tithe of the Old Testament was actually in 4 parts
over the course of 6 out of 7 years: First fruits, First tithe, Tithe
of the tithe, and Second tithe. There were no tithes given in year 7.
In
years 1, 2, 4, 5, the Second tithe was taken to Jerusalem and offered
to the Lord in the temple, and then taken back and eaten by the people
who brought it, in a big party inviting all the poor, immigrants,
Levite's, and priests to come and eat*. On years 3 and 6 that Second
tithe didn't get taken to the temple, but stayed within the community,
the party being for the local people only. Deuteronomy 14:22-29, 15:1-11
The
First fruits once offered to the Lord in the temple went for the
priest's consumption, and the first tithe went to them and the rest of
the Levites. Then the Levites gave their tithe from that to the priests,
and their second tithe was then given to the people. The priests
and Levites were considered to be on the same level as the poor as they
weren't allowed to own businesses and could therefore expect support
from the people they served, but they also tithed on the tithes they
received, back to the people - so you see it all moved in a big circle
back to the people.
That
means tithing and giving was never to support a huge structure and
bureaucracy, but has always been for the direct support of God's people,
including ministers.
In
Acts 2 through 6 we see people giving among themselves and to
leadership to the point there were no needs in their midst, similar to
the above - everyone who came up short on their obligations had their
needs met by others - but when the church moved out of homes and into
the auditorium in the 300's AD, it turned the relationships with people
into relationships with buildings and programs.
Accountability therefore in the auditorium is measured by attendance, giving, and volunteering,
while accountability in the healthy, family based churches that meet in
homes, is as Jesus stated - if your brother has an issue with you, go
to him and settle it. It is that simple, but requires maturity and love
of all.
Understanding tithing and tzedakah
Unfortunately
in some streams of the faith tithing has been given equal importance or
even greater than water and Holy Spirit baptisms and the Lord's Supper.
God relates to us through the blood of Jesus, not our bank accounts.
You aren't cursed at giving 9.99% and suddenly become blessed at 10.01%.
The
tithe isn't even taught in the New Testament letters because the NT was
written by apostles doing home church and writing to people in home
church, therefore giving all they had as needs arose governed by love
and respect was how they lived. Christ is in you, so you and He have to
get together and decide how you are to give money and to whom;
resources, talents, skills, time, and to whom. You and He get together.
The NT is all about Christ in you, the hope of glory. So talk to Him
about it.
It is very clear that givers,
those who give as a matter of lifestyle as a natural outflow of their
tzedakah - righteousness - are blessed with what is, having lived in it
for decades, a covering of protection and timing that non-givers don't
have. When you live a lifestyle of tzedakah you'll find you'll give way
more than 10% and not even keep track - because it is your lifestyle!
Jesus
said those who give will have it given back to them*, and Paul said
givers 'have all grace abound' in their lives, and have their giving
multiplied*. Besides all that, Paul said it is right that if ministers
share spiritual things which are the highest truths, then those who
receive those truths should give back (lower creation) material
things*. Luke 6:38, II Corinthians 9:8-11, I Corinthians 9:7-14.
In
my "Through Jewish Eyes" series I even mention a term used by the Lord
in Isaiah 40:1-3 that is directly connected to tzedakah as it relates to
giving to others: "Comfort, comfort to my people says the Lord. Speak
words of comfort to Jerusalem and announce to her that her warfare is
finished, that her iniquity is pardoned: For she has received of the Lord's hand double for her sins. The voice of one who cries in the wilderness; Prepare the way of the Lord..."
To our ears, not understanding tzedakah as it relates to giving, speaking comfort to Jerusalem because she has received double for her sins because her iniquity is pardoned, is not understood.
The
custom of righteousness being demonstrated by giving is seen in
'receiving double'. If a person was bankrupt before the year of
release, they would write down on papyrus all their debts with a total
amount, and tack that paper to their front door or gate in the hopes
someone with one of the tithes mentioned above, would take some or all
of their tithe and pay off their debts. If they did so they doubled up the paper and sealed it with their seal, marking the debt paid in full. It was called 'receiving double' for their debts.
What
the Lord says in Isaiah 40:2 is to speak comforting words to Jerusalem
because her iniquity has been pardoned, because she has received of the
Lord's hand 'double' for her sins. He is the Person who gave of His own
resources to pay their debt, directly linking righteousness to giving.
He
paid out of His own 'pocket' so to speak, our debts. Not because He
wanted something, not because He had needs, but because He IS righteous,
and that is why He gave. Vertical and horizontal.
In
this series I've explained why it is impossible for a true disciple,
not just a believer, but a disciple, to be continually self-focused,
self-centered. To be righteous before God one must also be
righteous within relationships with others. It is by our love they will know us. That isn't love held silently and secretly in our hearts for others, but love demonstrated to others. That is tzedakah - righteousness.
New series next week...until then...blessings!
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
New CD/MP3 Series
Based
on a 50 minute visitation with the Lord and unlocking key elements in
the Word, this teaching totally upended all John thought he knew about
holiness, and it changed his life. Most people think holiness is a sect
involving long hair and dresses, no make up, and a generally bland life,
but in fact it is simple and core to our being. Rather than rules and
regulations, understanding holiness is actually the key to walking in
love and learning to live from the inside out. (2 cd/MP3, $12/set or MP3 $10)
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