REAL GIVING - HAPPY SYMBOLS OF FREEDOM FROM EVIL RULERS
"To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all;" (Hebrews 7:2)
"Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch, Abrraham, gave the tenth of the spoils." (Hebrews 7:4)
Without realizing it, many misquote this Heb. 7 reference:
1. This verse was referring to the greatness of the person, not the institution, to whom Abraham gave. Some people say, "See? Even Abraham tithed to the church!" He did not! He gave to Melchizedek.
Do we know and give to God as a Person as well, not to an impersonal organization?
2. Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils. Some people say, "See? Even Abraham gave a tenth of his income!" He did not! He gave a tenth of his spoils after slaughter of the kings. There is no record he did this all his life. "spoils" refers to the "booty" after battle.
3. But, in another sense, Abraham had given God all his life, not merely a tenth of it. Mt. Moriah (he was going to give his son Isaac!) proved it. The enemy gets us tangled up thinking about the difficulty of giving God one tenth. Abraham probably had no problem giving God one-tenth of the glittering gold after the battle with the kings, because it was already all God's. What Melchizedek was given: a small, small token of Abraham's gratitude to God. All other personal possessions and rights had already been let go of anyway; letting go of the gift and words "Thank You" didn't hurt at all.
4. Actually, if you follow it through--what this passage says is Levi, in the loins of Abraham, tithed to Melchizedek. Before he was born, Levi was thanking God. This passage is not saying individual believers should tithe, but rather, that it is the nature of God's priests to tithe. Is the church radiating an irrepressible, giving spirit of thanksgiving, or merely calling on sheep for dutiful titthe?
Abraham’s POSTURE OF GRATITUDE TO GOD for giving him victory over the five wicked kings and freeing his nephew, could be seen when he met the priest Melchizedek. In reporting his joy, he dowsed the King-priest with much gold and precious gems from the spoils—they were kings, after all. No doubt not every conflict ended this way, but this time he was able to give away a tenth of all he took in battle, and even this turned out to be a generous amount!
