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. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." Mal. 3: 8-12.

Giving unto the Lord-in the New Testament "But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." Luke 11: 42.

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." 1 Corinthians 16: 1, 2.

"Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9: 5-7. (Also read remainder of the 9th chapter.)

"Now consider how great this man was, (Melchisedec) unto whom even the patriarch Abra

ham gave the tenth of the spoils."......

"For

he testifieth, Thou art a priest forever after the
order of Melchisedec." Hebrews 7:4, 17.

read all of this 7th chapter.)

(Also,

The History of Tithes. There is ample testimony in history and in the oldest records available, that the giving of the tithe was a custom even before the time of Abraham. Among the heathen, the tithe was given to the gods of their idolatrous worship. Abraham was not under the Mosaic Law, neither was Jacob, yet both of them gave tithes. A conqueror of old that returned with the spoils of the vanquished foe, often dedicated a tenth of the spoils to the worship of some heathen deity, either by subscribing to the wants of the devotees, or priests, or building shrines for the worship. In some instances recorded, the tithe was distributed to the needy.

The Tithes under the Law. From the quotations given above concerning the tithes under the law the following are outstanding features:

1. The tithe was to be given to the Levites, be

cause they did not have a source

like the other tribes.

of income

2. The Levites were instructed to give one-tenth
of the tithes which they received to Aaron, the
high priest.

of

3. There appears to have been three kinds
tithes: (a) To the Levites for their mainte-
nance (Numbers 18:21, 24); (b) Another for
the Lord's Feasts and Sacrifices, to be sent to
the place where the Lord chose to place His
Name if it could not be sent in kind, it was
to be sent in money, then the money would be

4.

spent for whatever they pleased to have in the
feast. (c) Every third year a tithe for the poor,
to be eaten at their own dwellings. Some think
this third year tithe is the same as the tithe in
the other two years, except that the feast was
to be at home, or locally, and not sent to the
central place, "which the Lord would choose."
(Deut 14:28, 29.)

It will be noted from the quotations in
Chronicles, Nehemiah, and Malachi,
Malachi, that
the tithing system was actually in practice.
In Malachi we are told that it was robbing God
to deprive the priests and Levites of their
tithes. It appears that when Israel went into
other sins they also committed the sin of rob-
bing God of that which was His.

5. We also note from the quotations above that
the Lord expects more than the tithes-He ex-

pects offerings also.

Tithes and Offerings in the New Testament. In Abraham's time tithes were given voluntarily. No law demanded it. Abraham simply purposed in his own heart to give one tenth. Jacob likewise. Under the Law, giving tithes was commanded. The tithes were for the maintenance of the Levites, for religious feasts, and once in three years for the poor, and the Levites.

We do not find a direct command in the New Testament to give tithes. But we do find passages that strongly indicate to the minds of earnest people that tithes are the Lord's. Let us examine them:

1. The Pharisees, in Luke 11:42, are told that they

should not leave tithing undone. Perhaps it

can be said that this has a private interpretation. that "According to the Law" he should not have left tithing undone.

While such might be inferred

from the passage,

certainly it is not said. In other words, the Phari

sees ought to pay tithes.

2. We find that Jesus is a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, not because he was commanded by law, but because he purposed in his heart to do it. That incident, with the later determination of Jacob to do the same thing, are precedents, and examples, by which we may profit, in deciding just how much we ought to give to the Lord. We have no examples to go by if we wish to give less.

3.

on

Paul instructed the Corinthians to lay aside the first day of the week as the Lord had prospered them, for the benefit of the saints at Jerusalem. We have as precedents as to how much to give in Abraham, Jacob, and the Children of Israel the tithe. And people in all ages have given the tithe as they "purposed" in their heart. So if you ever attempt to figure how much it is fair for you to give, consider that the only amounts we have on record in the Bible are the tenth. If pagans out of the sincerity of their hearts could decide to give a tenth to a heathen deity-why should we consider giving less to Almighty God, our heavenly Father in whom we live and move and have our being! We give about 25 per cent. of our income for a house to live in. We give an average of 50 per cent.

for food, clothing, and other necessities of life. We allow more than 10 per cent. usually for pleasure, and diversions. People of the world pay out more than a tenth of their income for such things as clubs, theatres, and other distractions, that the saint never pays anything out for. If you get all your blessings from the Lord instead of from these worldly things, why should you not pay at least 10 per cent. of your income?

Cast Your Bread upon the Water-and it Will Return after many Days. Some feel that the tithe is too much to give. But it can be proven, if you take the tithe of your income and put it in the bank on interest, it will not bring you the half of the return it would if you would invest it in the Lord's service. Do you wish to know how it will return to you? In this way: you will avoid many sicknesses that you might have had; you will plant your seed, if you are a farmer, and it will grow, and bring you a profit. If you are a worker, the Lord will insure you sufficient work. "I was young," says King David, "And now I am old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging

bread."

No, the tithe that is given always returns many fold. I have seen many articles in the religious press, that bear out the testimony of many people who have tried giving the tithe, and say it pays.

Perhaps it isn't commanded in the New Testament to give a tithe, but neither was Abraham commanded, and he was the friend of God.

As Paul says in the quotations above, "He that soweth bountifully, shall reap bountifully," but he that soweth "sparingly shall reap sparingly."