curg13

Can You Reach God

Lesson Thirteen: by turtle

Can you reach God through tithes and offerings?

Malachi 3:1-4 KJV
(1) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly
come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
(2) But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like
fullers' soap:
(3) And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver,
that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
(4) Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

God requires faith. Faith in the only begotten Son, faith in Him, and faith in tomorrow’s promises. Tithe was offering to God
that began with Abraham and continued in his son Jacob. Jacob promised God a tenth if He bring him back home. A payment
for protection to the Lord.

Genesis 28:21-22 KJV
(21) So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
(22) And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the
tenth unto thee.

A tithe is to take care of the church and minister. It was in the law of teh Old Testament

Deuteronomy 14:22 KJV
(22) Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

Numbers 18:20-24 KJV
(20) And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among
them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
(21) And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve,
even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
(22) Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.
(23) But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a
statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.
(24) But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites
to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Heave offering is a gift. A gift offering is offering given freely without obligation. However under law a Moses a tenth would be
given to priest for their service and to the congregation. The priest and leaders were what back in those days. Leaders of the
community in the religious order, judging right from wrong, as well as doctoring diseases. Today minister roles are different to
some degree. They still preach, counsel and do other things. Sometimes they even go beyond the call of duty.

However are gifts to God are away of reaching up to God, but it does not put us in contact with God. No more so does me
sending a gift to a stranger, makes me know them. When one receive Christ as Savior we receive the gift of eternal life. The
most we understand is God loved us and was willing to sacrifice His Son for our sins. However in Hebrew 7 God speaks of
Jesus being High Priest. Back in lesson eleven we talked about Christ being High Priest in the order of Melchisedek. Need
more information please go back and read. Hebrews 7 speaks of paying tithes.

Hebrews 7:1-6 KJV
(1) For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the
kings, and blessed him;
(2) To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King
of Salem, which is, King of peace;
(3) Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the
Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
(4) Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.
(5) And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes
of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
(6) But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.

The next portion of scripture we will be looking at is concerning why not in the order of Aaron. Why in the order of
Melchisedek Was it only because He was before Aaron. No. Aaron was not a global priesthood. In fact his priest line was for
the Jews and those proselytes to Judaism.. Jesus priesthood would be for the world. Just like Melchisedek.

Psalms 110:4-7 KJV
(4) The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
(5) The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.
(6) He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many
countries.
(7) He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

Jesus came for the whole world not just for part of the world.

Hebrews 7:11-14 KJV
(11) If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was
there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
(12) For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
(13) For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.
(14) For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

Moses never spake of priesthood for another tribe. Only for Israel. Did this mean that others did not obey the law.

Romans 9:30-33 KJV
(30) What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even
the righteousness which is of faith.
(31) But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
(32) Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that
stumbling stone;
(33) As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed.

Many do what is right. Even gentiles provided for the temple of the Lord. Read Ezra and Nehemiah sometime. However what
happened to the children of Israel was a lack of faith. They disobeyed the law without faith. This happens even within the
church. We disobey God’s law because of a lack of faith. Example going back to the book we started in.

Malachi 3:7-18 KJV
(7) Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me,
and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
(8) Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
(9) Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
(10) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and 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, saith the LORD of hosts.
(13) Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
(14) Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked
mournfully before the LORD of hosts?
(15) And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even
delivered.
(16) Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of
remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
(17) And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man
spareth his own son that serveth him.
(18) Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that
serveth him not.

The truth is we need faith. Christ is the High Priest to the world. There is no other. He is the only one that can atone for sin.
For He died for the sins of the world. He made the payment. Melchisedek was a High Priest in the form of the law. Meaning
proof of a legal abiding law. Law that people paid tithes to for protection as well as for justice being served. However Christ
was more then judge and jury, He is more then lawgiver, He is also the redeemer for those of us with sin. He is more then a
judge and jury. God is more then judgment. He is salvation. Jesus is salvation to those who believe.

Hebrews 7:15-22 KJV
(15) And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,
(16) Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
(17) For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
(18) For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
(19) For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
(20) And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:
(21) (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will
not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)
(22) By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.

See what Christ did was pay our payment to God for out sin. He is our protection money, as well as our protector. He is our
lawyer. He is our esquire. He carries our faith. He is our armor bearer. When we can not seem to carry our armor or wear it at
times, he carries it along behind us. Actually it more like the footprints in the sand when Christ carries us. He doesn’t just carry
the armor, but us as well.

Hebrews 7:23-28 KJV
(23) And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
(24) But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
(25) Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them.
(26) For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the
heavens;
(27) Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this
he did once, when he offered up himself.
(28) For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the
Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

Before Christ the High Priest would offer sacrifice for sin. We will be getting into more detail next few lesson. However Christ
is the only one that paid once and for all, so there would be no more need for sacrifice. In other words we do not have to burn
sacrifices any longer. Christ paid it when died and rose again. No one but Christ can make this claim. Priesthood is no longer
need to perform the sacrificial laws. However the priesthood is still need to spread the gospel of Jesus, as well as others and to
be overseers of the body of Christ. Yet none of them are God. None of them are Jesus.