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What's in Your Tent?

Words of Faith Final

What's in Your Tent?

Words of Faith 9-4-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Joshua 7

    [6] Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. [7] And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! [8] O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? [9] The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?"

    [10] The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? [11] Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. [12] That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

    [13] "Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.

 

         It seems strange that the wrath of God would burn against an entire nation because of the sin of just one.  But these were desperately holy times.  There was sacredness in the conquest of the Promised Land.

        The Lord was not prosecuting the Israelites for every manner of sin within the camp.  But He had been precise about not stealing the things that belong to Him.  It was this theft, and this lie that prevented the Lord's blessing in battle. "I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction."

        The question comes to mind—Is there a comparable command given to us today?  We must be careful with this one. Of course, we are not engaged in a holy conquest.  There is no loot from a battle that the Lord has won. But there is the matter of the "tithe" described in Leviticus.

       "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord (Leviticus 27:30). This "tithe" or "tenth" literally, is not a gift to God. Instead, it is a portion of the blessing that belongs to God and is holy. A thousand years after the conquest, the prophet Malachi brought the word of the Lord regarding this--  

    "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me."

    "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'"

    "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me" (Malachi 3:8-9).

    Wow.  What a powerful rebuke.  Yet the solution to this situation comes in a dramatic promise of blessing--

    "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it" (Malachi 3:10). This is the only place in the Bible where the Lord calls us to "test" Him.

       In the conquest led by Joshua, it was always God's desire to bless Israel.  He wanted to pour out a blessing upon them.  It was only when they stole from Him that they blocked this blessing.  In the time of Malachi, about 1000 years later, the same was true.  

      As people living after the time of Christ, we know that we are saved by grace.  There is nothing that we do that can earn or deserve salvation (Ephesians 2:8:-9). But does the principle of the tithe still remain for us today?

      Most of the teachings of Jesus were not directed toward giving a tithe but toward giving everything-- your whole life-- to Jesus.  Yet Jesus did endorse the tithe on the one occasion he commented on it.  In the time of Jesus, religious people were meticulous and careful in giving a tenth of everything to the Lord. Still, they failed in matters of the heart and justice. Jesus rebuked this religious attitude--

    "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former" (Matthew 23:23).

     Jesus was clear. You should practice the latter (the tithe) but also practice matters of relationship and the heart: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Jesus clearly commended the tithe to us as a normal part of our life with God.

     For our self-examination, the most pointed way to address this is to ask: Am I hiding any stolen goods in my tent?  Is there anything of the Lord's tithe that I have held back in secret?  Could this be blocking the blessing of God in my life and family?  Have I stopped the Lord from winning my life battles because I have disobeyed him in the matter of the tithe?

     Another way to approach the same question is to ask: Have I really opened the door of God's blessing into my life as He directed?  Have I welcomed the blessing of God that He has offered by returning to Him His tenth? (Malachi 3:10) The blessing of the Lord is not always financial. Yet, it is wonderful to realize that the Lord truly wants to open the floodgate of heaven and pour out a blessing we cannot contain.

 

Dear God, direct me clearly in the area of stewardship.  Show me the blessing that comes from returning Your tithe to Your house for Your work. Open the gates of blessing as You lead me to walk in obedience and faithfulness.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2005, 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.