Studies in the Fulfilled Torah - Part 5
January 29, 2011
Studies on the Completed Torah
As to the Redeemed in Yeshua HaMashiach
Part 5
First Fruits and the Tithe
28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Teacher, you have said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said unto him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that dared ask him any question.
Mark 12:28-34
To have “no other gods before me,” means to have no other Torah than the Torah of Yehovah, and no activity or though apart from His Torah. Man cannot propose a better or higher way without sin. To regard any of the “isms” (vegetarianism, pacifism, communism, capitalism, socialism, secular humanism, paganism) as a higher way to the way of Yehovah (the way, the truth and the life) is to treat the Torah as lower than man’s.
The Consecration of First Fruits
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 14:8-21
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Matthew 19:16-22
The three-fold act of God concerning the first fruits
- 1. The infliction of death on the first born of man and beast;
4 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. 6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
Exodus 11:4-6
- 2. The exemption for those of the tribe of Israel covered by the blood of the Lamb;
7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
Exodus 11:7
- 3. The consecration of the first born
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
Exodus 13:1-2
•1. Affliction -
Ro 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
•2. Confirmation -
Ex 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Ex 4:23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
Re 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loves us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And has made us a kingdom and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
•3. Consecration
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. 13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Leviticus 23:10-14
Ro 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
The early church saw the offering of the first-born (firstfruits) being fulfilled in HaMeshiach, the offering given by Yehovah in fulfillment of the requirement for the household of faith.
The Tithe
There are three kinds of tithes:
1. The Tithe of Yehovah (Numbers 18:20-32) READ
This tithe was on the increase of the flock, herd or yield of the field.
De 14:22 You shall truly tithe all the increase of your seed, that the field brings forth year by year.
Nu 18:30 Therefore you shall say unto them, When you have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshing floor, and as the increase of the winepress.
Le 27:32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
- 2. The Festival Tithe (Deut. 12) READ
- 3. The Poor Tithe (every third year) (Deut. 14:27-29) every third year.
De 14:28 At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and shall lay it up within your gates: 29 And the Levite, (because he has no part nor inheritance with you,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
- A. If the tithe offering was redeemed (money paid in lieu of the actual offering, an additional 5th was to be offered (the tithe in cash was therefore 12% not 10%) (Lev. 27:30-33)
- B. The Festival tithe was to be used for rejoicing before Yehovah at the three annual feasts: Passover; Shevuot/Pentecost, Tabernacles. This tithe remained with the tither and was used for his pleasure.
- C. The poor tithe was to be used locally for the poor - widows, orphans, helpless foreigners, disabled by age, illness or other special conditions.
- D. The reckoning of the tithe (excluding the second tithe) of 13.33%.
- E. There was no tithe in the seventh (Sabbath) year (Lev. 25:1-7)
- F. Tithing meant proportionate giving (not progressive giving) - under this system, no undue burden is placed on anyone.
- G. The tithe creates a concrete and realistic relationship with Yehovah.
The grace of Yehovah follows every act of direct obedience on our part.
- H. Yehovah’s tithe and the poor tithe have been usurped by the fascist state. The tithe is the acknowledgement of Yehovah’s kingship and the consequences of redirecting the tithe to the state are: totalitarianism, oppression, loss of liberty, and an increase in the cost of civil government.
- a. Two anomalies emerge:
- i. The state assumes the functions of the priests
- ii. The wealthy and the powerful exercise most of the power over society.
The tither is not tithing under Mal. 3:10 unless his tenth goes to truly Godly works - to lawful churches, to missionary causes, and to schools where the whole of scripture is taught.
The tither cannot use the poor tithe or the Sabbath year produce to subsidize evil, sloth or apostasy.
Under biblical law, there is no property tax. The right to tax real property is denied to the state, because the state has no earth to tax. The earth is Yehovah’s; אֶרֶץ יְהֹוָה. Erets Yehovah. Exodus 9:29; Deut. 10:14
De 10:14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God the earth also, with all that therein is.
En! L’Yehovah Elohiym eshmim ushmi eshmim eretz.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
Psalm 24:1 אֶרֶץ יְהֹוָה, מְלֹא תֵּבֵל, יָשַׁב.
Eretz, Yehovah melo’; taybale’ yahshab’.
1Co 10:26 For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.
- Only God can tax the earth
- Immunity from taxation of land by the state means liberty
- For the state to enter into God’s realm is to invite judgment.
- For the state to claim as much as God is apostasy and tyranny (1 Sam. 8:4-19)
- Those who do not tithe are spiritual anarchists and invite the demon state.
En Yisrael! m·tziun thtza thure u·dbr Yehovah Yerushaliym
Behold, Israel! The Torah shall come out of Zion,
and the Word of Yehovah from Jerusalem.
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