Mark O’Grady - Class 6: And If the Way Be Too Long for Thee

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   Our second speaker this morning is Brother Mark O'Grady of the Tawa New Zealand Ecclesia. The theme for Brother Mark's classes this week are, All the Tithe is Holy. Today's class is entitled, And If the Way Be Too Long for Thee. Brother Mark.

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   Well, good morning, brothers and sisters. You know, one of the remarkable things about Scripture is that wonderful way in which it's multifaceted. The way in which we can pick up a topic or a theme and we find that it's many levels or many layers that are there. And we can pull the layers back and see all sorts of different dimensions to a subject.

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   Now, we've taken the subject of the tithe and we've looked at it in terms of the basic fundamental principles as a way of life. And that's the simple platform, of course, on which all these lessons in the Law of Moses are based. But there's a completely different dimension to the subject of the tithe as well.

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   And we're going to just divert a little bit this morning, a little bit of a sidetrack, as it were, and pick up this other dimension of this theme or symbol of the tithe. Because it is fascinating and it sort of enriches the picture of the whole. It's a theme. We won't turn it up.

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   But it's actually a theme which has its roots back in Genesis 28. Now, before we think about the story of Jacob again and the tithe in Genesis 28, just recall in your mind the fact that under the law, offerings can become a symbol of the offerer himself. So we know that when an Israelite brought a sin offering to the temple door or the tabernacle door, they would place their hand upon the head of the offering, a very close personal connection with the offering.

6. 1:54

   When a whole burnt offering was given by an Israelite, it was a symbol of a whole life of dedication to the things of God. When an Israelite gave a meal offering, it was a symbol of the works of his hands. If we take something like the firstfruits, we say that they are symbolic also of a people as firstfruits for God.

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   We think of the words of James, ye are a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. So there's a basic theme which runs through the stories of the various offerings under the law of Moses, which is that there's a close identification between the people themselves and the offering which becomes representative of them. Now, the tithe is a portion which is selected for God.

8. 2:39

   It's representative of a man's life, separated and dedicated to God. It belongs to him. So the question for us is, well, can the tithe, the portion separated for God, can the tithe itself become a representation of a group of people? Separated from the wider harvest and dedicated to God himself. The tenth, as it were, made holy to God.

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   Now, let's think about the story of Genesis 28. Remember, Jacob's fleeing in exile and God's with him and he promises that he will stay with Jacob in his time of exile and he will bring him back to the land again. Genesis 28 and verse 15. He promises to give Jacob the land for a possession.

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    This promise of the return is then marked by Jacob setting up the stone. He sets it up as a pillar and he calls the place Bethel, the house of God. Later, in Genesis 35, Jacob's name is changed to Israel at Bethel. Now, in that story, we actually have a pattern. It's a pattern of a nation which, through their own folly or their own behavior, is exiled from the land.

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    God will bring them back into the land. It is the nation of Israel. He will reestablish them and give them a possession back in that land again. So, in this little story of Jacob, we have the seed, as it were, or a cameo of the wider story of God's purpose with Israel. That's the story where the tithe is given in Genesis 28.

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    So, this tithe is associated with a story or a promise, which symbolically represents God's promise to bring Israel home again. Now, let's turn over and have a look at Ezekiel chapter 20. You know, Ezekiel 20 is one of those really rich and fascinating sections of Scripture. Brother Ron has taken us through a consideration of the stirring events of the Exodus from Egypt.

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    Well, Ezekiel chapter 20 revisits that marvelous story. And in Ezekiel chapter 20, we're told that that magnificent story of God's mighty hand delivering his people from bondage in Egypt is a pattern of a greater exodus yet still to come. When God's mighty arm is revealed in the nations again, bringing all his people out of bondage and into the promised land.

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    So, Ezekiel chapter 20, verse 33. As I live, saith the Lord Yahweh, surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out will I rule over you. I will bring you out from the people and will gather you out of the countries wherein you are scattered with a mighty hand and a stretched out arm with fury poured out.

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    I will bring you into the wilderness of the people. There will I plead with you face to face like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt. It's a magnificent statement here, brothers and sisters. And it tells us that the whole glorious story of the Exodus is but a type of a magnificent work that God has yet to do in the redeeming of his people.

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    He's also going to take them through the time of testing in the wilderness that Brother Ron was referring to this morning. And in that process, he will also purge out the rebels like he did with Israel in the wilderness. So he says in verse 36, like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you.

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    Verse 35, I will bring you into the wilderness of the people and plead with you face to face. Verse 37, I will cause you to pass under the rod. I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge out from among you the rebels. But there's a little phrase there, brothers and sisters, which we want to concentrate on.

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    As God brings his people out, he's going to remove from them all the rebels. And what he'll have left is a faithful kernel that he will take back into the land. Now what's the symbol that's used here of this process of purging or clearing out all the rebels? And it's that little phrase there in verse 37, I will cause you to pass under the rod.

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    Now does that ring a bell? That little phrase only occurs in one other place in scripture. It's the place that we looked at in Leviticus 27 and the story of the tithe. Concerning the tithe of the herd or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto Yahweh.

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    You may recall we talked about the way in which the shepherd used the rod and counted the sheep as they left the sheepfold in the morning and when they returned. And the passing under the rod is used in Leviticus 27 as the process of selecting the tithe, the representation of all, the tenth, as the holy portion for God.

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    And here's that same process being used again, brothers and sisters, in the future for gathering the portion or the representation of God for God. Now let's turn over now to Isaiah chapter 6. And as we do, just remember, of course, the linkages between this theme of the rod, the tithe, the bringing back again of Israel, the remnant that is left, and then the story of Beth-a-el.

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    The pillar which becomes Beth-a-el or the household of God. It's the community that the father selects. The remnant is a phrase that's used often in scripture. The remnant that he will bring back to his land. Now in Isaiah 6, we have a fascinating little reference. In fact, the translation here in the English is rather difficult.

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    Verse 12 for connection is speaking about the scattering of Israel. Until Yahweh have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. There's the scattering of Israel. Now that's a fairly perplexing set of words, isn't it? Actually, the Rotherham translation makes it a little more straightforward.

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    Yet still, he says, still in it shall be a tenth. Though it again be consumed like an oak, like a terebinth tree, which when felled have a stock in them, a holy seed shall be the stock thereof. He's talking here about a tree that is devoured or cut down, right down until there's just a stump left.

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    But the stump's not dead. And it shoots again, and it grows again into a marvellous, magnificent tree. That's the idea here of the holy seed. The stock that's left in the ground. And that's the tenth. Now just to lock those things together, brothers and sisters, that word stock there is the same word pillar that was used to become the house of Beth-a-el in Genesis chapter 28.

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    So we have the idea here of the tenth, or the little portion for God. That's the holy seed. That's the remnant that's left after Israel is purged. And out of that remnant, God will cause to grow again the magnificent tree of a nation restored. So the little theme here of a tithe, the little representative portion for God, is also used in a completely different context as a symbolic picture of the little remnant of Israel, weak and small, which the Father will save.

27. 10:36

    Although the tree's consumed, the holy seed will be the pillar thereof. It will become Beth-a-el in the house of God. Now if the theme of the tithe, or the remnant, is applied to the Jews, do you think it might be applied also to the Gentiles? The idea of selecting a small portion, those that respond, those that are called.

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    We won't turn it up, but there's a little passage, isn't there, in Luke chapter 17, where the Lord Jesus Christ healed ten men who were lepers. Remember we've looked at the number ten as a representation of the whole. So through scripture, when we have ten virgins, or Daniel being ten times wiser than all the wise men of Chaldea, the number ten is a representation of the whole.

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    Here are ten men, and they're all lepers. It's a symbol of the entire human race. The Lord Jesus Christ heals them. One man realizes what's happened, and turns back, turns back, and glorifies God. And Christ says, your faith has made you whole. And the Lord's words are, were there not ten that were cleansed?

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    And then he says, it's just this stranger. He was a Samaritan that turned back and glorified God. So we find that this little theme of the tenth is a representative symbol of the remnant that glorifies God is also used throughout scripture. So according to that symbol, brothers and sisters, we've also been called to become that remnant.

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    That little portion that's put aside for God. By the way, when was the tithe actually calculated? And it's logical, isn't it? By definition, the only time a tithe could be calculated is at the end of a harvest. So the process of harvest is complete. And when you've got the whole harvest, then you can select ten percent.

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    And we think of the symbology in scripture of the harvesting of the earth, the reaping and the threshing. And there will be, through that process, the tenth extracted for God. It's a marvelous symbol of the remnant that's spoken of throughout the divine record.

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    Well, let's pick up then this idea, brothers and sisters, of the tithe being calculated as ten percent of the total harvest. And return now back to our theme of Israel under the law. And we think of ourselves now as we complete the harvest process when our Lord returns. Friends, we've had the opportunity this week, haven't we, to be refreshed, to stand aside from all the rush and the madness of daily life.

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    And we're about to return home. Our thoughts have been clarified around the word, which we've rejoiced in together this week. Our hearts have been stirred by our time together, our fellowship in the truth. But exactly as Brother Ron said in his last study, what about next week?

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    What happens when all those pressures of life come flooding back again? Or what happens when we come face to face with our weaknesses again? Because unfortunately they didn't go permanently away during the course of the week. What happens when those daily trials of life just grind us low? And it's actually that aspect of the tithe that we're now going to spend the rest of our time together this morning looking at from Deuteronomy chapter 14.

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    So let's turn back now to Deuteronomy 14. And there's a marvelous little extra section there that we haven't looked at so far. Now remember, of course, that the book of Deuteronomy was written at the point when Israel were about to enter into the land. It was written in the last week of Moses' life, just before he died.

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    And Moses knew that the simplicity of all the laws that were contained in the book of Leviticus and Numbers needed to be adjusted in some respects for life in the land. So as we read through the pages of the book of Deuteronomy, we find that in many cases it just picks up some of the themes of the simplicity of the laws that are in Leviticus and Numbers.

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    And it adds a little extra dimension which is going to be necessary for life in the land. And we find exactly that in relation to the subject of the tithe. You know, it was one thing, brothers and sisters, for us to be able to bring a tithe to the Levites when there were no crops because we were living in the wilderness.

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    And the Levites anyway were just a short walk away because they were actually based right there at the tabernacle. It's another thing altogether. So there's a very obvious question that leaps out of the narrative and we have to stop and think about it. And that is, physically, how did the Israelite get his tithe down to the tabernacle if he lived 150 miles away?

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    There were no carriers. There were no trucks. There was no transportation system as such. So how does an Israelite who lives 150 miles away from the tabernacle, how does he physically bring his offering down to the temple or the tabernacle? And we find in Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse 22 a reference that we've looked at already with the tithe.

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    Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before Yahweh thy God in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, wine, oil, firstlings, flocks, that thou mayst learn to fear Yahweh thy God always.

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    Just look at verses 24 onwards. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, or if the place be too far from thee, which Yahweh thy God shall choose to set his name there, when Yahweh thy God hath blessed thee, then thou shalt turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose.

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    And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for ox, for sheep, for wine, for strong drink. This was a practical recognition of the fact that physically delivering the tithe may be impossible in some circumstances. Let's read a little more carefully. Have a look first of all in some detail at verse 24.

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    And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, or if the place be too far from thee, which Yahweh thy God shall choose to set his name there, then you can turn it into money. If the way be too long, if the place be too far.

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    Isn't that just the same thing? Repeated. If the way is too long, doesn't that mean that the place is too far? If the place is too far, doesn't that mean that the way is too long? So why is this message actually repeated here, brothers and sisters? Why the doubling of the message? If we think about it, there's actually a difference between those two.

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    It's subtle, but it's very significant. One focuses on the route itself, the journey. If the way be too long. The other focuses on the objective. The end result. If the place be too far from thee. And brothers and sisters, that's the story of our life. There are times in life when the way seems too long.

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    When our souls get burdened down by the difficulty of the journey itself. When the path seems steep or rough. When the journey is too great. And we despair of ever surviving the process. Of ever being able to complete the journey. Of ever being able to finish the journey on that way. To deliver our tithe.

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    And that little snippet there, brothers and sisters, speaks of the trials. And the impediments which every single one of us faces along the way. All of us, at times, find the path hard. And we seem to struggle along a never-ending road, brothers and sisters. Which seems longer and longer because of the weights that we carry.

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    Just picture the following scene. We have a very faithful Israelite. He's been richly blessed by God. He's diligently gathered up his tithe. He's collected it together with his family. And resolutely and happily, they set out walking down towards the temple. There with his wife and his little ones and all his goods. And we watch this man as he staggers down the road.

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    He's got a great big container of grain on his back. His arms are full of bottles of wine. He's got a punnet of olive berries slung around his neck. He's got three cows and ten sheep clustered around his feet. He's got his wife and his children with him as well. And he's only got another 147 miles to go.

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    You know, it does seem humorous, doesn't it? It's quite funny when you look at this funny sight as this man starts off and he's wandering down this road. It wouldn't be so funny 70 miles into his journey when our faithful brother breaks down. He's exhausted. He can't carry on. The burden's too great.

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    He's desperate to get there with his family to give the tithe. And he knows he can never survive the journey. We've all seen it happen, haven't we, in ecclesial life?

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    In fact, we've probably been there ourselves at times, haven't we? When the path is just too hard. And all the ideals, brothers and sisters, the glorious vision of neatly and in an ordered fashion arriving at the tabernacle, happy with our family, there with our tithe to give to the high priest, when the vision seems to be overcome by the toughness of the path itself.

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    Well, what about this idea then of the place being too far? Well, at times, the place chosen by Yahweh seems too far away, doesn't it? It just seems too far away in the distance. And that speaks of those occasions in life, brothers and sisters, when we look up and we can't see it anymore.

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    It just seems too far away. It doesn't seem real. We knew it was there, but we can no longer see the end result because our vision has gone. We know it's still there somewhere, but it's out of sight. The place has become too far, and our vision is gone.

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    It's interesting to reflect on the fact, brothers and sisters, that every spiritual difficulty in life really fits into those two things. Trials along the way, or a vision that becomes blurred, and it's too far for me to be able to reach it.

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    And yet, brothers and sisters, we have got to deliver the tithe. It's an obligation. And at this point, we start to realise that it's humanly impossible for you or me to be able to deliver that tithe. We wish to do so. We have an obligation to do so. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

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    So when we reach that point in life, brothers and sisters, what should we do? Give up? Should we decide that it was unreasonable? Perhaps find a more convenient mode of worship? One of those altars, for example, that we referred to the other day along the road. Should we decide that actually that sort of commitment was all very well when we were young and rather idealistic?

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    But it's not really relevant now when we think about our circumstances in life today. Should we despair, thinking that it's impossible we will never make it? Or should we perhaps struggle nobly on, only to be crushed into the dust by the burdens we bear? Well, that's why this little provision was contained in the law.

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    Let's read verses 24 through to 26 again. Verse 24. The Israelite brothers and sisters was able to take his tithe and convert it into some money. He could then carry that money with him through the journey. And at the other end, he converted it back into produce so he could now give his tithe or his produce to the priest.

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    It was a special provision to make it possible for the tithe to be delivered in difficult circumstances. You know, it's one of those obscure little provisions in the law of Moses, brothers and sisters, that speaks volumes to us about our father's love and care. It says that God recognizes that delivering the tithe is hard.

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    He makes it possible. So let's look far beyond the simplicity of this little story of the tithe in Deuteronomy chapter 14, brothers and sisters, this tiny part of the Mosaic law, and see what it tells us about the character of our God. Read this passage, brothers and sisters, and look deep into the love that our father has for his children and the support that he makes available to us in daily life.

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    Because he knew that an Israelite would struggle to deliver that tithe. He knew that, brothers and sisters, so he made it possible. He understood the weakness of a human being, and he made the journey possible, brothers and sisters. He knows our frame. He understands our weakness. If we truly, with our hearts, want to deliver our tithe with our family, he will make the journey possible for us.

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    Does the Lord Jesus Christ see us struggling in the way? Well, he's the one who said these words. He called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat, and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

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    That's the Lord Jesus Christ and his practical concern for those in the way. Matthew 15, verse 32. Well, does the father see us walking in the way towards his house? Well, in the parable, he's the father, isn't he, of the prodigal son? Who, when his son was yet a great way off, his father saw him, ran to him, had compassion on him, fell on his neck and kissed him.

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    In God's grace, the means is provided to lighten the burden and make the journey possible. So how does he lighten our load? Well, we've got this idea here of the tithe in verse 25 being turned into money. Let's look a little closer at this concept of money, because the word money today has the connotations of evil, doesn't it?

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    The love of money is the root of all evil. So we think about money as being just part of the mechanics of an economy in which we all live today. But the emphasis in this record actually should not be on this idea of money. The word money here is the word keseph. K-E-C-E-P-H.

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    And it means silver. It's the silver that was used in the shekel of the sanctuary. And the idea of keseph, or silver, is used in scripture as a symbol of redemption. Particularly, it's a symbol of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So in his wonderful little book, Law and Grace, Brother Barling makes this comment about silver.

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    He says the silver was to be a memorial of their literal redemption by God from Egypt. Thus, silver stood as a simple symbol of the very notion of redemption. So that was why, for example, in the tabernacle, there were fittings of silver placed between fittings of brass and gold. And it spoke of the redemptive work that brought flesh and God together, reconciled man back to God.

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    I'd like you to come with me back to Exodus chapter 30. There's an interesting occurrence there of this phrase keseph, or silver, in the context of Israel under the law. Now, it's in the context of the times, those occasions, when Israel were numbered under the law. And we know that they had to pay a ransom or a redemption price of half a shekel of keseph, or silver.

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    It was actually an acknowledgement that they were all worthy of death as a nation, and that they needed redemption. Okay, let's have a look. Verse 12. When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto Yahweh, when thou numberest them, that there be no plague.

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    Verse 13. This shall they give, everyone that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary. Verse 13. And thou shalt take the atonement money, the money for covering, of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before Yahweh to make a covering for your souls.

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    And when it says there the atonement money, in verse 16, that word money is our same word keseph. This is the atonement keseph. It was an atonement or a covering for their souls. So it was silver, brothers and sisters. It was silver, speaking of redemption and atonement, a covering for their souls. It was that silver which was used back in Deuteronomy 14 to make their burdens lighter.

74. 29:46

    It was the redemptive silver. Which made it possible for them to complete the journey and repurchase the offering at the other end of the way. It's the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes it possible for us to complete our journey and deliver our tithe. Without that easing of our burden, brothers and sisters, we would be crushed beneath the load.

75. 30:13

    And it's Christ's sacrifice that lightens the load. Come with me, if you would, through to Matthew chapter 11. And see the Lord Jesus Christ's explicit comments about the weight and the load and the burden. Matthew 11. And as we read these words, brothers and sisters, think about our brother carrying produce down to the tabernacle.

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    Matthew 11, verse 28. And I imagine as our brother had the silver in his hand and with a spring in his step set out with his family to the tabernacle. He appreciated that provision in the law. Yes, brothers and sisters, his yoke is easy. His burden is light. The redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ lightens the load as we travel that path towards the tabernacle with our tithe.

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    Now let's go back to Deuteronomy 14 and see what they actually had to do with the silver. They converted their produce into this kiseph or silver. But what did they then have to do with it? In fact, it's interesting. You know, the law is very explicit here. It gives them very explicit instructions as to what they were to do with the silver.

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    In fact, it even tells them how they were to hold it. It's quite remarkable in this level of detail. Now, just think, if you went through this process of conversion, if you were that faithful brother, and he's carefully selected all this tenth of his produce, and it represents the portion that's hallowed to God, and it represents 10% of your entire produce for the year, would you value that silver?

79. 32:08

    Would you want to look after it? Would you want to make sure you kept it in a safe place as you carried it down to give to the priest? Well, just look at this description in verse 25. Then shalt thou turn it into silver, kiseph, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose.

80. 32:34

    How precise. What a minute piece of information. You've now got the silver. He says, I want you to take that silver, and I want you to bind it up in your hand. Now, why does he go to that level of specificity? Why does he go and say they must bind it into their hand?

81. 32:53

    Well, the word bind there doesn't mean to tie. Leave your hand there in Deuteronomy. Just come over a few pages to Deuteronomy chapter 20. This word bind comes up again in Deuteronomy chapter 20. Deuteronomy 20 and verse 12. And if, it's talking about cities, if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it.

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    Where does the word bind come up in that verse? It's the word besiege. That's literally what the word means. It means to confine, to cramp, to press, or to lay siege. It's used again in verse 19 in the same context. In fact, it's used many times in Scripture of the idea of besieging a city.

83. 33:46

    When they got the silver, brothers and sisters, they didn't hold it in their hand. They laid siege to it. Can you feel the intensity in those words? When he said, bind it up in your hands, he said, grab hold of it as if you're besieging a city. Confine it, cramp it, press it, hold it tight.

84. 34:06

    Do not let it go. Now, isn't there an intensity, brothers and sisters, in those words? And isn't there also an intensity with us? Because we know, we know the value of that precious redemptive silver. We know that without that redemptive silver, we and our families will never make it on the journey. We will never survive the journey.

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    What's it saying to us, brothers and sisters? It's saying to us, hold on to the truth. Never let it go. No matter how tired we are, no matter how stressed or distressed we are, no matter how burdensome the journey seems, brothers and sisters, never let the truth go. Hold on to it. Because it's the promise to us that God is able to have us complete that journey.

86. 35:01

    And so the Israelite took that silver and besieged it in their hand. And then with their family, they conducted the journey down to the tabernacle. Now, when they arrived at the place which Yahweh had chosen for his name, back in Deuteronomy chapter 14, what did they do with the silver? Did they go up to the priest with the silver and say, well, here we are, here's the silver.

87. 35:25

    You can buy various things with it. Here's my gift. It's the silver. And the answer is no. In fact, emphatically no. They were not to take the silver and give the silver. When they arrived at the end of their journey, they had to take the money and then they had to convert it back into produce again so that they were still in a position of coming with their family and delivering produce as their tithe to the priests.

88. 35:51

    They had to purchase something to use as a tithe or as an offering. Out of interest, that actually teaches us a very important doctrine. Can you see what it is? It's a very important doctrine. The redemptive work of Christ is not a substitute. It's not instead of us. It's there to make the journey possible.

89. 36:15

    It's there to lighten the burden. But it's not there, brothers and sisters, to replace our need to bring an offering. There was still a responsibility on the part of every Israelite to bring a tithe. So we can't turn up at the judgment seat, brothers and sisters, and when asked about our life, say, oh, look at Christ.

90. 36:34

    He's actually done it for us. It didn't really matter about what I did. The Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters, is there to make it possible. But he does not replace our responsibility to give our own account to God. So then every one of us shall give accounts to God, says Paul in Romans 14, verse 12.

91. 36:52

    So at the journey's end, every Israelite had to convert that tithe back into produce, or the money back into a tithe of produce, and then present that in turn to God. Now, at this point in the record, a really fascinating element appears. In fact, it almost takes you by surprise. Amongst all the strictness and the solemnity of the defined law of Moses, it's rather unexpected.

92. 37:17

    A little twist, as it were, in the end of the story. When they arrived at the end of the journey, and they had their silver, and they went to convert their silver back into a tithe, they were suddenly presented with a choice. They were actually explicitly, under the law, given a choice as to what it was they wanted to buy.

93. 37:39

    Just look at the wording there in verse 26. Look at the wording, and marvel at the sudden springing up of a flexibility. And thou shalt bestow that money for whatever thy soul lusteth after, oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, whatever thy soul desireth. And thou shalt eat there before Yahweh thy God. So when they arrived with the silver, they could buy anything.

94. 38:05

    I might decide to offer some freshly cut wheat. You might decide to offer a punnet of grapes, some big, succulent, juicy grapes. The brother on the other side of the hall, however, he just loves fresh lamb. So he decides to offer some lamb. And the law here provided a completely open choice for the Israelite to decide what he wanted to offer.

95. 38:28

    And in fact, to make the point, the instructions actually repeated twice, isn't it? It says, For whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. And later in the verse, Whatsoever thy soul desireth. Now again, in the English, due to common usage, the word lust has rather bad connotations, doesn't it? But in the context here, nothing could be further from the truth.

96. 38:49

    The word lusteth after there is the word ava. And it literally means to desire, to incline, or to wish for. Now often in scripture, it is used in a bad sense. We think, for example, of the kibroth hatava, the graves of the greedy. And that's that word ava there at the end of it, kibroth hatava.

97. 39:08

    But it is also used in a good sense. For example, Psalm 132, verse 13, says that Yahweh desires Zion. And it's exactly the same word. So the idea here is that an appropriate desire, which is properly restrained, is perfectly good in its place. The little phrase there, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, has the idea of asking, or inquiring, or begging, what you'd like to ask for.

98. 39:37

    So whatever it was they wanted to offer, their own personal preference, they could choose. Now the question that immediately springs out is, why? Why in this law, which is so prescriptive, so detailed, so explicit, in all its requirements, does this sudden, unexpected flexibility pop into the narrative? Well, there's a very powerful and logical reason, doesn't there?

99. 40:01

    Let's read that verse through towards the end of it. He says, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, and thou shalt eat there before Yahweh thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thine household. And the wonderful thing here, brothers and sisters, is that the Father wanted them to be able to rejoice. Remember, they ate the fellowship meal of a portion of the tithe when they arrived there at the tabernacle, rejoicing before God.

100. 40:26

     What more natural way to help an Israelite enjoy that fellowship meal, to delightfully enjoy the act of being able to give to God, than being able to share their favourite food. As it were, they were actually able to give their favourite dish. Now, what does this little gem tell us, brothers and sisters, about the character of God?

101. 40:51

     It tells us that he actually understands that we are individuals. We have personal characteristics and preferences. And within the confines of absolute obedience and strict submission to his will, within the confines, brothers and sisters, of that spirit, he allows scope for individuality in our offering. Because we're not called to be robots. We're not called, brothers and sisters, to be characterless automatons that just mechanically process transactions for God.

102. 41:29

     The Father wants vibrant, warm, loving hearts that rejoice in being able to serve him in love. And he provides for us the scope in ecclesial life to be able to utilise our talents and our preferences in the way that we can to serve him. Think about the role, brothers and sisters, the role that you would most like to have in the kingdom, in service of the great king.

103. 41:56

     I wonder perhaps if this is a little hint that we may have the blessing of the Father allowing us to serve him in that way in the kingdom. Think of the skills or the abilities or the character or the thoughtfulness or whatever it might be that the Father has given you now. Look for ways in which we can use those blessings the Father has given us in his service.

104. 42:20

     Because the work of redemption, brothers and sisters, actually gives us the scope to serve him in a way that we can rejoice in. But just a little word of warning along the way. We always need that, don't we, with these principles. If we were tempted to use this gracious flexibility on the part of God to just cheat a little in the conversion process, there's a story in the New Testament which makes the folly of that abundantly clear.

105. 42:52

     We're not going to turn it up. But it's the time when the Lord turned over the tables of the money changers, them that sold doves. What do you think those people were doing in the temple, brothers and sisters? They were the conversion agents for when you arrived with your silver. And they had a law.

106. 43:13

     You had to do your conversion through them. And they set the conversion rate. And it was a monopolistic wrought run by the high priests. And they were profiteering through this process of the conversion of the redemptive silver back into a tithe. And our Lord drove them out with a whip.

107. 43:36

     Then, a few days later, he poured out his blood to ensure that the redemptive work was also going to be available for you and me.

108. 43:50

     Because under the law, brothers and sisters, the Israelites' burden was lifted by the redemptive silver. Our redemption, as we know, comes from something much more precious than silver. Let's turn over to 1 Peter 1.

109. 44:12

     1 Peter 1. Verse 18. He says, For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Brothers and sisters, that's the redemptive price that's been paid to lighten our load.

110. 44:44

     And as we partake of the emblems each week, they speak to us of that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we take of the bread and the wine brought forth by our high priest, there we recognize the means through which we are able to deliver our tithe. And the very first occurrence in Scripture of the symbol of tithing was Abraham when he paid his tithe before a priest who brought forth to him bread and wine.

111. 45:18

     That's the means, brothers and sisters, that's been provided for us to be able to complete the journey with our families and our ecclesias. So brothers and sisters, this week, the subject of the tithing has opened up for us a new and rather wonderful section of Scripture, hasn't it? It's a marvelous dimension of Scripture.

112. 45:40

     And we resolve to return home, to try and take all those principles and put them into practice in our lives, in a way of life. And when we return to our homes, there is nothing more sure than the fact that every one of us will experience trials along the way that will test our conviction and our commitment.

113. 45:58

     There will be days when the way seems too long, and there will be times, brothers and sisters, when the place seems too far. It's then that we will really appreciate and understand the power of the redemptive work completed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Take courage, brothers and sisters. The journey will be completed.

114. 46:22

     The tithe will be delivered. But it will only be through God's grace revealed in our Lord. So may Yahweh bless you and your families as you travel the journey of bringing your tithe to God's kingdom. Amen.

115. 46:54

     Brother Mark, on behalf of all of us, we'd like to thank you for your efforts and your classes this week. You've reminded us that all that we have, that we ourselves are the Lord's, and that as we leave here, as you so eloquently told us, that we are the Lord's and we've been set aside for his service.

116. 47:14

     Thank you. Brothers and sisters, if we could be back in our seats before 11. Thank you.