Prayer Thought: Prov. 14:12; 16:25 

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.  

The Scriptures need not be read by the dim light of tradition or human speculation. As well might we try to give light to the sun with a torch as to explain the Scriptures by human tradition or imagination. God's holy word needs not the torchlight glimmer of earth to make its glories distinguishable. It is light in itself--the glory of God revealed, and beside it every other light is dim.  {COL 111.1}    

The world is perishing for want of the gospel. There is a famine for the word of God. There are few who preach the word unmixed with human tradition. Though men have the Bible in their hands, they do not receive the blessing that God has placed in it for them. The Lord calls upon His servants to carry His message to the people. The word of everlasting life must be given to those who are perishing in their sins.  {COL 228.4} 

Introduction: 

This study will explore the unpopular teachings of the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy concerning the first tithe and the second tithe. It includes the examination of how the ancient Israel, the people of God in that generation comply with the instructions given by God through His chosen servants - the prophets.

What does Malachi teaches and SOP commentary?

• Mal. 3:11-12 -- "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.  And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts."

•    Under no other conditions does He promise His blessings.  You have hard luck?  You cannot make ends meet?  Start paying your tithes.  Note carefully that God requires not only tithe but tithes; that is, tithe and free will offering.  He does not want them spent on something of your own devising.  You are to bring them into the "store house."  "...Concerning the first tithe, the Lord had declared, 'I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel.'  But in regard to the second he commanded, 'Thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.'  This tithe, or its equivalent in money, they were for two years to bring to the place where the sanctuary was established.  After presenting a thank-offering to God, and a specified portion to the priest, the offerers were to use the remainder for a religious feast, in which the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow should participate.  Thus provision was made for the thank-offerings and feast at the yearly festivals, and the people were drawn to the society of the priests and Levites, that they might receive instruction and encouragement in the service of God.

• "Every third year, however, this second tithe was to be used at home, in entertaining the Levite and the poor, as Moses said, 'That they may eat within thy gates, and be filled.'  This tithe would provide a fund for the uses of charity and hospitality." -- "Patriarchs and Prophets," pg. 530.

•    The command is, "...they shall not appear before the Lord empty." Deut. 16:16.

•    God does not lie.  He carries out His promises.  He never fails.  There is nothing more offensive to Him than unbelief and unfaithfulness in His Word.

• Mal. 3:13-15 -- "Your words have been stout against Me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against Thee?  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?  And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered."

• Here is pointed out another need of reform: We as a Denomination are charged with imagining that the ungodly are better off than those who serve God.  Before drawing such a conclusion, let each first examine himself and see if he is really and honestly serving God.

• Mal. 3:16, 17 -- "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.  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."

•    If we give undivided attention to God's Word, if we do all He asks us to do, we shall indeed be His people, His "jewels." Then a book of remembrance shall be written of us and our good and heroic deeds shall be read by the redeemed throughout eternity!

• Mal. 3:18 -- "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not."

•    We may not now see the difference between him who serves God, and him who serves Him not, but the day is fast approaching when the difference will be seen by all.

• Mal. 4:1, 4 -- "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.... Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments."

•    Here we are asked to remember the law of Moses which God commanded in Horeb -- the ten commandments, the statutes and judgments (Deut. 4:10-14).

• Mal. 4:5, 6 -- "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."

• The word "behold," calls our attention back to chapter 3, verse 1, where we are told that the Lord will send His messenger to prepare the way of the Lord for the Judgment for  the Living -- for  the purification.

• Obviously, besides preparing the way of the Lord, Elijah, the Lord's messenger, is to declare that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is at hand.

•    The work of ancient Elijah, you know, was the closing work for typical apostate Israel -- the Church.  Likewise the work of Elijah of this day must be the antitypical closing work for His temple, the Church, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.  ("Testimonies," Vol. 3, pg. 266.)

• Moreover, if Elijah is a messenger, he is to have a message.  His message is to be heart-searching, for he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers -- the fathers shall long to see their children saved, and the children shall long to see their fathers saved.  And this revival and reformation shall in truth be crowned with the purification of the Church, with the Lord's slaying the antitypical false prophets of today (Isa. 66:16).  "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Pet. 4:17.  "For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many....And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My glory; and the shall declare My glory among the Gentiles.  And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord." Isa. 66:16, 19, 20.

•    This slaying, you see, takes place before probation closes for the escaped ones are sent to the Gentiles, to finish the gospel work -- to gather all their brethren from among them.

• "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.  For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him;... Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." Heb. 2:1-3; 4:1.

• The most outstanding sin of the goat class of professed believers is that they are all for self and none for others. The sheep class are the opposite in character.  Since those who do charity work are not to make a display of it -- not to let the left hand know what the right hand is doing (Matt. 6:3) -- and since the system of such benevolent work is clearly pointed out in the Hebrew economy, we would do well to look there for it: "To promote the assembling of the people for religious service, as well as to provide for the poor, a second tithe of all the increase was required.  Concerning the first tithe, the Lord had declared, 'I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel.'  But in regard to the second he commanded, 'Thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.'

• Thus tithe, or its equivalent in money, they were for two years to bring to the place where the sanctuary was established.  After presenting a thank-offering to God, and a specified portion to the priest, the offerers were to use the remainder for a religious feast, in which the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow should participate.  Thus provision was made for the thank-offerings and feasts at the yearly festivals, and the people were drawn to the society of the priests and Levites, that they might receive instruction and encouragement in the service of God." --  "Patriarchs And Prophets," p. 530.  For this work to be carried out systematically by the Lord's treasury through gifts and free will offerings, sometimes called second tithe, we cannot but do likewise if we are to find favor with God.

• "Let all who fear God come up to the help of the Lord, and show themselves faithful stewards. The truth must go to all parts of the world. I have been shown that many in our churches are robbing God in tithes and offerings. God will execute upon them just that which He has declared. To the obedient, He will give rich blessings; to the transgressor, a curse. Every man who bears the message of truth to our churches, must do his duty by warning, educating, rebuking. Any neglect of duty which is a robbery toward God, means a curse upon the delinquent." -- "Testimonies to Ministers," pp. 306-7.

•    "The truth has taken hold of hearts. It is not a fitful impulse, but a true turning unto the Lord, and the perverse will of men is brought into subjection to the will of God. To rob God in tithes and offerings is a violation of the plain injunction of Jehovah, and works the deepest injury to those who do it; for it deprives them of the blessing of God, which is promised to those who deal honestly with Him." -- "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. 5, p. 644.

• Had we pressed our brethren who have embraced Present Truth to provide all the means by which to carry on the work but to feed us, they would have to give a second tithe, not only a tenth of their income but more than twice that, and before they accept the message, too, for we, had to start without any following at all. Consequently, had we waited on them, the work would have never begun. Therefore, I along with Sister Charboneau and Sister Hermanson were compelled to do everything we could possibly do to spread the message and to make the interest grow, but about three years later, when a few converts finally took a firm stand and began to pay their tithe toward the advancement of Present Truth, if I had said, "No, the tithe is sacred -- it is only for my own use and for the use of the two sisters who helped in pioneering this work," the message would not have advanced at all and the people who now rejoice in the Truth would have been yet in darkness, and besides, the tithe which the treasury of Present Truth now receives, the opposers of the message would have taken and used as a whip to prevent the sealing of the saints.

• To what purposes is the second tithe put?

• Answer:

•    "To promote the assembling of the people for religious service, as well as to provide for the poor, a second tithe of all the increase was required.  Concerning the first tithe, the Lord had declared, 'I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel.' But in regard to the second he commanded, 'Thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.' This tithe, or its equivalent in money, they were for two years to bring to the place where the sanctuary was established. After presenting a thank-offering to God, and a specified portion to the priest, the offerers were to use the remainder for a religious feast, in which the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow should participate. Thus provision was made for the thank-offerings and feasts at the yearly festivals, and the people were drawn to the society of the priests and Levites, that they might receive instruction and encouragement in the service of God.

•    "And further provision was made for the poor. There is nothing, after their recognition of the claims of God that more distinguishes the laws given by Moses than the liberal, tender, and hospitable spirit enjoined toward the poor. Although God had promised greatly to bless his people, it was not his design that poverty should be wholly unknown among them. He declared that the poor should never cease out of the land. There would ever be those among his people who would call into exercise their sympathy, tenderness, and benevolence.  Then, as now, persons were subject to misfortune, sickness, and loss of property; yet so long as they followed the instruction given by God, there were no beggars among them, neither any who suffered for food.

•    "The law of God gave the poor a right to a certain portion of the produce of the soil. When hungry, a man was at liberty to go to his neighbor's field or orchard or vineyard, and eat of the grain or fruit to satisfy his hunger. It was in accordance with this permission that the disciples of Jesus plucked and ate of the standing grain as they passed through a field upon the Sabbath day.

• "The law of God gave the poor a right to a certain portion of the produce of the soil. When hungry, a man was at liberty to go to his neighbor's field or orchard or vineyard, and eat of the grain or fruit to satisfy his hunger. It was in accordance with this permission that the disciples of Jesus plucked and ate of the standing grain as they passed through a field upon the Sabbath day.

•    "All the gleanings of harvest-field, orchard, and vineyard, belonged to the poor. 'When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field,' said Moses, 'and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it...When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again....When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward.  It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt.'

• "Every seventh year, special provision was made for the poor. The sabbatical year, as it was called, began at the end of the harvest. At the seed-time, which followed the ingathering, the people were not to sow; they should not dress the vineyard in the spring; and they must expect neither harvest nor vintage. Of that which the land produced spontaneously, they might eat while fresh, but they were not to lay up any portion of it in their store-houses. The yield of this year was to be free for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and even for the creatures of the field.

•    "But if the land ordinarily produced only enough to supply the wants of the people, how were they to subsist during the year when no crops were gathered?--For this the promise of God made ample provision. 'I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year,' he said, 'and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.'"--Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 530, 531.

•    So the second tithe, while on a more voluntary basis than the first, is just as important, and is actually a divinely ordained, long-range contribution to one's own welfare.

• IS SMALL INCOME TITHE EXEMPT?

•    As my income is very small, am I not exempt from paying tithe?

• Answer:

•    God designed the plan of systematic benevolence so as to make it as equitable to the poor as to the rich, no more a tax on the mite than on the million. And we know of no Scriptural authority for exempting from tithe any income, however small. All, poor as well as rich, are given the privilege of returning to the Lord His own. Many with a "mite" income are paying both first and second tithe, and in return are receiving a rich bestowal of blessing.

• This greatly needed project of caring for the poor and sick, called forth by the One Who is interested in us all, can, we believe, now be managed as it was in the days of the prophets: by a faithful second tithe paid by a people who realize that it is better to give than to receive, -- better, indeed, to help others than to have others help them; that he who gives is happier than he who receives. Figuratively speaking, each Christian should determine to be a water pipe, a pipe which ever gives and yet never goes empty, instead of a sewer pipe which ever receives and never gets filled.

•    Sickness and death among God's faithful people will not, however, entirely disappear before time and knowledge of Truth bring the fulfillment of Isaiah chapters 33 and 35:

• "There has been neglect in the churches of keeping up the plan of systematic benevolence, and the result has been an impoverished treasury and a backslidden church." -- Vol. 3, p. 409.

•    "Whenever God's people, in any period of the world, have cheerfully and willingly carried out His plan in systematic benevolence and in gifts and offerings, they have realized the standing promise that prosperity should attend all their labors just in proportion as they obeyed His requirements. When they acknowledged the claims of God, and complied with His requirements, honoring Him with their substance, their barns were filled with plenty. But when they robbed God in tithes and in offerings, they were made to realize that they were not only robbing Him but themselves; for He limited His blessings to them, just in proportion as they limited their offerings to Him." -- Vol. 3, p. 395.

•    "Systematic benevolence looks to you as needless; you overlook the fact that it originated with God, whose wisdom is unerring. This plan He ordained to save confusion, to correct covetousness, avarice, selfishness, and idolatry. This system was to cause the burden to rest lightly, yet with due weight, upon all. The salvation of man cost a dear price, even the life of the Lord of glory, which He freely gave to lift man from degradation, and to exalt him to become heir of the world. God has so ordained that man shall aid his fellowman in the great work of redemption." -- Vol. 1, p. 545.

• "Until all shall carry out the plan of systematic benevolence, there will be a failure in coming up to the apostolic rule. Those who minister in word and doctrine should be men of discrimination." -- Vol. 3, p. 411.

•    "The poor, by following the rule of the apostle and laying by a small sum every week, help to swell the treasury, and their gifts are wholly acceptable to God; for they make just as great, and even greater, sacrifices than their more wealthy brethren. The plan of systematic benevolence will prove a safeguard to every family against temptations to spend means for needless things; and especially will it prove a blessing to the rich by guarding them from indulging in extravagances." -- Vol. 3, p. 412.

•    "There must be an awakening among us as a people upon this matter. There are but few men who feel conscience-stricken if they neglect their duty in beneficence. But few feel remorse of soul because they are daily robbing God....There are many neglected vows and unpaid pledges, and yet how few trouble their minds over the matter; how few feel the guilt of this violation of duty. We must have new and deeper convictions on this subject. The conscience must be aroused, and the matter receives earnest attention; for an account must be rendered to God in the last day, and His claims must be settled." -- Vol. 4, p. 468.

• Lord the first-fruits of all His gifts, whether in the increase of their flocks or herds, or in the produce of their fields, orchards, or vineyards, or they were to redeem it by substituting an equivalent. How changed the order of things in our day! The Lord's requirements and claims, if they receive any attention, are left till the last....The majority of professed Christian’s part with their means with great reluctance. Many of them do not give one-twentieth of their income to God, and many give far less than that; while there is a large class who rob God of the little tithe, and others who will give only the tithe. If all the tithes of our people flowed into the treasury of the Lord as they should, such blessings would be received that gifts and offerings for sacred purposes would be multiplied tenfold, and thus the channel between God and man would be kept open." -- Id., p. 474.

•    "Nothing but utter inability to pay can excuse one in neglecting to meet promptly his obligations to the Lord. Indifference in this matter shows that you are in blindness and deception, and are unworthy of the Christian name....Let every one review his past life and see if any unpaid, unredeemed pledges have been neglected, and then make extra exertions to pay the 'uttermost farthing;' for we must all meet and abide the final issue of a tribunal where nothing will stand the test but integrity and veracity." -- Id., p. 476.

•    "Now God requires, not less, but greater gifts than at any other period of the world. The principle laid down by Christ is that the gifts and offerings should be in proportion to the light and blessings enjoyed. He has said, 'For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required'." -- Vol. 3, p. 392.

• "Sin offerings, peace offerings, and thank offerings were also required in addition to the tenth of the increase....A promise is here given, that, if all the tithes are brought into the store-house, a blessing from God will be poured upon the obedient....No less than one-third of their income was devoted to sacred and religious purposes." -- Vol. 3, p. 394, 395.

•    "When we speak of the tithe as the standard of the Jewish contributions to religious purposes, we do not speak understandingly. The Lord kept His claims paramount, and in almost every article they were reminded of the Giver by being required to make returns to Him. They were required to pay a ransom for their firstborn son, for the firstfruits of their flocks, and for the first gathering of the harvest. They were required to leave the corners of their harvest-fields for the destitute....Then there were the sacrificial offerings, the trespass-offerings, the sin offerings, and the remission of all debts every seventh year. There were also numerous expenses for hospitalities and gifts to the poor, and there were assessments upon their property." -- Vol. 4, p. 467.

•    "There are but few who consider the binding claims that God has upon them to make it their first business to meet the necessities of His cause, and let their own desires be served last. There are but few who invest in God's cause in proportion to their means." -- Vol. 3, p. 398.

• "The Lord will withdraw His blessing where selfish interests are indulged in any phase of the work; but He will put His people in possession of good throughout the whole world, if they will use it for the uplifting of humanity. The experience of apostolic days will come to us when we whole-heartedly accept God's principle of benevolence, -- consent in all things to obey the leadings of His Holy Spirit." -- Vol. 7, p. 146.

•    "A flood of light is shining from the word of God, and there must be an awakening to neglected opportunities. When all are faithful in giving back to God His own in tithes and offerings, the way will be opened for the world to hear the message for this time. If the hearts of God's people were filled with love for Christ; if every church-member were thoroughly imbued with the Spirit of self-sacrifice; if all manifested thorough earnestness, there would be no lack of funds for home or foreign missions. Our resources would be multiplied; a thousand doors of usefulness would be opened, and we should be invited to enter. Had the purpose of God been carried out by His people in giving to the world the message of mercy, Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth, and the saints would have received their welcome into the city of God." -- Vol. 6, p. 450.

• "All things are ready, but the church is apparently upon the enchanted ground. When they shall arouse, and lay their prayers, their wealth, and all their energies and resources, at the feet of Jesus, the cause of truth will triumph. Angels are amazed that Christians do so little, when such an example has been given them by Jesus, who even withheld not Himself from death, -- a shameful death." -- Vol. 4, p. 475.

•    "It is time for us to heed the teaching of God's word. All His injunctions are given for our good, to convert the soul from sin to righteousness. Every convert to the truth should be instructed in regard to the Lord's requirement for tithes and offerings....Those who are truly converted are called to do a work that requires money and consecration. The obligation that binds us to place our names on the church roll holds us responsible to work for God to the utmost of our ability. He calls for undivided service, for the entire devotion of heart, soul, mind, and strength....This is as true in temporal as in spiritual things. The Lord does not come to this world with gold and silver to advance His work. He supplies men with resources, that by their gifts and offerings they may keep His work advancing. The one purpose above all others for which God's gifts should be used is the sustaining of workers in the great harvest-field. And if men, and women as well, will become channels of blessing to other souls, the Lord will keep the channels supplied. It is not returning to God His own that makes men poor; it is withholding that tends to poverty." -- Vol. 6, p. 447, 449.

•    "Some have been dissatisfied, and have said, 'I will not longer pay my tithe; for I have no confidence in the way things are managed at the heart of the work.' But will you rob God because you think the management of the work is not right? Make your complaint, plainly and openly, in the right spirit, to the proper ones. Send in your petitions for things to be adjusted and set in order; but do not withdraw from the work of God, and prove unfaithful, because others are not doing right." -- Vol. 9, p. 249.

• "Prayer offered ever so often and ever so earnestly will never be accepted by God in the place of our tithe. Prayer will not pay our debts to God." -- "Messages to Young People," p. 248.