Bible Reading: Lamentation 1-2: Hebrews 7
“And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him” Hebrews 7:9-10(KJV).
Our scriptural verse of today is a proof that payment of tithe was not instituted under the Law but initiated in the Dispensation of Promise by the Patriarch, Abraham, who paid tithe to Melchisedec who was referred to as the Priest of the Most High. So we can say that tithe payment predates Levi to whom tithes were paid to as the High Priest. “And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him” Hebrews 7: 9-10(KJV).
Melchisedec took tithe from Abraham, as the Levites were commanded to take tithes of all Israel, therefore if Abraham paid tithe to Melchisedec 430 years before the establishment of the Law and the Levitical priesthood, considering that the same Melcheisedec has no descent or genealogy and on whose priesthood the priesthood of Christ is ordered, it follows that Abraham’s natural and spiritual seed should continue to pay tithes to this priesthood since it now replaced the Aaronic priesthood. Those who receive tithes also pay them on their own income. In this, Abraham was the representative tithe payer for all his seed to come. Christ is the eternal Priest, so the question is, if temporary priests have received tithes, how much more should the eternal priest receive them?
As there is no record of his death or end of his priesthood, Melchisedec, in scripture record, is an illustration of perpetuity of life, a type of Christ who is eternal. (Hebrews 1:8). If Christ became a priest after the order of Melchisedec, should God then require tithe under the priesthood at the first and discontinue it when Christ’s priesthood commenced? The scriptures and its logic does not favour the discontinuance of tithe payment in this dispensation because it is not logical for a mere typical priesthood be supported and not the eternal priesthood itself. Tithe, which predates the establishment of the law, cannot cease by the discontinuance of the Law. Being in the dispensation of grace does not lesson the obligation of man to his creator. Consequently the argument against tithe payment is not a Christian doctrine but a satanic ploy to deny Christian of the enormous blessing derivable from tithing.
Tithe payment is a solemn Christian obligation that is deeply spiritual. Not paying it or paying it deceptively can attract curses. (Malachi1:7-8; 3:8-9). When we meet our tithe obligation righteously the blessings of God are unleashed on us and our material and financial domain is guaranteed of God’s divine protection. Our tithe when properly given secures God’s protection over our wealth and health. (Malachi 3:10-12).
Action point: Review the payment of your tithe obligation and carry out a genuine repentance before God where you have failed to pay or underpaid and make amends.
Pastor Joel Ezeugo