For the Sake of Ten—The Minyan and the Tithe As a man in covenant with God, it seems that Abraham is privy to some insider information. In this Parasha, Abraham learns of God’s intention to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sin. In pleading for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham, whose name means father of a multitude of nations, lives up to his name by acting as a father who pities his children. He asks God if His judgment would be stayed if He found 50 righteous men there. If 50 were not found, Abraham pleads for the sake of 40, then 30, then 20, and finally 10. God promises that for the sake of 10 righteous, He will not destroy the cities. Ten is an important number corresponding to the tenth Hebrew letter, yud (י), which was originally pronounced yad, meaning arm and hand. So, we can understand that in Hebrew, the number 10 is a reference to the hand of God or arm of the Lord, which represents salvation (Psalm 60:5 and Isaiah 53:1), authority (Isaiah 40:10–11), power and strength (Isaiah 28:2), judgment (Exodus 15:11–12), and mercy (Psalm 17:7). “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.” (Isaiah 59:1) Ten is so recognized in Judaism that a minimum of 10 Jewish men, called a minyan, must be gathered to hold religious services in the synagogue. Of course, we can see examples in Scripture where the number 10 is associated with power and covenant. God sent Ten Plagues on Egypt to show His power to the Egyptians and rescue the Israelites. He wrote the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone for the Israelites so that they would know how to live holy lives protecting their covenant relationship with Him. Ten is also a number of testing. Moses sent out 12 spies to spy out the Land of Israel and 10 came back with an evil report. In the wilderness, the children of Israel tested God 10 times (Numbers 14:22). Jacob’s wages were changed 10 times by Laban. Daniel and his friends were tested for 10 days in Babylon. Ten also can represent our covenant obligations. A tenth of our income is also the required portion to give to the Lord. This is also a test. Every time we earn money, the test is to see whether or not we will bring the first 10% to God. It is really a test of our heart—where is our first loyalty? Moreover, this is the only place in the Bible where God invites us to TEST HIM! “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 there will not be room enough to store it.“ (Malachi 3:10) Tithing—bringing a full tenth of our income into the house of the Lord—is a test. Our check book register shows our hearts—what we do with our money is a test. Also for the sake of ten, a tenth of our income, God promises to rebuke the devourer. He will not allow destruction of our material goods for the sake of a tenth. “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:11) When we find that our profits are being devoured and there is not enough to meet the need, it is time to check if we are faithfully tithing. When we tithe, we are in reality just bringing to God what belongs to Him. That is why Scripture uses the word “bring” and not “give.” If something does not belong to us, it is not ours to keep or give away. The tithe does not belong to us; it belongs to the Lord. For instance, to find in Scripture where people failed to bring the tithe and suffered the consequences, we need look no further than Jericho, the first city Israel conquered after crossing the Jordan to the Promised Land. Jericho was the “tithe” of all the other cities because it was the first one conquered. God told Israel not to take any of the spoils of Jericho; but one man disobeyed. Achan roamed the rubble at night, stole money and other spoils, and hid them under his tent. Therefore, Israel had no victory until God exposed the sin, and Achan along with his family and all his belongings were destroyed. “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ’How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing Me.” (Malachi 3:8–9)
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 05:42:01 +0000