The Vow

I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made your vow to me. Now get ready and leave this country and return to the land of your birth. [Genesis 31.13] 

It was at Bethel where Jacob dreamed of the "stairway to heaven" and, having had the revelation that he was in God's presence, made a particular vow to God. What was that vow?

Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the LORD will certainly be my God. And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.” [Genesis 28.20-22]

The vow Jacob made was part of a mutual commitment. God would supply provision and protection and Jacob would, simultaneously, present a tenth of everything back to God. We can only assume Jacob kept his part of the vow as God was certainly faithful to His (Jacob had indeed been provided for and protected).

Suppose Jacob had paid someone else to protect him from Laban... Would that have honored the vow he made to God? No! In fact, it would have invalidated his vow with God! Even if Jacob still gave God a tenth of everything, that tenth would have no meaning at all if protection and provision were not obtained from God, but instead purchased otherwise.

Hmm...

This should make us consider something... especially those who "tithe."

God has made a similar vow to every "believer" in His Word:

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! [Malachi 3.10]

Not only can provision and protection be read into God's part of His vow above, but also and distinctly, every possible blessing in every possible way - blessing so great there is not enough room for it all.

As I consider my own experience with this vow from God and my reciprocal participation in it, I can openly say that I live in constant frustration with this vow. I have been a faithful and documentable tither since the 1980's. I have survived, but cannot say I have experienced the windows of heaven being opened to me. Has God failed to keep His vow? Or, as some ignorantly presume to say, does the Malachi 3.10 promise not actually mean what it says? The answer has already been stated: 

Even if Jacob still gave God a tenth of everything, that tenth would have no meaning at all if protection and provision were not obtained from God, but instead purchased otherwise.

As I consider my frustration with Malachi 3.10, I must reconcile with the fact that I have "bought" provision and protection elsewhere from the idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology thus invalidating my tithe and consequently the vow it represents. Every interest payment, insurance premium, prescription purchased, and obsolescent gadget I repeatedly pay for taints my tithe and consequently releases God from any obligation whatsoever to provide what I pay for elsewhere.

This article was not intended to be about tithing, but it is easy to see how important it is!

At its earliest mention in the Bible, the tithe symbolized that God ALONE is to be our source:

And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered. The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself all the goods you have recovered.” Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’ [Genesis 14.18-23]

Abraham's understanding of the tithe can be understood in the first three of the Ten Commandments that would later be given to Moses:

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

It is a gross misuse of God's name to vow allegiance only to Him (1st Commandment), engage idols for that which God promised (2nd Commandment), and then vow a tenth to God in religious mockery when payment has already been made to idols (3rd Commandment).

Instead of us trying to proudly interpret the Bible to fit our experience and narrative, we need to humbly understand ourselves by the Light of the Bible: if something the Bible says does not line up with our experience, the Bible is not to blame, but we are.

Idolatry is the repeated theme of mankind's failure to please God throughout the Bible. Idolatry is mentioned from Genesis to Revelation. Idolatry is at the heart of man's failure to please God today. Idolatry represents man's way and not God's way. And, Jesus very specifically threw down the gantlet regarding man's way:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)] 

A person would be better off making no contribution to God whatsoever if they also pay idols for blessings God promised. (Reader, think this one through...)

Father, right now I feel like the rich man Jesus encountered who went away sad because he was unwilling to let go of his money (the world's way) to follow Jesus... I want to walk and live in faith - trusting only You, relying on no thing or no one else. So be it.