Everything Belongs to God (Numbers 18:25–26)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
—Numbers 18:25–26

So, this is a powerful picture of giving and the principle—the hard principle—behind it in the Old Testament. God had commanded his people to give a tithe for the support of the Levites. In part, these tithes were used in a variety of ways, including the support of the Levites themselves. The Levites would receive this tithe, and then God says, “You Levites also need to tithe.”

In other words, they were to take a contribution from what had been given to them and offer it to the Lord. This practice of tithing was for all of God’s people—even the Levites who received the tithe. Inherent in being one of God’s people is the recognition that everything belongs to the Lord. So the first thing we do with whatever he entrusts to us is offer it back to him in surrender.

Numbers 18:25–26 illustrates a life ordered around honoring God with our resources.

I want to encourage you to think about this in your own life. Every one of us—whether a member of a church, a pastor, or simply a follower of Jesus—is called to give “off the top” from what God gives to us.

We could spend a great deal of time discussing what this looks like, but the short of it is this: based on the teaching of the New Testament, tithing (giving a tenth) is far more a floor than a ceiling. In other words, it is where we begin in the New Covenant—in our relationship with God through Jesus. A tenth is the literal meaning of a tithe, and it serves as a starting point, not an ending point.

So, for all of us, giving a tenth “off the top” to the work of God—to the spread of his worship in the world, the building up of the Church, and the demonstration of his love in a world of urgent spiritual and physical need—is foundational.

Numbers 18:25–26 reminds us that giving reflects trust in God.

This applies to every follower of Jesus, including pastors. Even though tithes often support pastors and church leaders, they themselves should give first, generously and sacrificially, from what they have been given.

Every follower of Jesus has the Spirit of Jesus within them, and we are called to give generously and sacrificially for the spread of his glory in the world. So I want to encourage you to evaluate your giving.

Are you giving from the very beginning—whenever God entrusts resources to you, especially financial resources? No matter how small or how great the amount, is the first thing you do to give “off the top”? Are you using a tenth as a starting point rather than an ending point?

This verse calls us to give generously and sacrificially.

The Bible does not simply instruct us to give 10 percent. It calls us to give generously and sacrificially as the overflow of all that God has given to us.

So, God, we pray—especially as we consider the culture and country in which we live, where, compared not only to much of the world today but also to much of history, we have so much—we give you thanks for all that you have given us. We praise you for all that you have entrusted to us, and we ask that you would help us steward it well.

Help us to give as your Holy Spirit leads us—generously, sacrificially, and cheerfully—not because we have to, but because we get to. Use our giving for the building up of your Church and the spread of the gospel in the world.

A Prayer for the Lao Krang People

When we consider how little we, as your Church, often give to the spread of the gospel—particularly among people and places where it has not yet gone—we ask for your mercy and help.

God, we pray for the Lao Krang people of Thailand—for the 59,000 of them who have little to no knowledge of your love in Jesus—and for thousands of other people groups like them, comprising billions of people.

Help us to give so that they might be reached—the Lao Krang and many others in Thailand. Help us to be faithful stewards of the resources you entrust to us from the very beginning. As soon as you give them to us, help us to give them back for your purposes in the world.

In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.