Give with Gladness
The people gave their tithes & offerings gladly. God doesn't want anything we give without gladness. Nehemiah said the people were also joyful to take care of the priests & Temple workers. It must have been labor intensive to collect the first fruits, first born, and all other tithes & offerings. The time involved in preparing & burning sacrifices must have been more than "full time+. The people were grateful for the Priests & Temple workers & happy to take care of them.
I'm not sure that under the new covenant we are required to tithe one tenth of our income. Howeveer, the principles of giving probably justify our giving gladly to keep our churches & ministries going - to support missionaries, etc. God always blesses when we give gladly. There are great rewards when we help support full time, hard working pastors & staff in our churches.
Created 8 months ago
