Chapter 17: Myth—Giving 10% Is A Tithe

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Myth—Giving 10% Is A Tithe

This was a great insult to any family in Israel at the time. It was also

an act of grave danger to Israel itself as the Bible continues by saying that “She has wrought criminal folly in Israel by playing the harlot in her father’s house. So you shall put away the evil from among you.” God gave warning to Israel against sin and in many cases it might have resulted in a collective

punishment or a curse upon the entire country. Sin was a very serious issue.

The concern about a daughter’s virginity is very different today. At one end is the very loose moral construct that “kids will be kids” and you

just can’t stop teenagers from having sex. Some parents now think they should offer teenagers their own bedroom so sex can be experienced in a safer environment. How depraved is that? At the other end are serious concerns about AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Few moral considerations from God’s perspective enter mainstream parental decision

making today, like it did back in Old Testament Israel.

The thought of exclusion from eternal salvation usually does not enter into parental consideration. I want you to realize a simple fact. Even though

some biblical laws no longer apply to our daily lives, the requirement of God that we do what is right under any given circumstance still applies to our life. God’s Word states that “fornicators” will not enter Heaven. One result of true belief in God is that we teach our children God’s marriage and sex

rules along with the eternal consequences of having loose morals. Even without explicit instructions from God, parents inherently know what is right and wrong. God will hold us accountable to His Word and for doing the right thing under any circumstance. Jesus will look for any “lawlessness.”

This presents another conundrum, doesn’t it? The Law might not directly apply, but the human issues expressed in the Law have not gone away. We are confronted with the same civil and social issues the Israelites

were confronted with. Therefore, even though obedience to a Law might not be required, God will still hold us to a catchall standard of always doing the right thing. It eliminates most of the Law and further explains James 4:17.

“So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17 AMP