The Blessings of YHWH

The Blessings of YHWH
By
James Scott Trimm

Our Messiah Yeshua said:

A thief does not come, except to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they might have life,
and they might have that which is abundant.
(Jn. 10:10 HRV)

Notice that there are two forces at work here. YHWH wants us to have abundance but HaSatan wants to steal this
from us. The Torah tells us that YHWH promises us blessings if we observe His Torah:

1 And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto the voice of YHWH
your Elohim, to observe to do all His commandments which I command you this day,
that YHWH your Elohim will set you on high, above all the nations of the earth.
2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you shall hearken
unto the voice of YHWH your Elohim.
3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, and the fruit of your
cattle, the increase of your kine, and the young of your flock.
5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.
6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 YHWH will cause your enemies that rise up against you, to be smitten before you: they
shall come out against you one way, and shall flee before you seven ways.
8 YHWH will command the blessing with you in your barns, and in all that you put your
hand unto: and He will bless you in the land which YHWH your Elohim gives you.
9 YHWH will establish you for a Set-Apart people unto Himself, as He has sworn unto
you, if you shall keep the commandments of YHWH your Elohim, and walk in His ways.
10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of YHWH is called upon you,
and they shall be afraid of you.
11 And YHWH will make you over-abundant for good: in the fruit of your body, and in
the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, in the land which YHWH swore unto
your fathers to give you.
12 YHWH will open unto you His good treasure: the heaven to give the rain of your land
in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. And you shall lend unto many
nations, but you shall not borrow.
13 And YHWH will make you the head and not the tail. And you shall be above only,
and you shall not be beneath, if you shall hearken unto the commandments of YHWH
your Elohim, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them,
(Deut. 28:1-13 HRV)

Likewise if we are not Torah observant we face a number of curses:

14 And shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the
right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
15 But it shall come to pass, if you will not hearken unto the voice of YHWH your
Elohim, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you
this day, that all these curses shall come upon you, and overtake you:
(Deut. 28:14-15 HRV)

The text goes on in Deut. 28:16-68 and also in Lev. 26 to give a list of curses we will face if we do not observe YHWH’s Torah.

Now this brings us to Malachi Chapter 3

8 Will a man rob Elohim? Yet you rob Me. But you say: 'Wherein have we robbed You?' In tithes and heave-offerings.
9 You are cursed with the curse, yet you rob Me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring you the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now herewith, says YHWH Tzva’ot, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall be more than sufficiency.
(Malchi 3:1-10 HRV)

And in the Wisdom of Ben Sira (in the Apocrypha) we read:

In a generous spirit pay homage to YHWH,
Spare not freewill gifts.
With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
Give to Elyon as he has given you,
generously, according to your means.
For YHWH always repays,
and he will give back to you sevenfold.
(Sira 35:8-10 HRV)

It has been said that religion and money are delicate enough subjects on their own and that the man who broaches both at the same time is sticking his neck out. And unfortunately many who have come to the truth of Torah and Messiah have come out from bad experiences in Churchianity in which they often encountered “fishers for dollars” rather than "fishers for men".

No matter how delicately it is put, people will often misunderstand when the subject of tithing is taught. Yet the tithe is part of the Torah and it needs to be taught just like the Sabbath or any of the other mitzvahs. And just as we encourage believers to observe the Sabbath, we must also encourage believers to observe the tithe. It is important to realize that the tithe (10%) is the floor and not the ceiling. The Tithe already belongs to YHWH (Lev. 27:30). No one is ever said in the Scriptures to GIVE the tithe. The tithe is paid, not GIVEN. Freewill offerings are gifts, but the tithe already belongs to YHWH and when we do not pay it, we have stolen from YHWH. Some people tell me that they will tithe after YHWH blesses them, but how can one expect to experience blessings in one's life when one is stealling from YHWH Himself.

You may have heard that for some reason or another we do not need to pay the tithe today. That teaching is absolutely false. If you have any questions about the Tithe and whether or not we should pay the tithe today, see our article The Tithe of YHWH.

The tithe is the one commandment about which YHWH actually challenges us to test him and see if he will not bless us.

HaSatan HATES the tithe, he wants to steal the blessings that YHWH has in store for us, and he wants to destroy the work of YHWH. He is terrified at the thought of Nazarenes all over the world tithing. If we wish to stand against HaSatan we must start by getting serious about the Tithe. Go ahead... test YHWH and see if he does not repay you seven fold in His blessings!

HaSatan wishes "to steal and to kill and to destroy" (Jn. 10:10) and he knows the time is short and has stepped up his war with those who proclaim both Torah Observance and Faith in Messiah (the two pillars of Nazarene Judaism) (Rev. 12:12, 17; 13:7). But no weapon forged against us will prosper (Is. 54:17).

To pay a tithe or give a freewill offering, go to http://www.nazarenespace.com, click on the Pay Pal box and give as He has given you. (You can also donate directly thru PayPal by sending paypal donations to donations@wnae.org .
You can also mail tithes and freewill offerings to:

Nazarene Judaism
PO Box 471
Hurst, TX 76053

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Comment by GARY ATKINSON on August 2, 2012 at 10:55am: What a great article until the tithe is used. You cannot find one place in scripture that the tithe was ever money. It was always what the land produce in herds and crops. The giving of money is (Deut 16:16-17) is the key Three appointed times in a year shall all thy males appear before YHWH thy Elohim in the place which he shall choose in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles and they shall not appear before YHWH empty handed Every man [shall give] as he is able, according to the blessing of YHWH thy Elohim which he hath given thee. (2Cor 9:7) Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give] not grudgingly, or by necessity for Elohim loveth a cheerful giver. (1Cor 16:2) On each first day of the week [Sunday], let every one of you lay aside and preserve at home, what he is able; Far different but no less required just give what you are able.

Comment by James Trimm on August 2, 2012 at 11:16am: The tithe is not just on agricultural produce. Note that Abraham's tithe in Gen. 14 was not being made on agricultural produce but on “all” (Gen. 14:20) and specifically in this case the "spoils of his enemies" (Jasher 16:12; also Hebrews 7:4). This dispels the theory taught by some, that the Tithe is only paid on agricultural produce.

Now some have taught that the tithe Melchizadek paid was not the same Tithe mentioned in the Mosaic Torah from which the Levites were paid. This is also not true, as Paul argues in the book of Hebrews:

4 Consider and see his greatness, which also Avraham our father, gave to him a tenth
from the spoil.
5 And also the sons of L'vi collect for the priesthood, having received a commandment
to collect the tithe from the people, according to the decree of the Torah. And this is of
their brothers, although having come from the loins of Avraham.
6 Truly he who is not from their tribe, has received the tithe from Avraham, and blessed
those, who are blessed, to him.
7 And behold, this no one disputes: that the lesser is blessed by the greater.
8 Behold here, sons of man which die, receive tithes: but sleep received he of whom it is
said that He lives.
9 For so to say, that to he who was accustomed to take the tithe, he also tithes through
Avraham.
10 For He was yet in the loins of the Father, when He met, he who was called Malki-
Tzedek.
(Heb. 7:4-10 HRV)

The whole logic of Paul’s argument here is based in the fact that the tithe that Avram paid to Melchizadek was EXACTLY the same tithe that the Levites were paid from.

Comment by James Trimm on August 2, 2012 at 11:56am: True, however YHWH promises that while we give as we are able, he also promises that we "shall not appear before YHWH empty.":

16 Three times in a year, shall all your males appear before YHWH your Elohim in the
place which He shall choose: on the feast of unleavened bread, and on the feast of weeks,
and on the feast of Sukkot. And they shall not appear before YHWH empty.
17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of YHWH your Elohim
which He has given you.
(Deut. 16:16 HRV)

Of course the above passage deals with freewill offerings and the Tithe is not a gift, it is alreay YHWH's so it is paid not given... it can be robbed, but it cannot be given. Since it is 10% of a man's increase, as long as there is an increase, there is a tithe.

Of course I am not the kosher police and I am also not the tithe police. I can teach you that the tithe belongs to YHWH and when it us unpaid it is stolen, but I am not here to follow you around and see if you eat kosher, and it is not for me to follow you around and see if you tithe.