MA'ASER & MINIAN
4:47 PM
Ancient Israelites
and the post-exilic people called Jews have always practiced tithing. The early
banking system also used Ma’aser as a powerful way in money management.
It began with Noah’s flood and
continued on all the way to Abraham who met with the King of Peace, Melchizedek
the king of Salem, who was the high priest of El Elyon (God Most High).
Jerusalem’s name, Ir Shalom,
means the City Of Peace.
Melchizedek had no recorded genealogy, no beginning and no end of days. Who was
he? It is my opinion that he was one of Enoch’s students, an overcomer and a
peacemaker who came to set up the City Of Peace,
which would eventually play a major role in world’s history; starting with Solomon’s
temple, sacrifices, and all the way to the ultimate sacrifice upon the cross.
Melchizedek’s stealth arrival and
exit—from the realm of time and tangibility—speaks of people that live in a
different dimension, a realm with which I am only partially familiar.
Watch
Number Ten In Scripture
[Genesis 8:5] The water
decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day
of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.
Let’s begin with the
understanding of numbers
0 – ETERNITY.
Zero means space and also spiritual realm. To the natural mind it is as nothing.
But add many zeros to any other number and you can be super and endlessly
wealthy.
1 – DIVINE
SOVEREIGNTY. One means God, AHAD, but also TEN. It speaks of God’s
absolute sovereignty over all of His creation.
Look at the verse above and
understand. All that exists came from the AHAD. Call it the original molecule
or Big Bang, whatever… there was a beginning, which was in the One. God is
Spirit, we read about it in John 4:22. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman that salvation is from the Jews, which means
more than just the English word Jew. This will be better understood when we
deal with the number ten.
2 –
JUSTICE. Two means justice or righteousness, which is not needed in
heaven, but rather on the earth where space, locale and time play a role. Equal
weights for the weighing scales speak of justice. In heaven, God’s Perfect Love
casts out all fear; for in that realm any fear of punishment is nonexistent
neither needed.
3 –
HARMONY. Three means harmony because there are only three tones in the
entire musical scale that make perfect harmony; the fourth tone is an octave,
(8) a repeat of the root tone; all other tones are called dissonant. Even
diminished chords contain only three tones; the same is with augmented chords. God’s
three expressions, the Holy Trinity, is the foundational tenet of faith, where
three are one. God the Father did nothing without the Word, which Christ is,
and Christ did nothing without the Father who works through the Word; and the
Holy Spirit who does not speaks from Himself but only that which the Son says;
and the Son only says what the Father says and does. The Father in that sense
is subject to the Son – the Word, just as God the Father is subject to the
Spirit without which nothing comes to be in the entire creation. The Holy
Spirit of Himself says or does nothing, but only what the Father and the Son
say, yet both the Father and the Son do everything through the birthing and the
creative power of the Holy Spirit, which in Hebrew is of a feminine gender.
Hence, it is correct to say that the Holy Spirit is like the mother of life. After
one is born of the Holy Spirit, one sins no more, and becomes like wind (John
3:8; 1 John 5:18).
4 –
QUADRINITY. A word I myself have coined because besides the Trinity we
also have the angels, which serve as God’s messengers, winds and flames. God
does nothing without the angels. The four Gospels, the four directions, four
winds and the cross speak of crossroads, new start after a direction has been
chosen. It also speaks of us: mind, soul, spirit & body. Just as it is with
our Creator who made us to reflect Him on earth, we are like Him, The Father –
Mind; the Son – Soul; the Holy Spirit – spirit; the angels – body, through
which like God’s angels do, we execute our will, emotions and by which we act.
5 –
GRACE. Five speaks of grace, of the hand, the five fingers,
graciousness. The five fold ministries speak of God’s grace for us.
6 – FLESH.
Six speaks of the natural man and of gold. The Hebrew letter VAV, represented
by number six, speaks of anything physical. Each year 666 talents of gold were
brought to Solomon’s temple. The first sentence in the Bible is this: “In the
beginning God created the heavens and (VAV) the earth.” Both heaven and earth
was created for man’s sake; hence, we are the connectors between these two
realms.
7 –
COMPLETENESS. Number seven speaks of God’s complete number; with this
number God counts everything in the entire Universe. Spirit needs no rest, but
physical things that move in time and space, being affected by gravity, need to
rest and to regenerate. The Sabbath provides the necessary fuel for our
function. Those who do not refuel often succumb to illnesses, which God did not
mean for us. Number seven speaks of peace and rest. In Hebrew this number is pronounced
as SHEVA, and SHEV means to sit or repose. Seven days in a week is the measure
of God’s time in relation to earth only.
From Passover to Pentecost there is seven weeks. Seven months later
comes the New Year, then seven days of rejoicing at the Feast of Tabernacles.
The New Year, which should start at Passover is postponed by seven months and
on the seventh God celebrates with us the New Year. It also speaks of the seven
spirits (Isaiah 11:2).
8 – NEW
BEGINNING. Eight is a new start in life. On the eight day a male child
is being circumcised and on that particular day a boy’s blood coagulates the
best; sealing the wound much faster than on any other day. Sunday is the first
day of the week, YOM RISHON in Hebrew (head or start day). All firstborns, from
humans to animals are presented to the Lord on the eighth day (Exodus
22:29-30). If seven is complete then the eight must be the new beginning.
9 – POWER.
Nine speaks of power (Hebrew KOACH) - human strength, promulgation and
productivity. It also speaks of the power of the Holy Spirit, by which God
created all things. The nine months of gestation in a mother’s womb speaks of
that power, as well as of the nine fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The
nine gifts are the miraculous works of the (feminine gender) Holy Spirit; and
fruitfulness speaks of the Godly character. A human being is born after 9
months. After we have brought forth the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit the Law
has little or nothing to do with us anymore (Galatians 5:22). Being born of the
Spirit and becoming like wind also speaks of number nine, which brings us to
number ten.
10 –
DIVINITY. Ten is the number of God, represented by the Hebrew letter
YUD. Judah (Hebrew) YEHUDAH carries the divine element; hence Jesus said in
John 4:22 that salvation is from the
YEHUDEEM.
We have come to understand that
on the tenth day (Genesis 8:5, which happens to be the new start [chapter 8]
and [verse 5] with new grace) the water decreased and the land mass became visible.
[Genesis 14:18-20] And
Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of
God Most High. He (Melchizedek) blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God
Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High who has
delivered your enemies into your hand.” He (Abram) gave him (to Melchizedek) a
tenth of all (the spoils).
Later, three angels/men visited
Abraham and Sarah. One angel carried God’s name YHVH whom Abraham addresses as
the Lord (YHVH) and the other two men
(Genesis 19:1) went to rescue Lot and his family from Sodom and Gomorrah.
Why is it important to understand
that an angel can carry God’s holy name YHVH? It comes from this verse:
[Exodus 23:20-23] Behold,
I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring
you into the place, which I have prepared. Be on your guard before him and obey
his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your
transgression, since My name is in him. But if you truly obey his voice and do
all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to
your adversaries. For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land
of ...
Be on your guard before him and
obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name (YHVH) is in him.
All sins can be forgiven but a
sin against the Holy Spirit is a deadly sin, which is not forgiven in either
age (Matthew 12:32-33). Those who die—as it was the case with Ananias and
Sapphira who had died at once having no time allotted for repentance—shall be
burned up with the eternal fire, which is instant, and they are no more.
Rooted in this understanding the
three angels/men conversed with Abraham (Genesis 18), but with only one Abraham
bargained over the destruction of the twin cities. I see this one angel as
being Gabriel whom Abraham called the LORD (the NAME) the messenger, while the
other men were rescuers—overcomers. I used to call them angels, because I did
not pay attention to Genesis 19:1, which starts with TWO MEN. I assumed that
they might be angels like Satan and Abaddon, but now I know better.
[16] Then the men rose up
from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to
send them off.
[22] Then the men turned
away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before
the LORD.
[Genesis 18:23-33]
Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the
wicked? 24 “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will
You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the
fifty righteous who are in it? 25 “Far be it from You to do such a
thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the
wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all
the earth deal justly?” 26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom
fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their
account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to
speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28 “Suppose
the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because
of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five
there.” 29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are
found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose
thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty
there.” 31And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the
Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on
account of the twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be
angry, and I shall speak only this once;
“Suppose TEN
are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the
ten.”
33 As soon as He had
finished speaking to Abraham the LORD departed, and Abraham returned to his
place.
Abraham stopped at ten, in Hebrew
spoken as ESER. ASARAH means TENTH and MA’ASER means a TITHE. Ten righteous
praying men constitute a MINIAN, for upon them God’s presence SHEKINAH rests. To
this day no service in any synagogue, worldwide, can start without at least ten
men. Had there been ten men calling on God’s name in Sodom and Gomorrah the
twin cities would have stood perhaps to this very day.
We understand that the tithe is
holy to God. On the tenth alights God’s
favor or double grace, 5+5=10. The Passover Lamb was sacrificed on the tenth of
that month (Nissan), which for the Israelites, God said, was the beginning of
the months (Exodus 12:2-3).
In Leviticus 23:27 God says, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh
month is the day of atonement.” God was careful to emphasize EXACTLY the TENTH
day, which is the most holy day in the entire year.
Malachi speaks very strong words
against the house of Israel.
[Malachi 3:8-11] “Will a
man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed
with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so
that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of
hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a
blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that
it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field
cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts.
In those days the house of
ministry (the temple) was also a distribution center for the less fortunate,
the destitute and those in need of assistance; that’s what the tithe is all
about; it is about sharing.
Being wholly committed to the
giving of the tenth—not playing or romancing it as if checking whether I get yet
the promised increase—is rooted in fidelity. God speaks of loyalty (Hosea 6:4)
and faithfulness, steadfastness and commitment.
Today we feed on God’s word. We
have so many blind spots in our minds and these hold out those empty bowls to
be filled like those of the starving children in parts of Africa. Religion made
us spiritually famished, and those uneducated areas in our mind prevent us from
getting the proper nourishment. God had appointed the five-fold ministries to
fill those areas with knowledge.
[Jeremiah 3:15] Then I
will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and
understanding.
He continues saying (verses
13-18) that rituals and observances are not what we need, nor are they in God’s
interest anymore; for these had been the formational things, which have already
completed their mission. The new is what He is after, but religion’s wheels are
stuck in the mud of yesterday’s traditions. Only religion keeps on looking
back.
Jesus said in Luke 9:62 “No one, after putting
his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Where your food comes from there is your storehouse
[Romans 15:26-27] Apostle Paul
said,
“I am going to Jerusalem
serving the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a
contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased
to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in
their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material
things.”
Why are they
indebted?
Apostle Paul summarized it all
this way,
[1 Corinthians 9:11-14]
If we sowed spiritual things in you,
is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share the right
over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we
endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who perform
sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to
the altar have their share from the altar? So also the Lord directed those who
proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
The sowing is extremely
important. No one indiscriminately throws seed wherever it may fall, but sows
it in a fertile soil. One also expects a harvest from the place where one had
sown his or her seed. The returns are in many forms. One form is stands outs
out most prominently; and that an ability to grasp and understand, which then
absorbs knowledge, which eventually makes one wise. Wisdom then brings us to
the next level of our journey. There are noticeable signs of blessings.
Whatever your hand touches begins to prosper. A beggar on the street touches
nothing, but keeps his opened hand only to receive, which is eventually
squandered. A beggar is always sure of one thing, “I need more.” There is no overflowing with thanksgiving, in
prosperity; and no thought for others, perhaps for those in greater need than
the beggar himself is in already.
If you have sown and harvested
more seed, from which you plan to make bread, and you give that seed to a
beggar and he eats it, then there will be no more bread… but perhaps only if
the beggar had not fully digested the grain and eliminated it on the ground;
and then went on his way, and forgot where he left his bathroom business. But
from that kind of sowing no one ever reaps any harvest, neither realm, physical
or spiritual.
Once you have discovered the
nourishment and are blessed, then you must not forget to offer thanksgiving
with your material blessings to those God sent to you. Once you start
practicing MA’ASER then you must never stop, for it is not like courting and
break-up. There’s no romancing of God’s principles of prosperity. It is either
fully in, or fully out, never playing with the borderline.
But
the cream on the cake is this: your tithe sanctifies the 90% that remains. The tenth-extract,
given to those that feed you, preserves the 90% thus making it holy and
protected.
For this very reason the LORD
said,
“Test Me now in this,”
says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and
pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the
fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,”
says the LORD of hosts.
Obviously, He said, “Test Me and test your faith in Me. Are you
only religious or my child?”
When we dedicate the tenth to Him
all that remains is holy and God’s watchful eyes rest on all of our goods,
property, health and the increase. He speaks of overflowing with blessings in
every area of our life.
Amen.
0 comments