Hi, Pastor John:
In Gen. 28:22, when Jacob was fleeing his home for fear of Esau, Jacob promised God, that if God would bring him back to Canaan’s land in peace, that he would give to God the tenth (the tithe) of his increase. We know from later chapters that Jacob did return in peace to Canaan’s land, but who was Jacob going to submit his tithes to?
Thank you,
Billy
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Hi Billy.
Odd, but I was just asked this same question just the other day by someone here. No one knows the answer to that question, Billy. But the only one who really needed to know it was Jacob, so that’s OK.
Billy, what we have in the Bible, from one end to another, is the tip of the iceberg of what could have been written. John ended his Gospel by saying that the worlds could not have contained all the stories that could have been written about what Jesus did while he was here. And that is just the life of Jesus! But the result of having so much not told to us is that we are left with many unanswered questions, such as the one you asked. And in that case, we must live in faith toward God, that whatever He did that we don’t know about, it was good and right, just as are the things He did that we do know about. And we should also learn well what He has revealed in the Bible so that we have a solid base on which to build.
Pastor John
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Amen, Pastor John,
We know Jacob had good examples like, his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham. God knew Abraham would “command” his children (like Isaac), and teach his children the statues and laws of God. Isaac knew that from his own first-hand expierence, when he carried the wood for the scarifice to Mt. Moriah. God even said to Jacob, “I am the God of Abraham and Isaac.” I thought, that would be a wonderful thing for God to say that about us, to someone else.
I am sure Jacob had enough faith that God would supply someone (if He hadn’t already) to whom to render his tithes when he returned from Padan-aram. These stories are exciting! Going through the OT is like it’s brand new. God never gets old.
billy m
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Hi, Pastor John:
Would Jacob’s tithe possible have been made in sacrifical form on an alter as ‘whole burnt offerings’ like Abraham?
Kay
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I didn’t know that Abraham’s tithes and offerings were in the form of burnt offerings. Where did you get that idea?
jdc
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The line of my thinking was, because their wealth was in their cattle, sheep, goats etc. that the groves and alters Abraham had at Beer-sheba, for example, was for this reason.
Kay
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Yes, I understand that their wealth was in large part, their livestock. But it is a mistake to think that Abraham’s offering burnt offerings to God from his livestock was how Abraham rendered his tithes. Tithes were never for God; they were for the benefit of His ministers on earth. Abraham’s personal worship of God had nothing to do with his rendering the required tithes to one of God’s servants.
jdc