The key to the resources of heaven is to honor the Lord with our Tithes and Offerings. Consider that the entire Jewish nation could not prosper. They experienced crop failures continually and the were being oppressed by their enemies.

Mal 3:8 Will a man rob or defraud God? Yet you rob and defraud Me. But you say, In what way do we rob or defraud You? [You have withheld your] tithes and offerings.

9 You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation. [Lev 26:14‑17.]

10 Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. [Mal 2:2.]

11 And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.  AMP

One of the main reasons they were under such a curse was because there was no functioning priesthood. The tribe of Levi had no allotments of land to farm. Neither did they have large herds and flocks like the other tribes. They only had a few acres near the cities for a few animals and a

place for a vegetable  garden for their own use. The tithes and offerings were their portion.

Num 18:20 Then the Lord said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel. 21 “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 22 Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Without a functioning priesthood. The nation had no approach to God.

* No forgiveness for personal sins

* No ministry of purification and healing

* No intercession by the High Priest for the atonement of the nation

* No avenue to be blessed, because the blessing flowed from their obedience to honor God with their tithes and offerings for the support of the ministry. There was no alternate plan !

Today there are still those that say that Tithes and Offerings are strictly an Old Testament matter.

However, when we examine scripture we find that Tithing supercedes both the OT law  & NT.

Gen 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said:”Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”And he gave him a tithe of all. NKJV

Of all the things that we must get firmly established in our hearts, this may be among the most important. To withhold the tithe……. is to deny the Melchizedec Priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Heb 7:4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.  NKJV

Heb 7:21 The Lord has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’”),  22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. NKJV

We as believers connect to the New Covenant by faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him.

Gal 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Gal 3:29  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. NKJV

Jesus challenged the religious leaders of his day not only to confess that they were children of Abraham but to actually live like Abraham ! One of the most spiritual things that Abraham ever did was to implement the spiritual law of tithes and offerings as a mode of giving and receiving, sowing and reap, as an avenue of continual blessing.

John 8:39 They retorted, Abraham is our father. Jesus said, If you were [truly] Abraham’s children, then you would do the works of Abraham [follow his example, do as Abraham did]. AMP

Solomon, perhaps the riches person ever to live , leaves us with this powerful….. golden nugget of wisdom.

Prov 3:9 Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income; [Deut 26:2; Mal 3:10; Luke 14:13,14.]

10 So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your prosperity will increase. [Deut 28:8.]

AMP & Paraphrase Version

Some ministers think that just because you are called to the ministry that you are exempt from honoring the Lord with their tithes and offerings. Scripture indicates everyone in the body of Christ is instructed to participate equally.

Num 18:25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, a tenth of the tithe. 27 And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. 28 Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. NKJV

1 Cor 16:2 On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. NLT

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