First...golden cups and silver tent stakes come from the land...and those who have inheritance in the land give out of their inheritance in the land. The high priesthood has no part or inheritance in the land to give in the first place, so the law of Moses naturally has a rule that the high priesthood does not tithe...the only inheritance and part for the high priesthood is God himself (the holiest of all).
Those required to tithe are those with inheritance in the land...and those without direct access to the holiest of all. Even the other Levites did tithe to Aaron and the sons of Aaron, because they did not have direct access to the holiest of all.
In the Bible....
The first example of tithe is Abraham giving tithe (and this high priest being tithed to did have the ability to recieve for the glory of God/use the ten percent of the inheritance in the land).
Genesis 14:17-20King James Version (KJV)[SUP]
17 [/SUP]And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
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18 [/SUP]And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
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19 [/SUP]And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
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20 [/SUP]And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
The second example I know of....
Genesis 28:19-22King James Version (KJV)
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19 [/SUP]And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
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20 [/SUP]And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
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21 [/SUP]So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:
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22 [/SUP]And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
In both instances...the tenth is given to one with direct access to the holiest of all. In the Levitical priesthood the sons of Aaron are not required to tithe...because they have direct access to the holiest of all, God is their inheritance, and the tenth of the inheritance in the land can indeed be used by those with access to the holiest of all (the commonwealth/separate ones/body of Christ/tabernacle of God).
What did those who followed Jesus Christ of Nazareth learn about the way that the high priesthood functions in regards to the earthly/land substances (from those who have inheritance in the earthly/land)? The commonwealth of Israel is the answer to that.
Ephesians 2:11-13King James Version (KJV)
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11 [/SUP]Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
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12 [/SUP]That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
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13 [/SUP]But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Acts 4:31-33King James Version (KJV)[SUP]
31 [/SUP]And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
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32 [/SUP]And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
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33 [/SUP]And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
The approved example of the high priesthood (Christians) is one of not only giving all of your inheritance in the land, but also one of giving all of your time...your sight, hearing, tongue, feet, etc.
The game I have been talking about naturally is an example of all things common as well (which is (I believe) a trademark of the high priesthood...commonwealth).
If a Christian (one with access to the holiest of all) keeps 90%, or whatever percentage... they are making a sound with their body language (at the least) which God certainly does not approve of. It is not impossible for the adopted children of God to communicate well enough to use private resources in a God approved way without the need to even change who is currently in possession of those privately owned resources.
2 Corinthians 8:7-9King James Version (KJV)
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7 [/SUP]Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
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8 [/SUP]I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
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9 [/SUP]For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
I think a good baby step for each denomination...is to each sponsor one traveler
in a Christian game that does help...naturally.[/QUOTEO
Forget natural philosophy. Think of it as Americans sharing some of their individual contributions to the GNP (Gross National Product/output). That's part of what made this nation great in the eyes of the world.
There is a lie on the So. Baptist Convention. Some say they rejected tithing in the mid 1800's. They did wrestle with that, but have adopted tithing a the best finance principle ever since. It blessed them through many generations, and still blesses the remaining faithful. The same is applicable to most mainline Christian denominations.
Fight it all you must, folks, though we who are convinced and blessed can't be dissuaded.
