mark 12, the currency of the kingdom

Read Mark 12 at Bible Gateway.

“Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him.” Mar 12:13-17

“Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” Mar 12:41-44

While I was reading today's chapter, I was thinking about the things that are Caesar's, and the things that are God's, and how this widow rendered to God the things that were God's. That got me to thinking about the currency of the Kingdom - not the kingdoms of men, which are passing away, but the Kingdom of God.

The images and inscriptions on the money indicate whose kingdom the currency operates in. The denarius of Jesus' day was inscribed with Caesar's image and inscription, so the currency belonged to him. Our dollar bills and coins are inscribed with the portraits of our presidents, and “United States of America”, however the inscription still is, In God We Trust. Even with that, the currency still belongs to the kingdom of man.

Now God does not need to use the currency of the kingdoms of men in order to accomplish His work in the Kingdom of heaven. The widow put in, by the kingdom of man's reckoning, two copper mites worth a fraction of a penny, and yet this was greater than all the other offerings put in. That is because treasure stored up in the Kingdom of heaven is not reckoned as treasure is in the kingdom of man. She put in all she had, so the treasure she stored up in the Kingdom of heaven was great (Mat 6:19-21).

So what is the currency of the Kingdom of heaven? I think it is just this: when we give all that we are and all that we have to YHVH, and back up those words with actions, we store up currency in the Kingdom of heaven. The scribes, whom Jesus told us to beware of (vs. 38-40), talked a great talk, but then devoured widows' houses. Presumably, He meant that when the widows could not pay their rent, instead of forgiving their debt and providing for their need, the scribes took what they had and cast them out.

For those of us who are Abraham's children, it is all about how can we be a blessing today (Gen 12:2)? What can we give today? We have a rich Daddy, who is rich in mercy and who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Eph 2:4, Psa 50:10), so we can afford to be generous, LOL. It means more than giving money, although money sure plays an important part, because our hearts can be tied to it. But also, time, food, labor, talents, mercy, forgiveness, listening, respect, as well as money - these things are the currency of the Kingdom. Let our Vinedresser receive His fruit when He sends someone to us to collect it (Gal 5:22-23)!

And when we trade in those things, God increases the Kingdom to us. When the children came out of Egypt, their clothes did not wear out for 40 years and God provided water from the rock in the midst of the desert and manna from heaven. They did not need the currency of the kingdom of man. When Elijah was delivering the word of the Lord to Ahab, God sent a raven with meat and bread for him twice a day for three years. He did not need the currency of the kingdom of man. And when 5000 men, besides women and children, needed to eat after hearing Jesus teach all day, the disciples fed them with five loaves of bread and two fish. They did not need the currency of the kingdom of man.

So what do we do? Do not fear, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom (Luk 12:32). Give Him all that you are and all that you have, and He will take care of the rest.

1 corinthians 16

Read 1 Corinthians 16 at Bible Gateway.

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” 1 Cor 16:1-2

The instruction Paul gives for the collection for the saints, was for the saints in Jerusalem, who were in need from a famine that occurred in Judea:

“When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.” Act 19:21-22

“But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.” Rom 15:25-27

It is a principle which permeates throughout the Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, that those who provide spiritually, are to be provided for in turn materially (1 Cor 9:3-12, Gal 6:6, 1 Tim 5:17-18). Israel supported the Levites with tithes, and Paul established among the churches that it was right for the church to support its ministers.

It is from this passage in 1 Cor 16 that taking a weekly collection during the assembly of the believers developed. In Paul's instruction, the setting aside of the portion to be given was not done during the weekly Sabbath assembly. No believer in Paul's lifetime would have done so, because transactions in money were not conducted on the Sabbath day, when the believers met together. This is why Paul instructed them to set their portion aside on the first of the week (the word “day” is not in the Greek), which would have been the normal time for a Sabbath observant believer to settle his accounts from the previous week's business.

In fact, in Torah, the tithe was not figured weekly, but after the harvest, since incomes were generally based on profit received from the harvest. This is why much of the instruction on tithing in Torah is found side by side with instruction on the celebration of the harvest festivals.

Contrary to some modern teaching I have heard on tithing, it is perfectly alright to set aside a portion and save it up. Weekly giving to the church is a wonderful discipline to establish for those who need to increase their faithfulness in this area, but it is not commanded that something be put in the offering every week. What is encouraged every week, is that something is laid aside to be stored up, so a deposit to savings, however one's savings are established, qualifies. If one gives monthly or even annually, as long as it is a fair representation of how he has prospered, then that is well.

The tithes in Torah were dispersed to Levites, as ministers of the Lord. Then other tithes and offerings were set aside for those who were suffering a material lack due to not having a father in the household who was the natural provider: widows and orphans. Then strangers living among Israel who did not own land, if they suffered; or families who, even though their father was still among them, due to injury, illness, or other misfortune, he could not provide for his family as he would wish, were also recipients. Every city included a storehouse where the tithes of grain and food were kept, where those who were in need could come.

“At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” Deu 14:28-29

“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try 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 such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.” Mal 3:8-10

That storehouse commanded in Torah, in Deu 14:28-29, is one storehouse of which Malachi speaks in this oft- quoted passage, but which is often overlooked! There is a double meaning in this passage. The first which would have been obvious to a Torah observant Hebrew of that century, is that the storehouse is where the tithes consisting of physical food and that which supplied for material needs were kept. The second that the Lord is revealing, is that the house of the Lord is also a storehouse that provides food, for man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God (Mat 4:4). There is physical food, and spiritual food, and tithes and offerings were to supply both kinds of bread. The storehouse of physical food provided for the spiritual food of Israel, for if the Levites did not have to work to earn bread, then they could devote themselves to their duties and the Word.

It is just as Scriptural for the local ekklesia to be the storehouse of material provision for the needy of their community as it is for them to the storehouse of spiritual food in the Word of God. Does that not witness to the love and generosity of the Lord for the world, when the needy can receive better provision from the church than from the county- run food bank? In fact, the Scriptures teach us that meeting the material needs of the poor is a proper expression of our faith in God!

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Jam 2:14-17

I believe that a church who makes room and provision for an outreach ministry, or who supplies the needs of other outreach ministries and homeless ministries and the like in their community, have discovered the heart of Abraham, the father of our faith, who was blessed by God in order to be a blessing to others (Gen 12:1-3). Abraham and the other patriarchs did not grasp for themselves, but relinquished rights, were generous, and gave liberally. In this they mirrored God, for He is a generous Giver of undeserved gifts (Mat 5:44-45, Jam 1:5), and a Relinquisher of rights in order to be a blessing to those who do not deserve it (Phi 2:5-8)! This is why God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7) - He is looking upon a heart which is in the image of His own heart!

However, for those who are able to work, but who prefer to live idly and sponge off the generosity of others, Paul's instruction is:

“For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” 2 The 3:10

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Tim 5:8

1 corinthians 6

Read 1 Corinthians 6 at Bible Gateway.

“Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren!” 1 Cor 6:7-8

Paul is here echoing Jesus' words:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.” Mat 5:38-42

This generosity of spirit was the way the patriarchs were. After Abraham was promised the Holy Land by God, his herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen quarreled over pasture. So Abraham, the elder, the family patriarch to whom honor should have been due, told Lot to choose his portion of land first. He did not grasp for his own rights, land, privilege, honor, or anything else. Lot chose the best portion of land to the human eye, the Jordan valley that was green and well watered everywhere like the Garden of Eden. He was looking out for number one (Gen 13:5-11).

Now right after Abraham did this:

“And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” Gen 13:14-17

Abraham did not seek his own gain, but trusted in the Lord to fulfill His promise to him, and because he did, the Lord renewed His promise and added to it. Each time Abraham was tested in this way, on the matter of seeking to get his own rights, YHVH renewed His promise to Abraham, and added to it. Read through the book of Genesis and see for yourself.

When Abraham won great spoil by defeating the four kings, he refused to take even a sandal strap, but returned it all to the king of Sodom (Gen 14:21-23). When the Lord asked Isaac of Abraham, Abraham gave (Gen 22). When Isaac was digging wells in the land of the Philistines, every time he hit water, the Philistines took the wells from him. Rather than fight for his own rights, he moved and kept digging wells until he had some that they left him in peace over (Gen 26:18-22)

The hearts of the patriarchs were giving, not grasping. I believe they were this way, because they understood the nature of YHVH, that He who had pronounced the blessing over them was giving and not grasping. They had the heart attitude, that they could afford to be a blessing, because they had already been blessed by God. Now Abraham was generous with Lot before he had amassed his riches. He was generous with the king of Sodom when he was just beginning to prosper. So his giving heart did not rest on the fact that he already had plenty and to spare. He was that way from the beginning.

That is the way the Lord is with us - when we have His nature dwelling within, we seek the welfare of others first; we seek to give and not grasp!

Now we have the reminder of Jesus, and Paul, that God's people are this way. They do not seek their own, but they relinquish rights. They give, they do not take. But how many of us, beloved, live that way? That is the question. When Jesus had finished His discourse, in which His instruction to turn the other cheek was a part, He said:

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Mat 7:24-27

Let us not be hearers only, but doers, for it is the doer who will have his house(hold) built upon the rock. Seeing from first hand experience that your household, your family, has fallen, because you have not been a doer of the sayings of Jesus (who is the Living Word; His sayings stretch from Gen 1:1 to Rev 22:21), is very painful. No one wants to go there, take it from others who have been there before you and can report back that it is horrific and to be avoided at all costs! Listen, God honors His Word. He will not abrogate this Word just because we are Christians. If we choose to build our house on rock, then it will withstand storms. If we choose to build our house on sand, it will fall, and great will be its fall. Become doers of the Word, all the Word, Torah included, not picking and choosing, and become imitators of our Father in heaven, who gives to all generously and without reproach!

money

to give: mountain top meaning
the currency of the kingdom, mark 12
relinquishing rights, 1 corinthians 6
collection for the saints, 1 corinthians 16

to give: mountain top meaning

The Hebrew word for to give is Strong's H5414 nathan, /tn, nun - taw - nun - to give, put, or set, according to the lexicons. So I wanted to understand the mountain top meaning of this word. In the ancient Hebrew pictographs, the nun is the seed, the son, the heir, and the means to continue the family line. The taw is the crossed sticks, the mark, the sign, the monument. The nun is again the seed.

God chose to use two seeds surrounding the sign, the mark, to mean to give. The first time the seed appears in Scripture, God has, on the third day of creation, hidden the seed in the ground, so that it will grow and produce fruit, which contains seed within itself also.

“Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.” Gen 1:11-13

That is the picture of giving. Giving is like planting seed. And there is the meaning of the Hebrew. Giving - the first nun - is like - the taw - planting seed, the final nun. What you give will grow and produce fruit - not just any fruit, but fruit of the same kind as the seed. When the fruit is produced, we take the seed within it, and plant it, or give it, again.

Everything we give is like a seed: love, forgiveness, time, understanding, kindness, money, wisdom, help - all that we have, when we give it, it will produce fruit of the same kind. Then we need to not make the mistake of eating the seed - we need to continue to give the seed within the fruit that is produced.

Likewise, if what we give is bitterness, rejection, hatred, unforgiveness, despair, stinginess, those are seeds, and they will bear fruit after their kind, and that is what we will receive in return.

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luk 6:38

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luk 6:43-45

“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” (Psa 112:9) Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.” 2 Cor 9:6-11

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Gal 6:7-8

“Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phi 4:15-19

I have been meditating on why the central character, the heart of the word to give, is the taw, the sign or mark or monument. It is to show that the picture (taw, mark or sign) of how the seed works is the picture of how giving works. One thing stands for the other, like Jesus using parables of families, farming, and weddings, which were pictures (taw, mark or sign) of the kingdom of heaven.