Study Guide: Shareholders of Kingdom investments

Tithing: Hebrew Numbers Understanding the Word “Tithe”

(aHat) תַחַא

(shtyim) יַתְּשׁ םִ ְַ

(Shalohsh) שׁוֹלָשׁ

(arbah) עַבְּרַא

רֵשֲׂﬠַמ (Hamaysh) שֵׁמָח

(shaysh) שֵׁשׁ

(sheva) עַבֶשׁ

(shmohnay) הֶנוֹמְשׁ

(taysha) עַשֵׁתּ

(esair) רֶשֶׂﬠ

www.HopeHill.com 1 Tithing: Hebrew Numbers Understanding the Word “Tithe”

Malachi 3:8

יֲה עַבְּקִ םָדָא םיִהֱא יִכּ םֶתַּא םיִﬠְבֹק יִתֹא םֶתְּרַמֲאַו הֶמַּבּ וּנֲﬠַבְק ַמּֽ ַה רֵשֲׂﬠ ׃הָֽמוּרְתַּהְו

Malachi 3:10

וּאיִבָה ־לָכּ־תֶא רֵשֲׂﬠַמּֽ ַה תיֵבּ־לֶא רָצוֹאָה ִו הי ִ י ֶ ט ףֶ ר בְ בּ ֵ תי ִ י בוּ חְ נוּנָ יִ אָ נ תאֹזָ בּ מָ א רַ והְ י הָ בְ צ אָ תוֹ אֹל־םִ א פֶ א תְּ חַ כָ ל םֶ תֵא תֵא תוֹבֻּרֲא יַמָשַּׁה םִ רֲהַו יִתֹקיִ םֶכָל הָכָרְבּ ָד־יִלְבּ־דַﬠ ׃יָֽ־ְִ־ַ ְָָ ֶָ ִֹי ֲַ ִימשּׁהתֲֹֻ

Malachi 3 | Freeing God’s Hands to Bless

6 I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from My decrees and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty. But you ask, “How are we to return?” 8 Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob Me. But you ask, “How are we robbing You?” In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing Me.

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe, says the Lord Almighty. 12 Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, says the Lord Almighty.

Discussion Questions: 1. How does God view it when His people do not bring “the whole tithe into the storehouse”? 2. When God said “test Me,” what was the test we are to put Him to? 3. What was God’s promise if we care about His house first?

www.HopeHill.com 2 History on Tithing

Genesis 14 | First Appearance of “Tithe”

14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. 17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Leviticus 27 | Second Appearance of “Tithe”

30 A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord.

Discussion Question: 1. What was the main form of currency in the time Leviticus was written? What does the word .( שֶׁדֹק ָוהיֽ ַל הֽ ) ”This passage says the tithe is “holy to the Lord .2 “holy” mean?

Deuteronomy 14 | Thoughts on Increase

22 You shall truly tithe all the increase of your seed, that the field brings forth year by year.

Discussion Question: 1. How does the word “increase” teach us what should be tithed on and what should not? 2. Does this help us to understand pre-tax vs. post-tax tithing? Tax returns?

www.HopeHill.com 3 why tithe?

3 Good Reasons We Give Back to God

1. Obedience 2. Blessing 3. Building God’s House (Kingdom Shareholding)

www.HopeHill.com 4 1 of 3: obedience

Matthew 23 | Jesus Teaches on Tithing

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

Matthew 6 | Treasure and the Heart

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Immature Discipleship = I Obey God for What He Will Do for Me Mature Discipleship = I Will Obey God Because He is My Lord

www.HopeHill.com 5 2 of 3: blessing

Remember Malachi 3 God Said: “Test me”

Luke 21:1-4 | What Jesus Sees

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

www.HopeHill.com 6 3 of 3: building god’s house

Luke 8:1-3 | Jesus’ Ministry Funders

1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

www.HopeHill.com 7 3 of 3: building god’s house

Nehemiah 12

44 At that time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the , for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites. 45 They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did also the musicians and gatekeepers, according to the commands of and his son . 46 For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the musicians and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the musicians and the gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of .

Nehemiah 13

4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah. 5 And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. 6 But during all this I was not in , for in the thirty- second year of Artaxerxes king of I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king, 7 and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. 8 And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. 9 Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

10 I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field. 11 So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.

14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!

www.HopeHill.com 8 3 of 3: building god’s house

1 Timothy 5:17-18 | The Laborer is Worthy of His Wages

17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

www.HopeHill.com 9 home reading

1 Chronicles 28 | David Calls Solomon & the People of Israel to Build the Temple

1 Now David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all the mighty men of valor.

2 Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. 3 But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4 However the LORD God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. 5 And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6 Now He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. 7 Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ 8 Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.

9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”

11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; 12 and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; 13 also for the division of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD. 14 He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service; 15 the weight for the lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. 16 And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each table, and silver for the

www.HopeHill.com 10 tables of silver; 17 also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; 18 and refined gold by weight for the altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 19 “All this,” said David, “the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans.”

20 And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. 21 Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command.”

1 Chronicles 29 | Contributions for the Building of the Temple

1 Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God. 2 Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. 3 Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: 4 three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; 5 the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?”

6 Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly. 7 They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, into the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD; and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Praise to God

10 Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said:

“Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory,

www.HopeHill.com 11 The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.

13 “Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. 14 But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. 15 For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, As were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow, And without hope.

16 “O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. 17 I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. 18 O LORD God of , Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. 19 And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.”

20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the LORD your God.” So all the assembly blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king.

www.HopeHill.com 12 time to pass the test

3 Good Reasons We Give to God

1. Obedience 2. Blessing 3. Building God’s House (Kingdom Shareholding)

moving into Action

Visit www.hopehill.com/give

Options: One-Time Gift; Recurring Gift

www.HopeHill.com 13 thoughts about god’s love

John 3:16-17 | Returning Back to a Friendship with God

“16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Colossians 2:13-14 | Why Jesus Matters

“13Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.”

A Salvation Prayer

God has declared me innocent Because of my faith in Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus took my sin guilt upon Himself and died in my place. He became my substitute. He took God’s judgment for my sin. He bore it for me. And by my believing in Jesus God declares me innocent of all charges – justified by faith.

I do believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that He is the Son of God, That He came to redeem the world, That He died on the cross for my sin, That He rose again on the third day, That He’s at the right hand of the Father making intercession for me, And I believe that He’s coming again to establish God’s kingdom upon the earth.

www.HopeHill.com 14 recommended verses for memory

☐ 2 Peter 1:20-21 = Prophecy & Scripture “…[N]o prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

☐ 1 Peter 1:10-11 = Prophecy “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”

☐ Colossians 2:13-14 = Wiped Our Records Clean “…He has made [you] alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

☐ 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 = The Components of the Message “Moreover, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures…”

☐ James 2:10-11 = Not a Balancing Act “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”

☐ Hebrews 9:27-28a = Judgment “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.”

☐ Romans 3:23 = Guilt Established “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

☐ 2 Corinthians 5:21 = Substitutionary Atonement “For [God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

☐ 2 Corinthians 5:19 = Reconciliation & Atonement “…God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them…”

☐ Galatians 3:10 = The Consequence of Sin “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’”

☐ Ephesians 1:7 = Forgiveness “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

www.HopeHill.com 15