Last week, in “Uncle to the Rescue, Part 2”, we saw in Uncle Abram’s response to the king of Sodom, recorded in Genesis 14:17, 21-24, a good lesson on how to maintain a humble spirit, even in the face of outstanding victory.
Abram’s homeward trek was not only interrupted by the king of Sodom, however. It was also interrupted by another king: The king of Salem, Melchizedek: “And Melchizedek the king of Salem … was a priest of God Most High.” (Genesis 14:18 NASB). Not only was this mysterious person a king, but he was also, “a priest of God Most High”!
There is a lot of mystery shrouding this king of Salem. This is the only time the Bible mentions anyone having direct contact with him, but he is given attention in the book of Hebrews, as he gives us a foreshadow of Jesus in His priestly ministry. That, however, would need to be the subject of an entire devotional series.
Today we will focus on Abram’s response to this mysterious king rather than on his identity, and anyone familiar with the story probably already knows that Abram gave this him a portion of the spoils. What you may not have realized is that the king didn’t come to Abram seeking a portion of the spoils; rather, he came bringing gifts, and more than one too! “And Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine…”; and “he blessed him and said, ’Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has handed over your enemies to you.’” (vs. 19-20a NASB).
Thus, Abram received gifts from Melchizedek – food and drink, yes, but also a blessing…
And Abram’s response to Melchizedek was, “And he gave him a tenth of everything.” (Vs. 20b NASB).
This is the first recorded tithe – an offering of a tenth.
We will notice here that it is after this encounter with Melchizedek that Abram returned to the king of Sodom all of the spoils of that city along with all its people. Thus, the “tithe” that Abram gave to Melchizedek was not on what Abram was keeping, but it was on the total!
I don’t think anyone knows for sure what prompted Abram to give this priest of God Most High 1/10th of the spoils of the battle. We know that the system of giving 10% wouldn’t be set up until years later when Moses led Abram’s descendants out of Egypt, so this offering given to Melchizedek wasn’t, as far as we know, obligatory. Nonetheless, Abram gave him a sizeable portion of all that he had acquired, and I would propose that he perhaps he did so out of his gratitude to the Lord for victory in battle and for rescuing Lot.
Because the old covenant of tithing hadn’t yet been instituted, and since the old covenant in general has been done away with, I would also like to propose three valuable principles of New Covenant giving that we can glean from this story:
1. We are to give when God puts it on our hearts to do so;
2. We are to give what God puts on our heart to give and not restrict ourselves to the 10% required by Old Covenant law; and
3. We should give off the top of our income – not waiting to see if there is enough to cover the expenses, but first.
One last point can be made from this story, and this is perhaps the most important one: Let’s remember that the king of Salem didn’t come seeking an offering; rather, he came bearing gifts! Abram didn’t need to feel obligated to give him anything. He could have simply accepted Melchizedek’s gifts and gone on his way. In the same way, God doesn’t bless us because we give to Him. It’s the other way around! We should give back to God in the way He indicates and the amount He puts on our hearts, we should give off the top of our income – not out of obligation, but rather, in the Abram way: Out of gratitude for all God’s blessings!
I would like to challenge each of you to try following these principles the next time you feel God urging you to give. Don’t limit yourself to 10% in church; rather give when God puts it on your heart, give to whomever God has put on your heart, give what God has put on your heart, give it off the top of your income, ever trusting God to make the rest cover your needs, and give it out of your gratitude to God for what He has done for you, not out of obligation!
This is the final part of the “Uncle to the Rescue” miniseries. If you have missed any of the former parts and would like to access them, just click here.
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
