Tag: money
Biblical Principle #237: King Not to Amass Horses, Wives, Wealth
Biblical Principles List Principle Under the Law of Moses, God forewarned Israel’s future kings not to amass horses, wives, and gold or silver. Explanation Knowing Israel would eventually desire a man to rule over them like the Gentile nations, GOD forewarned these Israelite kings in the Law, saying: 16 Wherefore he shall not multiply a…
Biblical Principle #231: Israel’s Vows of Dedication
Biblical Principles List Principle Under the Law of Moses, God gave instructions for the proper fulfillment of vows of persons, animals, houses, and land that an Israelite dedicated to His service. Explanation We previously established that some Israelites took a special purity vow known as the Nazarite vow. Others might vow service of themselves, other…
Biblical Principle #228: Israel to Ceremonially Cleanse
Biblical Principles List Principle Under the Law of Moses, an Israelite was to purify themselves following specific events that made them ceremonially unclean to GOD. Explanation In the Law of Moses, GOD specified four categories of uncleanness that required a form of ceremonial cleansing: Here is what the Law said about each of these categories:…
Biblical Principle #223: Israel’s Guilt Offerings
Biblical Principles List Principle Under the Law of Moses, GOD gave specific instructions regarding guilt restitution payments for their sin. Explanation Under the Law of Moses, when an Israelite sinned, there were precise instructions for receiving forgiveness for that sin. Because blood (life) is the price of guilt due to sin, animals were sacrificed under…
Biblical Principle #183: Balaam Advised Midianites to Tempt Israel
Biblical Principles List Principle Balaam taught Balak to tempt Israel into idolatrous and sexual sin. Explanation Balak, king of Moab, hired Balaam to curse Israel. GOD eventually allowed Balaam to visit Balak but only permitted Balaam to speak the words GOD gave him. Instead of cursing Israel, Balaam blessed Israel, prophesying about their future, including…
Biblical Principle #180: Balak Hired Balaam to Curse Israel
Biblical Principles List Principle Moab ruler, King Balak, hired a soothsayer named Balaam to curse Israel. Explanation Having been made aware of Israel’s victories over the Amorites, the Moabites were terrified about what was about to happen to them. Moabite king, Balak, devised a plan whereby he hired a diviner named Balaam to place a…
Biblical Principle #148: The Census Atonement Offering
Biblical Principles List Principle When Israel took a census, each man was to offer a ransom payment for the atonement of his soul. Explanation GOD instructed Moses to have all Israelite men give a ransom payment for themselves at each census. 11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “When you take the census…
Why the Concept of “the Lord’s Money” is Wrong (Rethinking Church Contributions)
It’s difficult to find something that has been more problemmatic for Christians and believers than church finances. Money issues aren’t just the top destructor of marriages. Disagreements over money have divided many a congregation. Recently, I’ve been discussing the theme of the challenges Christians face in separating what exists today from what should exist, with…
Jesus’ Church: Organism or Organization? (Why Our Thinking About the Church is Wrong)
I recently read a newspaper article written by a preacher that was discussing his view of the purpose of the church. Since I’ve been thinking and writing about similar things recently, the headline caught my eye, so I read it. The contents got me to thinking. As Christians, we understand (intellectually) the individual truths that…
What Does the Bible Say about Giving (Tithes and Offerings)?
What does the Bible really teach about the subject of giving—supporting the poor, tithes and offerings? You might be surprised to learn that common church practice is often far from what we read of in the New Testament. In this post, I’ll take you through the entire Bible to show you what the Scriptures really…