Our Exceeding Great Reward
Bob Yandian
If the firstfruits or tithe belong to the Lord, why doesn’t He just keep it in the first place? Why does He bless us and ask us to give a tenth back to Him? Because the Lord says to honor Him with the firstfruits of all our increase (Proverbs 3:9), and there is no show of honor if we don’t give to Him. If the Lord just kept ten percent of our income, there would be no honor for Him to receive. He loves to see us succeed and prosper, but He loves it even more when, of our own free will, we give back to Him.
To the world, money is everything. Money not only buys us the necessities and luxuries of life, but it also gives us an image and status. To the world, how we spend our money tells others what kind of person we are and what is most important to us.
Because unbelievers respect money so much, when we give portions of our money to the Lord, it is a high honor by worldly standards. We are literally giving our life to the Lord when we give Him our money. Ironically, this is true scripturally. The Bible says in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Even the world knows if we really love and trust God, we will take joy in giving to Him. Giving our tithes and offerings to the Lord honors Him before the world.
A “Quickly Increasing Money Supply!”
The Lord tells Abram in Genesis 15:1 that He (God) is his (Abram’s) “exceeding great reward.” Usually, it takes several English words to translate one Hebrew word, but “exceeding great reward” is actually a translation of three Hebrew words. It is significant that it took three words to describe what God wanted to say to Abram.
The Hebrew word for “exceeding” is the word mέ’όd, which means “speedy, fast or quick.” The Hebrew word for “great” is rabah, which means “increasing.” And the Hebrew word for “reward” literally means “salary, wages, or money supply.” What did God say to Abram?
I will be your shield and your quickly increasing money supply!
God is simply saying, “I know you gave away a great amount of money, but I will be your reward. Quit looking to yourself or your money for security. Stop putting your faith in what you have in the bank, your own efforts, how many hours you can work, how young you are, or what you’ve set aside in savings. Those things are fine, but don’t put your trust in them! Put your trust in Me! I will be your shield and your rapidly increasing supply of finances forever.”
Men Receive Your Money, Jesus Receives Your Attitude
Hebrews 7:8 tells us men receive our tithes and offerings, but the Lord receives our attitude behind them. Have you ever noticed how so many Scriptures on giving always emphasize our attitude? Honor the Lord with the firstfruits of your increase. Men who die receive the firstfruits; the Lord receives the honor.
2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
What happens when we give in faith? Men receive the money, but God receives the faith. What happens when we give in love? Men receive the money, God receives the love. What happens if we give grudgingly or of necessity? Men receive the money, God gets nothing – and we receive nothing back in return. What God uses is the attitude behind the giving.
When we give our finances we give our faith, our love, and our honor to God. Men receive the finances, but God receives our faith, love, and honor. With all these things, God multiplies blessings back to us and brings us out of the land of just enough into the land of abundance. Everything in prosperity begins and ends with the Lord Himself. He instructs us to give to Him in faith, and when we choose to obey His Word, He gives us the courage to face all our fears and excuses. Through His supernatural strength, we then overcome those fears and excuses and step out in faith to obey His Word. We then give our tithes and offerings to men who die, but our faith, love, and honor to God. Because you have come to worship Him with your tithes and offerings, surrendering your life to Him as you give, He becomes more real in your daily life. You can feel His presence at every turn, and His Spirit will give you wisdom to meet every challenge – financial and otherwise. He has truly become your “exceeding great reward.”
