The notion of substituting for a tithe is rather more mysterious, at least to me. Why would a person want to substitute, say, one calf, for another? Perhaps the one to be retained was in better condition? By substituting a less robust animal a man might keep the healthy one for himself and still fulfill the obligations of the tithe.

Unless, of course, he was discovered. That seems to be the idea here, since substituting would go against the command not to differentiate between good and bad. A man who substituted a poorer offering for a better one, should he be discovered (we must assume), would be required to relinquish both the original offering and the substitute. Thus God seems to have wanted to discourage this practice, doubtless, at least in part, to keep mere self-interest from entering into the work of giving. Ananias and Sapphira should have been paying attention (Acts 5).

This is instructive for us, if only indirectly, in our day, when so many appeals for funding offer premiums or promises of divine blessing to come to the giver – blatant appeals to mere self-interest in seeking to garner funds for the “work of the Lord.”

T. M. Moore

The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.