The Blessings of YHWH

The Blessings of YHWH
By
James Scott Trimm

Our Messiah Yeshua said:

A thief does not come, except to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they might have life,
and they might have that which is abundant.
(Jn. 10:10 HRV)

Notice that there are two forces at work here. YHWH wants us to have abundance but HaSatan wants to steal this
from us. The Torah tells us that YHWH promises us blessings if we observe His Torah:

1 And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto the voice of YHWH
your Elohim, to observe to do all His commandments which I command you this day,
that YHWH your Elohim will set you on high, above all the nations of the earth.
2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you shall hearken
unto the voice of YHWH your Elohim.
3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, and the fruit of your
cattle, the increase of your kine, and the young of your flock.
5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough.
6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 YHWH will cause your enemies that rise up against you, to be smitten before you: they
shall come out against you one way, and shall flee before you seven ways.
8 YHWH will command the blessing with you in your barns, and in all that you put your
hand unto: and He will bless you in the land which YHWH your Elohim gives you.
9 YHWH will establish you for a Set-Apart people unto Himself, as He has sworn unto
you, if you shall keep the commandments of YHWH your Elohim, and walk in His ways.
10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the Name of YHWH is called upon you,
and they shall be afraid of you.
11 And YHWH will make you over-abundant for good: in the fruit of your body, and in
the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, in the land which YHWH swore unto
your fathers to give you.
12 YHWH will open unto you His good treasure: the heaven to give the rain of your land
in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. And you shall lend unto many
nations, but you shall not borrow.
13 And YHWH will make you the head and not the tail. And you shall be above only,
and you shall not be beneath, if you shall hearken unto the commandments of YHWH
your Elohim, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them,
(Deut. 28:1-13 HRV)

Likewise if we are not Torah observant we face a number of curses:

14 And shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the
right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
15 But it shall come to pass, if you will not hearken unto the voice of YHWH your
Elohim, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you
this day, that all these curses shall come upon you, and overtake you:
(Deut. 28:14-15 HRV)

The text goes on in Deut. 28:16-68 and also in Lev. 26 to give a list of curses we will face if we do not observe YHWH’s Torah.

Now this brings us to Malachi Chapter 3

8 Will a man rob Elohim? Yet you rob Me. But you say: 'Wherein have we robbed You?' In tithes and heave-offerings.
9 You are cursed with the curse, yet you rob Me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring you the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now herewith, says YHWH Tzva’ot, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall be more than sufficiency.
(Malchi 3:1-10 HRV)

And in the Wisdom of Ben Sira (in the Apocrypha) we read:

In a generous spirit pay homage to YHWH,
Spare not freewill gifts.
With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
Give to Elyon as he has given you,
generously, according to your means.
For YHWH always repays,
and he will give back to you sevenfold.
(Sira 35:8-10 HRV)

It has been said that religion and money are delicate enough subjects on their own and that the man who broaches both at the same time is sticking his neck out. And unfortunately many who have come to the truth of Torah and Messiah have come out from bad experiences in Churchianity in which they often encountered “fishers for dollars” rather than "fishers for men".

No matter how delicately it is put, people will often misunderstand when the subject of tithing is taught. Yet the tithe is part of the Torah and it needs to be taught just like the Sabbath or any of the other mitzvahs. And just as we encourage believers to observe the Sabbath, we must also encourage believers to observe the tithe. It is important to realize that the tithe (10%) is the floor and not the ceiling. The Tithe already belongs to YHWH (Lev. 27:30). No one is ever said in the Scriptures to GIVE the tithe. The tithe is paid, not GIVEN. Freewill offerings are gifts, but the tithe already belongs to YHWH and when we do not pay it, we have stolen from YHWH. Some people tell me that they will tithe after YHWH blesses them, but how can one expect to experience blessings in one's life when one is stealling from YHWH Himself.