Guarding God’s Word
Tradition is a fence for the Torah; tithes are a fence for riches, vows are a fence for abstinence; a fence for wisdom – silence. Rabbi Akiva, Pirke Avot 3:17B
Fence for riches – Rabbi Akiva was one of the most famous and most adored of all the ancient rabbis. His martyrdom at the hands of the Romans was a testimony of faithfulness. His life was a testimony of devotion to God. The rabbis of his age believed that giving was obligatory, not merely voluntary. They held this belief based on their understanding that all of life was a gift from God and that we merely participated as borrowers from His royal treasury. This included our physical as well as our emotional and intellectual assets. To give was to express the belief that we are stewards of God’s possessions and that God is ultimately in charge of all that we have borrowed. To refuse to give was to deny God’s sovereignty. Therefore, charity was a requirement of all who claimed to be followers of the King.
Akiva’s insight that tithes put a fence around riches reminds us that God’s goodness given to us by grace does not come without conditions. Giving away what God has loaned to us places restrictions on our hubris. Charity reminds us of Moses’ exhortation to remember that we are not the authors of our blessings nor the providers of our prosperity. Charity fixes a limit on our accumulation by demanding that we distribute what God has loaned to us. A man without charity in his heart and his actions is a man without God in his life.
In difficult economic times, it’s easy to believe that we determine our financial circumstances. We might begin by blaming ourselves for lack of foresight, as if we could have anticipated the shifts in the world that lead to economic woes. Then we assert that we must make changes to protect what we have. We begin to tighten our grasp of our possessions. We re-evaluate our priorities. We start to act as if we are the owners of our lives. We begin to cut away at the unnecessary. Of course, there are some good lessons to learn here. Far too often our lives are filled with desires for luxury. Far too often we have accommodated the world’s view of material success. Those decisions must be corrected. But that still leaves us with the necessity of a fence because given the possibility of improvements, we might once again fall under the seduction of prosperity as its own ends. Charity is the fence. It tells us that prosperity has a purpose – to give away the excess, to bring about the Kingdom, to support the redemption of the world. Charity prevents us from falling into the trap of denying we are only lease-holders in this world. Charity makes me see clearly.
The path of Judaism obligates a man to charitable acts because Judaism understands the power of the yetzer ha’ra. No man is so noble that he cannot be tempted to retain for himself. Every man has a barn in the backyard. Charity erects a barricade in front of that barn. The barn will always be there, but I can leave it empty.
Topical Index: charity, fence, Torah, Pirke Avot 3:17B
And, the Sabbath, a fence for time. Since I have been observing the Sabbath, it seems that the other days are more productive. Maybe I now have the awareness that there is a ‘limited’ amount of time, in which to accomplish necessary tasks. Maybe it’s part of the blessing of observance. I don’t know, but it has put some much-needed order into my days. Thank you for teaching this, Skip.
“it is written” Three times Yeshua reminded Hasatan and then proceeded to “run him through” with the sword that proceeded out of His mouth. Why did the Annointed one do this? The Son of Man, the Second Adam did this to show us “the weapons of our warfare.” It is written”
I don’t own a ‘tat,’ neither do I have any plans to have one installed (the canvas tends to fade!), but I have been “tempted” by this:”it is written.”
“You know the famous French philosopher once said.. Ben Franklin once said.. Martha Stewart says..E.F. Hutton speaks and the room gets quiet.. Why is everyone listening to this man? -why don’t you know who this is? This is Mr. So-and-so! Quite a celebrity around these parts.. “hear ye him.” if you listen you just learn something.
What about that carpenter’s son from Nazareth? A carpenter’s son? From the nowhere town of Nazareth? Why should we listen to Him? Who does He think he is? Ha!
But what if He is who He claims to be? and all of His words are so clear,, so concise,so penetrating. It seems as is they penetrate even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. Should we then listen to Him? A carpenter’s son? From Nazareth?
“It is written” “A new commandment I give unto you- that you love one another” “Love one another with a pure heart fervently” Spoken by ONE the talmudim referred to as “Teacher”
Thank you YHWH for your faithful servant Rabbi Akiva and the godly example and words he left for us!
Thank you Skip for the good word this morning.
On a personal note: I have been struggling with the whole arena of how much to prepare for the future, in relationship with what is going on in the world today. In the midst of the struggle, I hear the quiet whispers of my King saying, “Trust me and give it all away.”
When I stand before my King, “I will not be judged for what I saved, but what I gave away.” May I be found faithful.
Blessings to all this day!
Amein Skip and Brian
Unfortunately one can also fall into the other trap: Because everything I own already belongs to YHWH, I also don’t have to give. But I am good with God if he decides to take some of it away. He gives, He takes.
Someone once said that I have not given an offering (not charity) unto God, if it was not a sacrifice unto myself.
YHWH’s Word is so amazing. In a culture wanting to cast off all restraint, how much more do we need to hear and do our Father’s will. Of course, if one thinks the Law is abolished, one only needs to listen to the voice inside…and the results are evident: Bigger barns, empty of lasting riches. A Word worth tasting-thanks Skip.
Truth is so wonderful
Oh to see the words become action
Those who HAVE helping those who HAVE NOT
Awesome teaching, Skip. I still have the same question I have always had. In the good ‘ole U-S-of-A, we have grown up in and bought into the idea of credit: buy now, pay later. (By the way, it is also how I paid for my Master’s education.) For those of us in debt, what do we have to give? Is there anything to give? For what I give to others requires me to neglect what I owe. This can’t be right. So, I have resorted to paying off debt simply because the bondage of it prevents me from truly giving. In some ways I feel poverity stricten, but now that I know the Truth and the Way. Step one is first: get out of debt with man so that I can be a bondservant of Yeshua! 🙂
Jimmy,
It was not intentionally studying the Scriptures that convinced me it was necessary to get out of debt. It was ‘accidentally’ hearing Dave Ramsey on the radio. You could say, “He had me at Hello!” Everything I heard seemed to ring true! Of course, his strategies are mostly based on Scripture – “the borrower is slave to the lender,” etc. It took many more years to get my husband on board, but when he saw how serious I was about being FREE, he wanted to be free, too.
I have come to understand that this is one way the enemy of our soul would keep us imprisoned. We ‘buy into’ the idea that we should live the ‘good life,’ and pursue the American Dream. It pains me to recall how many years we wasted. But, now we know. We are not wealthy by U.S. standards, but we live differently now.
One of the things I enjoy about my life now is that, when I give, it is with gratitude that I CAN give. I no longer feel guilty for ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul.’ I want you to know it is so very worth every effort you must make, to get out of debt. Clearly, you have come to understand this point. I hope your repayment plan ‘snowballs’ and your time on that portion of your journey is shortened exponentially! Many blessings will follow!