Genesis 14:17-20

After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh. Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.  And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

From Background Notes [BN] for May 5^th & 6^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Yahweh's priest makes it clear that Abram is blessed by God who is the Creator of all things. Whatever booty Abram brings with him from the battle belongs to God alone. How does Abram symbolize this fact?

 
He gives Melchizedek, God's representative, a tenth of the captured goods. From this term "tenth" (ma'eser) comes the biblical idea of the "tithe.” The biblical principle is simple: the gift of a portion shows evidence that the whole belongs to God. We have seen this in the case of the Sabbath. When one day is set apart from the seven, it is the symbolic way of saying, God has ownership of all time. Just as the Sabbath was the signature of God on "time,” so the tithe is the signature of God on "treasure.”  [BN, 4]

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* Saturday 6:00pm
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