“Two Ways of Life” (Deuteronomy 11:8-17)

The Land of Egypt vs. the Land of Canaan

What image comes to mind when you think of the “Promised Land”? One of the most popular images would be a "land flowing with milk and honey." But, if you read today’s passage carefully, Canaan doesn’t sound like the land flowing with milk and honey. It seems rather a barren land. In today’s scripture Moses compares the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan. In verse 10, he says, “In the land of Egypt you planted your seed and irrigated by foot like a vegetable garden.” In other words, Egypt is fertile ground for planting crops. Yearly floods bring soil rich in nutrients to the Nile Valley. The Nile basin is one of the birthplaces of ancient civilization. In this respect, the land of Egypt is a land flowing with milk and honey. That is why when Korah rose up against Moses, he said as follows in Numbers 16:13, “Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert?” From a human point of view surely Egypt is a land flowing with milk and honey. The life in Egypt is predictable, self-reliant, and self-sufficient.

How about the land of Canaan? In verse 11, Moses says, “But the land that you are crossing over to occupy is a land of hills and valleys, watered by rain from the sky.” In other words, unlike Egypt, in Canaan people must totally depend on rain to get water. They must depend on God for living. The life in Canaan is dependent and unpredictable. Then, why is the land of Canaan called “a land flowing with milk and honey”? The answer is in verse 12. Moses says, “It (Canaan) is a land that the Lord your God looks after. The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” Canaan is the land that the Lord cares for. It is the land that the Lord himself is a Provider. So, The Lord promises his people, “If you love me and obey my commands, I will send rain on your land in its season so that you may gather in your grain” (13-14). From a human point of view, Canaan is not a land flowing with milk and honey. But, from God’s point of view, it is the most fertile and blessed land because only when we have a right relationship with God, we are then able to live a prosperous life in the land of Canaan.

Out of Egypt

The thing is our human nature seeks to control of our life. We try hard to avoid unknown, unpredictable. We want to live in the land of Egypt where we are in charge – self-reliant, self-sufficient life. Once Jesus told a story of a rich man who had a large farm that produced fine crops. And he thought himself, “What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops. I know! I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then, I’ll store all my grain… and I will say to myself, “Self, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy and have the time of your life!” But God said to him, “You fool! You will die tonight. Then who will get everything you worked for?” (Luke 12:20) So in this story what is the rich man’s problem? Self-sufficiency. He believed if he had enough possessions, his life would be easy, happy, good. If believed if he worked hard, his life would be predictable, controllable. Wrong. On another occasion, a young rich official asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said, “You know the ten commandments.” The man replied, “I have kept them all since I was a boy.” Jesus said, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all your possession and give the money to the poor… then come, follow me” (18:22). When the man heard this, he became very sad and went away. Here Jesus was nudging him out of his comfort zone – self-reliance. Here Jesus was challenging him to see one thing lacking, that is, God-dependence. Here Jesus was inviting him to come out of the land of Egypt and to enter the land of Canaan, but he was not willing.

Into the Land of Canaan

One day Jesus was at the temple with his disciples, watching people putting their gifts in the offering box. There were some rich people dropping their offerings, and everyone could hear the sound of their coins clanging. But then, Jesus also saw a poor widow put in two small coins. And he said, “This poor widow has given more than all the rest of them, because all the others have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she out of her poverty gave her all” (21:4). This woman is a shining example of those who live in the land of Canaan – living a God-dependent life. This quality – “dependence on God” – doesn’t come naturally. It is not a natural quality, but it has to be cultivated over the time. In the following chapters of Deuteronomy, God gives detailed instructions to the Israelites how they should live as God-dependent people in the Promised Land. In particular, three things are essential: “worship and feast celebration,” “clean food,” and “tithes and offerings.” Through these spiritual disciplines the Israelites must learn to fully rely on God.

This morning we will explore further why God emphasizes on tithing. What is tithing? The word tithe simply comes from the Hebrew word “maaser,” which means ten percent. Tithe is one-tenth. Why does then God command his people to tithe? It is because through tithing we can learn to let go of self-reliance and to trust the Lord as our “Provider.” One time I read an interesting story about a trapper in the African Congo. The natives hunt monkeys in a very creative way. They devised a monkey trap using a hollow gourd, and they pour peanuts through a small hole into the gourd. The monkey would reach in and grab the peanuts, but the hole was too small to remove his closed hand. Interestingly, once monkeys grab the peanuts, most of the time they never open their hand until they are caught. Many of us live in a mentality of “I can’t afford it.” We grasp tightly and try to keep everything under control. There is no one in this room who had an open hand to God from the beginning. We need to learn to open our hand, and in this regard tithing is a valuable spiritual discipline to open our hand to God in surrender and trust.

Deuteronomy 14:22-23 says, “Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year… so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always” (NIV). Tithing banishes the fear of losing our control and strengthens our trust towards God. The practice of tithing is a faith journey from self-sufficient life to God-dependent life. It is a practical action we put with the faith statement, “Lord, you are my source of provision.” Tithing requires faith for anyone. If we make $1,000 per month, giving that $100 is difficult, because we need every dollar available for expenses. If we make $10,000 per month, giving the $1,000 is difficult, because it is a lot of money. The discipline of tithing is very similar to the discipline of keeping the Sabbath holy. Sunday is not a weekend. It is the first day of the week. It is the day of worship and rest in the Lord. We rest on Sunday not because we worked hard during the previous week. But by faith, we rest on Sunday first to find time to have fellowship with God, and then we work hard throughout the week. Priority. In the same way, we tithe not because we can afford it. But, by faith we tithe first before using money for anything else. As we develop this spiritual discipline of tithing, we are able to learn to live a God-dependent life more and more.

Living in the Promised Land

Tithing is a floor, not a ceiling. What does it mean by that? Once one of my colleagues shared his grandson, Warren’s story. When Warren was a child, he didn’t like peas and vegetables. So he and his wife set a minimum standard for Warren – 10 peas for instance. He ate those minimums. And now his grandson is a young adult. He eats like a horse. There is no need to set a minimum any longer. The tithe is the same. It is like a training wheel. Once we know the joy and blessing of generosity, we realize that tithing is a floor, not a ceiling. God calls us to grow beyond the tithe. But for some of us, it might be challenging to tithe right away. But I encourage you to take a step in that direction. You may give 2 percent or 5 percent. God will help you to become more and more generous. And for those of us who tithe already, I encourage you to consider not only tithing but also going beyond the tithe as you can for God’s kingdom work. The real issue is not whether we will give 10% or not, but what we will do with the entire 100%!

God is not after our money, but rather after our heart. Every year about this time of the year we do a financial stewardship campaign. Probably you will receive a stewardship letter and pledge commitment card in the near future. I commend you to be in prayer and seek the Lord’s direction. I don’t know how much your income is. I don’t know how much you make an offering to God. But, I strongly exhort you to do one thing – take time to pray for what you will do with your 3 T’s (time, talents, and treasure) next year, and take a step of faith. God’s command in tithing today is descriptive, not directive. We don’t have to abide by it. We tithe, not because we have to. We tithe, because we get to. Our tithes and offerings are a tangible sign, “Lord, I love you. I own nothing; Jesus, you own everything.” My prayer is that all of us in this room may not just “survive” in the Promised Land, but we may “thrive” and “taste” the joy of living a God-dependent life. “Keep his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding you today for your own well-being and that of your descendants after you, so that you may long remain in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.” (Deut 4:40). Amen.