Sowing into Good Soil
In our lesson called “Parable of Goat in Mother’s Milk” we saw three principles of prosperity which are:
1. Do not eat your seed, which is the same principle as do not eat your hens.
2. Separate that which is for daily consumption from that which is for investment.
3. Pay your tithes and offerings to the Lord from all increase G-d gives to you.
Following these three principles above can bring anyone out of poverty if they will apply these principles faithfully. It is evident however that one principle cannot be followed while ignoring the others. All of the principles must be applied together before there will be any lasting prosperity produced for those who follow these Torah-principles.
Torah-principles are progressive meaning that one depends on the other. For example, if people follow the first two principles listed above but then they fail to pay their tithes and offerings on the increase G-d gives them then they will be cursed with a curse. A devourer will be released against their finances and they will soon come to nothing and lose all that they have gained. All three principles above have to be followed or they will not be able to continue in their prosperity because all three of these factors will have an effect upon their prosperity.
In this lesson, we want to introduce a fourth principle to the mix because if people follow the first three principles listed above faithfully but then they sow their seed into cursed ground then they will reap a curse rather than a blessing for their giving.
Sowing into Good Soil
When a person gives to G-d it is like sowing seed. If they sow (by giving) then they will reap a harvest of blessing from the Lord.
Giving is like sowing seed because if a farmer plants seed, he can have a harvest that is many times more than what he planted. Giving to G-d is like planting seed because it allows the giver to reap more than what they gave away.
Proverbs 11:24 (NIV)
24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
This principle is interesting in that if a man gives freely (generously) then he will prosper. But if another man withholds from giving and is stingy then he will come to poverty. The stingy man supposes that if he holds onto what he has then he will prosper but in fact he will come to poverty instead because he will be cursed with a curse for not giving because the devourer will be released against his finances. G-d calls those who do not pay their tithes and offerings as robbers of God!
Malachi 3:8-11 (CJB)
8 Can a person rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tenths and voluntary contributions.
9 A curse is on you, on your whole nation, because you rob me.
10 Bring the whole tenth into the storehouse, so that there will be food in my house, and put me to the test,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. “See if I won’t open for you the floodgates of heaven and pour out for you a blessing far beyond your needs.
11 For your sakes I will forbid the devourer to destroy the yield from your soil; and your vine will not lose its fruit before harvest-time,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
If a person does not pay tenths and voluntary contributions (tithes and offerings) then they are robbers of G-d. Those who are robbers of G-d are cursed with a curse and a devourer is then released against their finances. But when a person is faithful to honor G-d with their increase and give tithes and offerings then G-d will stop the devourer from destroying their financial increase and they will be prospered. Not paying what they owe to G-d will bring a curse and all that they have will not be blessed or prospered.
Giving can be compared to a farmer sowing seed because if the farmer is afraid to plant his seed and wants to hold onto it then he will starve to death after the seed he is hording is consumed and he has no more future harvest. He has to reserve some seed to plant every year or else he will have no future harvest if he does not plant. In the same way, if a person fails to give to G-d then they will be cursed and have nothing. But if they give generously, they will have a good harvest in the future because giving is like sowing seed.
One factor however that many people fail to consider (when they give) is to sow only into good soil. If they sow into cursed soil, they will also reap a curse! It is therefore important to consider where they give their tithes and offerings because giving is like sowing seed into soil.
If they follow the first three principles mentioned at the beginning of this lesson, they will prosper but then if they sow into bad soil, then they will bring a curse on themselves and lose the good that they have gained. So, giving into good soil is the fourth principle that has to be considered because if this is ignored, they will end up losing everything.
Chernobyl Toxic Soil
One illustration of toxic soil is found in the environment around the Russian nuclear power plant built in the Ukraine that melted down and created the world’s worst nuclear disaster. This 1986 nuclear accident released radiation into the environment that spread over a huge region. The exclusion zone created by this disaster covers over 2,600 square Kilometers or (1,000 sq. mi). Any crops or fruit trees planted in this affected soil produces radioactive food. Any livestock or wild game living in this region are radioactive and toxic for humans to eat. The fish in the water in lakes and streams and ponds are all radioactive and toxic for human consumption. It is estimated that it will take another 900-years before the radiation levels are low enough for humans to enter this region again. Any food or livestock or fish grown in this area is all toxic and cannot be eaten by humans.
In the same way that sowing seed into radioactive soil found around the Chernobyl reactor will produce toxic food, the same is also true of giving tithes and offerings into cursed soil. Giving is like sowing seed and giving to the wrong place can produce a curse for the giver rather than a blessing. Therefore, only that giving which is sown in good soil will produce a reward and blessing from G-d. If someone gives into bad soil, they will reap a curse just the same as if they sow seed into cursed soil that is poisoned by radiation.
Tithes and Offerings are Sacred to God
A tithe is a tenth-part so if they have ten eggs, they must give one to G-d. If they have ten-bushels of grain they must give one bushel to G-d. If they have ten-chickens, they must give one to G-d. If they have ten-dollars they must give one to G-d. The tithe tests the heart because if they cannot give one part to G-d (even though G-d allows them to keep nine parts) then they love money more than G-d and that is idolatry.
The offering comes out of the 90% share kept at home by the giver. The offering is given by human freewill meaning that the giver has the right to choose how much they give. They can give as little or as much as they want because the offering is given according to their own freewill.
Leviticus 27:30 (CJB)
30 “‘All the tenth given from the land, whether from planted seed or fruit from trees, belongs to Adonai; it is holy to Adonai.
When someone gives their tithes and offerings to the Lord then these things become holy and sacred in G-d’s sight. The scripture above says that the tithe portion is holy to the Lord and it belongs to G-d!
Numbers 18:23-24 (CJB)
23 Only the L’vi’im are to perform the service in the tent of meeting, and they will be responsible for whatever they do wrong. This is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations. They are to have no inheritance among the people of Isra’el,
24 because I have given to the L’vi’im as their inheritance the tenths of the produce which the people of Isra’el set aside as a gift for Adonai. This is why I have said to them that they are to have no inheritance among the people of Isra’el.”
The tithes and the offerings are first given to G-d then G-d gives these to the Levites to feed them and their families. This is the inheritance of the Levites because G-d did not permit the Levites to own land and do farming because they had to depend on teaching G-d’s word as their full-time occupation.
Exodus 29:33 (NASB)
33 “Thus they shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration; but a layman shall not eat them, because they are holy.
The tithes and offerings given to the Lord from the people were holy because they were first given to G-d. These holy things were then given to the Levites by G-d and this portion (which belongs to the Levites) was not to be eaten by the laymen because these things are holy. The scripture above speaks of sacred things related to the Levite that the laymen were forbidden to eat. In the same way, the tithes and offerings given to God are also holy and therefore it is forbidden for laymen to eat those things which are specifically set apart by G-d for the Levites.
Leviticus 22:10 (NASB)
10 ‘No layman, however, is to eat the holy gift; a sojourner with the priest or a hired man shall not eat of the holy gift.
No one was to eat of the tithes and offerings that were dedicated to G-d and which were given to the Levite and his immediate family because these things were holy. The holy gift referred to in the scripture above speaks of tithes and offerings given to G-d as a gift which become holy when the giver dedicated them to G-d as tithes and offerings. All the food that existed within the home of a Levite would be considered holy gifts because these gifts had been first given to G-d by the people. Only those who were of the immediate family members of the Levite were allowed to eat these sacred gifts.
Leviticus 22:12 (NASB)
12 ‘If a priest’s daughter is married to a layman, she shall not eat of the offering of the gifts.
A priest’s daughter could eat of the holy things of her father’s Levite wages as long as she was living under his roof. But if she married a layman then she should have her provision from her layman husband which was derived from his job or business. After she was married, the Levite’s daughter was not to touch the holy things given by G-d to her Levite father for his maintenance but was to depend on the income of her layman husband instead.
Leviticus 22:13 (NASB)
13 ‘But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or divorced, and has no child and returns to her father’s house as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s food; but no layman shall eat of it.
In the event that the married daughter of the priest lost her layman husband for some reason and had no more provision (or son to care for her) then she had to return to her father’s house again. Then it was permitted for her to eat the holy things of her Levite father’s wages (derived from tithes and offerings given to G-d by the people). She could eat of them as she previously did when she was a yet a maiden. These things were provided for the members of her Levite father’s household and his immediate family members. But no layman was permitted to eat of the sacred things dedicated to God which were given to the Levites as their wages.
Leviticus 22:14-16 (NASB)
14 ‘But if a man eats a holy gift unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it and shall give the holy gift to the priest.
15 ‘They shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel which they offer to the LORD,
16 and so cause them to bear punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts; for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.'”
A layman could not just visit the home of Levite and haphazardly eat anything found in their house or stay for dinner. Those things found in the Levites home would certainly all have been dedicated to G-d and had been offered to G-d before G-d gave them to the Levite and his family. If any layman happened to eat something that was sacred (had been offered to G-d as a tithe or offering) then he would have to make restitution and pay it back again plus a 20% surcharge added to it as penalty for his carelessness. If this was not done, he would be punished and it would bring a curse upon him for consuming things that were specifically given by G-d to the Levites from the tithes and offerings of the people. It should be made clear that those laymen who ate the sacred things (that were set aside for the Levites) would bear the punishment for their guilt of eating the holy things that belong only to the Levites.
Levite Portions
A Levite portion is something that was first given to G-d as a tithe or offering from their increase. This is just like Jacob who promised to give a tenth of all his increase to the Lord. But since the time that the Levites were set apart by G-d then the tithes (and freewill offerings) were given by God to the Levites for their maintenance. This is the inheritance of the Levites to feed their families so they can spend full-time in teaching God’s word.
Nehemiah 13:10-12 (NIV)
10 I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields.
11 So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.
12 All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and oil into the storerooms.
Nehemiah the governor was away from Jerusalem on official government business and when he returned, he found out that the portions assigned to the Levites were not given to them. The people had stopped paying their tithes and offerings during his absence so the Levites were starved out of their ministry and each Levite went out to their pasture lands and tried to scratch out a living for themselves trying to survive by planting gardens for food.
This is what happens when people stop paying tithes and offerings to the Lord and in turn it will starve the Levites out of the ministry. Everyone is cursed under such an arrangement because the Levites stop the ministry and starve and the laymen will also be cursed for withholding God’s tithes and offerings.
Laymen Blessing by Giving
When the laymen give to G-d from their increase they will be blessed by G-d and prospered just like Jacob who gave a tenth of all his increase back to G-d as a act of worship.
2 Chronicles 31:6-10 (NASB)
6 The sons of Israel and Judah who lived in the cities of Judah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of sacred gifts which were consecrated to the LORD their God, and placed them in heaps.
7 In the third month they began to make the heaps, and finished them by the seventh month.
8 When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel.
9 Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.
10 Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok said to him, “Since the contributions began to be brought into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the LORD has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.”
When the congregation of people brought in their tithes and offerings of grain and livestock and all of their increase then there were great amounts of surplus left over. The Levites had more than enough and great abundance from all of the tithes and offerings dedicated to the Lord. But the amazing thing is that despite how much was given to the Levites there was many more times that much that remained at home with the laymen! If this great surplus represented only the tithes then that would mean there was nine times more that still remained at home with the laymen! Everyone is blessed by giving but the contrary is also true that everyone will be cursed by withholding the tithes and offerings that belong to the Lord!
It is for this reason that Satan the adversary has attacked the teaching of giving throughout every generation. If the devil can cause people to stop giving, then they will be cursed with poverty and the Levites will be starved out of the ministry and the word of G-d will not be taught. This is how the dark ages were created when people lived in ignorance and poverty and great spiritual darkness! When the Levites teach G-d’s word it brings great light and revelation to the people and causes them to prosper financially, and to become healthy and wealthy and blessed in every way. Without teaching of God’s word great spiritual darkness will envelop the land.
1 Samuel 3:1 (CJB)
1 The child Sh’mu’el continued ministering to Adonai under ‘Eli’s direction. Now, in those days Adonai rarely spoke, and visions were few.
During the time before Samuel rose up to become a prophet, the revelation from G-d was rare and the people lived largely in spiritual darkness. The sons of Eli were wicked men and Eli was a passive father who did not discipline his sons or restrain them from doing evil. People no longer enjoyed giving to G-d because of the abusive manner that the sons of Eli appropriated their gifts by force. When giving stopped then the curse set in for everyone. Until Samuel came to restore the ministry, the teaching of G-d’s word ceased in the time of Eli and his corrupt sons and spiritual darkness enveloped the land.
Intruding into the Holy Office
This brings me to this point that must be emphasized clearly that no layman is to intrude into the holy office for which he is not called.
Numbers 1:51 (NASB)
51 “So when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman who comes near shall be put to death.
When the tabernacle was taken down and transported only the Levites were allowed to handle the sacred things. If any laymen (who was not a Levite) touched anything that was a part of the tabernacle, then he was to be put to death. The death penalty shows the serious consequences for a layman to intrude into the holy ministry (as represented by the tabernacle worship).
The Lord commanded that no laymen should eat of the sacred tithes and offerings given to the Lord because they are holy. If a layman intrudes into the ministry and he takes contributions from the congregation then he is in fact eating those things that are holy and he is going to bring a curse upon himself! The people who give to a layman (who is not called into the ministry by G-d) are going to reap a curse instead of a blessing for their giving! This is like sowing their seed into toxic radioactive soil which will produce toxic fruit for them.
The fourth factor of prosperity is sowing into good soil and that soil must first be a Levite who is called by G-d and has evidence of the fruit of the ministry.
1 Kings 18:3-4 (NASB)
3 Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly;
4 for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)
Obadiah feared the Lord and hid a hundred prophets of the Lord in two caves and fed them to keep them from being murdered by Jezebel who sought to destroy the worship of the G-d of Israel and replace it with the false religion of Baal worship.
1 Kings 18:19 (CJB)
19 Now order all Isra’el to assemble before me on Mount Karmel, along with the 450 prophets of Ba‘al and the 400 prophets of the asherah who eat at Izevel’s table.”
Jezebel had 450 fifty prophets of Baal and another 400 prophets of Asherah which she supported to promote her false religion in Israel.
It is obvious that the hundred prophets hidden by Obadiah were the true prophets of the G-d of Israel but the 850 prophets of Jezebel were all false prophets that were not called by G-d.
Therefore, if someone gives their tithes and offerings to those who operate false religion then they will reap a curse from G-d rather than a blessing because giving to false religion is cursed soil. The world is filled with false ministers who intrude into the ministry but have not be endorsed by the G-d of Israel. Giving to any of these false ministers will reap a curse for the giver rather than a blessing.
Real Levite Ministers Verses Fake
A real minister can produce fruit in the lives of the congregation by the ministry that he performs in teaching them Torah-principles. The fruit of a true minister can be measured in the results that are produced in the lives of his Talmidim. If his people are receiving the teaching of a real minister called by G-d, then they will begin to see change in their personal lives and change within their families. They will have peace and divine order manifest and relationships healed and finances prospered and they will obtain freedom from vices and compulsive disorders and receive healing for their bodies.
All things are blessed when they hear and apply the word of G-d taught to them by real Levites. This progress can be measured because they can consider what they were like before they received this teaching and then consider what they are like after following these Torah-principles for some time. Financially for example, they can look at their annual income before they had this teaching and compare it with their income after. They will see a steady increase in income and a better lifestyle from living by G-d’s word taught to them by true Levites. This is progress that can be measured by looking at the increase they experienced since they received teaching from real Levites called by G-d.
So, the fruit of a true Levite is the improvement that can be seen in the lives of families who sit under his teaching. If a layman attends a dead religious social club that does not teach G-d’s word, they will not see any improvement or change that G-d’s word can bring. This is because fake laymen preachers cannot produce any change in the lives of the families they minister to. That change only comes from those who have a real ministry gift. If a family has no change in their personal lives or within the lives of their family, then they are attending in the wrong place. Giving to a religious organization will reap a curse because they are supporting a layman fake minister. If a preacher cannot produce the results of change in the lives of their congregation then they are not called by G-d. These people should not be supported and no laymen should attend these fake religious social clubs. It will only produce a curse for them if they attend such dead religious organizations
Sow only into Good Ground
Laymen must be discerning who they give to and should never give in a tithe or an offering to someone who has not been endorsed by evidence of a ministry gift. Just having a doctor degree in divinity does not make someone into a Levite. They cannot learn how to be a Levite in a seminary. Someone who is a Levite is born with the gift and calling and can produce fruit of that calling just as natural as a bird can fly without being taught how to fly.
Even if a person follows the first three steps for prosperity but then they fail to follow this forth step of sowing into good soil then they will lose all that they have gained. Sowing into bad soil will bring a curse instead of a blessing.
2 Chronicles 20:35-37 (NASB)
35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly in so doing.
36 So he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.
The principle seen here is that the righteous King Jehoshaphat allied himself with a wicked King Ahaziah and this alliance was evil in the sight of G-d. These two kings thought to have a joint business venture in ship-building and trade but G-d was not pleased and destroyed their works (possibly by a storm). The principle that can be seen here is that G-d will not bless the wicked together with the righteous. This also has application for the layman who intrudes into the ministry.
We have seen already that if a layman intrudes into the ministry under the Old Testament that they were to be put to death! That same principle applies for any layman who assumes to intrude into the holy office for which they are not called. The layman is not allowed to take contributions from the congregation and consume the tithes and offerings given by the congregation to the Lord because G-d gives these to the Levites for their work of the ministry.
The congregation is to give their tithes and offerings only into good soil (to those who are a true Levite minister and who have evidence of the fruit of the ministry). If they give to a layman fake minister, then that is cursed ground because such a person is an intruder in G-d’s sight. No blessing will come to the giver who sows into such toxic and cursed soil as a laymen ministry intruder. By giving to a ministry intruder they are supporting them and keeping these false prophets going when they should be starved out of the ministry.
For a layman to support someone who is cursed by G-d will bring a curse to their own finances. Jehoshaphat was a righteous king but his alignment with a wicked king meant that the blessing of Jehoshaphat would be passed to a wicked man who was not worthy of G-d’s blessing. The ships of Jehoshaphat were destroyed because of his alliance with a wicked king.
In fact, giving to a ministry intruder is giving a blessing to someone whom G-d has cursed and this will bring a curse to the giver. This is where the principle of sowing in good soil comes into play because if someone does not sow into the good ground of a real Levite then they will reap a curse instead of a blessing for supporting someone who is not called by G-d.
Alms to the Poor
This same principle can also apply to the type of giving called “alms” which is gifts to the poor. Givers better perceive what kind of poor they are giving to or they will reap a curse instead of a blessing for their giving. There are many people who are poor because of bondage to vices and sin. For example, some people live under a bridge not because they are homeless but because they are saving rent money so they can spend it on alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. A person will reap a curse for sowing into toxic soil like this. Giving to vice-ridden people results in supporting the habits of someone who is in bondage to sin.
This principle of giving into good soil is important because if they give to a ministry intruder or they give to a vice-filled-sinner then they will reap a curse for their giving instead of a blessing. They cannot bless those who have cursed themselves by their own behavior or they will reap a curse themselves. Good soil is only that which has G-d’s blessing (not that which serves to support those who are cursed by G-d)!
Do-Gooder Giving
A lot can be said about giving out of human sympathy and pity. This type of giving is contrary to the type of giving that G-d rewards.
Genesis 3:2-5 (CJB)
2 The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden,
3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’”
4 The serpent said to the woman, “It is not true that you will surely die;
5 because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman Eve was deceived by Satan in the Garden of Eden, she was temped based upon her feminine sense of equality. The devil told her that it was not right that G-d was on a higher level that she was and if she would eat of the forbidden fruit then she would be like G-d or be equal with G-d!
Genesis 2:9 (CJB)
9 Out of the ground Adonai, God, caused to grow every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The forbidden tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and this represents human good and human evil. In fact, human good sends more people to hell than human evil does. Those who do human good-deeds become self-righteous and this keeps them from repentance and without repentance there can be no salvation.
It is part of the sin nature of women to want to be like G-d just as the first woman Eve had done. These women like the good feeling that they get by playing the part of being a provider for the so-called “less-fortunate!” But playing the part of G-d as a provider to the people is not something that is done with right motives. They are not giving to others for their sake but this is all a show and a method for the donors to bolster of their own self-righteousness by doing good-deeds. This gives these human “do-gooder” people a good feeling about themselves but this type of perverse giving is really not doing anything to help the people they are giving to.
These self-righteous do-gooder people do all kinds of things like handing out frozen turkeys to the street people on holidays. They fail to consider that these homeless people have no freezer to keep the meat and no oven to cook it in! The street people will typically try to trade the frozen turkey to someone for a pack of cigarettes or for some alcohol if they get the chance.
Again, these street people who live under bridges are not homeless because of being unfortunate but instead they are saving their rent money so they can spend it on vices like alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Going out and giving them something like a frozen turkey twice a year does not help these street people (as if these women-run social organizations suppose these people only eat twice a year)!
The point to make here is that human good deeds are derived from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. These self-righteous acts of the “do-gooder” people are operating in a vain effort to try and play the part of G-d as provider to others. This self-righteous giving is therefore cursed because it is not given with good motives that are pure in the sight of G-d. It is only done to make the donors feel good about themselves and their own self-righteousness.
Perverse Motives for Giving
Deuteronomy 23:18 (NASB)
18 “You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of the LORD your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.
The scripture above says that the wages of a harlot or the wages of a dog were not to be brought into the house of the Lord as an offering. Both of these types of donations are an abomination to the Lord.
The wages of a dog, refers to the homosexual sodomite because the Hebrews called them a dog due to the dog-like anal sex that they engage in that is dog-like in behavior. The harlot is the name for a female prostitute that gives sex for money.
2 Kings 23:7 (KJV)
7 And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.
During the reign of King Josiah in Israel, he began a purge of all idolatrous practices that had been established by the godless kings that preceded his reign. There were houses of the sodomites built within the house of the Lord. Here the homosexual male prostitutes offered sexual immorality as a means of worship (just as the pagans did who mixed sexual immorality together with the worship of their false gods in their houses of idolatry). Josiah broke down these dens of sin that were erected in G-d’s temple during his purge of idolatry in the nation of Israel.
So, when a harlot or male ritual prostitute offered some of their wages to G-d as an offering it was considered by G-d to be an abomination. The money itself is technically not dirty money because money is neutral and can be used for either good or evil and is just a medium for trade. The part that was dirty and evil in G-d’s sight was the motives of these immoral people. These temple prostitutes (both male and female) thought that they could buy G-d off from their sin.
This was presumptuous as if they were saying, “OK G-d, I know that I broke Your laws regarding sexual immorality but here is a nice big donation for you!” It was as if these prostitutes thought they could buy G-d off of their sin with money like bribing a politician to look the other way or to wink at their sin! That is an evil motive for “giving” to try and buy G-d off of a sin as if they assume G-d is evil and wicked and greedy like them and could be bribed.
Psalm 50:21 (NIV)
21 These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
The self-deception of sinners knows no bounds and many of them will assume that because G-d did not immediately destroy them for their wickedness then they must somehow have gained his approval for their unrepentant sin. They do not realize that G-d is giving them time to repent and change but his silence is not an endorsement of their sin! They made the fatal mistake of assuming G-d was altogether like themselves and could be bought off with bribes or donations of money! But they will be judged if they do not repent and they will end up in the eternal damnation of hell!
The part that is an abomination to G-d is not that the prostitutes give an offering to God! The part that is evil is their wicked presumption that G-d is altogether the same as they are and could be bribed with money to buy G-d off from their unrepentant sin.
The point of all of this is that the motives for giving is very important. If someone gives with evil motives it is an abomination to G-d and they will receive no reward from G-d for their giving. Even wicked people committing sexual immorality as a lifestyle will often suppose they are a good person if they give a donation to the poor or give to a synagogue or give in some other way. This is a means of doing human good-deeds to try and buy back some of their dignity they lost by engaging in public sex for pay. Homosexuals are quick to give to charity just to provide a feeling of self-righteousness to counteract the condemnation they feel for their perverse lifestyle.
Anyone who gives for the wrong reasons will have no reward from G-d and they risk judgment for this perverse giving.
This is related to sowing into toxic soil. If the soil where the seed is sown is that which is derived from human good works then that is cursed soil to give into. Such soil is toxic and will produce only a toxic harvest of death but no reward from G-d. This means if someone gives to a charitable cause that was created only for bolstering the self-righteousness of humans then this is cursed soil to plant into. All giving is like planting seed and those who give into cursed ground will reap a harvest of cursing instead of a blessing.
If they give to a false religious leader who runs a social club designed only to flatter donors for money, then that is cursed ground to give into. They will reap a curse instead of a blessing for giving to such fake institutions created by men.
Another aspect that many donors fail to realize is that a layman who eats the tithes and offerings given to G-d is cursed because these things are only intended for Levites who are called by G-d. Giving to a fake social club religious institution run by laymen is going to reap a curse because these laymen are consuming something that is holy and reserved only for Levites. Giving money (in the form of tithes or offerings) to a fake laymen minister is cursed ground to sow into and will reap a curse. This is like planting natural crops into the contaminated soil of Chernobyl because the resulting harvest will be radioactive and toxic for humans to eat. In the same way, sowing financial seed into cursed ground will only reap a curse. Religious leaders who are not called by G-d are like vultures gobbling up the tithes and offerings that were intended to support only real men of G-d who are Levites. Those who give to fake laymen religious leaders (who intrude into the ministry) are going to reap a curse by giving to them.
The ground where a person sows their seed is of vital importance because if they sow into bad soil, they will reap a curse. Bad soil is giving to any fake layman religious leader or dead social club or fake charity that is only formed out of the human good works or social projects for bolstering human self-righteousness. These people like to play the part of G-d by being a provider to others but they are only self-serving rather than helping those they pretend to serve. All such dead human organizations and do-gooder social works are cursed ground to give to and will reap a curse for the donor.
A person must be careful where they sow their tithes and offerings to and make sure they are giving to someone who has a real gift as a Levite for the ministry. Also, the poor should be helped only if they are godly. Giving to vice-ridden people on the streets only serves to support their vices and this type of giving is going to reap a curse to the giver because this is bad soil to sow into. If this factor of “cursed soil” is not considered, then all of the prosperity that a believer has can be lost if they sow into cursed ground.
Related Links
Below are related links which speak of sowing into bad soil of those who are ministry intruders who are in fact cursed ground and will reap a curse for those who give into dead religious works of mere human origin.