God pronounces a blessing on those who care for the poor and needy. He also emphasizes throughout the Bible that it is the duty of the individual to closely guard, protect and support those who are afflicted within society by events and circumstances not of their choice. God identifies them as the stranger, the fatherless and the widow. “He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18).
From the beginning God warned society about taking advantage of those not able to defend themselves “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child” (Exodus 22:22). “‘And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien—Because they do not fear Me,’ Says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:5). God established a system to help the poor and homeless. “You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge… When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow” (Deuteronomy 24:17–21).
The Church of God has, as a rule, provided effectively for widows and others in need by obeying God’s instruction concerning the third tithe. The basis of paying this tithe is found in the Book of Deuteronomy. “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates” (Deuteronomy 14:28).
For those who are financially able, the third tithe year traditionally begins and ends after the Feast of Tabernacles in the third and sixth year of a seven-year time cycle. “When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year—the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them”(Deuteronomy 26:12–13).
Notice that God calls this tithe a “holy tithe.” The Hebrew for holy is qodesh, and means “apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.” This is the only place in the Bible where the tithe is so described. God places great importance on this tithe because He sets it apart for a sacred use—taking care of the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.
God promises to bless, in a special way, those who pay the third tithe if they properly respect the concept of the tithe as being holy to God. But this blessing must be asked for upon completing the third tithe year. “I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey”’ (vv. 14–15).
If you have faithfully begun to observe your third tithe year after this past Feast, you can be assured that your effort is on notice before God and Jesus Christ. If you have concluded a third tithe year, do not forget to claim the blessings God will surely give because, for this past year, you cared for the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow.