Genesis 28:20-22 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat… Heathen nations used to give a tenth for religious objects. Oberlin, a poor French minister, did this in giving his tenth of income, and then God so blessed him in his circumstances, that he used to say he "abounded in wealth." One day Oberlin was reading in the Old Testament where God told the Jews that He expected them to give a tithe of all their property to Him, said he to himself, "Well, I am sure that I, as a Christian, have three times as many blessings as the Jews had. If it was right for a Jew to give one tenth of his property to God, surely I ought to give at least three times as much as that." So he made up his mind to do this. The Jews called giving "the hedge of riches." "Perhaps there was never a man more generous than Mr. Wesley." For years, when his yearly income was between £30 and £120, he lived upon £28 a year, and gave away the remainder. It is supposed that during his life he gave away £30,000, and when he died he left little more than was necessary to bury him, and to pay his debts. Parallel Verses KJV: And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, |
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