There is a question that gets asked millions of times every single day around the world. You've probably asked it today, and you'll ask it again tomorrow. It's a simple question rooted in our humanity: How do I get from here to there?

When I was a small boy, my dad would stop at gas stations where they had beautiful displays of free paper maps to help you get from here to there. Then we moved to GPS devices that would sometimes take you wherever they decided, not always where you actually wanted to go. Now we carry phones in our back pockets solely to get us from one place to another.

But here's what fascinates me. In the spiritual arena, we make these same kinds of journeys. The Bible maps out the journey to faith very clearly. The journey to healing is mapped out beautifully. The journey to forgiveness is there in black and white. But the journey to tithing? Not so much. We have an armada of scriptures, sayings, and individuals mentioned throughout the Bible, but you seldom hear clear patterns and templates that show how a person moves from knowing nothing about God to understanding and practicing tithing.

I think there's a real danger in assuming people should know certain things. "You're a Christian, you should know about tithing." But that's not fair or realistic. So today I want to talk about three foundational truths that will help us understand this journey: the greatest model of tithing, the greatest patriarch who practiced it, and the greatest pattern of someone who actually made the journey from here to there.

The Model: Eden's Boundary Line

The greatest model of tithing isn't found in Leviticus or Deuteronomy. It's found in the Garden of Eden, at the two trees with a demarcation line of authority between them.

God created man in His own image and placed him in the garden. Then He spoke these incredible words in Genesis 2:16-17: "Of every tree that is in the garden, thou mayest freely eat." Did you catch that word "freely"?  This is pure grace. Everything you want, as much as you need or desire, it's all yours. No conditions, no requirements, no earning it. That's what grace looks like.

But two trees stood in the midst of the garden, both equally accessible. There was the tree of life, which represented the grace of Jesus Christ and offered eternal life. And there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which represented the idea that if you just get a little knowledge and information, you can handle things yourself. It's all about your works, your effort, and your control.

Then came the boundary: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the day that thou shalt eat thereof, thou shalt surely die." In other words, the moment you cross that divine line of authority, you can no longer function in the abundance and grace of everything God has given you. Once you cross that line, you lose that capacity.

Everything was Adam's to enjoy. There was only one tree to honor. Why is it that we always want the one thing we can't have? Here's the crucial point: tithing does not begin with giving. It begins with recognition of ownership. God said, “Everything is yours, but honor Me. Trust Me.” That's what the tithe represented.

The boundary line between those two trees was the first model of tithing. God wasn't withholding provision from Adam. He established a boundary, and boundaries are good. I know sometimes we feel fenced in when we hear about boundaries. You feel like you've lost your freedom. But boundaries actually keep you moving in the right direction, like rails on a train track.

That tree wasn't about restriction. So many of us think about tithing as restrictive: "I work hard, and then I'm asked to give this up." But it's not about restriction. It's about who gets to decide. God was saying, "Adam, in all this abundance, who gets to make the decisions about all of it? You or Me?"

The boundary line is important because abundance without a boundary produces rebellion. Think about it: everything available, no limits, no honor, no trust. That produces rebellion every time. But flip it over. Abundance with the boundary produces more and more blessings.

The tithe is the line between the provision (that's God giving everything) and the possession (that's the blessing). Between provision and blessing, God established that boundary. You could call it the tithing tree, and that tithing tree was the test tree. It tested Adam to see what he was made of, to see who he recognized, who he honored, who he trusted.

Eden's tree was the first test because it was the first tithe. And what caused man to give up every tree, all that grace? It was measured not in fruit but in obedience. It's measured in trust.

There's an ownership statement God was making. He was saying, "Adam, if you are not obedient, if you are not trustworthy, if you are not willing to put your life in My hands and under My control, I can't allow you to live in My garden." Adam lost Eden when he crossed the line of surrender and obedience to God. Israel lost everything when they crossed the line and disobeyed God. We can cross God's line when we do not say, "This, Lord, all that You've created belongs to You."

Here's something important: tithing did not begin with the law of Moses. So many people say, "Well, tithing was under the law. We're no longer under the law." But tithing didn't begin under the law of Moses. It began with God's divine boundary line in Eden.

So in Eden, God made three clear points. First, provision: every tree of the garden, yours to eat freely. Second, boundary: you've got to be obedient, and there has to be trust and honor. That's what the tithe represents. You honor Me, you recognize Me, you trust Me, and you give Me the obedience I deserve. Third, blessing: to be able to live securely within that garden God created and never have need of anything.

God didn't ask Adam to give Him the fruit or the tree. He just asked him to leave one thing alone. Just leave it alone.

The Patriarch: Abraham Sets the Pattern

God established tithing in the garden, and then we move to Abraham. What's interesting about Abraham is that he's called the father of the faithful. A father is one who gives birth to things. He's an originator. He establishes the principles and precepts that the family will live by.

Abraham is returning from a great military victory, and the coffers are filled with the spoils of war. When you won a victory in those days, you literally stripped the nation or army of all its wealth and took the spoils with you. On his way home, Abraham meets a priest named Melchizedek, called the King of Salem (meaning the king of peace). Jesus is the king of peace. Make all the correlations here.

Melchizedek is also the priest of the Most High God. Jesus is the priest of the Most High God. And what does he do? He brings out bread and wine to Abraham and his people, which is exactly what Jesus would later say: "This bread is My body and this cup represents My blood."

So Abraham is symbolic, pointing to Jesus. Melchizedek, as a pries,t is symbolic, also pointing to Jesus. This is the first mention of tithing by name. It's not in Eden, not in the garden. This is where we first encounter the word "tithing," and Abraham introduces it to his descendants.

Genesis 14:18-20 says, "And Melchizedek, king of Sale,m brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand."

Now listen to what Abraham says. Melchizedek has done all the talking up to this point, but Abraham says, "And he gave him tithes of all." All the loot, all the spoils of war, everything he brought back with him. What did he do? He took a portion to pass the test of obedience, honor, and trust.

God gave me the victory. Everything belongs to Him. God gave me the spoils. God is my provision. He takes care of me. He provides for me. So I'm going to show obedience, and in that obedience, I'm showing honor and trust in God. Abraham understood that when a seed leaves your hand, it doesn't leave your life. It goes into your future, multiplies, and comes back to you.

This is the first mention of tithing, and note this carefully: it's 430 years before the law of Moses. So when people say, "Oh, that's the law," it's simply not accurate. Tithing existed long before Moses ever climbed Mount Sinai.

And here's something else. Many people think tithing isn't in the New Testament, but Jesus spoke directly about it. In Matthew 23:23, He said to the Pharisees, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

Jesus said, "You do well to pay your tithe." But He also said, "You don't need to neglect these other matters of justice, mercy, and faith." In other words, your tithing doesn't mean much if in the weightier issues of life, you're not walking in love and compassion.

Then Paul mentions tithing in the New Testament in Hebrews 7:1-3, referring to Abraham giving "a tenth part of all" to Melchizedek. Paul points to Abraham, the father of the faithful, as the model for all believers who would follow Christ, the seed of Abraham.

Abraham's tithe was an act of reverence toward the priesthood, toward God Himself. He established the rails that everything would run on for his descendants.

The Pattern: Jacob's Journey from Here to There

Now let's move to Abraham's grandson, Jacob. This is where we see the actual journey of how someone moves from here to there when it comes to tithing.

You remember the story. Jacob cheated his brother Esau out of his birthright for a bowl of stew, and now he's on the run. He's fleeing for his life. Jacob leaves Beersheba heading toward Haran, and he stops for the night to camp. He probably cut some straw, laid it down, put his head on a rock, and fell asleep.

And he has a dream. He dreams of a ladder or stairway reaching from earth to heaven, and the holy angels of God are ascending and descending, doing the work of the kingdom. The Lord is standing at the top of the ladder with His hands outstretched, and from the top of that ladder, God is speaking covenant promises to Jacob.

What are the covenant promises? "Of every tree that is in the garden, thou mayest freely eat." It's the same message. I'm not asking you to do anything for Me. Don't give Me fruit. Don't give Me the tree. I'm giving you everything without any of your works, without any of your effort. It's all yours.

God says to Jacob, "I'm going to give you land. I'm going to give you descendants. I'm going to give you My divine presence. I'm going to give you protection. And Jacob, I'm going to give you a return to your home, because in your heart, that's where you want to go, and I want to give you what you desire."

Let me shorten it: He stood at the top of the ladder and said, "Jacob, I am the Lord. I will give. I will bless. I will keep. And I will bring you back to the place you desire."

God initiated all of this covenant language and all of these covenant promises without one word of negotiation. No "I will if you will." Why? Because it has nothing to do with earning anything. That's grace. All this covenant language never said one single word about conditions. There was no command, no requirement, no demand. Nothing.

God doesn't need anything from you or me except obedience. That's all He needs.

Jacob wakes up, and he's fearful. He's in awe. He declares, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not." So what does he do? He sets up a stone pillar as a memorial so he can remember this place. The place was named Luz, but he renamed it Bethel, which means "the house of God." He said, "This is truly the house of God. This is the gate, the door, the passageway, the portal to heaven."

And then comes the vow. He's in total awe. God has done all the talking. He hasn't asked Jacob for anything. He hasn't asked him to do anything. Absolutely nothing. So how do you respond to that?

Now I want you to listen carefully to how Jacob responded. Remember, his grandfather was Abraham. Abraham taught Isaac, and Isaac taught Jacob all about tithing and honoring God. So here's what Jacob said in Genesis 28:20-22: "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, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

Now this is kind of ridiculous. God just gave him all of this covenant language with no conditions, no demands, asking for nothing. And here comes Jacob with conditionality after conditionality. "If You'll do this, and if You'll do this, and if You'll do this, then maybe the Lord will be my God. And then I'll give You a tenth."

What are we seeing here? When God speaks covenant, Jacob responds with conditionality. What does that mean? Immaturity.

We get so hard on people about tithing and other spiritual disciplines, and we don't realize they're just immature. What do you expect? Here's a guy laying on the ground on straw with his head on a rock, and God shows him a vision of heaven opening and angels ascending and descending. You expect him to be mature immediately and pull out his wallet? We expect people to start giving, start forgiving, start loving, stop being arrogant, all at one time. But that's not how growth works.

God speaks covenant, and here's this immature young man who doesn't know how to respond. He's not running toward God in his immaturity. He's running from consequences.

So many of us have a hard time being obedient. You know why? Because we're not running to God. Even as believers, we're still running from consequences, and that hinders our walk with God and our faith in Him.

God speaks before we make a vow. You don't have to say anything. God has already said it all. His Word, His grace has given you everything. You don't have to say one thing. All you have to do now is be obedient, honor Him, and trust Him. And that is a process of maturity. It does not happen overnight.

The Three-Step Journey

So how do you get from here to there? Jacob shows us in three clear steps.

Step One: Revelation - From the Ladder to Lordship

Jacob got a revelation of the One standing at the top of the ladder speaking covenant language. God speaks before man responds. It's always that way. Why? Because He doesn't need anything from you. He's not asking you to fast forty days or go preach in Africa for ten years. He's not asking any of that. He speaks first.

In Genesis 28:13, when God spoke before man responded, He said, "And, behold, the LORD stood above it." He's above you, above everything, above it all, and He's speaking covenant to you. He's speaking love to you. He's not speaking restriction. He's not saying, "Give Me fruit" or "Give Me the tree." He's just saying, "Leave some things alone and be obedient. Trust Me and honor Me."

Here's the vision: heaven wide open, a ladder set on earth reaching into the heavens, angels ascending and descending. And Jacob is confused, trying to figure it all out. But I don't think Jacob is reaching up. I think what we're seeing is the man standing at the top of the ladder reaching down.

We sometimes think, "Well, if I do this and do that, God will bless me." But listen, God was at the top of the ladder reaching down to you while you were still trying to figure it all out, just like Jacob.

Revelation is not man climbing to God. It's God revealing Himself to man. Jacob saw covenant because the Lord was speaking covenant language, reaffirming the promises He made to Abraham and Isaac. The Abrahamic covenant: "I'll give you land and seed and blessing, and My presence will be with you." He didn't ask for anything.

Grace asks for nothing but gives you everything. But the law asks for everything and gives you nothing. You can either have grace or works. If it's grace, it's all free and God does it. If it's works or the law, you've got to do it. And the fact is, God won't let you do it. He'll put you out of the garden.

The shock of that awareness of who God is was phenomenal for Jacob. So tithing is never the starting point. Revelation always comes first. You need that revelation of who God is.

Step Two: Relationship - The Heart Response

In verse 20, it says, "Then Jacob made a vow." That's when he entered relationship. You don't make commitments to people until you have a relationship. You get a revelation of who they are first.

When I first saw my wife, Janis, I got a revelation. Then after the revelation, the relationship started, and that's when I said, "I'm going to give you everything that your little heart can desire. It ain't going to be no tent, baby!"

Then Jacob made a vow. You don't do that until there's relationship. The relationship was forming. Notice Jacob, who had been a deceiver, started moving into something different. The vow revealed awakening trust in Jacob. The vow revealed a relationship growing, a relationship that honors God.

And here's something beautiful: God accepted the process. He didn't expect Jacob to be fully mature. God never rebuked him for all that conditionality. He accepted him and allowed the process so that maturity would come.

Step Three: Release - Giving Flows from Love

Release or giving is always a response to relationship. It was only when Janice became the love of my life that I wanted to give her everything I had.

Genesis 28:22 says, "And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." Release flows out of relationship. The tithe acknowledges the relationship and God's ownership of everything. Jacob recognized God as the source of all things, and the tithe belonged to Him. It represented honor and trust.

The Simple Summary

Let me give you the whole journey in one sentence: God speaks, the heart awakens, the hands open.

Or here's another way to say it:

• God reveals Himself (Revelation)

• Man responds in faith to God (Relationship)

• Giving flows naturally (Release)

Nobody has to force me to give to the people I love. It's a natural outflow of the relationship. God speaks covenant language at the top of the ladder. The heart awakens to who He is. And the hands open in response to His love.

If you're reading this today and you've been struggling with tithing, I want you to know something. God isn't standing over you with a club, demanding that you give Him something. He's standing at the top of the ladder with His hands outstretched, speaking covenant promises over your life. He's saying, "I will give. I will bless. I will keep. I will provide."

Your job isn't to earn His blessing through your giving. Your job is to receive the revelation of who He is, enter into relationship with Him, and then watch as your hands naturally open in response to His abundant love.

That's the journey from here to there. It starts with seeing God for who He really is, grows into a relationship built on trust and honor, and results in giving that flows from a grateful heart.

And that, my friends, is how tithing was always meant to work.