Tithe: What is it and Who should get it?

It all began with Abraham.

The principle of tithing first appears in the Bible in Genesis 14:20, when Abraham tithed to Melchizadek, a priest of the Lord Most High.

Ge 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.

Ge 14:19 And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;

Ge 14:20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all.

Abraham was a Hebrew, not a Jew. He was just a man who believed in God enough to follow God's leading. And when things went his way, he believed it was a result of God's blessing. Out of gratitude, he gave back to the Lord's representative, the priest of God Most High, one tenth of his increase.

He became the father of the Jews (adherents to a religion known as Judaism), but the Jews and the law of tithing as it was passed down from Moses did not pre-exist Abraham. His actions, as an independant spirit who wanted to know God and who believed in God's existence were acts of devotion. He was blessed by God for his faith, and Judaism builds on Abraham's growing relationship with God.

One of the greatest things about Bible study is that you get to see how God approaches each of us on our own ground. He spoke to Abraham, who was apparently a fairly upright fellow from the start, and Abraham immediately believed God and did what he said.

Jacob got in on the act.

Jacob, one of Abraham's grandsons, on the other hand, spent his life doing his own thing, including stealing his brother's birthright.

One night Jacob had a personal encounter with the existence of God through a vision in which he wrestled with an angel, which inspired him to desire to have a relationship with God. Knowing he was unworthy, he made a deal with God, much as we do today. You know, one of those "If you do this for me, I'll know you really exist and care about me and I'll do this for you" kind of things. As part of that deal, he set up a monument, and pledged to give back to God a tenth of whatever God gave to him.

Ge 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,

Ge 28:21 "so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.

Ge 28:22 "And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

Now, considering that there was no levitical priesthood at that time, you have to wonder what Jacob meant by "give a tenth to you".

The passage concerning Abraham's earlier tithe to Melchizadek does not indicate where he came from, whether he was the only one, or who took his place if he died, but there must have been some concrete way Jacob intended to "give a tenth" to God. He was too aware of the awsomeness of this relationship to make hollow promises.

And you'll note this was not a one-time thing, which you might construe Abraham's tithe-giving as being. "Will surely give" is a future-tense verb. You can pretty much insert the words (From now on,) Of all you give to me I will surely give a tenth to back you. This was to be an ongoing relationship.

Israelite Tithing

The principle of tithing was explained to the Israelites in Leviticus 27:30-33 by Moses, long after Jacob's (Israel's) death, and even long after the death of Joseph (next-to-youngest of Israel's 12 sons).

Le 27:30 'And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord.

Le 27:31 'If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it.

Le 27:32 'And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord.

Le 27:33 'He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.' "

Could it be that the principles of the sacrificial system were explained to Adam and Eve when, after they sinned, God had to make clothes for them of animal skins and send them out into the cold, cruel world?

Could it be that these principles were passed down from generation to generation through Noah, to Abraham, to Jacob, forgotten by the children of Israel in their bondage in Egypt, and then written down by Moses as he received instruction from the Lord?

Are the sacrificial system and tithing somehow related?

Does the Lord test the sincerity of our hearts by the sacrifices we are willing to make?

After all, he sacrificed his only son . . .

The purpose of Tithing

Nu 18:21 "Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.

Nu 18:22 "Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die.

Nu 18:23 "But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Nu 18:24 "For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, 'Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.' "

Nu 18:25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Nu 18:26 "Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: 'When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, a tenth of the tithe.

Nu 18:27 'And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress.

Nu 18:28 'Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord's heave offering from it to Aaron the priest.

God does not intend those he has called to be shepherds for him to have to do other income-making jobs to support themselves and their families. Those who are receiving the blessing of the outflowing Holy Spirit from the vessels of God are to support those vessels.

You may also notice that the priests were to receive tithes but not worship. They were just men who had been elected by God to do a work for him. They were to sanctify themselves (Sanctify means set apart) and sacrifice their lives to the ministry of God, and receive the tithes of those for whom they ministered, but you will not find one word in the Bible that indicates they were to receive the worship of those for whom they labored in God's service. God only said, "do not forget . . ."

Interestingly, the tithe included not just the priests (present-day priests and pastors). It included "All who perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting." (verses 21 and 23) Anyone who worked for the Lord in the tabernacle of meeting was to be supported by the congregation.

Then, they themselves were to give a tithe to the Chief Priest.

Some churches teach that the tithe goes to the Chief Priest or to the highest church officials and then filtered back to the parish priests or pastors. Furthermore, while they use the tithe to run the greater church structure, they do not use it to provide for church secretaries, security guards, or singers. One must wonder whether churches are in fact doing what the Lord wanted.

Where should one take his/her tithe?

Deuteronomy gives more intricate instruction on the tithes, offerings, and sacrifices, specifically instructing that they are to be delivered to the place God designates.

De 12:5 "But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.

De 12:6 "There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

De 12:7 "And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

De 12:8 "You shall not at all do as we are doing here today--every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes

De 12:9 for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you.

De 12:10 "But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety,

De 12:11 "then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the Lord.

De 12:12 "And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you.

De 12:13 "Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see;

De 12:14 "but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

De 12:15 "However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike.

De 12:16 "Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water.

De 12:17 "You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand.

De 12:18 "But you must eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all to which you put your hands.

De 12:19 "Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

The rest of this chapter reiterates the above instructions on where you may eat what.

From all of this chapter, I get a sense that the tithe wasn't something that the people just shipped off to a treasury at the temple. It was to be shared by the giver and the receiver. But that could just be because this chapter lumps together sacrifices, free-will offerings, and tithes. It is certainly one of those areas where those who prefer to live for themselves over living for others could take liberties.

One point that comes through, however, is that tithing and the giving of offerings was to be a voluntary and joyful expression of thanksgiving to God for what he has given us. We are to share one tenth of everything He gives us with those who do his work, and we are to make free-will offerings above and beyond the tithe.

The tithe was to be carried out in a specific way, in a specific place, and was to be a blessing. It would remind the givers of how much God had blessed them and how little they would have if his blessing was withdrawn. Many prideful people don't understand the principle of the withdrawal of God's providence or blessing. Their lack of inclination to share with others does not reflect aright God's willingness to share with us. Because they do not portray him in the correct light to others, God will withdraw his blessings from them.

But God has pity on the frailties of humanity and does not wish to place upon them burdens they cannot tolerate.

De 14:22 "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.

De 14:23 "And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.

De 14:24 "But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you,

De 14:25 "then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses.

De 14:26 "And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.

De 14:27 "You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.

De 14:28 "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.

De 14:29 "And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

I don't know whether you've given it any thought or not, but I see something in scripture that certain churches and cults don't want us to see.

Some churches and most cults teach that they should receive all the tithes, and these are the scriptures they use:

Ne 10:38 And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse.

Ne 12:44 And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered.

Ne 13:12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.

Ne 13:13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.

Mal 3:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.

Mal 3:9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.

Mal 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

But I see evidence that the hierarchy of the church was not in charge of "all the tithe". That is, each crop grower had a "storehouse" for the Lord's tithes. The Church's storehouse only received a tenth of the tithe (Ne 10:38) received by the Levite.

The confusing part is that the tithe giver was not only instructed to "eat" the tithe before the Lord (De 14), he was also instructed to share the tithe between the Levite (who passed a tenth of whatever he received on to the chief priest), the "stranger within your gates", the fatherless, and widows.

Three-year Tithe Turnover

De 26:12 "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,

De 26:13 "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.

De 26:14 '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.

De 26:15 '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." '

Apparently the giver was to make sure every 3 years that the tithe had been fully distributed and then laying up of tithe was to begin again. It would be distributed as needed every year, but in the third year, it would be removed, including any that had been unused in previous years, and used for any "clean" purpose. Then the process of storing a tenth of one's increase began again.

It is only when you get out of the books of Moses that tithing becomes so adamantly a payment to the priests (Levites), and that was because the people had not been heeding the warnings not to forsake the Levite (Deuteronomy 12:19; 14:27). In fact, at times, especially in their dispersions when they couldn't tithe for whatever reason, they forgot all about their laws and had to be reminded by more current laws to do what God had commanded centuries before.

Ne 10:35 And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord;

Ne 10:36 to bring the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God;

Ne 10:37 to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities.

Ne 10:38 And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse.

Ne 10:39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the singers are; and we will not neglect the house of our God.

Did you catch that not just the priests, but the gatekeepers and singers should be receiving tithe? Every church should be able to support full- or part-time staff--all who serve in the house of the Lord--with tithe! This principle would free-up those who volunteer a couple of hours a week because they must work at a job or career to support themselves and their families. We would be able to staff our churches and keep them open to all who need spiritual services 24 hours a day if tithing were followed as biblically mandated!

According to Jesus, the pharaisees were pretty good at tithing, but not so good at other things that counted:

Mt 23:23
Lk 11:42 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Paying Tithe won't save you from eternal death!

While tithing is the right thing to do for all who claim to worship the Creator God through his Son, it is not the paying of tithes that saves you, but your heart relationship with God and your fellow humans.

Lu 18:10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

Lu 18:11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

Lu 18:12 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'

Lu 18:13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'

Lu 18:14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

If your heart relationship convicts you that tithing is something you should be doing, study all the scriptures about tithing and then decide where you should be sending it. You should be doing what the Spirit leads you to do, what you are convinced is right, not something that someone else has told you you should be doing.

Ro 14:22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

Ro 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

Just remember that tithing is not the only thing that God expected. He expected the payment of offerings besides. Those who pat themselves on the back for giving 10% need to look around and see if they could be doing more. Are there people going hungry in your area while you are eating sumptuous feasts or going out 3 nights a week? Are there people wearing shabby clothes full of holes while you have clothes that you haven't worn in a year? Are you paying "tithe of mint and anise and cummin," and neglecting "the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith"?