To Tithe or Not To Tithe #1? … that is the question.
Malachi 3:8-11 (NIV)
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. ”But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ ”In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty.
If you have spent any time in evangelical or charismatic churches, you will have heard the above passage. Basically Christians are taught to tithe (give one-tenth of their incomes) every week or month to the Church. The rationale is that once you tithe, you have obeyed God and the ‘doors’ of heaven will be open so you can receive His financial blessing. If you don’t tithe God is not obligated to bless you, due to your disobedience, but rather a financial curse looms over you.
Do Christians need to tithe?
It is important to point out that tithing is a Biblical concept which formally applied to ancient Israel under the Law … but it is not Christian.
From Matthew to Revelation, you will find that tithing is not a requirement. Rather, Christians are urged to give cheerfully and to support their instructors joyously.
Do you want to know the truth?
The Bible says if you seek and find it, the truth shall set you free. The Bible also says we are to study to show ourselves approved.
Studies show that most Christians have not researched tithing beyond Malachi 3 so we hope to rectify that with this series of ‘littlebooks’.
What you will find is that, contrary to popular belief:
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The Patriachs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) never tithed their own income
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The tithe was NEVER money (despite there being money)
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The temple never received 10% of the tithe of the people of Israel
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Never do you find the Apostles and other first century Christians being tithed to in the New Testament.
We look at tithing, its historical and modern application, and question whether Christians need to tithe.
What is Tithing:
Under the Law, the tithe is defined as the tenth of all things dedicated to sacred use and its purpose is to meet the material needs of 1) the Levite 2) the stranger 3) the fatherless and 4) the widow.
Tithing Under The Law
1) The people paid a general tithe to the Levites:
All the tribes of Israel, except the Levites, had a designated geographical area as an ‘inheritance. The Levites did not receive a land inheritance and so received income from the rest in the form of the tithe.
2) The Levites paid a tithe of the general tithe to the Priests:
All the priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests. The priestly caste descended from Aaron and they had specific responsibilities related to temple worship.
Once the Levites received the tithe from the people they had to give a tenth of that to the priests. This ‘tithe of the tithe’ guaranteed the financial security of the priests and temple workers.
3) The Eaten (Festival) Tithe:
The people had to set aside a tithe to pay for their annual pilgrimmage to Jerusalem. They were required to eat this tithe in the presence of the Lord and rejoice.
4) The Third Year Tithe:
At the end of every third year, the people paid a tithe for the poor, aliens, orphans and widows.
Tithing Before The Law
There are a couple of references to tithing before the Law.
1) Abram and Melchizedek:
Abram defeated a number of Kings and rescued his nephew Lot. In a representative act of thanksgiving to God he gave a tenth to Melchizedek.
2) Jacob
Jacob vowed to give a tenth of whatever God gave him if God met certain conditions.
In the next littlebook, we will analyse tithing before the law in greater detail.
