Ekklesia ReformandaLeave a Comment on Lesson #1: What was the tithe?

Lesson #1: What was the tithe?

  1. A Christian can “give” to God in many different ways, including through the giving of their time, talents/abilities, and finances to serve God’s purpose, as He leads and guides us with His Holy Spirit. However (this might come as a surprise to some) when anyone actually studies the Bible for themselves, they will see that God has issued many specific commands, but He has never, ever, ever commanded anyone to ever give 10% of their money to a religious organization.
  2. When it comes to giving financially, in the New Covenant, for those who are able, we are simply called to give freewill offerings. We may even give abundantly and sacrificially, as directed by the Holy Spirit in order for there to be equality (2 Corinthians 8:14). Some believers are given the “gift” of giving, while others are not given that same gift (Romans 12:3-8). More information can be found at https://www.gotquestions.org/tithes-and-offerings.html
  3. We are to be a Spirit led people, yet according to what we see taught in Scripture, we are to give money to God by primarily giving to those who are in need, as led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will show us who, what, when, where and how we are to give.
  4. The Mosaic tithe (10%) has always only referred to food. The Mosaic Old Covenant was a very specific set of instructions and was a covenant made specifically only with the nation of Israel. Even though there was currency at the time, including silver and gold, that was not what Israelites were called to tithe, it was always only food produced from the land, and specifically only from the land of Israel. “The Jewish Encyclopedia” and “The Encyclopedia of Jewish Religion” confirm that Israelites only tithed agricultural produce and livestock. This tithe of food was only given by farmers (except for the tenth of the tenth which was given by Levites to the priests at the Temple) and was primarily to be given to Levites and the poor. Priests and Levites weren’t given land like all of the other Jewish tribes, therefore the tithe was a way to provide food so that there would be equality.
  5. To restate: all of the tribes of Israel were given valuable land for free as their inheritance, all of the tribes except the Levites. All that God required from the other tribes was simply for them to provide food for the Levites and for those who were poor, so that there would be equality. A common them in Scripture is preventing injustice and helping those who are truly in need. (As a counterbalance to prevent laziness, we see in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 that those who wouldn’t work wouldn’t get to eat).
  6. No one who was prosperous from working in any of the other trades had to tithe (during that time period there were many different paid professions). Only landowners who produced food were to tithe, and the rest gave offerings, and this can be explained by any reliable Jewish historian.
  7. First fruits from the land must not be confused with tithes because they weren’t anywhere near being 10%, but rather were described as being able to fit into a single basket (Deuteronomy 26:2,4).
  8. The tithe wasn’t the first and best that could be given, but rather, we see in Leviticus 27:32-33, “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. He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad.” As just stated, even if the animal was sick or injured, it was to be given as part of the tithe, yet if someone’s increase was only nine livestock, then none would be tithed because only the tenth one was tithed.
  9. The Israelites at first were actually penalized 20% if they wanted to try to tithe money instead of food (Leviticus 27:31), but later they were allowed to use money to buy food “or wine or strong drink, whatever their appetite craved” to be presented as their tithe of food (Deut. 14:26). As just mentioned, when bringing what their “appetite craved,” we consistently see throughout the Old Covenant that Israelites were actually allowed to personally consume (eat or drink) a considerable portion of the tithes and offerings that they brought, “…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. 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” (Deuteronomy 12:17-18).
  10. To restate Deuteronomy 14:26, the Israelites who had to travel long distances could bring money from the sale of their agriculture and livestock, but they had to then convert that money back into food, because the practice of tithing was all about food.
  11. As was just revealed in Deuteronomy 12:18, “rejoicing” while personally getting to eat the tithe yourself was a major part of what the “tithe” was all about: enjoying the fruit of your labor and sharing it with those around you as you rejoice before the Lord. Also see this passage, “There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your sacrifices, your TITHES, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. And there YOU SHALL EAT before the Lord your God, and you shall REJOICE,” (Deuteronomy 12:6-7).
  12. Furthermore, “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,” (Deuteronomy 14:23, also see 15:20). In Deuteronomy 12:27 we also see, “you must offer the meat…of your burnt offerings on the altar… but YOU MAY EAT the meat.” Also, Leviticus 7 explains that freewill thanksgiving peace offerings are eaten by the person who brings it while some of it is given to the priest, and on “the third day” the leftovers are to be burned.
  13. One of the responsibilities of the priests and Levites was to prepare the food: Ezekiel 46:20- “the priests will cook the meat from the guilt offerings and sin offerings and bake the flour from the grain offerings into bread,” and verse 24, “the kitchens [are] to be used by the Temple assistants to boil the sacrifices offered by the people.” 2 Chronicles 35:13 shows that, “they [Levites] boiled the holy offerings in pots, kettles, and pans, and brought them out quickly in pots, kettles, and pans, and brought them out quickly SO THE PEOPLE COULD EAT them.” (2 Chron. 35:13). Again, Israelites were often fed by what they brought so that they could rejoice in the realization and knowledge that all of everything comes from God.
  14. The third year, as well as the 6th year of the 7 year cycle, was known as “the year of the tithe” (see Deuteronomy 26:12-13), and this tithe of food was to be kept within their own gates and given to Levites, widows, orphans and foreigners. We can now see that some of the tithes were given directly by the Israelites to the poor and needy. To restate, the Israelites had the authority and were commanded to directly help those in need, rather than everything being required to first go to a “storehouse.”
  15. Having to give a tenth of something other than food, which would be required by a human king, was a prophesy and curse revealed in 1 Samuel 8, where God said His people had rejected Him and wanted to instead be ruled by a king, and this behavior of a king wasn’t God’s plan for His people.
  16. To anyone who might think that Israelites were merely an agrarian society (a community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland), and to anyone who might think that actual money might’ve only been rarely used; at the time that the Mosaic Law was given, there was currency in the form of shekels which were first mentioned in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Genesis alone contains “money” in 32 passages and the word occurs 44 times before the Mosaic tithe is first mentioned in Leviticus 27. Also, the word “shekel” appears often from Genesis to Deuteronomy. According to Genesis 47:14-17, food was used for barter only after money had been spent. Banking and usury laws existed in God’s Word in Leviticus before tithing food was taught by Moses. Even centuries before entering Canaan, money was an essential everyday item (Gen 17:13, Gen 23:9, Ex 23:11, Ex 21 and 22, Ex 30:12, Lev 27:3-7, Num 3:47, Deut 14:26, Deut 22:29)-(information from Russell Earl Kelly PhD, author of Should the Church Teach Tithing, and www.tithing-russkelly.com).
  17. These are well known Biblical examples of those who were paid money for their crafts: “builders, stonemasons, carpenters, woodcarvers, boat builders, goldsmiths, silversmiths, glass workers, potters, leather workers, weavers, and fullers…Jesus’ father was a carpenter (Matt 13.55). And Paul made a living at tentmaking (Acts 18.3). Unskilled workers were often poor and did difficult jobs like mining, cutting rocks, digging wells, building roads, cleaning streets, training and driving camels, loading and unloading goods along trade routes, working as a crew member or rower on a boat, and tending and harvesting crops. Still others worked as dancers, musicians, and even as professional mourners.” http://bibleresources.americanbible.org/resource/how-people-made-a-living-in-the-time-of-jesus
  18. But didn’t the Mosaic Old Covenant require every Israelite to give a tithe of their income? Actually, that was never the case, and the Old Covenant had always been very specific. Again, God has never, ever, required anyone to ever give 10% of their monetary income earned from their labor. Tithing was only from the increase in agriculture and livestock which was all directly from God. This can be explained by any reliable Jewish historian. To those who try to add the concept of giving money to the Old Covenant doctrine of tithing food, we should respond with 1 Corinthians 4:6, “Do not go beyond what is written.” As we will continue to see, the concept of regularly having to give 10% of someone’s financial income to a religious organization is a manmade tradition and is not found in Scripture.

Leave a comment

search previous next tag category expand menu location phone mail time cart zoom edit close