The Tithe
Read this fully before you come to any
conclusions. It might not lead to where
you think it will.
This study of the tithe is not meant to
ridicule any Pastor for stressing tithing. However, tithing in the Gentile Christian
Church is anti-biblical.
Is the tithe under the law or grace? Are you
under the law or under grace?
The ten-percent across the board weekly tithe
is not a New Testament
teaching. Many are surprised to find that it is also not an Old
Testament teaching!
Before I start, let me make it perfectly
clear that tithes, firstfruits, and offerings are completely different issues.
They should not be commingled.
Often we are told by certain Pastors to
“plant our seed” meaning to give money.
However, money is never spoken of in the Bible as seed! Biblical seed is always the word of God!
Luke
8:11b The
seed is the word of God.
Those who teach the “seed/money theory,” such
as Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland, and others are no more than spiritual
con-men.
The word "tithe/tithes" first
appears in the King James Version of the Bible in Genesis 14:20.
Genesis 14:18-20
18 And Melchizedek king of
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God,
possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into
thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Notice that Abram did not give Melchizedek a tithe of what he earned by
tending his flocks and herds. Instead, he gave him a tenth of the spoils of
war. The tithe to Melchizedek was a one-time
only event that is not repeated.
Numbers 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.
As we shall see, the tithe was a specific
inheritance of members of the tribe of Levi that consisted of food to be eaten in a shared
meal.
The "heave offering" was a tithe of
the tithe given by the "normal Levites" to the priest Levites. It was
to choicest parts of the tithe they had received. As an example, if the normal
Levite received a sheep as the tithe from a family, the tithe would have been
the lamb’s right thigh. It was to be eaten by the family giving it and the
Priests within the
The family tithe was given to the Levites as
their tribal inheritance! Under the law, only Levites could receive the tithe.
And, while many preachers today may claim to be spiritual
Levites, but they want real money!
Since the tithe may only be given to the
Levites, the tithe within the church is biblically illegal. For your
information, today’s Synagogues do not ask for a tithe. It is illegal among
Jews today, because no one knows who among them is a Levite! The ancestral
records were destroyed in 70 AD.
Leviticus 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.
The tithe is holy to Yahweh, but
Levites were to receive it in a specific manner.
Who paid a tithe?
The tithe consisted only of foodstuffs. It
could include money only if the one paying the tithe wished to
redeem the tithe. We will discuss that later.
Only landowners and herdsmen paid the tithe.
They paid it based on their increase, not on the base. Herdsmen,
that is the owners of the herds (not their employees), needed to have at least
ten sheep or cattle before the tithe was paid. If the herdsmen had less than
ten animals no tithe was paid.
Let me put this is modern terms. If you work
in a factory , but do not own the factory, and just
"work for wages," you should not pay tithes.
Tithes were paid exclusively on
the increase of your business, not your salary!
Hired herdsmen did not pay tithes.
The animal tithe was determined by making the
animals pass under a rod.
Leviticus 27:32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the
flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto
the LORD.
If a certain lamb passed under the rod and
the owner did not want to tithe that animal, he could redeem it by paying the
price of the lamb plus twenty percent.
Leviticus 27:13 But if he will at all redeem it, then
he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.
The tithe ran in a seven years cycle! The
third year and the seventh year were special.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29
28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine
increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the
stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall
come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in
all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
Every third year, the tithe was to put aside
by the families who paid tithes, and kept by them for use by the less
fortunate. It was not to be consumed by the Levites alone. The third-year tithe
was to be used to feed wandering Levites, strangers, orphans, and widows, which
happened to come to the tither’s home. The third-year tithe was not
given to the Levitical Priests to keep or to distribute.
No tithe was given during the seventh year!
Leviticus 25:4-5
4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest
unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor
prune thy vineyard.
5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither
gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the
land.
As shown in Leviticus 25:4-5, every seventh
year was a sabbatical year for the land and herds. During that sabbatical year no
tithe was to be collected.
How many times have you heard a sermon on the
sabbatical year?
Let me summarize the yearly tithes. At the
end of the third year in the cycle of seven, the tithe was to be kept within
the home to be used to feed these less fortunate. The seventh year was a
sabbatical year in which no tithe was collected. The tithe
(one-tenth of the yearly increase) was to be taken to the temple only during
the first, second, forth, fifth, and sixth years.
The tithe could only be given
at the temple, or a nationally designated place. It was never
given at a local synagogue!
Deuteronomy 12:17 "You may not eat within your gates
the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstlings 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.
Deuteronomy 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.
The tithe consisted only of foodstuffs! It
was to be eaten by the Priests and the tithing family at the temple or a
designated place outside of the home. The tithe is a shared meal!
Numbers 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.
One fact that escapes most is that the
biblical tithe was a shared meal! The Priests and the tithing families ate
the tithe.
But, what if your family lived too far from
the
In that case (and that case alone) you could
sell the tithe, take the money to the
Deuteronomy 14:24-26
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it;
or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to
set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and
shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for
oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy
soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt
rejoice, thou, and thine household,
That is the problem Jesus had with the
moneychangers. They had turned the tithe into a racket worthy of the Mafia.
Today, many Church leaders have prostituted the tithe.
Matthew 21:12-13
12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and
bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the
seats of them that sold doves,
13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of
prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
For your information---many Pastors do not
know about the tithe. They just follow the lead of past leaders, who themselves
may have preached in ignorance.
But isn’t the failing to pay the money tithe
robbing God? How can you steal something from God that he does not require?
Malachi 3:8-10
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.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole
nation.
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.
1. who was robbing God? The whole nation of
2. What were they stealing? Tithes and offerings! While
offerings may be money, tithes are food (period)!
3. How did they steal the tithe? They did not bring it to
the "storehouse."
4. Where is the storehouse? It is the
5. Is there a
Who was Malachi writing to? The nation of
Malachi 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to
Malachi was written to the whole, physical,
nation of
Malachi 1:6 A son honoureth his father,
and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith
the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And
ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
God was angry with the Priests of Israel.
Malachi 2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment
is for you. (KJV)
Malachi 2:7 For the priest's lips should keep
knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger
of the LORD of hosts.
In addition, the call was for FOOD, not funds to be brought
into the
How many Christians today have actually given
a tithe? Try the word “NONE!”
People give money, but since we have become a
mostly non-agriculture society, they do not given food. Only the first “tithe” consisted of anything
other than food. We are otherwise NEVER told to give the spoils of war to the
Church!
Where is the
You are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1
Corinthians 6:19)! Think about that!
Didn’t Jesus ridicule some other Jews for not
tithing? No, He criticized them for failing to show mercy.
Matthew 23:23 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.
Notice that they tithed even in small matters
such as food condiments, but failed to have faith, show mercy, and seek
justice. Will He condemn today’s Church for failing to show mercy?
The tithe is taught in only one place in the
New Testament.
Hebrews 7:1-12
1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met
Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation
King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of
peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of
days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest
continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham
gave the tenth of the spoils.
5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the
priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the
law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and
blessed him that had the promises.
7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it
is witnessed that he liveth.
9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in
Abraham.
10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the
people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest
should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order
of Aaron?
12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also
of the law.
This section is not a call for Christians
tithe. It is a story about Abram’s tithe to the Great Priest, Christ Jesus. In
it the writer confirms that the tithe Abram paid to Melchizedek came from the
spoils of war, and not from the fruit of his daily labor.
Hebrews 7:1-12 also confirms
that only those of the Hebrew tribe of Levi had any claim on the tithe.
Your local Preacher is not descendent from
the Levitical Priesthood, and according to the Bible is not eligible to receive
a tithe, because the tithe is under the law (Heb. 7:12). It is that section that says specifically
that the tithe was part of the law.
Those who deny that biblical fact are also denying the Bible!
James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
If as a Pastor, you teach the law and place
your congregation under the law instead of grace, you cause their fall from grace.
Galatians 5:3-4
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to
do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the
law; ye are fallen from grace.
In that section, Paul says that if we become
debtors to the law, we are debtors to the whole law. And James said that if we
are debtors to the law and do not keep in total, we are guilty!
The tithe is under the law---we are under
grace!
As I said, there are differences between tithes,
offerings and firstfruits. They should not be commingled.
We often use the term "freewill."
"Freewill" is used only in the Old Testament, KJV, and only in
speaking of offerings. Any use of the word outside of that context is biblical
abuse.
Give as much as you want, as often as you
can, but don’t give under the condemnation of the Old Testament
tithe.
Perhaps the most misunderstood verse in the
Bible is found in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week (one of the Sabbaths)
let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there
be no gatherings when I come.
Paul was stressing freewill gifts, not
tithes. No verse in the entire Bible says that Jesus, or any of the Apostles ever
accepted or paid a tithe. Being fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James and John were exempt
from tithing.
When Gentiles were taken into the Church,
tithing was not part of their responsibility.
Acts 15:28-29
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater
burden than these necessary things;
29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things
strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do
well. Fare ye well.
To make sure that all paid something, the
Matthew 17:24-27
24 And when they were come to
Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not
your master pay tribute (Temple tax)?
25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house,
Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou,
Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom
or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith
unto him, Then are the children free.
27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an
hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his
mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me
and thee.
No verse in the bible says that Jesus ever
paid the tithe!
When you give, give from a heart of love as
God has prospered you, not from a fear of obligation!
The Ten-percent across the board tithe is an
anti-biblical modern invention totally lacking any biblical basis. Giving to
the church and tithing are two different things.
You may give a percent of your gross, or take
home pay to the church, that’s up to you. But, personally, I don’t think I
would tell God I was going to give one amount and then give another (according
to Acts 5-the story of Ananias and Sapphira). Just tell God what you are going
to give, and then give that amount.
God does not want you to, nor does he demand
that you give to the detriment of your family. He is not exalted with your
giving ten-percent while ignoring your bills and perhaps going into bankruptcy.
In the entire Bible, the tithe is only food,
and was used to provide food for the Levites and Levite Temple Priests. Every
third year of a seven-year cycle, families kept the tithe to meet emergencies
feeding the less fortunate. The seventh year was a sabbatical year when no
tithe was demanded, or given. The tithe was not universal. Only landowners with
planted fields, orchards, vineyards, and/or those owning herds paid a tithe. All
others were exempt from the tithe.
Would you have paid a tithe under that system
or would you have been exempt?
The tithe was a demand under law. Are you
under the law, or are you under grace?
If you are paying what you think is a tithe
under OT condemnation, repent!
Romans 8:1-2
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the
law of sin and death.
Give what you want as often as you want, but
don’t fall into the religious condemnation of a required tithe.
Luke
6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto
you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall
men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it
shall be measured to you again.
This does not say “tithe” and it shall be
given to you. The reason is that tithing
is the Law, but giving is from the heart.
“Freewill” is found only in the Old Testament
and only as concerns offerings. It is never used in relation to
tithes!
Tithes were part of the law. Offerings come
from the heart. God wants your heart.
Give as the Lord leads you and the amount
will be correct!
There is no biblical evidence that either
Jesus or Paul ever accepted a tithe, and none that Jesus ever asked for a
personal offering!
Many today speak of sowing your seed, or in
their words, sowing your money into their ministry. Let’s look at that concept.
Jesus was very specific concerning sowing
seed.
Matt
13:3 Then He spoke many things to
them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. (NKJ)
In this parable, the sower sowed seeds in
various soils.
Jesus spoke in parables to hide the truth.
Matt
13:13 "Therefore I speak to them
in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor
do they understand. (NKJ)
Many “Christians” still do not understand!
But, did the sower sow money?
Matt 13:18 "Therefore hear the parable
of the sower: (NKJ)
Beginning in verse 19, Christ explains that
the seed is the word of God…not
money. And the soils are the hearts and minds of men. That point is often overlooked by those
seeking to expand “their” ministry.
The seed is sown in the soils and the soils
bring forth fruit for the kingdom.
Think with me for a moment. Have you ever planted a flower seed?
Did you plant a seed in the front yard and
expect it to produce flowers in the back yard?
If you did, you know that it will not work.
However, that is what far too many so-called
preachers are doing today.
They say, “Plant your monetary seed here in
my ministry, and it will grow over there---somewhere else.”
Seed begets after its own kind in the spoil
in which it is planted. Flower seeds
produce flowers in the soil in which
they are planted.
Using that truism, money planted in a
ministry should produce more money coming from that same ministry. It is called
an investment! Wall Street knows that money produces money!
When was the last time a Preacher promised
you a monetary gain for your financial seed sown in his/her ministry with the check coming from his/her
ministry?
Try NEVER!
No preacher has ever written a check to any
congregant based on his/her investment in his/her ministry.
And yet, that is what should happen using the “seed” principle.
And, they know it doesn’t work that way. But,
if you figure it out, their income, and their influence will drop!
The biblical tithe was a shared meal. The modern tithe is, in essence, a Church
tax.
Please note that I am not telling you to stop
giving to your Church.
Give offerings! Don’t fall into the tithe trap!
I recently listened to my car radio as a well
known Preacher told his Church that when they stand before God in judgment,
bring their check book to show how much they gave. He said that stewardship is based on monetary
giving alone!
According to that famous Preacher’s theory,
Wall Street may be the most blessed place on the face on the earth. However, that preacher cons his congregation
out of multiple thousand s of dollars a year.
He has no respect for God’s word!
He may know the truth. But he has a good
thing going so why should he worry about the Bible?
Many Preachers have a retail attitude toward
giving. “My money is in somebody else’s
pocket, and it’s my job to get it out of his/her pocket and into mine.”
While Jesus is recorded as having a
Galatians
5:3-4
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to
do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the
law; ye are fallen from grace.
And, as Paul also wrote, “The just shall live
by faith,” and not but works of the law.
You may pay tithes and live under the law,
thereby renouncing faith, or you may give offerings as led by the Holy Spirit
and live by faith.
Ephesians
2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Tithe teachers who need to squeeze every
penny out of the congregation use this verse:
2
Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He
which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully.
But, they NEVER follow it with the next verse:
2
Corinthians 9:7 Every man according
as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:
for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Give as much as God and you decide!
Addendum:
Let me state this very
clearly and with all due respect for tithe teachers such as John Hagee, Pat
Robertson, and perhaps your local Pastor.
If your name is Abram and you
have gone off to war to save your nephew named Lot, and if in returning home
you pass through a town called Salem, and in that town there is a Priest of the
Most High God named Melchizedek, and you want to give him a tenth of what you
just won while fighting a war, by all means give it.
However, the payment and/or
acceptance of a tithe for any reason other than putting food on the table of an
Israeli Levite Priest is NOT
biblical no matter how you may attempt to justify it!
Under the Old Testament
“tithing” rules, if a Gentile would have attempted to tithe, that tithe would
have been rejected!