Deuteronomy 16:17 (not by percentage)
"Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your GOD which he has given you.
THE TRUTH ABOUT TITHING FROM THE BIBLE (please copy)
Today, If I asked you to define tithing, you probably would say, Tithing is the giving of ten percent of something to your local church, usually money.
If I asked you how often a person should tithe, the answer would probably be once a week, twice a week, or whenever you get paid.
Well, I want to show you that these answers are more cultural than biblical.
If I were to tell you that God wants you to tithe apple pies. You would probably say to me, prove it.
Well, I can't prove that about the apple pies, but lets see what can be proven. Let's see what is true and what is not true.
Although we are no longer in the Old Testament, we have to start there first because that is where tithing began
In the Old Testament under the old covenant, tithing was first instituted by God. God gave specific instructions as to what a person could tithe and how to tithe.
The nation of Israel had just come out of Egypt. They are now free of slavery and God is instituting laws for a structured society.
There were 12 tribes of Israel:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin
We are going to focus on the tribe of Levi. Moses, his brother Aaron and their sister Miriam were all of the tribe of Levi. Aaron was the high priest at this time.
The priesthood itself was called the Levitical priesthood, It was named after the tribe of Levi. The Levitical priesthood and the Levitical people were in charge of the religion.
God gave the land as an inheritance to all the tribes of Israel except for the tribe of Levi.
God gave the children of the tribe of Levi no inheritance of land. If you were descended from the tribe of Levi you could not be a landowner
Numbers 18 (no inheritance of land)
20Then the LORD said to Aaron: "You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
Numbers 18 (Tithes as an inheritance)
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.
Tithes were an inheritance
Numbers 18
24For 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;
Now that we know that the tithes were for the tribe of Levi, lets focus on what the tithes themselves were
Leviticus 27 (produce)
30And 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.
Leviticus 27(livestock)
32And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes
under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD
As we continue, we are going to find more and more that the tithe of the Levitical priesthood was produce and livestock, not money.
Money existed in those days but God did not command money to be tithed. You would have been in direct conflict with God's tithing laws if you were to tithe money. Money was to be given as a free will offering seperate from tithing.
To prove that money existed in those days, I have listed all the scriptures from Geneses through Exodus that have the word money in them.
Genesis 17:12 Genesis 17:13 Genesis 17:23 Genesis 17:27 Genesis 23:13 Genesis 31:15 Genesis 33:19 Genesis 42:25 Genesis 42:27 Genesis 42:28 Genesis 42:35 Genesis 43:12 Genesis 43:15 Genesis 43:18 Genesis 43:21 Genesis 43:22 Genesis 43:23 Genesis 44:1 Genesis 44:2 Genesis 44:8 Genesis 47:14 Genesis 47:15 Genesis 47:16 Genesis 47:18 Exodus 12:44 Exodus 21:11 Exodus 21:30 Exodus 21:34 Exodus 21:35 Exodus 22:7 Exodus 22:17 Exodus 22:25 Exodus 30:11 Exodus 30:16
Tithes that can be
eaten taste good
Numbers 18
25 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 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. 30When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. 31You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting.
Tithes could only be eaten
in certain places.
Deuteronomy 12
17You 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.
TITHING GRAIN
Deuteronomy 14
22 "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23And 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
Bring out the Tithe, Store it and Eat it
Deuteronomy 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. 29And 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.
Tithes are to be eaten
Deuteronomy 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, 13then 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. 14I 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.
As you can see tithing is a whole different concept to Jewish people. Tithing was never money and Tithing was for the Levites.
2 Chronicles 31
4Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the LORD.
5As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. 6And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God they laid in heaps.
There were storehouses which were made to store the tithe of the grain.
Nehemiah 10
37to 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. 38And 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. 39For 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,
GOD WANTED FOOD NOT MONEY
Malachi 3
10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house
Why didn't God command money to be tithed? I think it's obvious, money would have corrupted the levitical priesthood if it was given by percentage so God made the giving of money to be a free will offering instead.
THE NEW TESTAMENT
Now that we are finished with the Old Testament. Lets focus on the New Testament.
Matthew 23:23 (WORDS OF CHRIST)
"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.
Here we have a passage in the New Testament where Jesus tells the Pharisees that they should have observed weightier matters of the law as well as the tithing parts of the law.
Jesus doesn't rebuke the Pharisees for tithing herbs. He rebukes them for not observing the weightier matters of the law.
Why doesn't Jesus rebuke them for tithing herbs?
Should Jesus have said?
What is wrong with you Pharisees?
Why are you tithing herbs?
You should be tithing money.
The Pharisees were tithing herbs
because that was something they were allowed to tithe under the law. The Pharisees were not allowed to tithe money under the law by the commandment of God.
The Jewish people did not tithe whatever they felt like tithing.
The Jewish people tithed what God had commanded them to tithe. The Jewish people tithed according to the law.
Hebrews 7
5And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law
After Jesus died on the Cross, there was no further need for animal sacrifices. The need for a Levitical priesthood had ended.
The tithing laws were made specifically for the Levites who were in charge of the Levitical priesthood. If the Levitical priesthood expires then the tithing laws that support the Levitical priesthood expire also.
A new priesthood would have to be instituted to replace the old one.
THE PRIESTHOOD IS CHANGED
Hebrews 7
12For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
Hebrews 7
18For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,
THE OLD PRIESTHOOD IS EXPIRED
Hebrews 8
13In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
The new priesthood would not be after the order of Aaron who was the first high priest of the Levitical order.
The new priesthood would be after the order of Melchizedek
Hebrews 7:21
"The LORD has sworn
And will not relent,
"You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek"'),
Jesus is the high priest who is according to the order of Melchizedek
The Levitical priesthood is expired.
The apostle Paul knew that the tithing laws expired when the Levitical priesthood expired.
Paul himself does not tithe and does not instruct people to tithe.
Acts 24:17 (words of Paul)
"Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation,
Notice Paul does not say the word tithe
Alms and Offerings usually refers to money or gifts (freewill offerings)
The word tithe does not refer to money.
Paul is a Jew and he knows this.
Jewish people were not supposed to tithe money. Paul was giving money or gifts and that is why he uses the word offerings.
The word tithe is not associated with money.
The shocking truth is this.
The word tithe or tithing is very rarely used in the New Testament.
Jesus uses the word tithe in Matthew 23:23, and Luke 11:42 to address the Pharisees about tithing herbs.
In Luke Chapter 18:12 a man brags that he tithes everything he owns.
and
Hebrews Chapter 7 speaks about tithing being a part of an expired priesthood.
There is no further mention of the word tithing or tithe in the New Testament and that is a fact.
Tithing is not taught in the New Testament. You are not given any instruction or commandments about tithing in the New Testament and that is a fact.
The giving of money in the Old and New Testament is referred to as freewill offerings or alms for the poor.
Giving money in the Old and New Testament is never referred to as tithing. If a person wanted to tithe money, they would have to give it as a free will offering. There is no tithing law concerning money in the bible.
Paul specifically states that we as Christians are not under the law, we are under grace (Romans 6:14)
We are under a new priesthood of Grace.
The old priesthood was a priesthood of laws.
The tithe laws were made specifically to support the Levitical priesthood. Those laws have expired with the Levitical priesthood. There are no new laws or commands given concerning tithing in the New Testament. Today giving is a free will offering,
A NEW PRIESTHOOD OF GRACE TO REPLACE AN OLD PRIESTHOOD OF LAWS.
Let's examine the new priesthood
Hebrews 7
(2) 11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? 12For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
MELCHEZIDEK TRANSLATED MEANS KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
SALEM IS THE WORD FOR PEACE
JERUSALEM MEANS CITY OF PEACE
Today as Christians we are under A Melchezidek priesthood A PRIESTHOOD OF GRACE.
Abraham lived 400 years before the Levitical priesthood ever came into existence. Abraham was not under a Levitical priesthood. Abraham was under a Melchezidek priesthood, and yet Abraham did give tithes to Melchezidek.
Hebrews 7
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace," 3without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
Did Abraham tithe according to the law? No
The law would not exist for another 400 years.
Abraham tithed under a priesthood of grace.
Abraham did not tithe because he was instructed or commanded to tithe.
Abraham tithed freely under grace of his own volition (free will).
Abraham tithed without any restrictions from the law and Abraham tithed without any commandments from the law.
Abraham did not tithe every week, once a month or even once a year.
The bible records only one tithing event in the life of Abraham.
Abraham gave a tenth of everything he had won from the battle. (Hebrews 7:1)
Genesis 14
(1) 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19And he blessed him and said:
"Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20And blessed be God Most High,Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all
Every tithing law in the bible pertains to the Levitical priesthood only.
Today under this new priesthood we are not instructed to tithe nor are we commanded to tithe.
We are not commanded to tithe at all under this new priesthood.
Where did the idea to tithe money come from. The Roman Catholic Church needed to raise money in the early centuries. They instituted a money tithe and claimed it was biblical. This has been passed down for many centuries till today, but it is not biblical.
Let's look at what the apostles have to say about the Levitical laws.
Many non-Jewish people had come to believe in Jesus and the Jewish Believers said this
Acts 15
5But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses." 6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
The apostles concluded the matter by stating to the Jewish believers
Acts 15
10Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
19Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
The apostles then repeated the judgment in verse 28
28For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.
Tithing comes from the law of the Levitical priesthood (commonly referred to as the law of Moses). There are no new tithing laws given in the New Testament.
One of the laws of tithing was that there was to be tithing for six years and then no tithing at all during the seventh year
Exodus 23
10 "Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.
Leviticus 25:4
but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard
The New Testament states that because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross we no longer have to observe these certain things of the law.
Colossians Chapter 2
16So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ
If you want to learn more about tithing, go to www.hatikva.org and order tapes on tithing.
NOW FOR A FEW WORDS OF ADMONISHMENT FOR ALL TEACHERS
James 3:1
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
There is no biblical bases to impose a tithe on the people while they are under grace.
Matthew 2
1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments
Matthew 3:12
His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Only two causes in the NT warrant a collection from the church. They are to help other believers who are in need (Ac 11:27-30; 24:17; Ro 15:25-28; 1 Co 16:1-4; 2 Co 8:1-15; 9:12) and to support apostles or (church planters) in their work (Ac 15:3; Ro 15:23-24; 1 Co 9:1-14; 16:5-6, 10-11; 2 Co 1:16; Php 4:14-18; Tit 3:13-14; 3 Jn 5-8). Whenever believers in another place were undergoing hardship(due to famines or whatever), the other churches were called upon to supply financial aid. It is important to note that such collections were never ongoing-they ceased after the need was met (Ac 11:27-30; 12:25; 1 Co 16:1-4). Local giving to the poor was done in secret and directly (Mt 6:1-4, 19-21; Eph 4:28).
Evidently a “list” of local widows who qualified for assistance was kept by a church (1 Ti 5:3, 9, 16).
The church was also obligated to support the sending out of apostles (church planters).
The Greek word for “send” (propempo) is, in the NT, associated with helping someone on their journey with food or money, by arranging for traveling companions, means of travel, etc. It is to “send” an apostle off with material sustenance (Ac 15:3; Ro 15:24; 1 Co 16:6,11; 2 Co 1:16; Tit 3:13; 3 Jn 5-8). The same case can be made for the word “welcome” (Php 2:29; 3 Jn 10). To “welcome” a church planter was to provide temporary lodging for him and to meet his physical needs. NT church planters were given lump sums to get them to their destinations. Once there, they would evangelize the area, establish churches, train them in the basics and move on.
En route they might be “welcomed” at existing churches and then be “sent” along again. 1 Co 9:1-14 states that apostle/church planters have the “right” to earn their living from the gospel while on mission trips. More is known of Paul’s activities than anyone else’s, and a look at his “career” is enlightening. His first mission lasted a year (AD 47-48) and then he was home about a year. His second expedition lasted around three years (AD 49-52) and then he came back for a short time. Paul’s third trip lasted some four years, after which he returned to Jerusalem. The lesson to learn from this is that he did not spend his whole life in one place or among one people group. He traveled extensively, and his work was segmented into specific projects (a one year trip, a three year trip, a four year trip). Paul was also versatile enough to be able to supply his own needs when church funds were lacking.
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