DO I HAVE TO TITHE?
EVERY VERSE IN THE BIBLE
Tithing was practiced by Abraham before the Law of Moses
(Genesis 14:20). Then tithing was made
official in the Law of Moses. The Jews
were to tithe both their grain (vegetables) and fruit that grew on their trees
(Leviticus 27:30-32). Then those tithes
of crops were to be given to the Levites because the Levites were supposed to
work in the Temple and were not allowed to own land (Number 18:24-28).
However, this was just the beginning. In Deuteronomy 12:6, the Jews were told to
donate these additional things: (1)
burnt offerings, (2) sacrifices, (3) regular tithes, (4) special gifts, (5) vow
and freewill offerings, (6) the first born of all their various herds and
flocks. And if he lived too far from the
Temple to make it practical to take his tithes of crops and herds, he was to
exchange them for silver, then buy the equivalent once we got to the Temple
(Deuteronomy 14:22-28).
Further, according to Deuteronomy 26:12, every third
year, they were to give an EXTRA TITHE for the Levites, aliens and fatherless
in their land ~ a kind of welfare program.
Over and above all their tithes, they periodically
brought additional “contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts” of dedication
when needed (II Chronicles 31:5-12).
Nehemiah 10:37-38 says only the priests and their
helpers, the Levites, were allowed to collect the tithes. And they were stored in special storerooms
at the Temple (Nehemiah 12:4; 13:5).
People even got so they bragged about their freewill offerings
made in addition to their tithes (Amos 4:4-5).
The last verse in the Old Testament using the word tithe
is in the last book of the Old Testament ~ Malachi 3:8-10 ~ wherein the
Jews were told they were robbing God whenever they did not tithe.
The only time tithing is mentioned in the New Testament
is in reference to Jews under the Law of Moses. Jesus lived under the Law of Moses; the church was not set up
yet. Let's look them up.
In Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42 Jesus told of the Jews
tithing even herbs and spices, but it did not buy them out of being just and
actually loving God. And in Luke 18:11-14, Jesus said the Pharisee who bragged
he tithed everything was not just before God.
And finally, in Hebrews 7:5-7 where the intricacies of
the Old Testament Law of Moses were compared with the New Testament Law of
Grace, it was recalled that Abraham centuries earlier gave tithes to priest
Melchezedik.
APPLYING THOSE LAWS TO REAL LIFE
Remember Deuteronomy 12:6 listing the five kinds of
giving. Let us investigate how much
over tithing the Law of Moses required.
(A shekel of silver is worth about $5 in today's money.)
A middle-income Jew made about 1200 shekels a year or
about $6,000 American dollars. A tithe
of that would be $600. Keep this in mind
for we are going to create an annual giving budget for the middle-income Jew
living under the Old Testament Law of Moses.
Add this $600 to the Tithing Budget of a Good Jew listed below.
WELFARE PROGRAM:
Next, remember that Deuteronomy 26:12 required that once
every three years they were to give an additional tithe for their welfare
program. So the above Jew would have to
give an average of $200 extra a year for their welfare program. Add this $200 to the Tithing Budget of a
Good Jew listed below.
VOWS:
Now we
come to vows which had to be paid for.
Here is a list of some of them:
Genesis
28:20 - To have a safe journey ("traveling mercies")
Leviticus
27:2 - To dedicate someone for special service to God
Numbers
21:2 - To be delivered from enemy army
1
Samuel 1:11; Proverbs 31:2 - To have a child
2
Samuel 15:7-8 - To return to homeland and reconciled to family
Psalm
22:11, 25; 66:13 - To be freed of troubles and desertion by friend
Psalm
76:11; Isaiah 19:21 - To prove allegiance to God before others
Psalm
116:8, 14, 18-19 - To thank God for a verdict of not guilty
Job
22:27; Jonah 2:7-9 - To recover from illness
Leviticus
27:2-7 listed how much each category of people had to pay for their vows:
MALES
Age
60+ - 15 shekels
Age
20-60 – 50 shekels
Age
5-19 – 20 shekels
Age
birth-4 – 5 shekels
FEMALES
Age
60+ - 10 shekels
Age
20-60 – 30 shekels
Age
5-19 – 10 shekels
Age
birth-4 – 3 shekels
Let’s say we have a male Jew around 35 years old. Multiplying the number of required shekels
times $5.00 (equivalent of 1 shekel).
He would have to pay $250 for any of the vows noted above. Add this $250 to the Tithing Budget of a Good Jew listed below.
FIRST-BORN PEOPLE AND LIVESTOCK
Since each family only has one first-born their entire
existence, we will not count this in the Annual Giving Budget (see Number
3:45-47).
However, according to that same scripture, all
first-borns had to be redeemed (bought back) for 5 shekels or $25 each. if your herds had twenty females giving
birth for the first time in a year, you would owe 500 shekels or a total of
$2500) to redeem (buy back) all 20 newborns from becoming burned
offerings. Add this $2500 to the
Tithing Budget of a Good Jew listed below.
ANIMAL SACRIFICES
Let us give an average value of $25.00 per animal (5
shekels of silver).
Leviticus 1:6, 8-13; 8:18-21; 16:24 - This BURNT OFFERING was wholly consumed by fire. It was voluntary to atone for unknown,
unintentional sin, expression of devotion, or complete surrender to God. If you asked God to forgive you for unknown,
unintentional sins every week at $25.00 each, that would be $1300 a year. Add that to the Tithing Budget of a
Good Jew listed below.
Leviticus 4:1 - 5:13; 6:24-30; 8:14-17; 16:3-22 - This SIN OFFERING was required to atone for a specific unintentional
sin (probably done in public) and involved confession, forgiveness, and
cleansing from defilement. If you asked
God to forgive you for one unintentional but public sin a month at $25.00 per animal
sacrificed, that would require $300 in a year.
Add that to the Tithing Budget of a Good Jew listed below.
Leviticus 5:14 - 6:7; 7:1-6 - This GUILT OFFERING was required for sins requiring restitution of
an added 20% such as for stealing (intentional) or destroying property
(unintentional). Let's say you are real
good and never get into this kind of trouble.
Don't add it to your Annual Giving Budget.
GRAIN OFFERING
Grain offerings were usually cooked and eaten by the
priests. They were flour, oil, incense
(flavoring), bread, and salt. Let us
give each such offering a $5.00 value.
Leviticus 2; 6:14-23 - This THANKSGIVING OFFERING was voluntary. Let's say you, a good Jew, have a positive attitude and thank God
for things once a week. Your grain
offerings would add up to $260 during the year. Add that to the Tithing Budget of a Good Jew listed below.
Leviticus 3; 7:11-34 - This FELLOWSHIP OFFERING was voluntary and another form of thanking
God for his goodness. Let's say you
make this kind of offering once a month.
Your grain offerings would amount to a value of $60 for the year. Add that to the Tithing Budget of a Good Jew
listed below.
Annual Giving Budget of Good
Jew
$____________ Tithing
for the year
$____________ One-third
of tri-year welfare tithe
$____________ One vow a month for
a year
$____________ Twenty
first-borns in herd for the year
$____________ One
unknown sin a week (burnt offering)
$____________ One
unintentional sin a month (sin offering)
$____________ One
thanksgiving offering a week for a year
$____________ One
fellowship offering a month for a year
$____________ TOTAL
GIVING FOR A GOOD JEW
So, you see that, in order to adopt the tithing of the
Law of Moses, we must adopt the other giving rules also.
Remember, James 2:10 says if we keep only part of the
law, then we are guilty of breaking the entire law. BUT....
GIVING IN THE NEW TESTAMENT ERA
Jesus nullified the Law of Moses.
Colossians 2:14 says the written code requiring circumcision
(Deuteronomy 10:16) and everything else in the Law of Moses was nailed to the
cross. Ephesians 2:15 says that Jesus
abolished through the sacrifice of his flesh the law of Moses with its
commandments and regulations. And
finally, Hebrews 8:13; 9:1 says Jesus made the first covenant (testament - KJV)
with its earthly tabernacle, etc. obsolete and gave us a new covenant
(testament).
FIRST CENTURY CHURCH GIVING
First-century Christians in Acts 4:32-35 “From time to time” whenever
there was a special need, some first-century Christian who owned land or houses
sold them and gave the money to the apostles to distribute to anyone in
need.
1 Corinthians 9:13-14 explained that, just as priests who served in the
Jewish Temple got their food from the sacrifices which were not burned up. Therefore, the Apostle Paul explained that
those who preach the gospel of Jesus should receive their living from those who
respond to the gospel.
So, for the most part, Paul said we are to give our contributions on
the first day of the week (I Corinthians 16:1-2). By tithing? No, we are to
set aside a sum of money in keeping with our income so when someone comes with
a need, we don't need to take up a special offering.
Paul commending some Christians in 2 Corinthians 8:2-5 because
they gave out of the most severe trial
and extreme poverty. They gave even
beyond their ability. Even before their
donation, they first gave themselves to the Lord, and that is the basis for
Christian giving. If we love the Lord,
the church will have sufficient money to support the things and people that
need to be supported.
Interestingly, although you may have been frustrated by being asked a
year ahead of time what your giving was going to be, in II Corinthians 8:10-13,
the Christians in Corinth decided a year in advance what they wanted to give
for the year. Paul urged them to
complete their plans according to their means (income). The gift is only acceptable if the
willingness is there. We are to give
according to what we have, not what we don't have. No donations were requested to make them hard pressed.
Paul went on to say in 8:24 that monetary donations are one way to show
our love. And finally in II Corinthians
9:6-7, Paul concluded “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; whoever
gives generously will also reap generously.”
We must give whatever we have decided in our own heart, “not reluctantly
or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”