The Tenth Part (Tithe)
"...When you have set aside in full the tenth part of your yield –in the third year, the year of the tithe - and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, ..."
(Deuteronomy 26:12)
Every church gathering it seems like we hear the same questions: “Do I really have to tithe?” “Who should receive my tithe?” “Do those Old Testament rules really apply to me?” Maybe you don’t frame the questions with the same self-serving tone. After all, it’s pretty clear that the one who asks like this really doesn’t think that all his resources are God’s to begin with. His questions are about how little he can get by with (like Cain), rather than what little God actually requests. Nevertheless, tithing seems to be one of those topics that is generally misunderstood and certainly misapplied. It is particularly curious that Christians who claim that the Old Testament rules no longer apply because we are under GRACE still seem to think tithing is mandatory.
There are some crucial background assumptions behind this commandment to tithe. First, this is a commandment for those inside the community. It does not apply to people who are not followers. In contemporary terms, that means it does not apply to church attendees. It only applies to people who have died to self and volunteered to be ruled by the Lord according to His constitution. A lot of people who attend churches are not subject to this commandment because they really aren’t slaves of the KING of kings and LORD of lords. There is no sense at all in pressing them to give. Why should they? They are ruled by themselves. If they have not adopted voluntarily the government of Torah obedience [God's Teaching and Instruction], then there is no point in pressing them to tithe. They are not really in the community.
Second, notice who receives the tenth. The first group is the Levitical priests who are called to serve God. This is determined exclusively by bloodline. I’m sorry, but most pastors today are not Levites. They don’t qualify. The Levites receive some of the tithe because they are prohibited from owning any part of the land. The community takes responsibility for their sustenance because God excluded them from ownership.
Notice the other groups. The rest of the receipents are the disadvantaged – the orphans, the strangers and the widows. Under God’s commandment, the community is responsible for the welfare of those who cannot care for themselves. Orphans and widows are obvious. In an agrarian society, they had no means of livelihood. Someone had to step in. But the stranger? Why would God command His people to care for someone outside their group? The answer is also obvious. A stranger in the land is someone who has no means of support. He can’t make a living from his own crops. So, the community is required to care for him. We see care for both the widow and the stranger in the story of Ruth. This stranger is part of the community but not an owner in the community. Whenever the community encounters someone that God brings into its circle, care is part of the obligation.
Now the shocker! It looks like this verse says that this tithe happens only in the third year. Does that mean that the other years I am not required to tithe. No! The tithe is given every year, but in the third year the tithe is not consumed by the priests or the giver. It is exclusively set aside for the poor, the priests and the stranger. No tithes are given in the sabbatical year (the seventh year). Therefore, there is a four year gap between tithes set aside exclusively for these groups. So, nothing is given in the seventh year and everything given every four years (including the sabbatical year) is exclusively for the poor, the strangers and the Levites.
Now set aside the exact timing and ask yourself these questions: 1) If the third year tithe is exclusively for the Levites and the disadvantaged, how can we justify today’s collection for buildings, staff and programs? Aren’t we who are followers of the King asked to set aside our third-year tithe exclusively for the poor? 2) If there is no tithe at all in the seventh year, aren’t we violating God’s explicit orders when we ask (or demand) that every year’s offerings go to supporting the “church?” 3) What would happen if we actually tithed according to God’s design? Wouldn’t we have to change a lot of things that we do under the banner of “church” because we would no longer be pressing the congregation to support it all?
Gee whiz, maybe the “church” would cease operating like a corporation.
The system of tithing is God's "bail-out" plan for His community.
KEYWORDS: tithe, poor, Levite, sabbatical year, Deuteronomy 26:12
Renew Your Mind: Leviticus 27:30 ESV “Every TITHE of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; IT IS HOLY TO THE LORD. The tithe is already the Lord's; this law allows the rules for ordinary vows to govern the tithes as well
Leviticus 27:9-13 ESV “If the VOW is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the Lord, all of it that he gives to the Lord is holy. 10 He shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. 11 And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the Lord, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, 12 and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. 13. But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to the valuation.
Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV "...HONOR THE LORD with your WEALTH And with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will be bursting with wine.
(Deuteronomy 26:12)
Every church gathering it seems like we hear the same questions: “Do I really have to tithe?” “Who should receive my tithe?” “Do those Old Testament rules really apply to me?” Maybe you don’t frame the questions with the same self-serving tone. After all, it’s pretty clear that the one who asks like this really doesn’t think that all his resources are God’s to begin with. His questions are about how little he can get by with (like Cain), rather than what little God actually requests. Nevertheless, tithing seems to be one of those topics that is generally misunderstood and certainly misapplied. It is particularly curious that Christians who claim that the Old Testament rules no longer apply because we are under GRACE still seem to think tithing is mandatory.
There are some crucial background assumptions behind this commandment to tithe. First, this is a commandment for those inside the community. It does not apply to people who are not followers. In contemporary terms, that means it does not apply to church attendees. It only applies to people who have died to self and volunteered to be ruled by the Lord according to His constitution. A lot of people who attend churches are not subject to this commandment because they really aren’t slaves of the KING of kings and LORD of lords. There is no sense at all in pressing them to give. Why should they? They are ruled by themselves. If they have not adopted voluntarily the government of Torah obedience [God's Teaching and Instruction], then there is no point in pressing them to tithe. They are not really in the community.
Second, notice who receives the tenth. The first group is the Levitical priests who are called to serve God. This is determined exclusively by bloodline. I’m sorry, but most pastors today are not Levites. They don’t qualify. The Levites receive some of the tithe because they are prohibited from owning any part of the land. The community takes responsibility for their sustenance because God excluded them from ownership.
Notice the other groups. The rest of the receipents are the disadvantaged – the orphans, the strangers and the widows. Under God’s commandment, the community is responsible for the welfare of those who cannot care for themselves. Orphans and widows are obvious. In an agrarian society, they had no means of livelihood. Someone had to step in. But the stranger? Why would God command His people to care for someone outside their group? The answer is also obvious. A stranger in the land is someone who has no means of support. He can’t make a living from his own crops. So, the community is required to care for him. We see care for both the widow and the stranger in the story of Ruth. This stranger is part of the community but not an owner in the community. Whenever the community encounters someone that God brings into its circle, care is part of the obligation.
Now the shocker! It looks like this verse says that this tithe happens only in the third year. Does that mean that the other years I am not required to tithe. No! The tithe is given every year, but in the third year the tithe is not consumed by the priests or the giver. It is exclusively set aside for the poor, the priests and the stranger. No tithes are given in the sabbatical year (the seventh year). Therefore, there is a four year gap between tithes set aside exclusively for these groups. So, nothing is given in the seventh year and everything given every four years (including the sabbatical year) is exclusively for the poor, the strangers and the Levites.
Now set aside the exact timing and ask yourself these questions: 1) If the third year tithe is exclusively for the Levites and the disadvantaged, how can we justify today’s collection for buildings, staff and programs? Aren’t we who are followers of the King asked to set aside our third-year tithe exclusively for the poor? 2) If there is no tithe at all in the seventh year, aren’t we violating God’s explicit orders when we ask (or demand) that every year’s offerings go to supporting the “church?” 3) What would happen if we actually tithed according to God’s design? Wouldn’t we have to change a lot of things that we do under the banner of “church” because we would no longer be pressing the congregation to support it all?
Gee whiz, maybe the “church” would cease operating like a corporation.
The system of tithing is God's "bail-out" plan for His community.
KEYWORDS: tithe, poor, Levite, sabbatical year, Deuteronomy 26:12
Renew Your Mind: Leviticus 27:30 ESV “Every TITHE of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; IT IS HOLY TO THE LORD. The tithe is already the Lord's; this law allows the rules for ordinary vows to govern the tithes as well
Leviticus 27:9-13 ESV “If the VOW is an animal that may be offered as an offering to the Lord, all of it that he gives to the Lord is holy. 10 He shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. 11 And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to the Lord, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, 12 and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. 13. But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to the valuation.
Proverbs 3:9-10 ESV "...HONOR THE LORD with your WEALTH And with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10 then your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will be bursting with wine.
"Tithing Is Proof That You Believe The Word Of God To YOU"
Comments
HTTP://BREADFROMHEAVEN9.BLOGSPOT.COM/2009/07/TENTH-PART-TITHE.HTML
BREADFROMHEAVEN MINISTRIES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2009
Deuteronomy 26:12 This is a tithe collected every third year and kept at home in the towns for the poor which should include the Levites and priests. It does not replace the yearly Levitical tithe of Numbers 18:21-28. And it does not replace the yearly festival-feast tithe which was eaten in the streets of Jerusalem.
The Old Covenant required tithe-recipients to forfeit property ownership and to kill anybody who dared to worship God directly (Num 18; Ex 21:15, 17). Christians are dead to law per Rom 7:4.
Tithing only applies to Israelites who were under the Old Covanant.
Junius: Second, notice who receives the tenth. The first group is the Levitical priests who are called to serve God. This is determined exclusively by bloodline.
Russ: The Levites who received the first whole tithe were only the servants to the priests. Numbers 3, 18; 1 Chronicles 23 to 26.
Junius: I’m sorry, but most pastors today are not Levites. They don’t qualify.
Russ: Tithing is not taught to the Church after Calvary in the New Covenant.
Junius: The Levites receive some of the tithe because they are prohibited from owning any part of the land. The community takes responsibility for their sustenance because God excluded them from ownership.
Russ: They lived in 48 Levitical cities on land loaned by the tribes. They worked as farmers and herdsmen taking care of tithed animals. They also learned and worked trades to equip them as Temple workers. See Joshua 20-21; Numbers 35.
Junius: … In an agrarian society, they had no means of livelihood. Someone had to step in. But the stranger? Why would God command His people to care for someone outside their group? The answer is also obvious. A stranger in the land is someone who has no means of support. He can’t make a living from his own crops. …
Russ: Because of the inheritance laws most were forced off land ownersnip within four generations. They moved to the cities and learned trades such as carpenters, fishermen and tentmakers who did not qualify as tithe-payers. Jesus, Peter and Paul did not tithe.
Junius: This stranger is part of the community but not an owner in the community.
Russ: No. They traded and sold to the farmers and city dwellers. Nehemiah shut the gates on Saturday to keep them out.
Junius: Now the shocker! It looks like this verse says that this tithe happens only in the third year.
Russ: Yes, it does.
Yearly: Levitical tithe; 10%
Yearly: Festival tithe: 10%
Every third year: poor tithe 10% (3 1/3%/yr)
If the poor tithe replaced the festival tithe, there would be no food to eat at the festivals every third year.
Junius: Wouldn’t we have to change a lot of things that we do under the banner of “church” because we would no longer be pressing the congregation to support it all?
The system of tithing is God's "bail-out" plan for His community.
Russ: Where are your texts after Calvary which teach this?
Junius: Leviticus 27:30
Russ: Only food from inside Israel. Not money nor income.
Junius: Proverbs 3:9-10
Russ: Firstfruits were not tithes. They were a very small token offering per Deu 26:1-4 and Neh 10:35-38.
Junius: "Tithing Is Proof That You Believe The Word Of God To YOU"
Russ: What a weird conclusion!
Russell Earl Kelly, PHD
www.tithing-russkelly.com