Lesson 55 Explore 1: What Does the Bible Say About Tithing? Scriptures Explained
The Bible’s answer
As part of their contribution to support true worship, the ancient Israelites were commanded to donate a tithe, or a tenth, of their annual income. God told them: “You must without fail give a tenth [“tithe,” King James Version] of everything your seed produces in the field year by year.”-
(Deuteronomy 14.22: “You must without fail give a tenth of everything your seed produces in the field year by year.)
The command to tithe was part of the Mosaic Law, a law code that God gave to ancient Israel. Christians are not legally subject to the Mosaic Law and so are not required to tithe.
(Colossians 2.13, 14: Furthermore, though you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcised state of your flesh, God made you alive together with him. He kindly forgave us all our trespasses and erased the handwritten document that consisted of decrees and was in opposition to us. He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake.)
Instead, each Christian is to contribute financially “as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”-
(2 Corinthians 9.7: Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.)
Tithing in the Bible—The “Old Testament”
Tithing is mentioned several times in the section of the Bible commonly known as the Old Testament. Most instances relate to a period after the Law code (the Mosaic Law) was given to Israel through Moses. However, a couple of instances relate to a period before that.
Before the Mosaic Law
The first person recorded as offering a tithe was Abram (Abraham).
(Genesis 14.18-20: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of the Most High God. Then he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, Maker of heaven and earth; And praised be the Most High God, Who has handed your oppressors over to you!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.)
(Hebrews 7.4: See how great this man was to whom Abraham, the family head, gave a tenth out of the best spoils.)
Abram’s tithe appears to have been a one-time gift to the king-priest of Salem. There is no evidence in the Bible account that Abraham or his children tithed again.
The second person mentioned in the Bible as offering a tithe was Abraham’s grandson Jacob. He promised that if God would bless him, he would give to God “a tenth of everything” he received.
(Genesis 28.20-22: Jacob then made a vow, saying: “If God will continue with me and will protect me on my journey and will give me bread to eat and garments to wear and I return in peace to the house of my father, then Jehovah will certainly have proved to be my God. And this stone that I have set up as a pillar will become a house of God, and without fail I will give you a tenth of everything you give to me.”)
According to some Bible scholars, Jacob likely paid this tithe in the form of animal sacrifices. While Jacob bound himself by this vow, he did not impose such a tithe on his family.
Under the Mosaic Law
The ancient Israelites were commanded to tithe as a means of supporting their religious activity.
• The tithe provided for full-time religious workers-the Levites, including the priests-who did not have their own land to cultivate.
(Numbers 18.20, 21: Jehovah went on to say to Aaron: “In their land you will not have an inheritance, and no portion of land among them will become yours. I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the Israelites. “Now see that I have given to the sons of Levi every tenth part in Israel as an inheritance in return for the service they are carrying out, the service of the tent of meeting.)
The nonpriestly Levites received tithes from the people and contributed the very best “tenth part of the tenth part” to the priests.-
(Numbers 18.26-29: “You should tell the Levites, ‘You will receive from the Israelites the tenth part that I have given to you from them for your inheritance, and you should contribute from it a tenth part of the tenth part as a contribution to Jehovah. And it will be considered your contribution, as though it were the grain of the threshing floor or the full production of the winepress or oil press. In this way you will also give a contribution to Jehovah from all the tenth parts that you receive from the Israelites, and from them you are to give the contribution for Jehovah to Aaron the priest. You will make every sort of contribution to Jehovah from the very best of all the gifts given to you as something holy.’)
• It appears that a second yearly tithe was required, which benefited both Levite and non-Levite people.
(Deuteronomy 14.22, 23: “You must without fail give a tenth of everything your seed produces in the field year by year. You will eat the tenth part of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock before Jehovah your God in the place that he chooses to have his name reside, so that you may learn to fear Jehovah your God always.)
Israelite families used this provision in connection with special festivals, and on certain years it was shared with the very poor to help with their sustenance.-
(Deuteronomy 14.28, 29: “At the end of every three years, you should bring out the entire tenth part of your produce for that year and deposit it inside your cities. Then the Levite, who has not been given a share or an inheritance with you, the foreign resident, the fatherless child, and the widow who are in your cities will come and eat their fill, so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all that you do.)
(Deuteronomy 26.12: “When you finish tithing the entire tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tenth, you will give it to the Levite, the foreign resident, the fatherless child, and the widow, and they will eat their fill within your cities.)
How was the tithe calculated? Israelites set aside a tenth of the yearly produce of their land.
(Leviticus 27.30: “‘Every tenth part of the land, whether from the produce of the field or the fruit of the trees, belongs to Jehovah. It is something holy to Jehovah.)
If they chose to pay this tithe in money rather than produce, they had to increase its value by 20 percent.
(Leviticus 27.31: If a man ever wants to buy any of his tenth part back, he should give a fifth of it in addition to it.)
They were also commanded to give a “tenth part of the herd and flock.”-
(Leviticus 27.32: As for every tenth part of the herd and flock, everything that passes under the shepherd’s staff, the tenth animal should become something holy to Jehovah.)
To determine their livestock tithe, Israelites selected every tenth animal that came out of their pen. The Law stated that they could not examine or exchange these selected animals, nor could they convert their livestock tithe into money.
(Leviticus 27.32, 33: As for every tenth part of the herd and flock, everything that passes under the shepherd’s staff, the tenth animal should become something holy to Jehovah. He should not examine whether it is good or bad, neither should he exchange it. But if he would ever try to exchange it, both the original and what is exchanged for it should become something holy. It may not be bought back.’”)
However, the second tithe for use at the annual festivals could be converted into money. This provision made it more convenient for the Israelites who had to travel a long distance to attend the festivals.-
(Deuteronomy 14.25, 26: you may then convert it into money, and with your money in hand, travel to the place that Jehovah your God will choose. You may then spend the money on whatever you desire—cattle, sheep, goats, wine and other alcoholic beverages, and anything you please; and you will eat there before Jehovah your God and rejoice, you and your household.)
When did the Israelites tithe? The Israelites tithed each year.
(Deuteronomy 14.22: “You must without fail give a tenth of everything your seed produces in the field year by year.)
However, every seventh year an exception was made. That year was a sabbath, or year of rest, when the Israelites did not cultivate any crops.
(Leviticus 25.4, 5: But in the seventh year, there should be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath to Jehovah. You should not sow your field with seed or prune your vineyard. You must not reap what grows on its own from the grain left after the harvest, and the grapes of your unpruned vine you must not gather. There should be a year of complete rest for the land.)
In recognition of this special circumstance, no tithe was collected at harvesttime. Every third and sixth year of the seven-year Sabbath cycle, the Israelites shared the second tithe with the poor and the Levites.-
(Deuteronomy 14.28, 29: “At the end of every three years, you should bring out the entire tenth part of your produce for that year and deposit it inside your cities. Then the Levite, who has not been given a share or an inheritance with you, the foreign resident, the fatherless child, and the widow who are in your cities will come and eat their fill, so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all that you do.)
What was the penalty for not paying tithes? The Mosaic Law did not state a penalty for failing to tithe. Tithing was a moral obligation. The Israelites were to declare before God that they had rendered the tithe and to request God’s blessing for having done so.
(Deuteronomy 26.12-15: “When you finish tithing the entire tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tenth, you will give it to the Levite, the foreign resident, the fatherless child, and the widow, and they will eat their fill within your cities. You will then say before Jehovah your God, ‘I have cleared the holy portion out of my house and given it to the Levite, the foreign resident, the fatherless child, and the widow, just as you have commanded me. I have not violated or neglected your commandments. I have not eaten of it while mourning or removed any of it while unclean or given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of Jehovah my God and have done all that you commanded me. Now look down from your holy dwelling, the heavens, and bless your people Israel and the land that you have given us, just as you swore to our forefathers, the land flowing with milk and honey.’)
God viewed withholding the tithe as stealing from him.-
(Malachi 3.8, 9: “Will a mere human rob God? But you are robbing me.” And you say: “How have we robbed you?” “In the tithes and in the contributions. You are certainly cursed, for you are robbing me—yes, the entire nation is doing so.)
Was the tithe an excessive burden? No. God promised the nation that if they brought in the tithe, he would pour out his blessing on them and they would lack nothing.
(Malachi 3.10: Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house; and test me out, please, in this regard,” Jehovah of armies says, “to see whether I will not open to you the floodgates of the heavens and pour out on you a blessing until there is nothing lacking.”)
On the other hand, the nation suffered when they withheld the tithe. They lost God’s blessing and did not benefit from the work of the priests and Levites whom they had thereby neglected.-
(Nehemiah 13.10: I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone off, each to his own field.)
(Malachi 3.7: From the days of your forefathers you have turned aside from my regulations and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Jehovah of armies. But you say: “How are we supposed to return?”)
Tithing in the Bible—The “New Testament”
During Jesus’ lifetime as a human, tithing was still a requirement for God’s worshippers. However, this requirement was abolished after Jesus’ death.
In Jesus’ time
In what is commonly called the New Testament, the Bible shows that the Israelites continued tithing while Jesus was on earth. He acknowledged that tithing was an obligation for them, but he condemned the religious leaders who scrupulously paid tithes but “disregarded the weightier matters of the Law, namely, justice and mercy and faithfulness.”-
(Matthew 23.23: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you give the tenth of the mint and the dill and the cumin, but you have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law, namely, justice and mercy and faithfulness. These things it was necessary to do, yet not to disregard the other things.)
After Jesus’ death
Tithing was no longer required after Jesus died. Jesus’ sacrificial death erased, or abolished, the Mosaic Law, including the “commandment to collect tithes.”-
(Hebrews 7.5: True, according to the Law, those of the sons of Levi who receive their priestly office have a commandment to collect tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, even though these are descendants of Abraham.)
(Hebrews 7.18: So, then, the former commandment is set aside because it is weak and ineffective.)
(Ephesians 2.13-15: But now in union with Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have come to be near by the blood of the Christ. For he is our peace, the one who made the two groups one and destroyed the wall in between that fenced them off. By means of his flesh he abolished the enmity, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, in order to make the two groups in union with himself into one new man and to make peace,)
(Colossians 2.13, 14: Furthermore, though you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcised state of your flesh, God made you alive together with him. He kindly forgave us all our trespasses and erased the handwritten document that consisted of decrees and was in opposition to us. He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake.)
Tithes and the “Early Church”
“In the early Christian Church the custom of consecrating to religious purposes a tenth of the income was voluntary, and it was not made obligatory until the Council of Tours in 567.”-Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and, Ecclesiastical Literature, by McClintock and Strong, Volume X, page 436.
[End of article.]