There Are How MANY Tithes?

Continuing on this journey, and thinking back to all the times I heard about giving my tithes and offerings I was never told that there was more then one tithe in the Bible and was told that according to the Bible I am to tithe of the gross of my income. Yet, never given any Scripture to back any of this up except for occasionally Malachi 3:10 and it's comment to bring all the tithes into the storehouse.

Yet, as I continued to dig and study, I found mention of three separate tithes in the pages of the Bible and found what is called The Jewish Tithe Cycle. A cycle based on a seven year cycle, and what I found here has caused me to question all the pro tithing statements I have heard and read.

The Jewish Tithe Cycle

In years 1-6 teruma (heave-offering) was given to the priests. The Bible does not say how much this offering was to be. This offering was given BEFORE the tithe according to Exodus 29:28. After the terumah, the farmer then set aside his tithes, each depending upon where they were in the tithe cycle.

In years 1-6 we have Maaser Rishor the first tithe, or the Levitical tithe, being separated. According to Numbers 18:24, this tithe was given to the Levites who could not themselves own any land, as they were not given any agricultural land like the other tribes. This tithe would allow the Levites, who lived in cities, to subsist and to teach TORAH to all Israel.
The Levites would take one-tent of what they were given (one-hundredth of the total produce) to the Priest (Numbers 18:26) This tithe had to be from the best of what the Levites received.
The Levites received this first tithe as an inheritance and not as a wage. Numbers 18:31 instructs the Levites that they may eat these tithes anywhere.

In years 1-6 we have Maaser Sheni the second tithe, also known as the Festival Tithe which was eaten in Jerusalem by it's owner. The Historical Dictionary of Judaism; The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion; The Encyclopedia of Judaism; and The Students Encyclopedia of Judaism all say this tithe was given in years 1,2,4, and 5. I will state, that there is a clear distinction between this tithe, and the tithe that went to the Levites as this tithe was eaten by the one giving the tithe Let's look at Deuteronomy 12:17-18 and 14:22-26:

17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: 18 But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.

22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. 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,

As I continue to dig and study, i am convinced that this is the same tithe mentioned at Levitucus 27:30-33:

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 unto the Lord. 31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 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. 33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

Did you notice how Leviticus 27:31 and Deuteronomy 14:24-25 each mentioned the possibility of a man redeeming his tithes for money and how Lev. 27:31 indicates he has to add to the money the fifth part? Clearly a money tithe was more than ten percent.

I want to stay here in Leviticus 27 for a bit. Allow me to post verses 30-34:

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 unto the Lord. 31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 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. 33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. 34 These are the commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

Keeping this passage in mind, I want to look at some quotes made by H. Wayne Williams in his book STOREHOUSE TITHING: Why It Is Still Right. when I obtained this book, I was told it would answer all my questions on tithing and prove to me that tithing, as taught today, is Biblical. This book had the opposite effect on me. anyways, on to the quotes:

"The tithe, or tenth, is particularly the first tenth of all increase or income." (page 3)

"The first tenth is God's portion for the Bible says, "The tithe is the lord's." (Leviticus 27:30, 32; Malachi 3:10)." (page 3)

I have heard many statements along the same lines at the time in the service where they collects your financial gifts, yet when I look at Leviticus 27:30 and 32 what I see, does not line up with what today's preachers are saying. In fact, when we look at these verses IN CONTEXT (verses 30-34 above) we see that:

1). The tithe came from the land (v.30)
2). The tithe was either the seed of the land, or the fruit of the tree and this tithe was holy unto the LORD (v.30)
3). A redeemed tithe (one turned into money) needed a fifth part added to it (v.31) 4). The tenth one of the herd or flock that passed under the rod was holy unto the LORD (v.32) 5). It did not matter if this tenth was good or bad (v.33) 6). This tithe was not to be changed (v.33) 7). These are the commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai (v.34)

Moving along, I discovered yet a third tithe.

In years 3 and 6 Maaser 'Oni the third tithe, or the poor tithe was given. It is possible that this tithe replaced the second tithe in these years, but I cannot feel certain that this is the case based on what the second tithe was for. This third tithe was a charity tithe that was to be distributed to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. We see these instructions at Deuteronomy 14:28-29 and Deuteronomy 26:12-13:

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.

12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13 Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

Lastly, I discovered something that never have I heard about and that I doubt any tithe teaching church would dare teach it's people to do. Don't tithe the seventh year. Yes, in year seven no tithes were given as this was a sabbatical for the land and the produce thereof had to be freely available for all. This was also for the land to rest, and the vineyard and the oliveyard were not to be sown as we will see in Exodus 23:10-11 and Leviticus 25:3-5

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; 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.

This was also true every fiftieth year according to Leviticus 25:10-11:

10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. 11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.

So, some questions I have:

1). Which of these three tithes are we to tithe?

2). Since Israel tithed more then 10% why do tithers today limit their tithe to just 10%?

3). When did the tithe change from agriculture to income?

4). Why do people tithe every seventh and fiftieth year?

Jacob and His Tithe Vow

The next mention of a tithe in the Bible comes at Genesis 28:13-22:

13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: 22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

The first thing I take away from this comes in the last three verses, 20-22, and how Jacob did not trust God to fulfill the promises that He made to him in verses 13-15. God, in verses 13-15 of Genesis chapter 28 made six very clear promises to Jacob. He promised Jacob that He would:

1). Give to Jacob the land upon which he had lain,
2). That his seed would be great in number,
3). That all the families on the earth would be blessed through his seed,
4). That He would remain with Jacob,
5). That in all his journeys God would keep Jacob safe, and
6). That Jacob would return to this land where he had lain.

Great promises from a great God. How did Jacob respond? What was his reply? Well in verses 17-19 we see that he responded in fear and erected a pillar and called the name of that place Bethel.

Jacob then goes and makes a conditional vow with God in verses 20-21. the "ifs" in these passages help us to see and understand that Jacob did not believe the promises of God and that his vow to tithe upon the fulfillment of these conditions was not a pre-existent form of the tithe given under the Mosaic law.

Let's look at Jacobs four "ifs":

1). IF God will stay with Jacob,
2). IF God will keep him safe on his current journey,
3). IF God will provide him with food and clothes, and
4). IF Jacobs returns to his fathers house in peace.

Notice, in verses 13-15 how God had promised and how Jacob responded. God says what He is going to do, and Jacob, in his fear and lack of trust responds with conditional "ifs."

After the "ifs" Jacob included a "then" part to his vow. IF God did the four things we saw above, THEN:

1). The Lord shall be his God,
2). the pillar would be God's house, and
3). Jacob will give a tenth back to God of all that shall give him.

In other words, and contrary to what we here about tithing today, Jacob was not going to tithe UNTIL God FIRST had met his conditions, the very promises that God made to Jacob in a dream.

Looking at all the above, I have concluded that Jacobs vow to tithe referred to a one time gift to God from Jacob based upon God first meeting conditions to provide for Jacob and is not a promise of perpetual action.

I do have some questions from this passage.

1). Did Jacob vow to tithe on everything he had gathered in his lifetime, or just from the land that God had promised him and his descendants?

2). Where do see that Jacob honored his vow?

3) Did Jacob ever receive this promised land?

4). If he did tithe, to whom did Jacob give these tithes?

5). Should we follow Jacob's example and only tithe after God has met our conditions?

Abram and the First Mention of a Tithe

The first mention of tithing is found in Genesis 14:20.

And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

The context of this passage is Genesis 14:13-24 and the above verse is a part of the interaction between Abram (later to be renamed Abraham) and Melchizedek king of Salem. What though, is the 'tithes of all' mentioned in verse 20 referring to? We get our answer in verses 14-16.

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. 15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

Our passage lets us know that Abram gave a tenth of all the spoils of war. Hebrews 7:4 references this and helps us see that it was 10% of the spoils of war that Abram gave to Melchizedek.

Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

I know this part of the story is often referenced in Churches that promote tithing. On the surface I suppose it looks good, yet there is more to this story that I have not heard mentioned in connection with tithing. Let's read about Abram and the king of Sodom in verses 21-24.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: 24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Here we see what Abram did with the remaining spoils of war. The important thing here as I see it, is that he kept nothing for himself. It all went to two kings and some young men. we also see that Abram did NOT give ten percent of his income. He gave ten percent of the war spoils that he, himself, said did not belong to him. He gave nothing of his own. This passage in Genesis and the one in Hebrews are the only passages in the Bible that mention this tithe from Abram. It appears me to me, that from verse 22, Abram had made a prior vow that he personally was not going to accept anything, or keep any of the spoils at all from the king of Sodom. So, we see that Abrams tithe was connected to a vow, was a one time event (as far as what the Bible tells us), was given freely to Melchizedek, was not of any possessions or personal increase he had gained, and was 10%. This leads me to some questions that I have not got any answers to and keep praying that one day I will. 1. Since Abram/Abraham is not recorded as tithing in his personal increase but is shown tithing on the spoils of war, why is this passage used to defend income tithing? 2. If this passage is to be used to support income tithing, why then is not also used to teach to give the rest away? 3. Where do we see any evidence in the Bible that Abram/Abraham tithed as taught today? Sadly, from this passage, I have no questions for non-tithers, except..... 1. Are you giving at all?

The First Stop - Define the Tithe

The first place I had to begin this study is by getting the definition of the tithe. According to Merriam-Webster it's:

transitive verb 1 : to pay or give a tenth part of especially for the support of the church 2 : to levy a tithe on intransitive verb : to give a tenth of one's income as a tithe

As a noun this dictionary says:

1 : a tenth part of something paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax especially for the support of a religious establishment 2 : the obligation represented by individual tithes 3 : tenth; broadly : a small part 4 : a small tax or levy

There is no disagreement anywhere, that I can find, that the word tithe equals 10 percent. Looking next to the Bible, the first mention of tithe/tithes I found was at Genesis 14:20

And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

We will look later at this passage. At Leviticus 27:30-34 is where I found the first Biblical definition for the tithe. It reads:

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 unto the LORD. 31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 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. 33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. 34 These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

Here we see the tithe defined as seed, fruit, herds, and flocks, the tenth of whatever passeth under the rod. So at this point I am asking: "If this pasage is Levitucus is telling what is to be tithed, when was it changed to a persons income?" Perhaps further into this journey this will be answered. I had the Websters 1828 definition e-mailed to me and I wanted to add it here.

Tithe TITHE, n. The tenth part of any thing; but appropriately, the tenth part of the increase annually arising from the profits of land and stock, allotted to the clergy for their support. Tithes are personal, predial, or mixed; personal, when accruing from labor, art, trade and navigation; predial, when issuing from the earth, as hay, wood and fruit; and mixed, when accruing from beasts, which are fed from the ground. TITHE, v.t. To levy a tenth part on; to tax to the amount of a tenth. When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase. Deu 26. Ye tithe mint and rue. Luke 11. TITHE, v.i. To pay tithes.

The Set-Up To the Start of the Journey

I was raised as a child in the Churches of Christ (non instrumental) and they taught the type of giving known as free-will giving, as the following quote from http://church-of-christ.org/who.html says:

Each first day of the week the members of the church "lay by in store as they have been prospered" (1 Corinthians 16:2). The amount of any individual gift is generally known only to the one who gave it and to the Lord. This free-will offering is the only call which the church makes. NO assessments or other levies are made. No money-making activities, such as bazaars or suppers, are engaged in. A total if approximately $200,000,000 is given on this basis each year.

This was my early influence with what someone said the Bible teaches about how and how much we are to give.

It wasn't until my early 20's that I first heard mention in church on tithing. This was in an Assembly of God church where the staff member who spoke before the tithe and offering prayer would say "For those of you writing out your checks, remember, thousand is spelled t h o u s a n d" this was done with a straight face. So while I had heard tithing mentioned at offering time, I can't recall ever hearing anything else about it, nor was I interested in investigating it.

I next heard about tithing in a Church of God (Cleveland, TN.) but just didn't feel right about it, and questioned the teaching, but never got any answers that I recall.

After this, for several years the only reference I had seen on tithing was on offering envelopes. I do not recall hearing any form of the word mentioned until my family and I started going to an Independent Baptist Church in Denver, CO. We left this church for several reasons and landed at an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church I have known since this church was started. Here I heard more mention on tithing during the sermons and still, something wasn't sitting right. To be fair, eternal security didn't sit right (remember my church upbringing?) until I studied it for myself. Now I embrace it as the Bible truth it is.

it was at Cornerstone Baptist where I first began asking questions and while being told I would get answers, I never did. The "rules for discussion" kept being changed on me, to where instead of honest questions from a member being answered, it was for me to explain what I believe first. I believe, now and then, that we are to give. As I had never had any teaching or instruction on tithing, and had been through a religion where you are expected to accept every teaching even if it's wrong, I was not, and still am not, prepared to just accept tithing as it is taught today as truth just because someone says it is.

At the suggestion of the Associate Pastor (who was/is the son of the Pastor) I wrote out what my conclusions were at that point after reading the book Storehouse Tithing by H. Wayne Williams which instead of answering anything for me gave me more questions. I also at this time became acquainted with Dr. Russell Earl Kelly who has written a book against tithing. I had quoted from Dr. Kelly's book, and had taken the refusal to sit down and share with me why CBC taught tithing as all the evidence I needed that today's tithing doctrine is false.

Since then I felt uneasy with my hasty jump to a conclusion and felt like I should begin my study anew. This I have done, and am doing. It is from here, the beginning, where we will pick up my journey, and follow the roadmap of the Bible to what it does teach. I welcome any questions, comments, suggestions and answers to questions posted.

I am not undertaking this journey lightly. God does command that we give to the work of the local church. My questions are, "Does the Bible specify a set amount that a Christian is supposed to give?", and "If so, how much is the minimum that is required?"

With much prayer and my Bible (KJV) at the ready, let us begin this glorious journey into the word of God.............

My Statement of Faith

*The Bible is the plenary verbally inspired Word of God.The Bible IS without error and is the complete Word Of God. I use only the King James Version. I believe that God not only inspired the Bible using the original writers, but has preserved this inspiration word perfect today in the KJV.I do not use, endorse or recommend any other version of the Bible.

*There is one God manifesting Himself in three persons- the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit- co-equal in all attributes and power.

*The Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and died a vicarious death on the cross where He shed His blood for the remission of man's sins. I believe that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Heb 9:22). The shed blood of Jesus is a must for salvation.

*The Holy Spirit of God (and is God) convicts man of sin, righteousness and judgment. He regenerates the sinner; He indwells, seals, baptizes, guides, teaches, sanctifies and intercedes for believers.

*Salvation is that work of God whereby whosoever will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is redeemed from the curse of the law, justified, kept, and set free from the dominion of sin, sanctified and finally perfected in the image of his Lord. Salvation is the gift of God and comes solely by the grace of God though faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

*The local church is a group of scripturally baptized believers united together for the spreading of the Gospel, the edification of the saints, the worship of the Lord and upholding of God's truth. It is through the local church that God is working His program today.

The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose again; He ascended bodily, personally and visibly and He will return in like manner.

I believe once a person is saved, they should follow the Lord in baptism and that baptism should be by immersion. Sprinkling is NOT an acceptable means of baptism.

Just a little information here about me and this blog. My name is Jim Ward and for many years I have had questions on the subject of the tithe, especially as it is taught and practiced today. Sadly, what few answers I have been given have either led to more questions, or the conclusion that pro tithers really cannot defend the current tithe teaching from the Bible, and as I love to study and research I have decided to do just that on this subject and see what my final conclusion will be.
On this blog I will post at least some of the questions about the tithe that others and myself have asked, along with what answers we have gotten. I will also be sharing my thoughts on all the verses I have been given in support of tithing.
I do welcome dialog so you are free to add your questions, answers, and/or comments.
Jim