Questions

Here is a list of questions that are still waiting answers from those who promote the monetary tithe teaching.

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?

6). Which of the three tithes are we to tithe?

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

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

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

A Reply To A Twitter Question

On twitter I was recently asked how much I give in reply to me telling a preacher that his 25% is 5% short at minimum of obeying the commands in the Bible on tithing.

As was shown in a previous post here, there are three different tithes that the Bible mentions. 

In years 1-6, we have Maaser Rishor the first tithe, or the Levitical tithe. 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. 

Also 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. 

Then 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. 

So in years 1-6 we have 20% for the total tithe and in years 3 and 6 an additional tithe for a total of 30%. Let us also remember that Leviticus 27:31 and Deuteronomy 14:24-25 each mention 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? 

So, back to the question I was asked. 

How much I give is between God and me. I will explain why this is and why this is how it should be for every believer. 

We should never try to impress other people with our giving. If we do we already have our reward. Giving needs to be a private matter. We should not seek recognition for the things we do. Jesus says in Matthew 6:1-4, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." We should seek the approval of God and not the glory of men.

The believer is to give because giving is a command of God. In 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 we read, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." We see they were to make a regular collection every first day of the week.

Because of everything God has given us, including His Son to die for us, we should be anxious to give back to Him. In 2 Corinthians 8:12 we read, "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." God expects us to give what we are able to give.  How can our love for God be real unless it is expressed in our obedience and our giving?  Our giving is an expression of love, and act of praise, and sacrifice to God. 

How we give is an indication of where our priorities are. Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-21, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Where is your heart?

Since we can't out-give God, we should at least be liberal in our giving. As we read in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." Our giving is to be planned. We should not give because we feel we have to give. Nor should we resent that we need to give to please God. We should be glad that we can give to the Lord.

My Break Is Over

I apologize for taking a long unannounced break but I am back and since the tithing issue has arisen again on a social forum I am on I have decided to finish this blog. A lot has happened since my last post including the misplacement of my notes. I ask only that you bear with me. Thanks!!! Jim

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.