What About Tithing?

Introduction

Deuteronomy 14:22–29 TLV

22 “You will surely set aside a tenth of all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23 You are to eat the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, before Adonai your God in the place He chooses to make His Name dwell, so that you may learn to fear Adonai your God always. 24 Now suppose the way is too long for you, for you cannot carry the tithe because the place Adonai your God chooses to set His Name is too far from you. When Adonai your God blesses you, 25 then you are to exchange the tithe for silver, bind up the silver in your hand, and go to the place that Adonai your God chooses. 26 You may spend the money for whatever your soul desires—cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever your soul asks of you. Then you will eat there before Adonai your God and rejoice—you and your household. 27 But you are not to neglect the Levite within your gates, for he has no portion or inheritance with you. 28 At the end of every three years, you are to bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year and store it within your gates. 29 Then the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, along with the outsider, the orphan and the widow within your gates, will come and eat and be satisfied, so that Adonai your God may bless you in all the work of your hand that you do.

Deuteronomy 26:12–15 TLV

12 “When you finish tithing the full tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, to the outsider, to the orphan and to the widow, so that they may eat within your town gates and be satisfied. 13 Then you are to say before Adonai your God, ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house and also have given it to the Levite and to the outsider, to the orphan and to the widow, according to all Your mitzvah that You have commanded me. I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your mitzvot. 14 I have not eaten from the tithe in my mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or given any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of Adonai my God; I have done all just as You commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy dwelling place, from the heavens and bless Your people Israel and the soil You have given us, as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

A priest, a pastor, and a rabbi are deciding what portion of the tithe they will get for their salaries.

The pastor says, “I have an idea” and takes off his belt and lays it on the ground. He then says, “Okay. So we throw the tithe up in the air and whatever lands inside this belt is our salary.”

The Priest says, “Nonsense. When we throw the tithe up in the air, whatever lands outside the belt will be our salary.”

The Rabbi says, “Oy Vey! You’re both wrong. What we do is throw the money up in the air and whatever The Lord lets hit the ground is our salary.”

What is Tithing?

The hebrew word for tithe is מַעֲשֵׂר and it comes from the word for ten so litterally means tenth.

Tithing is one of the most ancient practices described in the Bible. But, tithing was not unique to Israel in the ancient near east. Other nations of antiquity practiced tithing. This is true of the Egyptians as well as the Mesopotamians. Nor was tithing first introduced to God’s people by Moses.

Consider that we see the patriarchs tithing early on in Genesis.

Genesis 14:18–20 TLV

18 Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine—he was a priest of El Elyon. 19 He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by El Elyon, Creator of heaven and earth, 20 and blessed be El Elyon, Who gave over your enemies Into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

After Jacob’s dream of the stairway to heaven, he makes a vow and in part of that he says…

Genesis 28:21–22 TLV

21 and I return in shalom to my father’s house, then Adonai will be my God. 22 So this stone which I set up as a memorial stone will become God’s House, and of everything You provide me I will definitely give a tenth of it to You.”

So thithing is an ancient practice that we see early on in the Biblical story.

What Do We Learn?

The Torah answers three basic questions concerning tithing: (I) “what?” (2) “to whom” and (3) “where?”

What was tithed?

Leviticus 27:30–34 TLV

30 “All the tithe of the land whether from the seed of the land, or the fruit of the trees, belongs to Adonai, for it is holy to Adonai. 31 If a man redeems anything of his tithe he must add a fifth part to it. 32 From all the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, a tenth will be holy to Adonai. 33 One is not to inquire if it is good or bad, nor exchange it. Or if he does exchange it, then both it and that for which it is exchanged will become holy, and may not be redeemed.” 34 These are the mitzvot which Adonai commanded Moses for Bnei-Yisrael on Mount Sinai.

Notice that the tithe is specifically conencted to the land of Israel. There is a strong connection between the land and the tithe. Among property items that were tithed in Israel are listed grain, new wine, olive oil, fruit, cattle, and sheep (Dt. 14:23; Lev. 27:32; etc.).

Who Received Tithes?

The Tithe was provided to sustain the Levites and priests for focus on administering the Torah to the benefit of the people. We read about Hezekiah’s reforms:

2 Chronicles 31:4–5 TLV

4 Moreover, he commanded the people, the residents of Jerusalem, to give the portion allotted to the kohanim and the Levites, so that they might devote themselves to the Torah of Adonai. 5 As soon as the word spread, Bnei-Yisrael gave generously the firstfruits of their grain, wine, oil, honey and all the produce of the field, as well as tithe of all the abundance.

Here we learn that at a time of reform amongst the people of God, they determined that sustaining the Levites and priests was an important conceern of the command to tithe.

Tithing has a community directed thrust; it is part of the inter-relatedness of the people (ʿām) of God. The Levites who were in the service of God, not in commercial activity, were the direct beneficiaries of the tithes (Num 18:21). There was an inter-relatedness, therefore, between their ministry and the daily labor of the non-Levites. In this synergistic bond there was a regular reminder of their need one for another.

But we also learn that the third tithe was used to also sustain the poor. We’ll see that in the section below.

Where Were Tithes Given?

This central sanctuary was the only authorized point for the presentation of tithes and offerings in the new land (12:6). In the presentation of these tithes and offerings there was to be a sacred meal, in which the Levite was to share, eaten with rejoicing and praise to the magnificent blessing of Adonai (12:7; cf. 14:23).

Dueteronomy is written just before the people enter the land and there is a focus in Deuteronomy on the central place of worship in the land. Deuteronomy envisions Israel in the land in the near future. Whereas the place to which the tithe was to be brought was not a major concern in Leviticus and Numbers, it is a predominant theological concern in these verses because of the need for unity and purity.

God wants the people to be unified in their understanding that all blessings flow from Him. In order to reinforce that mindset, God commands that no matter what corner of the land you live, you must bring the tithe to the central place to acknowledge that the Lord’s blessings stretch across the land and that all tribes benefit from His blessing no matter where they are.

Deuteronomy 12:5–19 delineates several things about the tithe: (1) it was to be taken to the place where the Lord would cause His name to dwell; (2) there, and nowhere else (v 17), it was to be eaten, with rejoicing, by the household of the one bringing the tithe; (3) it was to be shared with the Levites.

Deuteronomy 14:22–29 also presents information about the tithe that is not recorded in Leviticus or Numbers. The giving of the yearly tithe was as follows: (1) the yearly tithe was to be eaten in God’s chosen place, before the Lord, so that Israel would reverence its God (v 23); (2) when the chosen sanctuary was far away, the worshiper could convert the tithe of various goods into money for the journey and then buy and consume whatever he desired at the proper place (vv 24–26); (3) the Levites were not to be forgotten in all of this but were still to be cared for (v 27).

The giving of the tithe every third year was handled differently. In the third year the tithe was to be laid up in the towns of Israel (v 28) and was to be eaten by the Levite, sojourner, widow, and orphan (v 29). So what we appeaer to have here in the third year is that the tithe of the third year was kept in the towns and shared with the needy: (1) the foreigners who mostly would be of the servant class; (2) the fatherless, (3) widows, and (4) Levites.

What this means in practice is that there is a centralized element to the giving of the tithe - so that the central site is acknowledged, but also that those of your local community back in your towns are also not forgotten.

On the first celebration of the triennial tithe a ritual prayer was to be uttered. In the prayer the worshiper declared that (1) he had laid aside the sacred portion and distributed it to the needy as required in the Law; (2) he had not desecrated the sacred portion by eating it during a time of mourning, touching it while unclean, or offering any portion of it to the dead; and (3) he had carried out the letter of the Law.

The third year tithe was considered set apart,and holy. The JPS had an interesting comment worth reading:

The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy The Tithe Declaration (26:12–15)

Here, this principle is applied to the poor-tithe: even though it is given up by God and is not brought to a sanctuary, it is treated as holy until it is handed over for distribution to the poor. Perhaps this treatment of the poor-tithe indicates that giving it to the poor is no less a sacred purpose than bringing it to a sanctuary or consuming it there.

How many tithes were there?

One complexity concerns the number of tithes Israel was to pay. We read of a third tithe but never of a first or second.

Some compare Deut 14:22–29 with Lev and Num and argue for three tithes: (1) the tithe to be given to the Levites (14:27; Num 18), (2) the tithe for the sacred feast (14:22–26), and (3) the tithe in the third year in the local area for the poor (14:28–29). This cycle is repeated every three years, except for the shmita year and the yovel because these years the land is ownerless. This makes sense because in those years one can glean at will.

Are Believers Required to Tithe ?

Two men were marooned on an island. One man paced back and forth, worried and scared, while the other man sat back and enjoyed the sun. The first man asked the second man, "Aren’t you afraid we're about to die?" "No," said the second man, "I make $100,000 a week and tithe faithfully to my church every week. My pastor will find me."

As mentioned earilier, The tithe went first to the Levites, then to a communal gathering of rejoicing at the Temple (within Jerusalem), and finally to the disadvantaged. The idea that tithes should be paid to teachers other than Levites is nowhere found in the Torah. The incorporation of the tithing laws in the 3rd and 4th Century Christian Church was based upon the erroneous teaching that the Church had replaced Israel, and that the elders and bishops of the church stood as the new priesthood. The fact that the Roman Catholic Church placed the title of “priest” upon her clerics was the logical extension of this teaching.

Given what we know, we aren’t able to entirely carry out the The Tithe we read about here in the Torah, but we can certainly practice A Tithe based on the same princicples.

Again, we go back to the fact that tithing did not begin with Moses. Other items were probably tithed as well. Abram tithed the spoils of battle (Gen. 14:20) cf Heb, and Jacob vowed to tithe all that God gave him (28:22). Neither of them were harvestign the produce of israel. The underlying attitude here is one of privaledge in tithing, reflecting a great work God has done for us.

Another point worth mentioning here is that although we have no Levites or Aaronic Priests to give our tithes to, that does not mean we have no preist. Heb 7 is clear that tithes to malchitzedek were considered legitmate tithes to a priest and in fact, Levi, who was in the loins of Abraham, paid tithes to him as well demonstrating the superiority of that priesthood. And Yeshua is of course a priest of that class.

The point being, if Abarham our father gave a tithe to malchitzedek, how much more should we give a tithe to Yeshua the priest of the same order who lives today? What does that look like? That is for each individual to determine how they want to contribute to Yeshua’s kingdom.

Why do we tithe?

Go and read both dt passages again.

An Act of Joyful Worship

Respecting the God directed thrust, tithing was never meant to be an onerous weight, that one must give a tithe of what one earns. Rather, the tithe was a liberating act of joyful worship (e.g. Deut 12:12; cf. the “cheerful giver” of II Cor 9:7). All that one has is God’s. Your surrender of a small proportion of what you hold in trust by His grace is a grateful act of submission and dependence.

By giving the tithe the Israelites were declaring solemnly that they were giving a portion back to the Lord who had prospered them (cf. Dt. 26:10–15). By giving the tithe they also recognized the validity of the priests’ and Levites’ role as God’s representatives and acknowledged their right to receive support for the spiritual service they performed on the people’s behalf. The tithe ritual afforded the Israelites an opportunity to remember Adonai’s blessings as He had remembered them, and to imitate their God’s care for slaves, the poor, orphans, and widows.

The tithe demanded that the Israelites serve their God at a significant cost to themselves. In this amazing system of tithing, Israel’s economics became a channel for expressing love to God and love to neighbors, the heart of the Torah (Dt. 6:4–9; Lev. 19:18). Deuteronomy explicitly makes paramount the joy and fellowship of presenting the tithe in a family context (Dt. 14:26)

A Heart For the Poor

Through it we express joy, gratitude, and love for our community. The poor, the widows, and the orphans (proverbial subjects of neglect) were to be maintained by means of the tithe of the third year (Deut 14:29). They too, though defenseless, were a part of the community (ʿām). The tithes insured their well-being (cf. the repeated test of true religion, one’s care for the widow and orphan, e.g. Isa 1:23; James 1:27), a major step toward a healthy society.

For Blessing

The prophets have a lot to teach us about why we tithe. In Amos’s day Israel’s tithes still came in, but without the joy, love, and sincerity toward God that were to have marked the giving of the tithe. After the Exile, on the other hand, Malachi (3:8–10) attempted to motivate the people to bring the tithe for the right reasons; only then would they receive the Lord’s blessing (cf. Dt. 14:29). Thus, Mal. 3:8–10 stresses the lack of blessing because of not bringing the tithe, while Am. 4:4 emphasizes the lack of blessing because of presenting tithes with the wrong motives.

But with the right motives. We recall messiah’s words to the pharisees Mat 23.23

Matthew 23:23 TLV

23 “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint and dill and cumin, yet you have neglected the weightier matters of Torah—justice and mercy and faithfulness. It is necessary to do these things without neglecting the others.

To Be Set Apart

Tithing helped to set Israel apart as Adonai’s people and His alone, a people holy to Him (Dt. 14:22–29; cf. vv 1–21, esp. 2, 21). Only a holy people could be blessed (v 29), and the blessing was to reinforce Israel’s reverence for Adonai and sense of belonging to Him. By tithing, therefore, the Israelites fulfilled the desire of their ancestor Jacob: “the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that thou givest me I will give the tenth to thee” (Gen. 28:21f.).

Better stewards

Did you know that the Torah commands you to take accounting 101? You must know 100% in order to find 10%. You need to keep track of your wealth and income in order to give a tenth. And this practice producers better stewardship and financial accountability.