Is the Tithe a Principle for Today?

Text: (NKJV) — “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”

Text: (NKJV) — “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”

Introduction:

I had an opportunity to tackle this topic…

Exposition:

I. The tithe has the Old Testament as its origins.

A. Early history attests to it.

1. Abraham paid tithes.

c.f. (NKJV) — 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.

2. Isaac paid tithes.

c.f. (NKJV) — 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

B. The Law outlines it.

1. A tithe is mentioned three times in the Law.

a. They were to tithe of the seed of plants, fruit of the tree and animals of the flock.

c.f. (NKJV) — 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 to the Lord. 31 If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it. 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. 33 He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

Note: This included various products from trees as well.

b. They were to give a tithe to the Levites.

c.f. (NKJV) — 21 “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 22 Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ” 25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, a tenth of the tithe. 27 And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. 28 Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the Lord from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the Lord’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. 29 Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the Lord, from all the best of them, the consecrated part of them.’ 30 Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. 31 You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting. 32 And you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ ”

Note: Whereas the first tithe was given specifically to the Lord, this one is given to the Levites.

c. The third was used to feed the givers own family, the Levites and the poor.

Note: This was known to the Jews as the Poor Tithe.

c.f. (NKJV) — 5 “But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. 6 There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

Note: With this tithe the people were allowed to simply bring money if the way was too long to transport anything else.

c.f. (NKJV) — 22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you. 28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

Note: In the third year this tithe was to be used as a meal.

c.f. (NKJV) — 12 “When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year—the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’

2. There are various interpretations regarding what these tithes are.

a. Some see these as the same tithe given in different situations.

Note: The tithe then evolved over time to include all these elements.

b. Some see these as different tithes given at different times.

Note: This makes more sense since the first doesn’t allow for differences in who the tithe was for.

3. It seems then the Israelites gave more than just one tenth of what they had.

Note: It would have been closer to twenty-five percent.

C. Later history confirms it.

1. God condemned Israel for neglect of the tithe.

Note: They offered it incorrectly.

c.f. (NKJV) — 4 “Come to Bethel and transgress, At Gilgal multiply transgression; Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days. 5 Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, Proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; For this you love, You children of Israel!” Says the Lord God.

Note: They didn’t offer it at all.

c.f. (NKJV) — 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

Note: This text most often is given to prove the giving of tithes in the N.T.

2. The pharisaical commentary on the Law upped the requirements.

Note: For instance not only were the seeds of plants to be tithed but also the leaves and other parts of the plant which the Law made no mention of.

Point: It’s very clear the tithe is well documented and even commanded in the O.T.

Transition: But…

Question: Does this prove anything about tithing now?

II. The New Testament has something to day about the tithe as well.

A. It is always negative.

1. It is tied to hypocrisy.

c.f. (NKJV) — “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Note: What is most interesting about this passage is the adomonition “These you ought to have done.

Question: Does this prove we ought to tithe as some claim?

Answer: The clear answer is no for a couple reasons.

a. The context to this discussion is clearly NOT N.T. believers.

Note: Here Jesus is speaking to Jewish religious leaders who had absolutely nothing to do with Christianity.

b. The clearer argument against this is that Jesus was NOT speaking of obeying the Law but human tradition.

Note: The Law never demanded the “leaves and stalks” of a plant be tithed, only the seed of the plant.

Illustration: Talmudic law and the requirement to tithe “mint, anise and cumin”

Note: Jesus’ point wasn’t to fulfill these manmade laws but to fulfill the Law of God, then tackle the traditions.

2. It is tied to arrogance.

c.f. (NKJV) — 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’

Note: Jesus’ point was the attitude of the Pharisee canceled out his gift to God.

3. It is tied to the old ways.

Note: The author of Hebrews makes it clear that Christ is better than anything the Law had to offer, including tithing.

B. It is never commanded.

1. The tithe is never commanded in the New Testament.

Note: It seems as though such an important principle would be commanded.

2. Giving is commanded.

Note: The command focusses on the heart attitude rather than the actual act of giving.

c.f. (NKJV) — 1 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: 2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. 3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, 4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. 6 So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. 7 But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. 8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 10 And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; 11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. 12 For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

c.f. (NKJV) — 6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Note: It isn’t based on a specific number but on God’s sovereign control of circumstances.

c.f. (NKJV) — On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

Note: These gifts must simply be “good.”

c.f. (NKJV) — Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

Point: Although tithing may not be a New Testament principle, giving certainly is.

Application:

1. Giving is the operative responsibility.

Note: Our attitude should that of wanting to share with others.

2. Tithing isn’t wrong

Note: It just isn’t required.

3. We should give because we love our God.