I just finished listening to a horrible exercise in eisegesis masquerading as a sermon. It was about tithing, the favorite subject of any preacher that’s in the middle of a building campaign. Context was ignored, promises were made, and flat-out lies were told in order to get people to tithe to their local church first. There was not even the least bit of effort made to actually teach people what the Scripture really says about tithing.
So here is the truth.
If you search the King James translation of the Bible, you will find that tithing is mentioned 32 times. Of these, only 7 occur in the New Testament, with 4 of these coming in Hebrews 7:5-9. The other 3 mentions are in the Gospels and every one of those refer to the hypocritical giving of the Pharisees. Alexander Cruden says it this way in his Complete Concordance, “In the New Testament, neither our Saviour, nor his apostles have commanded any thing in this affair of tithes.”
In the Old Testament, the first mention of tithes occurs in Genesis 14:20, when Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedec. This is the basis of the reference in Hebrews where Paul is making the argument of Christ’s superior priesthood in comparison to the Aaronic priesthood.
The rest of the mentions of tithes in the Old Testament mainly come in bunches – Leviticus 27, Numbers 18, Deuteronomy 12 and 14 (and one in 26:12), 2 Chronicles 31, Nehemiah 10, 12, and 13, Amos 4, and Malachi 3. That’s it.
The references in 2 Chronicles, Nehemiah, and Amos are mainly descriptive of historical events that were happening and provide no real guidelines for tithes. The guidelines for tithes, like all things that pertained to the law, are found in the Pentateuch. And it’s here where you find out what tithing is really all about.
Here’s Leviticus 27:
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.
Wow, I’ve never heard anyone preach about tithing seeds or fruit. Or redeeming a tithe.
Here’s Numbers 18:
24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.
27 And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.
28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD’S heave offering to Aaron the priest.
This says that I am to give my tithe to the Levites, who will offer it as a heave offering. And here the tithe is called an offering. So don’t let yourself be beat up by preachers who insist on your giving tithes AND offerings.
It also says that one reason I am to do this is that Levites do not have an inheritance. Now, I know a lot of preachers who talk a lot about tithes, but I wonder – do they own property? If they are going to push tithing on their people, then let them also divest themselves of their property. Oh yes, and one more thing, we need to start offering sacrifices again.
Here’s Deuteronomy 12:
5 But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
7 And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.
8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.
10 But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:
12 And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.
13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:
14 But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
15 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.
16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
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.
According to this, there is going to be only one place to take your offerings and tithes – the yet to be built temple. And there will be sacrificial meals, as well. Notice again how the Levites are not to have an inheritance (land).
Here’s Deuteronomy 14:
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,
27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
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.
Deuteronomy 26:12 says much the same, which is mainly a reiteration of previous commands, but with an option. If the journey is too far, you may change your seeds, crops, and animals into cash. Money is only there as an option to fall back on, which is good, since most of us would have a hard time loading a tenth of our groceries every so often into the car, going to the airport, catching a plane for Israel, and then taking all that to the temple – or whatever is being substituted for the temple. Also, a portion is given to the fatherless, widow, and stranger every third year. John Calvin states that this meant that the Levites actually received a twelfth of the offerings every year.
And now we come to the most favorites verses in the Bible for tithing – Malachi 3:8-10:
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
But, most of the time the context is totally left out. These verses are not about tithing, they’re about the coming Messiah. Read how the chapter starts out:
1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
The context gives us the whole story of what Malachi is talking about. Judah had been neglecting the things of the temple, the ordinances. If the people don’t bring their sacrifices, the work of the temple can’t be done. But there is coming a day when the sacrifices of the temple won’t matter any more – when Messiah comes. The context proves that the blessings that are to come are not material, but spiritual and involve the Messiah, not your checkbook. This is not some lucky rabbit’s foot that promises money back to those who give money to your “ministry”.
And that’s it. That’s what the whole Bible has to say about tithes. Every last bit of it is tied to the ceremonial law of the Old Testament. If you’re a Jew, then you better be paying attention. But if you’re a Christian, you’ll need to find other verses to guide how you deal with the subject of giving money to the local church.
In short, here’s what the Bible DOESN’T say to Christians about tithes:
1. You must give to your local church first.
2. You must give ten percent to your local church.
3. You must give more than ten percent to your local church.
4. Those who tithe will be blessed more than those who don’t tithe.
5. If you don’t tithe, you and your money are cursed.
Yet, that’s what many preachers would like you to think. Preachers who stand on a stage, bragging about how many souls they’ve won, or what they saw on their last trip to the holy land, and then berate their church members into giving even more money to build even more buildings are a pox on the church today. Their lust for power and money would even put a medieval pope to shame.
One thing is perfectly clear – no missionary work that consists merely in presenting to the people in foreign lands a thing that has proved to be mildly valuable in the experience of the missionary himself, which he thinks may perhaps prove helpful in foreign lands in building up a better life upon this earth, can possibly be regarded as real Christian missions. At the very heart of the real Christian missionary message is the conviction that every individual hearer to whom the missionary goes is in deadly peril, and that unless the message is heeded he is without hope in this world and in the dreadful world that is to come.