Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

Okay Esaias,

Tell me what this scripture means to you.



Bible, King James Version

Deut.12 Verse 8

[8] Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.

Forget about my opinion. Just expound on this verse. What does this mean to YOU?

Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

Other than that the verse has no bearing on whether or not the law of tithing was put in place to fulfill Jacob's vow?

The context indicates that altars for sacrifice were to be found only in one location (to be determined by God) to which everyone was to bring their offerings. There was to be a unified prescribed worship for all Israel.

Your love gift can be sent via Paypal just pm me for details. :)

Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

Does anyone know if the 2 and a half tribes east of Jordan ever tithed? I can't seem to find anything on that.

Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

Brother, I tell you what I love about you. Your sense of humor! I do need to send you a love gift, however I am concerned that your Paypal info could be compromised. Just pray that God will impress me with your info and I will send the "gift" in Bitcoin. It is far more secure that way.

:thumbsup

I am concerned about your fixation on cross-dressing. Is there something I need to help you pray about?



j/k

Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

It is my understanding that the tithe was strictly in relation to those living within the land of ancient Israel.

Leviticus 27:30-34 King James Version (KJV)
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.

It is also my understanding that under the law only agricultural products were tithed. They included grain, fruit, and livestock. Only products produced within the boundaries of the land of Israel were to be tithed. Jews living in Gentile lands were exempt. Others exempt from the tithing law included the hired hands, fishermen, miners, lumber workers, construction workers, soldiers, weavers, potters, manufacturers, merchants, government workers, and priests. In short, all who were not farmers were exempt.

The Jewish farmers in the land could redeem (buy back) the tithes of their crops with a penalty of one fifth. In other words, if a farmer wishes to keep his tithe of grain worth $1,000, he could pay the cash equivalent of $1,200 (Leviticus 27:31).

The Lord Jesus Christ did not ask for or receive a tithe for support of His ministry. Being of the tribe of Judah (not Levi) He could not without breaking the law (Hebrews 7:14; Revelation 5:5). Neither Peter (not of the tribe of Levi) nor Paul (of the tribe of Benjamin) could receive tithes for the support of their ministries.

Even the Jews do not practice tithing today because there are no Levites, priests, or temple worship in Jerusalem. Jewish rabbis know biblical law well enough to know that tithing under the present circumstances is unlawful. According to them, when the temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem with a consecrated altar with priests and Levites officiating, all Jews living within the biblical tithing zones will tithe.

Paul the apostle to the Gentiles does not mention tithing but says a great deal about Christian giving. (Romans 15:25,26; 1 Corinthians 9:7-14; 16:1-3; 2 Corinthians chapters 8 & 9; Galatians 6:6-10; Philippians 4:10-19; 1 Timothy 5:9-18).

Christians are to give regularly, joyfully, and systematically in accordance to the needs of the church and the ministry.

Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

I really don't know the answer to this question. My assumption is that they did. The logical conclusion might be made that if they tithed outside of the promised land, then it was okay to do so. This assumption could be wrong. The Israelites did many things that violated the laws in general and the tithe laws in particular. Even Moses and Aaron blatantly disobeyed God and paid the price of being unable to enter the promised land because of it.

On another note I have heard rumors that there are well-intended saints in the modern church that tithe money (a balatant violation of tithe law) from outside the land of Israel (another infraction), to folk who do not qualify to receive a biblical tithe. I almost believe the rumors to be true. Surely not.

The bottom line is that just because they may have tithed from outside of Palestine, does not mean they were being obedient to God in doing so.

Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

I think a factor to consider is travel.

Remember, since the tithe was grain, produce, and livestock... they would have to transport all those harvested goods quite a distance. I'm not sure if the average farmer could do that with any efficiency outside of ancient Israel. Then one would have to consider how they kept such items preserved in the heat during that journey (they didn't have refrigerated trucks back then). I guess what I'm saying is that at some point the distance needed to travel in order to pay the tithe as required in Scripture would become a logistical nightmare if one lived outside of ancient Israel. Also, I don't remember reading about any massive caravans of farmers with a tithe journeying from distant lands recorded in Scripture. So... it makes logical sense that the tithe be required only of those living in the holy land, within a certain distance of Jerusalem. Else the priests would be sifting through mounds of aged produce, grain, and weary dehydrated cattle for weeks.

Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

Deut 14:22-26 provides for sending tithes across large distances. It is pretty well established that tithing was a tax on the produce of Canaan (in fulfillment of Jacob's vow), so an Israelite sojourning in say Asia Minor would not be subject to the tithe requirement. Mainly because the tithe was a requirement of the land, not merely of Israelites per se.

My follow up question has to do with land controlled by Israelites (as in the case of the two and s half tribes who settled east of Jordan).

Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

I'm not wanting to assume, so I'm looking for any kind of historical data concerning their status and history.

Re: No tithe outside of Israel?
 

What you are saying here is that it is a SIN to give ten percent of your income to anyone as an act of worshipping God.

Which is preposterous in the extreme.