Tithing…Is it a command?

[gloryseeker]

It amazes me how many Christians try to marginalize the tithe. I have even seen post where people have posed the question, “Can you show me that tithing is a command of God.” Why yes, I could probably give dozens.

In this post I will state why I believe that the tithe is a command of God, I would be interested in a scriptural basis of why the tithe is an optional concept.

First of all the most commonly used scriptures on tithes:

Mal 3:7-8
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?
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Through the Prophet Malachi God tells His people to return to Him and He would return to them. Then the question is posed, “How do we return to you?” The answer, “In tithes and offerings.” It would be my guess that they didn't return to Him since they entered into the dark years.

How can we rob God in tithes? Either we knock off the usher as he carries the plate to the back room and steal all the tithes or we keep what God has declared as His. If the latter is true then the tithe does not become the tithe when it is given, but becomes the tithe when you increase.

Throughout the Old Testament we see God saying that the tithe is holy, it is His, and that we are not to touch it. The tithe is a tenth. Therefore, the reality is .90 cents is yours out of $1.00. It is not your dollar that you are going to give God a dime. The dime is His when you get the dollar. You steal it by not returning to Him what is His.

I have also heard people say that they tithe 5% and I have heard people say that they tithe 20%. Both are incorrect because a tithe is a tenth. Anything over a tenth is an offering and anything less than a tenth, well I guess is an offering also.

In the NT Hebrews 7 deals with the tithe:

Heb 7:1-5
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace,"
3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; (NKJ)

Who receive the priesthood in the NT? What is termed the five-hold. They have a command to receive the tithes from the people according to the law.

Why do people try to say tithing is OT when prayer, fasting, and worship were all OT activities also?

Why do people try to say that tithing was under the law when it precedes the law going back to Cain, Able, Abraham and Isaac?

Why do people marginalize Jesus saying, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”

Why do people try to make Hebrews 7 some kind of OT rehashing, when in fact the only place the tithe was fully explained was during the time of the giving of the law and it has never changed? The tithe is received according to the law, not under the law.

I am sure any here that would disagree with me would be different than my experiences, but I have only seen people who are tight with money or who want to spend money on themselves try and make an argument that tithe is not a command.

I wish it were possible to know the percentage of gross income given in 2007 by any who would try and say the tithe is not a command, and it would be interesting to also know how much they were in debt (people who fight giving principles are typically heavy in debt). I know that would be impossible, but it would be very interesting.

[Jason B]

I know this thread will be much debated, so i will be quick for now.
The tithe was part of the law of moses which was fulfilled and done away with at the cross.(Matthew 5 and Hebrews 7) It was a national law (like the sabbath) for the israelites and was never money, unless 20% was added to it.

[Rev]

Originally Posted by Jason

I know this thread will be much debated, so i will be quick for now.
The tithe was part of the law of moses which was fulfilled and done away with at the cross.(Matthew 5 and Hebrews 7) It was a national law (like the sabbath) for the israelites and was never money, unless 20% was added to it.

(Heb 7:1) For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
(Heb 7:2) To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
(Heb 7:3) Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
(Heb 7:4) Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

(Mat 23:23) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Tithing didn't start under the law, it started in Genesis.

If you are Abraham's seed you will also pay tithes just like he did!

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Rev

(
...
If you are Abraham's seed you will also pay tithes just like he did!

We only read once where Abraham "paid" tithes, and that wasn't on his own crops and animals but was on the property of others which had been captured in battle.

As far as "doing the works of Abraham,'
he also practiced circumcision and animal sacrifices,
and on a couple of occasions practiced lying and deception.

[ApostolicTexas]

Originally Posted by Rev

(Heb 7:1) For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
(Heb 7:2) To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
(Heb 7:3) Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
(Heb 7:4) Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

(Mat 23:23) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Tithing didn't start under the law, it started in Genesis.

If you are Abraham's seed you will also pay tithes just like he did!

Are you suggesting we take things not belonging to us and pay God a tenth? this is what Abraham did..He took of the spoils NOT from his own pocket even though scriptures says Abraham was very rich

[SwordmanJr]

Originally Posted by Rev

(Heb 7:1)....
(Heb 7:2)....
(Heb 7:3)....
(Heb 7:4)....

Reading these versus IN CONTEXT reveals the fact that the thrust of these passages was in relation to a measure of the priesthood of Christ in relation to the pristhood of men, and therefore that the preisthood of Christ is superior to man's priesthood. Not one passage in that section of scripture upholds the idea of a continuance of the tithe.

Now, if you can show me such a passage, or point out where in the CONTEXT that a continuance of the tithe was what the writer had in mind, then I will certainly give it another look.

Originally Posted by Rev

(Mat 23:23) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Jesus also told one of the men He had healed to go and offer up burnt sacrifices at the altar in thanksgiving for the healing. Are we, then, to follow that as well. After all, Jesus said it, right?

Quite frankly, ignoring the fact that Jesus was addressing a people who were still required to obey the Law....to the letter....makes me wonder about the agenda behind the pro-required-tithing dogma.

Now, let's put this in perspective, shall we: The Law NOWHERE demanded a tithe of anyone's wages. Not one verse can be shown to define the tithe as being a measure of monetary wages. The implication of this fact is that no wage-earner was required to hand over to the Levites a portion of his wages.

Now, if you can show me that I'm wrong, then please do so. I won't hide behind opinion and feelings about this. Simply show me the evience in support of your words. That's a reasonable request.

Originally Posted by Rev

Tithing didn't start under the law, it started in Genesis.

If you are Abraham's seed you will also pay tithes just like he did!

First of all, you made use of the plural when uttering the term "tithes," as if you're privy to some special information to which no other man walking this earth has access; information that allegedly proves that Abraham tithed continuously to Melchizedek or anyone else. We're told of only ONE instance where Abraham handed over a tenth of the spoils of war, which was not at all a tithe similar to what's taught and practiced today. Nowehre in that text are we told that he ventured up to his home in northern Canaan, collected a tenth of his own personal property, brought it back and handed it over to Melchizedek. He handed over a tenth of other people's stolen property he retrieved from those five thieving kings.

Just in case someone wants to try and argue the foolish notion that the spoils of war were Abraham's property, well, please give thought to the fact that Abraham knew from whom the spoils were stolen. He did the noble thing by returning the stolen property to its rightful owners....apart from the portion he gave to Melchizedek in thanksgiving for the victory, and in recognition to God's provision of that victory.

Also give thought to the fact that if YOU retrieved someone else's stolen property, would YOU keep it for yourself, or would you do the Christian thing by returning it to its rightful owner? Why, then, are there so many people, who claim to be Christian, willing to villify Abraham by assigning to him a character that is LESS than Christian?

Come, now. Let's be honest, shall we.

[wire2john]

Originally Posted by Rev

(Heb 7:1) For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
(Heb 7:2) To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
(Heb 7:3) Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
(Heb 7:4) Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

(Mat 23:23) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Tithing didn't start under the law, it started in Genesis.

If you are Abraham's seed you will also pay tithes just like he did!

The Blood is what distinguishes us from earlier dispensations, I have written extensively about this subject in another thread if you are interested. In short, we don't tithe because we don't require priests; we are all priests by adoption. Abraham, for whatever reason, chose to fight rather than serve as priest for the war party, so he hired Melchizedek to serve as priest instead. In the case of Jacob, he could have stayed at Bethel and served as a priest in that place, but instead chose to finance the hiring of a priest for that location by committing a tithe.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by wire2john

. Abraham, for whatever reason, chose to fight rather than serve as priest for the war party, so he hired Melchizedek to serve as priest instead. In the case of Jacob, he could have stayed at Bethel and served as a priest in that place, but instead chose to finance the hiring of a priest for that location by committing a tithe.

No one hired Melchisedek. Melchisedek was already a priest. Abraham just recognized it.

Tithing started with FAITH.

Heb 7:6....But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.

Descent of priesthood not coming from Levi proves another priesthood.

Giving tithes in faith is not law. I saw more people blessed as a result. People always think of THEIR concept of law when they don't stop to realize there are other concepts that are away from law that uphold a tithe.

Give tithes. Don't give tithes. But it's as much as LAW to say do not do it as it is to demand it.

None commanded Abraham to tithe. None, He did it in faith.

[wire2john]

Originally Posted by mfblume

No one hired Melchisedek. Melchisedek was already a priest. Abraham just recognized it.
.

There is no mystical mumbo-jumbo going on here, Abraham knew Melchisedek was a priest because Melchizedek was his grandfather, Shem. Melchizedek means "priest/ king". This is why in Genesis 23:6 they said to Abraham, "Sir, you are a mighty prince among us..."; they called him a mighty prince because he was the grandson of Melchizedek (i.e. Shem). Abraham was perfectly capable of serving as priest on this occasion and making the necessary sacrifices, as we have observed him doing on other occasions, but instead he chose to fight. So he hired Melchizedek, who was given a tenth as payment. This isn't hard to understand, why make it so?

[wire2john]

Originally Posted by mfblume

Descent of priesthood not coming from Levi proves another priesthood.

That's true, because Melchizedek (i.e. Shem) was a forefather of Levi, not his descendant. There was a line of priesthood that stretched all the way back to Noah, then to Shem, and on down the line to Levi.

descendant - a person who is related to you and who lives after you, such as your child or grandchild.