I thought this article was excellent and invite discussion.
By Ronald Robey,
What the Word of God says concerning His Holy tithe:
First, I do recognize that Abram tithed to Melchizedek before the Law
was given by Moses to the Israelites. I have no problem admitting that,
as it is in black and white in the 14th Chapter of Genesis for all to
read.
I contend that that tithe, of the spoils of war as
verified both in Genesis 14 and Hebrews 7, is not a tithe that we, as
Christians, are to pattern our giving today.
Abram's tithe was
of the spoils of war, meaning he had to go to battle to attain those
spoils that he tithed from. He promised God that he would not take any
of those spoils unto himself, meaning he did not claim them as his own
property. He did this because he did not want the king of Sodom, Bera,
to have reason to say he had made Abram rich (Genesis 14:22-24) He did
not even eat of those spoils as the men that were with him did... he did
not want them at all. This is why, after giving the tithe of the spoils
to Melchizedek, he also gave away the rest of the spoils. No room for
Bera to say he had made Abram rich whatsoever.
Had Abram saw
the tithe of spoils as his own, he would have been that much richer than
he was when he started out on his rescue mission for his nephew Lot.
Apparently, even Bera did not consider Abram tithing a tenth of the
spoils as having made Abram rich enough to tithe the spoils he tithed.
We also glean from the text that the property Abram tithed was not his own property, his own assets.
Now, it can be argued that Abram was giving God His tithe. I am
convinced that if it was "God's tithe," then God later amended His tithe
when He gave the Law to Moses for the Israelites. For, in Leviticus 27
we read:
Leviticus 27:30-34 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. And if a man will at all redeem ought
of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 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. He shall
not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if
he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy;
it shall not be redeemed. These are the commandments, which the LORD
commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Notice God stated specifically that His tithe was of the seed of the
land, the fruit of the tree, and the tenth of the herd and flock that
passed under the rod. If God's tithe was what Abram tithed to
Melchizedek, it certainly was amended to a specific people, (the
Israelites) a specific possession (crops, flocks and herds) and a
specific purpose.
The specific purpose can be found in the book of Numbers, Chapter 18. There, we read:
Numbers 18:20-24 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no
inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I
am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. And,
behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an
inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of
the tabernacle of the congregation. Neither must the children of Israel
henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear
sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of
the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a
statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of
Israel they have no inheritance. 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.
The
specific purpose for the tithe was to provide for the Levites who had no
inheritance in the land of Israel. The Levites received the tithe from
the remaining tribes of Israel. That tithe was crops, flocks and herds;
meaning that the only ones God said were to tithe were those grew
produce and raised livestock.
Under the law, God required far less than a tithe for the spoils of war. (see Numbers 31)
The Word of God continues with the same tithes throughout the Bible,
even in the time of Jesus. The Pharisees tithed mint, cummin, dill,
anise... things grown and required in the tithe as per Leviticus
27:30-34. There was never a tithe of money in the Bible.
In
Deuteronomy 14, we read that the festival tithe could be sold for money
if it was too great a burden to carry, but when the tither (again farmer
or herder as per the tithe requirements in Leviticus 27) arrived at the
place God wanted him to tithe, he was to buy back the tithe and there
eat the tithe.
It's all there in black and white, folks. I'm not making this up. The tithe was to be eaten... it was food, not money.
I submit that , in order for the Church to teach a monetary tithe, the
Church must present Scripture that states that God amended His Holy
tithe to
1) no longer be food, but money
2) no longer be from Israelite farmers and herders only, but from everyone who is a child of God
3) no longer be a yearly tithe of 20% every 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th year
of a seven year cycle and 30% every 3rd and 6th year of a seven year
cycle with no tithe being given the seventh year as the land was to rest
the seventh year, to a weekly monetary tithe of 10% year in and year
out without a rest.
4) no longer be to the Levites because they had
no inheritance, to Church leadership who could own cars, homes, boats,
and other possessions
It is my contention that the monetary tithe that Church leadership teaches today is either due to
1) lack of proper study of the Word of God and therefore, ignorance of what God's Holy tithe was
2) knowing what God's Holy tithe was but teaching a monetary tithe to get money from the congregation
3) greed
4) a combination of the three previous reasons stated.
At any rate, the monetary tithe doctrine is unsanctioned by God, it is
unscriptural, it is unsubstantiated and and its adherents are
unscrupulous.
