Periodically I
hear radio preachers
encouraging
listeners to give
their tithes and
offerings. In a
sense, language like
this could be
acceptable, except
that it blurs the
actual teaching of
Scripture on the
subject. In the
Bible the term tithe
has a technical
meaning, and, in
fact, so does the
term offering. If we
use those terms
popularly, we need
to explain how what
we mean differs from
the biblical terms.
It would be simpler
to use terms that
express what the
Bible means, if, in
fact, our message is
the same as the
Bible's.
In this article we will first discuss the
meaning of tithe in
the Bible. Secondly,
we will examine a
favorite verse used
to erroneously
promote increases in
giving to the Lord's
work. Finally, I
will suggest the
nature of New
Testament giving in
the days of the
Church, namely, our
days.
The Tithe
The word
tithe means tenth,
or ten percent. It
was not used
generally of giving
in any amount, but
strictly of ten
percent. And in
Israel, there was
not only one tenth,
but in reality three
tenths.
One tenth is described in Numbers 18:21-28
which we can call
the Levitical
Tithe.
Individuals were to
set aside ten
percent of their
income, usually in
flocks or herds and
possibly grain at
that time, for
support of the
Levites, including
the priests, who
served at the
tabernacle and later
at the temple. These
oversaw the entire
system of worship
God had ordained for
Israel, a system
incorporating
various blood
sacrifices and
washings to be
observed every day
and in an
intensified way on
special days.
Another tenth appears in Deuteronomy
14:22-27. We can
call it the
Festival Tithe.
This was another ten
percent of one's
income set aside in
order to fund one's
attendance at the
annual festivals in
Jerusalem. This
could possibly be
used to help others
less fortunate also
attend these
festivals. The
festivals were great
times of
socializing,
celebration, worship
ritual, and Bible
teaching. It would
be comparable to a
person setting aside
a portion of income
to attend a Bible
teaching conference
or to take some
Bible training
annually.
A third tenth is ordained in Deuteronomy
14:28-29 . This one
we can call the
Poor Tithe. This
tithe was exactly
what it is called:
it was lifted in
order to help the
poor, a sort of
welfare system. It
was different than
the others in that
it was to be
received only once
in three years. So,
adding the tithes
together, the
ancient Israelite
had already
twenty-three and
one-third percent to
pay annually in
tithing.
Actually, later a fourth tenth would be
added. As Samuel
explained to the
people what having a
king would involve,
he promised them the
Royal Tithe
in 1 Samuel 8:15.
Now the annual total
is thirty-three and
one-third percent.
It should be noted that not one of these
tithes had any
relation to freewill
giving. Each one was
commanded. That they
had religious
connotations is not
surprising because
Israel was a
theocracy. So these
tithes were actually
the equivalent of
taxes in the
theocracy providing
for the political
and religious life
of the nation.
Paying them was
demanded, and
failure to pay was
rewarded with
plagues, ruined
crops, epidemics,
etc.
There were instances of freewill giving,
grace giving, in the
Old Testament, for
example, the giving
which supplied for
the building of the
tabernacle in Exodus
35:20-29, but these,
again, had no
relation to their
system of tithing.
These were isolated
circumstances with
giving for certain
projects.
The result is that tithing is a poor choice
of terms when
speaking of giving
in a New Testament
Church setting and
may well confuse the
giver.
A Favorite
Misapplied Text
Frequently in
teaching and
preaching on the
subject of giving,
the speaker will
bring in Malachi
3:8. It is a
wonderful verse to
preach in order to
increase giving, but
we must examine it
to see whether its
message is directly
appropriate for us.
Surely there are
applications we can
draw from it, but we
may have to go
elsewhere for our
most direct teaching
regarding giving.
Malachi 3:8 says: "Will a man rob God? Yet
you are robbing Me!
But you say, 'How
have we robbed
Thee?' In tithes and
offerings."
(NASB) Some tell us
that the tenth
belongs to God, as
in ancient Israel,
and what is above
and beyond is the
offerings. But we
have already seen
that the tithes
demanded of Israel
amounted to at least
twenty-three and
one-third percent.
The tithes here must be understood
as they were
explained above. The
message is spoken to
Jews having returned
to their homeland
after they spent
seventy years in the
Babylonian exile. In
order to rob God,
you must be taking
or holding back what
belongs to Him, and
He had commanded the
tithes of them.
But how could you possibly rob God in the
case of offerings if
they were, indeed,
freewill? It turns
out that they were
not freewill,
either. The Hebrew
term for
offerings used
here can sometimes
be used for freewill
giving, but in most
cases it was a
technical term for a
specific kind of
giving, again, a
giving commanded,
so, in essence,
another kind of tax.
Out of approximately
sixty appearances of
the term in the
Bible, it refers
seven times to
freewill giving for
the tabernacle and
once for the temple.
Otherwise, in the
passages appropriate
for our
consideration (that
is, not relating to
the future
millennium, etc.),
the term always
refers to that which
was demanded:
fourteen times of
first-fruits
offerings to the
priests, another
fourteen times for
the thigh of the
peace offering as
income for the
priests, four times
as the Levites'
tithe (passed on
then to the smaller
group of priests)
from the tithes
given to them, three
times of a head tax
on male citizens,
three times of a
head tax in the
military, and once
of the ram thigh
offered at a
priest's ordination.
These are the offerings meant in
Malachi 3:8 which
the people had been
commanded to bring,
which they were not
bringing, and which
failure was
described as robbing
God.
Among all the translations of the Bible
accessible to me, I
found only two which
correctly translate
this verse so as to
leave no confusion.
Darby uses the
phrase "tithes and
heave-offerings,"
and Young renders it
"The tithe and the
heave-offering."
Every other source
translated it in a
way that could be
misleading, but
these two
translations are
technically correct.
So the verse directly relates to the Jews,
God's arrangement
with them, and the
context shows that
there were attendant
blessings or
punishments
respectively for
bringing these
payments or not.
The verse in its context teaches us that
God interacts with
what His people, the
Jews, did, and we
could probably
conclude that He
also interacts with
people today in the
Church, as other
Scriptures would
show. The broader
context reveals that
God controls crop
conditions. He also
brings difficulties
into people's lives
so they might turn
from wickedness to
obedience. Obedience
does result in
blessing, and
disobedience results
in chastisement.
Giving for
Today
The fact is, when we
examine the
Scriptures
carefully, we do not
find tithing taught
anywhere for the
Church. It is
mentioned in the New
Testament, but
always with
reference to the
Israelite system.
Numerous scattered
passages can be
brought in to round
out teaching on
giving for today.
But the classic
passage is 2
Corinthians 8-9. I
encourage you to
read and study it
for yourself.
One outstanding feature of those chapters
is that, though
money is the
subject, money is
not directly
mentioned. The
reason for that is
that money itself is
not the issue. The
issue is of the
heart, whether you
have received the
grace of God in
Christ, and how you
respond to that. So,
the money is
referred to as
grace. I like to
call it grace
giving.
Many people are afraid of grace giving. It
lets people 'off the
hook,' so to speak.
It doesn't force
them to empty their
wallets or to write
those checks. But
what is our goal
here? Is production
of dollars our goal?
Or is doing God's
work in His way with
His resources for
His kind of benefit
to us our goal? And
if gratitude to God
cannot motivate you
to give, of what
value is giving out
of a guilt complex?
out of pressure to
meet a legalistic
amount or
percentage?
Some of the principles appearing in 2
Corinthians 8-9
include: giving out
of what you have
instead of what you
do not have, giving
for the need of
others who may at
some future time
give for your need,
giving so that you
know the gift
reaches its
destination and is
used for the
intended purpose,
giving according to
the principle of
ratios (giving
sparingly produces a
small harvest,
giving generously
produces a generous
harvest), and giving
cheerfully out of
faith in God who
provides all. All
giving that is not
given cheerfully has
no spiritual
reward--it may as
well not be given.
So all of it goes back to the heart. Has
God been at work in
your life? What
sense of that do you
have? Do you love
Him and show it with
the way you give?
Some are worried that this form of giving
will not produce
enough results.
Enough results for
what? It will
produce enough
results for the work
God wants done. And
it will produce the
chain reaction of
results described in
2 Corinthians 9.
And what of amounts? Maybe grace giving
will sometimes mean
that you give less
than ten percent.
Maybe that's all you
can give; maybe
that's all you can
give cheerfully.
Sometimes grace
giving will be much
more. But it will
always grow out of
one's relationship
with God through
Christ--it will have
a spiritual
motivation, and it
will have a
spiritual result.