INTRODUCTION
Have you wondered why Israel did not pay tithes during the 40 years of wandering in the desert?
The tithe of the Old Covenant, Mosaic Law, was connected to the land promised to Abram’s seed. As a result there was no tithing during the 40 years in the wilderness for this area fell outside the boundaries of the Promise Land. This is logical because no tribe had yet an inheritance and the Levites who were given the tithes of the other Tribes as their inheritance could not be given their inheritance before there was any inheritance from which to tithe.
The nature of the tithe demanded Israel’s presence in the Land. According to Deuteronomy 12:10-11 the statutes and judgments concerning the tithe were not to take effect until Israel was in the land, and were to be observed as long as Israel stayed in the land.
For the office of High-priest and Priest, God chose Aaron and his sons respectively and none other under the penalty of death. It is to be noted, it was God’s choice, and there was no volunteering. They were forbidden to take tithes of the people, but the Levites out of their tithes, were to give the tenth portion to the Aaronites; a tithe of the tithes. So, the only tribe actually paying tithes was the tribe of Levi.
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. Gen.15:18-21
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; 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: Deuteronomy 12:10-11 KJV
Leviticus 27:30-32 is the only place in scripture where the tithe is explained. This passage explains the tithe as the tenth part of the crops and the fruit of the land, and the tenth animal to pass under the rod. Tithing, therefore, was only on the increase of the crops, herd or flock of the farmer. For instance, if a farmer’s flock increased by 15 lambs during the year, the first lamb would be given to the priest as first-fruit and the tenth lamb would be the tithe. Therefore, his tithe to the Levite would be one lamb. If he had a hundred new lambs, the tithe would still be one lamb, the tenth (See my Blog on ‘What is Tithing’).
Tithes or tithing began amongst the Jews in the time of Moses and meant the tenth part in Israel was given by God to the Levites as an inheritance. This was not for priestly duties for these were carried out by Aaron and his sons. It was not for preaching or teaching the word of God, but for an inheritance. I reiterate, it was not tithes but an inheritance of the Levites.
PRESENT TEACHING OF MOSAIC TITHES
The tithe is perceived as a universal eternal principle established by God as provision for His Ministers of the Gospel. In particular, it is was not an ‘inheritance for the Levite but is mandatory of every individual to pay the tithe for the upkeep of the Church and the Ministers’ salary. It is binding on all persons all over the world at all times. This eternal universal principle, God gave to Adam in the Garden of Eden and codified in the Mosaic Law.
The tenth is a “fraction” (or 10%). It is not an “ordinal number”. Some interpret the scripture as saying there are three tithes; one each for the Levite (Minister), the poor and the upkeep of the temple.
This, together with various first-fruits according to their devotion are taught as being binding on all Christians. Most churches accept money only as tithes. The tithe could be exchanged for money, justifies the acceptance of money alone as tithes. God must receive His portion first before any other expenditure for yourself. This is so on the basis of “seek ye first the Kingdom of God…”
REFUTATION OF THE CURRENT TEACHING
The Mosaic Law was given to the ancient Israelite only.
Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Romans 9:4 KJV
The law was specific and defined the tithe to Israel. It was not universal, and only applied to the Land of Israel. The law was not given to other countries. The law allowed for freewill offerings but they were not the ma’aser and were not called ma’aser. The law was not divisible into units or parts and was referred to as such by Jesus and the Apostles and indeed by all Jews. Some mischievous persons have insisted on extracting only tithing as mandatory on Christians. The New Testament makes it clear that if you place yourself under any part of the law then you are obligated to fulfil the whole law. A little leaven, leavens the whole lump.
The Mosaic Law was not universal.
The poor the fatherless, widows, orphans, and strangers did not pay tithe, but instead received from the tithe. Jesus did not tithe because He was poor (2Cor.8:9). Only the landowners, and herdsmen and shepherds paid the tithe. In addition, the tithe could only be given to the Levites. It must be noted that Aaron and his sons who were the Priests and High Priests were also Levites. To give it to someone of another tribe was a grave sin.
The things tithed crops and animals also came from God or His works, not from the labor of man. Although he did not collect a tithe from the Corinthians, Paul observed this same principle in making the collection of food for the saints at Jerusalem during the famine in the time of Claudius Caesar (1Cor. 16:2).
After the exile, the country was subdivided into three different zones of “holiness” by Ezra and Nehemiah. Only tithes from the “most holy land-zone” could be brought to the temple. Tithes from lesser holy land zones within Israel could provide for local synagogues and the poor, but could not be brought to Jerusalem.
In the time of Jesus, Galilee, where the people sat in darkness, did not take their tithes to Jerusalem. However, since even the “dust” from pagan Gentile lands defiled, it is certain that no temple tithe could come from “defiled” ground. (Alfred Edersheim – Sketches of Jewish Social Life).
How many tithes; one, two, three or six?
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. 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: 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: 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, Deuteronomy 14:23-26 KJV
This passage was addressed to the Levites concerning the tithe of the tithes which he had received. He had to take it to Jerusalem and give it to the Priests (Sons of Aaron) who served in the Temple. If the way was too far for him to travel with the produce and the animals, he could convert the “tithe of the tithes” into money and take the money to Jerusalem. However, he could not give the money to the Priests, he had then, to convert the money into produce and give it to the Priest.
The Levites “take a tithe of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren,” (Heb.7:5). This verse shows there was only one tithe. The phrase, “The tithe is the Lord’s” shows there was no tithing before the law was given. If there was, the language would have been “A tithe.” However this is not a grammatical law and does not necessarily mean any of the foregoing. But, “The Law” means there was only one law of tithe and it was the law enacted in Lev.27. A law means that there are other laws.
The tithing laws as given in Leviticus was to the generation of Israelites that came out of Egypt. This is the actual law concerning tithes. The law in Numbers and Deuteronomy is the same law being expounded by Moses approximately forty years later to the new generation of Israelites about to enter the Promised Land. Some Pastors have been mistakenly calling the tithe of Numbers and Deuteronomy a second and third tithe respectively. This is a grave error.
The scripture is clear there was one tithe; the tithe of the field, herd and flock. This was the only tithe. Some see a second tithe in Numbers 18:1-32; however, a careful reading shows that Moses is explaining to the Levites and Aaronites how to organize the Priesthood. Verse 24-32 explains to the Levite how to take the tithe of the people but it is the same tithe of Lev. 27:30-34. That it is addressed to the Levite (Aaron and Sons were also Levites) is evident by the following paragraph:
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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. And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshing floor, and as the fulness of the winepress. 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. Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress. And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation. And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die. Numbers 18:25-32 KJV
So the Levites were to give the tenth of their tithes as a heave offering to the Aaronites or Priests. Some see a third tithe in Deutronomy 12. But this is the second reading of the Law by Moses to the new generation of people who were to go in and inherit the land. The people seeing the second and third tithes are those who collect tithes; some see as much as six tithes, but these seers are all collectors of tithes.
It is not a third tithe, but another statement of the same tithe of Lev.27:32-34. Forty years had passed since the first reading of the law and all that generation which had come out of Egypt had died, except Caleb and Joshua. Moses was reading and explaining the same Law to this new generation who would inherit the land. Furthermore, three tithes do not equal a tenth.
To offer a tithe of money was a grave sin.
By demanding a “money tithe” of man’s labor, Church leaders have removed the tithe from God’s blessing to man’s achievement. In the modern church man has replaced God with himself.
Any wage earner was not to tithe. Jesus was a carpenter and so was not required to tithe. A wage did not involve any increase from God. Peter, James and John did not tithe, they were fishermen and the tithe was of the land of Canaan, not the waters. Other non-tithing occupations included bakers, candle makers, carpenters, clothing makers, hired farm workers, hired shepherds and herdsmen, hired household servants, jewelry makers, craftsmen, masons, metal workers, musicians, physicians, soldiers, tanners, teachers, tent makers, fishermen and many more. All these could be classified as wage earners and it is to be noted that their income involved no increase from God or increase of the overall GDP of the Theocracy, but were merely transfers of income from one person to another. This illustrates that the tithe was a tax; it was not a gift. Freewill gifts were voluntary expressions of love for God coming from the heart:
The tithe could not be used for the development of the Sanctuary
And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will. Leviticus 22:29 KJV.
In Exodus 25 we have an account of a freewill offering:
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. Exodus 25:1-9 KJV See also 35:4-29.
We notice, an offering for the development of the sanctuary was freewill, and those who gave, all gave the same amount. The giving continued until the people had to be stopped (Ex. 36:3-7). This was a type (preview) of the age we now live in; people give more than is required so Pastors are able to drive around in fancy cars and jet planes. Grace always outperforms law, greedy pastors and those who preach the law know not this. They never have enough for the work of God, but always want more for themselves.
Notice, also the tithes could not be used for the development of the sanctuary for it was the inheritance of the Levites.
Status of Mosaic Tithe Today
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4
Whatever is written in the Bible about ancient time, history, poetry or laws, has been written for our learning. We may educate ourselves by reading Genesis or Deuteronomy; Matthew, Mark, or Malachi or any other writer; all was written for our learning, but not all was written for our application. The Bible speaks to three different groups of people in Biblical times,
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 1Cor 10:32.
The church of God is made up of Jews and Gentiles. The Old Testament is addressed to Jews that were living under the law. Jesus Christ had not yet come. The price for the atonement of our sins had not yet been paid. The Savior had not yet arrived and there was no church as yet. As Paul says,
But before faith came, we (Jews, for the Galatians were never under the law) were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:23-26.
There was the time before the sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord, the period of the law. And there is the time after the sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord, the time that we live in now. There are vast differences between these two periods, because what was valid in the first period, the law, is no longer valid in the second period. And what is valid in the second period – grace and being children of God through faith in Jesus Christ – although available in the first period was not the method of salvation.
Can we learn from what was valid in the first period?
Definitely we can. Do we apply it in our lives? Not necessarily. You can read the Psalms and the Proverbs and get guidance for your life today. It is God’s eternal wisdom that crosses time. On the other hand, you can go to law-specific passages, such as the passages concerning tithes, or the passages about the sacrificing of bulls or the celebrations they had in Israel; although you can learn about Jesus from these passages, they are not applicable to us for practicing. The same is valid for all that refers to Mosaic Law, for the simple reason that this law came to an end with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Rom.10:4 KJV.
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Ephesians 2:15 KJV.
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 2 Corinthians 3:12-13 KJV.
It is similar to reading the code of laws which are no longer valid in your country. You can learn from them but they are not to be applied, for they are obsolete. The reader is advised to read a book on daily life in Bible times and you will find the dozens of trades skills and varied income earning activities which were not tithed; because they had nothing to do with the Levite or the Land.
A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOSAIC TITHES.
Do Jews today tithe?
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; Deuteronomy 26:12 KJV.
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: 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: .Deut.12:5-6 KJV.
Israelites are more knowledgeable about the law than Christians. The majority know that all the tenth was given by God to the Levites, because they have the Pentateuch for their Scripture and so it commands. The persons and the place where the tithes were taken and given to were named in the Law.
Now, there is no Temple in Jerusalem equipped with Levites or Priests serving; two major factors in fulfilling the laws of tithing do not exist; so Jews do not tithe.
The Bible commands the Jew to pay the tithe to Levites. It would be wrong to pay it to anyone else. At present, there exists no official Levitical order of Priests ministering at a Temple in Jerusalem. This makes it illegal to pay any biblical tithe to anyone else at any other place. However, if a Temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem, with the Levites and the Priests in attendance, every Jew who lives in the tithing zones of the Land of Canaan will be required to tithe according to the biblical commands. To pay the biblical tithe at present, without Levites and Priests in their ordained offices serving in the Temple, amounts to breaking the commandments and both the giver and the receiver would be guilty of a grave sin.
In all this there was no law to compel the Israelite or the Levite to pay the tithe. If they refused, they were not visited by the priest to exact the tithes; they only incurred the displeasure of disobeying the orders of God and were cursed in the field. Contrary to the actions of the Popes later, they were not executed. God has His mysterious ways of motivating other people “to give over into your bosom” (Luke 6:38).
Thus, if Jews are to obey the law, they cannot pay tithe unless they pay it to those ordained by God to receive the tithe. If you are not descended from the tribe of Levi, then you are not eligible to receive tithe. The same applied even to Jesus while he was on earth since he was of the tribe of Judah and also to the Apostles Peter and Paul. Neither Christ nor those apostles were Levites so they were all disqualified from receiving any part of the biblical tithe.
God’s special Promised Land was the land of Canaan. Israel’s holy inheritance was only the land of Canaan. Whereas the eleven tribes divided this holy land into twelve (or thirteen, Joseph was given two) sections, the inheritance of the Levite was the tithe from the land in Canaan.
The Levites were not given territorial lands like other tribes. They were allotted forty eight cities among the other tribes to dwell and could earn a living. They received a reasonable amount of acreage to cultivate when they were not serving in the tabernacle. Not all the Levites were called upon to serve at the same time but they were divided into orders and a particular Levite may be called upon to serve once or twice during a year. They also provided other services to the community.
Tithes were the inheritance of the Tribe of Levi
“And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho saying: Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and open land round about the cities shall ye give unto the Levites. And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and their open land shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts.” Numbers 35:1–3
God provided the Levites the means by which to live without being totally dependent upon the tithe. The Levites that received tithe were those who attended the service of the Tabernacle. At other times they had to earn their own living within the cities and lands allotted them. The Levites were expected to work for their livelihood like any other normal citizen within the community of Israel.
This is why the Levites were provided with open lands surrounding the cities. These facts show that the Levites did not live solely off the tithe of the other tribes. In no way was this true. The Levites had to work for their living as anyone else. The tithe was to support the Levite only when he was engaged in the service of the Tabernacle (Deuteronomy 18:6–8).
Moreover, God was quite concerned that the Levitical lands remain within the tribe of Levi perpetually: “But the fields of the open land about their cities may not be sold; for that is their perpetual possession” (Leviticus 25:34).
What the Israelites received in return for the tithe.
Though the Levites were scattered throughout the land of Israel, there was only one place in the land where they could assist in the service of the Tabernacle (and later, the Temple). When Israel got the possession of the Land of Canaan, they set up the Tabernacle first at Shiloh and later in the time of Solomon it was finally moved to Jerusalem where the portable structure was abandoned for the permanent Temple. But the greater number of the Levites did not perform services in the Temple; the building was simply too small for all of them to work there. Most Levites performed duties in other employments within the nation of Israel. The occupations of the Levites were in what is called professional fields today. Moses expected this to be the case.
They were ordained to be teachers of the nation (Deuteronomy 24:8; 33:10; 2 Chronicles 35:3; Nehemiah8:7).
They also represented many of the judges of the land, and in the time of Ezra they were the sole members of the Sanhedrin — the Supreme Court of the nation (Deuteronomy 17:8–9; 21:5; 1 Chronicles 23:4; 2 Chronicles 19:8; Ezekiel 44:15, 24).
Most medical services were in their care (Leviticus 13:2, 14:2; Luke 17:14).
They were professional singers and musicians (1 Chronicles 25:1–31; 2 Chronicles 5:12; 34:12).
Producers of books and librarians were almost exclusively Levites (2 Chronicles 34:13).
This indicates the tithe was not only for religious purposes.
And while the ordinary Israelite gave his tithe every third year to the Levites (and the destitute), look at the services he got besides the management of the Temple. Israel got teachers for their children, physicians for their ills, scribes, musicians, singers, judges, and law enforcement officers. A part of their tithe even went to support a type of social security service every third and sixth year for the destitute. It was to support the educational, cultural, health and law enforcement agencies as our taxes do today. All Israel benefitted from their tithing system. Today, however, only the clergy benefits. The “tithe payer” gets only the sole responsibility of supporting his church’s administration and that’s it.
This law was intended for a particular people at a particular time.
The tithe laws necessitated a society based on agriculture and animal husbandry. The laws also demand a community which necessarily had to set its own laws: Capital punishment, for instance, formed part of this system; obviously we know that we can’t just lift this out of the Old Covenant and claim that the Church should be practicing it! In like manner, tithing presumed an economy with no currency with only flocks, herds and crops. So, again I ask, why just lift tithing out of this system, a system which Hebrews 8:13 plainly tells is now obsolete?
CONCLUSION
Again, tithing was part of the Old Covenant concept of a holy inheritance. It is unscriptural to separate tithing from the Holy Land from which it came. This would be analogous to applying the Laws of a foreign country to the United States of America or another country.
This tithe was not a fraction, but an ordinal number, ‘the tenth’. It was the tenth animal or bushel (one animal or bushel) and could not be exchanged for any other, the ninth, or eleventh etc.
The items to be tithed came from God’s hand, not the sweat of man’s face. Increases due to man’s labor were not required to tithe. God is the owner of the heavens and all the earth (Genesis 14:19, 22), but this is not the reason for the tithe nor is the Mosaic tithe concerned with the whole world. If Jesus, Peter and Paul did not use the Mosaic tithe to fund their Ministries, Christian ministers today, as well ought not to use the Biblical tithe. The Jewish leaders of today respect the statements of Word of God about the tithe, but Preachers and Pastors have no respect and have made their own legislation which are at variance with the Biblical.
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