Tithing is perhaps one of the most confusing, misunderstood and controversial teachings of the Bible. That shouldn’t surprise us, as people are very attached to their money. Getting them to give it up is problematic, unless it is for something they truly want.
Many believers get around this sticky point by saying that the tithe is an Old Testament teaching, which doesn’t apply to those of us in New Testament times. An even vaguer argument is to say that the tithe only applied to those living in an agricultural society, owning a farm. This argument is based on the fact that much of what is said about tithing, deals with tithing from the increase of a farm. Since they were a largely agricultural society back then, that makes sense. But those who worked in other areas still were required to tithe.
The idea that only people who own farms need to tithe is pretty much destroyed by the instructions given in the Old Testament Law, for those who live a long way away from the temple. They are told to convert the product to money and bring that to the temple (Deuteronomy 14:24-25).
But what about those who claim that the tithe is an Old Testament teaching and not a New Testament one? Might I suggest that they read the teachings of Jesus a little more closely, for He is the one who affirmed it as a New Testament teaching as well.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mind and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. – Matthew 23:23 & Luke 11:42
This is almost humorous, considering how carefully the Pharisees followed the letter of the law. That is shown by their going so far as to tithe of the herbs grown in their gardens. They clearly didn’t want to short-change God in their giving. Putting that in a modern context, it would be like someone tithing on the interest payment they received on $100 they have in a savings account. Most would consider it not enough to worry about, but they did.
Jesus’ main point here was that while those Pharisees were busy making sure that they didn’t cheat God on their tithes, they were ignoring the “weightier matters of the law,” which He delineated as “justice, mercy and faith.” I don’t think that anyone today would argue that His evaluation of their actions and attitudes was correct. The Pharisees were so busy pushing their brand of Judaism, which included “fences” around the law, replacing the law itself, that they seemed to ignore what God said in the law.
Taking an aside here for a moment, I must say that the Pharisees’ intention was to honor God, by ensuring that nobody broke a commandment of the Law by accident. However, the Law was never intended to be nothing more than a list of rules to be followed. By building their “fences,” the Pharisees prevented people from seeing the law itself and learning the lessons that it could impart to them. That’s how they ended up ignoring justice, mercy and faith, as well as leading others to ignore those “weightier matters” as well.
But there’s a side-point that Jesus made here, which is easy to overlook. It is contained in the remaining words of those verses, where He said, “without leaving the other undone.” What was He referring to here? He was referring to them tithing on the herbs from their gardens! As surprising as it might seem, Jesus was complimenting them on their faithfulness in the tithe.
If Jesus complimented the Pharisees, a group that he had much quarrel with, about their tithing, what does that mean for us? It means that He has endorsed tithing as a New Testament teaching. We too are to tithe, and to do so with the same level of zeal that the Pharisees applied to it. Anything less would be to admit that the Pharisees were more faithful believers than we are today; and none of us want to do that.
Four Types of Giving
There are four different types of giving mentioned in the Bible, building a hierarchy of giving. Each of these has its own purpose and brings its own blessing. Trying to say that one is another can be considered to be misleading, but in most cases, it is nothing more than a demonstration of lack of knowledge.
As believers, we should give all four types of gifts, expecting God to bless them. That is not to say that we give so that we will be blessed; but rather, that we understand that when we give with a good heart, God responds with a good heart. He desires to bless His people, delighting in the prosperity of His servants (Psalm 35:27).
We tend to have the opinion that all the Jews did was to tithe. That’s false. The Jewish people were and are very generous givers. They believe in giving, because God has told them to; expecting that He will bless them for their obedience. Some ministers have totaled up what the average Jew was to give, based on what is stated in the Old Testament Law, coming up with something around 25 percent. But that was just the required giving. Generous Jews in the time of Jesus gave as much as 60 percent of their income.
The Tithe
The word “tithe” literally means “the tenth” in Hebrew, a term that some English translations of the Bible use in place of “tithe.” It is the foundation of all giving, as commanded by the Bible. The most famous verse quoted at offering time in the church refers to the tithe, as well as giving offerings.
Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, “In what way have we robbed You?” In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. – Malachi 3:8-10
There are several things which this verse makes clear. First, it tells us that not paying the tithe is stealing from God. That’s not actually surprising, as the Law declared that the tithe belonged to the Lord (Leviticus 27:30). Secondly, it tells us to bring the tithe into the storehouse. “What’s that?” you might ask. it is normally accepted as being the local church; specifically the church that you are being fed at. But there is no actual verse that says the church is the storehouse. The closest we can come is in Matthew 6:19-20, where Jesus talked about laying up treasures for ourselves in heaven, rather than on earth. Giving to the church is easily seen as laying up treasure in heaven.
There’s something else though. God gave the tithe, which He refers to as “His” to the Levites (Numbers 18:21), as their support, since they didn’t have an inheritance of land in Israel, so therefore couldn’t raise their own food. They were dependent on the giving of the people to provide food for their families. Hence, the reference to “food in my house” we find in Malachi 3:10. The Levites are then to take a tithe of the tithe and give it to the priests, for their inheritance (Leviticus 18:28).
If we look at the census that Moses took of Israel in the wilderness (Numbers, chapter 1 & 26), we find that the Levites accounted for about seven percent of the population. Therefore, if everyone were to tithe, the Levites would live slightly better than the average of the people. Since the family of Aaron only accounted for one family out of the tribe of Levi, they would live well indeed.
Offerings
Allow me to start by saying that there is nowhere in the Bible where God says that the tithe is supposed to pay the mortgage or rent on the church building, pay the power bill, or any of the other expenses associated with running a ministry. Those were taken from special offerings. When Moses was told by God to build the Tabernacle, God told him to take up an offering for the work (Exodus 25:1-9). This is probably the only offering in history, where a minister had to go to the people and tell them to stop giving, because they had already given enough (Exodus 36:6).
Offerings were given in both the Old and New Testament, whenever there was a special work to be done. They were also given to support the ongoing work of the ministry. In Old Testament times, the needs of the Tabernacle were paid for by each of the tribes of Israel, in turn, with each tribe providing everything needed for one month.
In the New Testament, we find the Apostle Paul thanking the church in Philippi for the offering they took up and sent to him, supporting his ministry (Philippians 4:15-16). This was probably not the only time that a church supported his ministry, nor is it likely that this is the only time he gave thanks for a church’s generosity; but it is the only time which has been passed down till today.
While offerings are often given for a particular purpose, they don’t have to be. Anything which is given to the church or another ministry, over and above giving the tithe to the church, can be considered to be an offering. Some people give what they call a “double tithe” or a “tithe and a half.” What they’re really doing is giving a tithe and then either another five or ten percent as an offering.
Please note that the passage we read earlier, in Malachi, which talks about tithing to God also talks about offerings. It is the offering that God can truly multiply, as that is something which is not required of us, as such, it is the “seed” that some ministers talk about and which God can multiply back to us in blessings. If you have need, it is always a good idea to give offerings, over and above your tithe.
First Fruits
If there is an part of God’s plan for our finances which might be able to be argued in New Testament times, it’s the First Fruits, which are briefly mentioned in Deuteronomy, chapter 26. This appears to be a purely agricultural offering, asking God’s blessing on the harvest. However, we have already established, in our talk about the tithe, that when the Bible talks about agricultural offerings, they can be converted to money, making it possible that any and all offerings can be.
God commanded the nation of Israel to give first fruits as an act of thanksgiving to Him. That alone gives us good reason to follow in their footsteps, the first of what we receive. How you do that might vary, but many churches practice a form of first fruits, where people give a special offering at the beginning of the year.
The way the Jews practiced first fruits was to identify the first of their harvest to bud, as they were tending the fields. They would tie a piece of red yarn around that stem, identifying it as the first fruits. Then, when harvest time came, they would be able to harvest the very first of the first, setting it aside to be used as their first fruit offering.
Alms
It may surprise you, considering the reputation that Jews have for being tight-fisted, where money is concerned, but the biggest part of giving, to the Jews, was and still is giving alms to the poor. Today, most Jewish Community Centers are heavily involved in community outreach, aiding those who have trouble making ends meet.
In Biblical times, God told the people of Israel to avoid harvesting all the way to the corners of their property. They were to leave some there for the poor and needy, so that they might harvest the “gleanings” and eat.
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, not shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. – Leviticus 19:9-10
This practice became commonplace in Israel and is a central part of the story of Ruth. In that story, Ruth, a Moabites, went to Israel with her mother-in-law, Naomi, when her husband died. They needed food, so Ruth went to the fields to glean. It just so happened that the field she chose to glean in belonged to Boaz, a relative of her dead husband. Boaz took notice of her, ordering his workers to leave extra for her. Ultimately, Boaz married Ruth, who became part of the lineage of Jesus.
Gleaning is just one of many ways of giving to the poor. God takes that giving seriously, promising to give back to those who have helped those in need. At the same time, God doesn’t take lightly those who could be working and don’t. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). But giving to those who are genuinely poor is looked on with favor by God.
He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done. – Proverbs 19:17 NIV
There is a clear distinction between those who are in genuine need, because they cannot work, and those who choose not to. In some places in the Bible, helping those in need seems to be limited to widows and orphans. Going further than that, Paul instructs Timothy to only put windows on the list for help, if they are elderly women, who are too old to remarry (1 Timothy 5:3). Those who are younger should remarry and raise a family (1 Timothy 5:14). Taking that a step even further, widows are first to be looked after by their own relatives, so that they do not become a burden to the church (1 Timothy 5:16).
Don’t get me wrong; nowhere in the entirety of scripture does it say that it is wrong to give to those in need. Rather we are told that it is good to do so. Jesus Himself talked more than once about helping those in need and James, the brother of Jesus, referred to helping orphans and widows as “pure religion” (James 1:27).
Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. – Matthew 5:42
We can actually say that the church started in a spirit of giving. The early church was known for its generosity, as those who lived in and around Jerusalem sold possessions to care for those who had come from afar. For many of these new believers, it was only the generosity of their brothers and sisters in the Lord that they were able to eat, as their livelihood laid back where they lived.
Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. – Acts 2:44-45
Giving to Those in Need
Looking at the various types of giving mentioned in the Bible, it is clear that giving alms to the poor is important to God. Yet there is nothing that indicates in any way that it is acceptable to give our tithes to the poor. Rather, we are to treat alms to the poor as something that we are to give over and above our tithes, after we have first given our tithe.
This is God’s plan for us. While it may seem to some that God is not giving the right priority to giving to the poor and needy, in reality there is good reason for what He has declared. If we are going to help those poor, then first His ministry needs to continue here on earth. If it doesn’t, then any help they get will only come from the government. While the government does a lot of that, that’s actually not the government’s job.
Let’s Talk About the Poor
We typically talk about the poor as if they are a modern phenomenon. In reality, poverty is the normal state of mankind. All throughout history, the vast majority of people were poor by any standards. Even those who could be considered middle class would be a much lower middle class than what we have today.
Part of this is because the world has become richer, overall. We have developed many new things, which give us a better life, whether that be central heating and air conditioning or automobiles. Many of our poor today, especially here in the United States, have color televisions, cars, good food and healthcare. They are poor only in comparison to other Americans. But if we compare those people to the truly poor of the world, living in other countries, those poor people would think of the American poor as being wealthy.
I’m not trying to diminish the plight of the poor any; merely to put it in a historic perspective. Jesus said that we would always have poor amongst us (Matthew 26:11; Mark 14:7; John 12:8). We will apparently never fully cure the problem of poverty. But what we can do is use some wisdom in how we deal with the poor and how we help them.
Our social safety net is a mess. Sadly, it encourages people to stay in the system, once they get into the system. That has led to some people spending their entire lives on Welfare. In some cases, passing that lifestyle down to the next generation. This is not ideal, as it encourages a number of negative social traits, like divorce, having children out of wedlock, and single-parent homes.
Ideally, our goal should be to help those who are in poverty get out of poverty. That includes providing for them, while they are working to improve their lives. But it also includes giving them some practical skills and alternatives, so that they can work their way into well-paying jobs, which will provide for them and their children. It is only through this, that we have any chance of even coming close to defeating poverty; not to just giving the poor more and more.
Yet as it stands, once one is receiving government aid, they lose more by working, than they do by staying home and continuing to receive that aid. That’s a counter-productive system. I don’t know the answer; but I do know that Christ is part of it. He would have us all be productive members of society, just as He would have us all reach out to help those in need.