by
Keith Hunt
Is there anything in the first chapters of Genesis to state
or indicate that tithing was something practiced from the
beginning. At first glance the answer to that question may seem
to be - no! The word "tithe" or "tenth" cannot be found in those
first chapters. There is no scripture that says, "And the Lord
commanded all men to tithe to Him." Then again there is no
scripture in those early chapters that says, "thou shalt not
murder" but it is obvious that God was not pleased with Cain for
killing Abel. Cain even expected that he would die over the
matter(Gen.4:6-15).
Not everything is just neatly and plainly laid out for us in
all details in those first chapters of Genesis. The rest of the
Bible must be used to throw some light on our questions. Paul was
inspired to say that DEATH did REIGN from Adam to Moses, and
until the law was given in a specific way to Israel, SIN was in
the world - Romans 5:12- 14. He said that he had not known sin
but by the law - chapter 7:7. And John tells us that sin is the
transgression of the law - 1 John 3:4. The law has points, Paul
mentions one of them and James a few more - Rom.7:7; James
2:10-11.
Putting it all together we can then know that the basic 10
commandment law was in effect from the beginning.
But what about tithing ? Could it have been from the
beginning also? Before you dismiss the answer with a no, or "do
not know" there is a section of scripture we need to meditate
on. In the KJV we shall probably miss it completely.
Before I proceed with this verse, and I will be quoting to
explain it from a book called THE TITHE IN SCRIPTURE by Henry
Lansdell, D.D. I want to tell you a little about Lansdell and
his research into this subject. Apparently his first and original
work was an in-depth two volume publication called THE SACRED
TENTH. From what I can gather those two volumes contain a great
deal of historic facts from ancient nations around the world
about their practice of not just giving offerings to their gods
but a TENTH of their substance. This was true of various nations
from various parts of the earth. The book THE TITHE IN SCRIPTURE
are chapters taken from the two volume set. I wish the original
two volumes called THE SACRED TENTH were still in print and
available, but to my knowledge they are not.
The book THE TITHE IN SCRIPTURE can be obtained from GIVING
AND SHARING(P.O.Box 100, Neck City, MO 64849) and is FREE!
QUOTE from the above book, pages 8-10.
" Concerning Cain and Abel, our present Hebrew text (as
literally as I can translate it) thus: ' He did not look
favourably. And it vexed Cain exceedingly, and his countenance
fell. And Jehovah said to Cain, Wherefore did it vex thee, and
wherefore did thy countenance fall? If thou wilt do well, shall
not thy face be lifted up? but if thou wilt not do well, sin is
couching at the door.'
But passing now to the Septuagint, or Greek, translation of
Genesis, this sixth verse runs as follows: ' And the Lord God
said to Cain, Wherefore didst thou become vexed, and wherefore
did thy countenance fall? If thou didst rightly offer, but didst
NOT RIGHTLY DIVIDE, didst thou not sin? Hold thy peace.'
This Greek version, be it remembered, was made about three
hundred years before the Christian era, from a Hebrew copy that
must have been more than a thousand years older than the oldest
Hebrew manuscript we possess now. This translation, moreover,
was perfectly familiar to the writers of the New Testament. And
if we may reverently picture the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews glancing over his Greek Bible before penning his chapter
of Old Testament worthies, we should remember that he had
before him these very words concerning Cain's NOT DIVIDING
RIGHTLY, when he wrote, ' By faith Abel offered unto God a more
ABUNDANT sacrifice then Cain.'
( The word for "more excellent" in the Greek of Hebrews 11:4
is "pleion" and means "more, greater," the comparative degree of
"polus," - "much." See Vines Dictionary, new edition, page 215.
Keith Hunt).
" Various suggestions, of course, are offered to show in
what consisted the sin of Cain; but, be that as it may, Abel is
said to have offered 'by faith.' Now FAITH has reference to
OBEDIENCE, which implies that a previous COMMAND had been made
known. Where no law has been given there can be no
transgression; and unless directions had been communicated to
these two worshippers as to the AMOUNT or PROPORTION of their
property to bring, and if either was at liberty to offer as much
or as little as he pleased, then it is not easy to see why Cain
should by implication be blamed for bringing less; the occasion
being, I take it, a farmer and a grazier each bringing the
firstfruits of his increase, not so much as a propitiatory
sacrifice (for we are not told they had sinned), but rather as a
present or thankoffering to God in token of His lordship over
them - just as we may read was DONE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES IN
EGYPT, AND WHICH ILLUSTRATES AN ALMOST UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED
BELIEF IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, WHETHER PAGAN OR OTHERWISE, NAMELY
THAT IT WAS NOT LAWFUL TO EAT OF THE NEW FRUIT UNTIL GOD'S
PORTION HAD BEEN DIVIDED OFF FROM THE REST......."
End of quote, all emphasis mine throughout.
Now I will give you some quotes from following pages of
chapter one and two of Lansdell's book, to do more with the facts
he uncovered as he did his research in history for his original
two volume work called THE SACRED TENTH.
Quotes:
" ......fully establishing, in connection with ABUNDANT
INFORMATION FROM PAGAN LITERATURE, that in ALL AGES IN THE
ANCIENT WORLD, man have thought it their duty to offer a portion
of their substance to the divine Being.......If it was originally
left to every man to give for religious purposes merely according
to his own inclinations - that is, as much or as little as he
pleased - then HOW should SO MANY PEOPLES HAVE HIT UPON A TENTH
FOR GOD'S PORTION, rather than a fifth, or a fifteenth, or any
other? Does not the UNIVERSALITY OF THIS PORTION point to a time
when the ANCESTORS OF THOSE NATIONS LIVED TOGETHER, and so
DERIVED THE CUSTOM FROM A COMMON SOURCE?
No profane author, and no account or tradition known to us
in any country, professes to give than origin, nor does the Bible
do so in express terms. Can we, then, frame any hypothesis that
would account for the facts before us?
Most men, presumably, will allow that SACRIFICE was NOT of
human invention, but a DIVINE INSTITUTION appointed by God. And
if God appointed also that some things were acceptable to Him as
'clean' and others not so, is it REASONABLE to suppose that He
would have omitted directions about the QUANTITY, or PROPORTION
in which such things should be offered?
If, then, we may venture the hypothesis that God from the
BEGINNING taught Adam that it was the duty of man to render a
portion of his increase to his Maker, and that that portion was
to be NOT LESS THAN A TENTH, then we shall see that the facts
recorded in Genesis not only do not contradict such a
supposition, but corroborate and strengthen it.
The Septuagint version, then, would show an instance of
covetousness in the person of Cain........In accord with this
theory, also, Abel's fullest sacrifice was accepted; and so
sacrifice and tithe-paying may be presumed to have continued all
along the centuries to the days of Noah. THEN, when his
descendants built cities in Babylonia and afterwards became
SCATTERED, they would naturally TAKE WITH THEM, among other
primeval customs and traditions, the OFFERING OF SACRIFICE and
TITHE-PAYING. And thus would be accounted for, only a few
centuries later, the existence of these customs as RECORDED IN
THE CUNEIFORM LITERATURE ON THE TABLETS WE POSSES, AS WELL AS THE
INFORMATION GIVEN US ABOUT TITHE-PAYING IN THE LITERATURE OF
EGYPT, GREECE, AND ROME.
It is not pretended that this hypothesis MUST be true, or
that no other can be advanced; but meanwhile I am among those who
think that it meets the facts of the case, but who hold
themselves ready to examine another theory if
forthcoming........."
End quotes.
I also am of the same position as Lansdell in what he says
in the last sentence I quoted above. We know that pagan
scattered nations from all parts of the earth have just about
unanimously offered physical sacrifice in their religion to their
gods. Such a custom surely must come from an original teaching.
And certainly what the Bible tells us about sacrifice and the
peoples of the earth being as one until God scattered them
abroad, leads to a clear answer as to why worldwide sacrificing
is a common practice among most pagan nations.
Henry Lansdell had as I've mentioned, studied the historical
data of the writings of ancient nations around the world, and he
discovered not only a common thread of sacrificing among them,
but also the same practice and teaching that a TENTH was to
be set aside as the portion to be offered to the gods.
Surely this must lead back to a central beginning teaching,
namely, the teaching of the Eternal God to Adam in the garden of
Eden.
To be continued
Written May 1997
Tithing? #2Is the law of tithing for us today?
ABRAHAM and Tithing
by
Keith Hunt
The basic truths of the WAY TO SALVATION by grace through
faith have always been there in the Word from the beginning. In
the process of time when that grace and faith was made manifest
to Israel and the world through God who came as flesh and blood
in the form of Jesus Christ, Paul was used to proclaim that truth
more than any other single man in recorded detail for the New
Testament scriptures.
The Jews had been raised for centuries on the physical rites
of the Old Covenant. Rites such as the Tabernacle/Temple,
Priesthood, Sacrifices, and physical Circumcision. From childhood
the Jews was exposed to all these rites, and many others. It was
their CULTURE, their way of life. For them it was like breathing
the air, like walking, like talking, it was second nature. It was
the way to live because it was, at least in the basics above
mentioned, FROM God, instituted by the Eternal through Moses.
It was not surprising then that when apostles like Paul came
along and started to preach Jesus as the Messiah, and that
salvation was not through ANY works but by GRACE through FAITH in
Christ Jesus, there would arise a certain OPPOSITION from
certain religious Jews. When Paul preached that "circumcision
was nothing, and uncircumcision was nothing" there would bound to
be opposition from some Jews.
Paul had to DEFEND the truth of his teaching with the truth
FROM the WORD of the Lord. He had to painstakingly proves from
the Scriptures of old that GRACE and FAITH to be saved came
BEFORE the Old Covenant with its Tabernacle, priesthood and
sacrifices. He had to prove also that grace and faith to
salvation came BEFORE circumcision. This he did in large portions
of the letter to the ROMANS and his letter to the GALATIANS.
And one of the most important EXAMPLES he could possibly
give to the Jews especially, as that of THEIR FATHER ABRAHAM!!
To the Jews Moses was very important, but so also was
Abraham. He was just as important a figure. Why was it not the
Bible itself that said their fathers were Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.
The importance of Abraham can be seen from the controversy
Jesus had with the Jews in John chapter 8 and verses 31-59.
Paul proved in his writing that Abraham was JUSTIFIED by God
through FAITH, and that BEFORE he was introduced to the rite of
circumcision by God for him and his seed. Abraham Paul showed,
found the true way to salvation BEFORE circumcision, BEFORE the
Old Covenant with Israel, BEFORE the tabernacle, priesthood and
sacrificial system was given to Israel through Moses. Paul argued
that what came AFTER could not annual what came BEFORE.
Abraham is held up by Paul and the entire New Covenant as
the FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL, that "if you are Christ's then are
you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise"
(Gal.3:29).
Jesus told the Jews that if they were really the children of
Abraham then they
ould do the WORKS of Abraham (John 8:39).
Let's see what one of those works of Abraham was.
DID ABRAHAM TITHE?
Paul, writing about the old and new Priesthoods, introduces
us to Abraham within this subject, and also brings in the topic
of tithing. I refer you to Hebrews the seventh chapter. We pick
it up in verses one: "For this Melchisedec, king of Salem,
priest of the most High God, who met Abraham.......To whom
Abraham gave a TENTH PART of ALL........Now consider how great
this man was, unto whom even Abraham gave a TENTH of the
spoils.........But He.......received TITHES of Abraham.......And
as I may so say, Levi also, who received tithes, PAYED TITHES in
Abraham. For he (Levi) was yet in his loins of his father, when
Melchisedec met him" (Hebrews 7:1-10).
VERY CLEAR AND PLAIN - Abraham did TITHE!!
Oh I guess he did for it is written of this man who is known
as the father of the faithful: " And I will make your seed
multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto your seed all
these countries; and in your seed shall all the nations of the
earth be blessed; Because that Abraham OBEYED My voice, and KEPT
My charge, My COMMANDMENTS, My STATUES, and My LAWS"
(Gen.26:4,5).
The original account of Abraham meeting the great priest
Melchizedek(as spelled in the OT KJV) can be found in Genesis 14.
It is time to again quote from the book THE TITHE IN
SCRIPTURE by Henry Lansdell, D.D. I will be quoting from his
second chapter. Please note some of the HISTORICAL reference
about tithing in nations outside of Abraham and before the time
of Abraham.
Quote:
" We now pass to the example of Abram, of whom we read that
a proportion of his spoils that he devoted, was a tenth.......he
was met near Jerusalem by a kingly priest, Melchizedek.....and to
whom Abram offered a tenth of all.
Here then, we have an instance of tithe-paying.......and
this has ordinarily been regarded as the earliest recorded
instance of the payment of tithe.
Bur RECENT DISCOVERIES(this book was written at the
beginning of the 20th century - KH), transmitted to us by the
students of CUNEIFORM LITERATURE, have thrown a FLOOD OF NEW
LIGHT upon the land of Canaan BEFORE it was peopled by
the Israelites. Professor Sayce, tracing the migration of Abram
from Ur of the Chaldees, says in his Patriarchal Palestine, 1 p
66 '.......Even in canaan, Abram was not beyond the reach of
Babylonian influences......Babylonian armies had already
penetrated to the shores of the Mediterranean, Palestine had been
included within the bounds of a Babylonian empire, and Babylonian
culture and religion had spread widely among the Canaanitish
tribes. The cuneiform system of writing had made its way to
Syria, and Babylonian literature had followed in its wake.
Centuries had already passed since Sargon of Akkad had made
himself master of the Mediterranean coast, and his son
Naram-Sinhad led his forces to the peninsula of Sinai.'
Now if Babylonian CULTURE and RELIGION had thus spread to
the Canaanites, it suggests a reason why the colony of
Phoenicians from Tyre, who founded Carthage (say about 900 B.C.)
were tithe-payers (see Sacred Tenth, p.15).Melchizedek...priestly
character to expect tithes from Abram as it was for Abram to pay
them. Hence the professor(Sayce) alluding to this incident,
says: ' This offering of tithes was no new thing. In his
Babylonian home Abram MUST HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THE PRACTICE.
The CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS OF BABYLONIA contain FREQUENT
REFERENCES to it. It went back to the smi- Semitic age of
Chaldaea, and the great temples of Babylonia were largely
supported by the esra OR TITHE which was levied upon prince
and peasant alike. That the god should receive a TENTH of the
good things which, it was believed, he had bestowed upon mankind
was not considered to be asking too much. There are MANY TABLETS
in the BRITISH MUSEUM which are receipts for payment of
the tithe to the great temple of the sun-god at Sippara, in the
time of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors. From one of them we
learn that Belshazzar, even at the very moment when the
Babylonian empire was falling from his father's hands,
nevertheless found an opportunity for paying the tithe due from
his sister.'
A question may here be asked as to the extent of Abram's
tithes: were they a tenth of all his spoils only, and so given
voluntarily and specially on this particular occasion, or
were they a tenth of all his income and something paid as a due?
Neither the Hebrew of Genesis nor the Greek of the Epistle
to the Hebrews LIMITS the word 'all' to the spoils.........Hence
we conclude that the tenth paid by Abram was not merely an
offering, which the patriarch was at liberty to render or to
withhold as he pleased, but a payment of obligation.
This, too, appears the more likely because Abram by right of
conquest might have claimed all that he had captured from
Chedorlaomer. the king of Sodom, recognizing this, invites him
to take the goods to himself. But Abram declines to take
anything for himself, though, as a conqueror, he seems to have
recognized that he had no jurisdiction over God's tenth; and
whilst surrendering his own claim to nine-tenths of the spoils,
he acted as thought he could not surrender God's........
And since Abram often was dwelling within a day's journey of
Salem( this is, Jerusalem) we need not at all conclude that this
was either the first or the last occasion on which Abram paid a
tenth of his increase to Melchizedek. If the patriarch did so
annually, it would be only in keeping with the practice of his
Babylonian ancestors, and what we know was afterwards conceded by
the Carthaginians to be due to their Phoenician priesthood.
This inference or supposition is strengthened to something
like probability by consideration of the subsequent conduct of
Abram's grandson Jacob, who, being about to undertake a journey,
did what we know quite well was common among the Semites,
the Greeks, the Romans, and indeed, is still practiced: he vowed
a vow........Gen.28:20- 22.........Now it will be remembered that
Abram lived till the boyhood of Jacob; that Jacob was brought up
in the faith of his grandfather; and that at Bethel God confirmed
to Jacob and his posterity all the promises He made to Abraham.
What then, could be more natural than that Jacob should avow
himself ready to practice Abraham's religious observances?
He promises to take the God of Abraham for his own God, to
dedicate a certain place to His worship as did Abraham, and also
to follow his grandfather's practice in dedicating to God a tenth
of all he should receive........
Or, again, it may be urged that tithes are not even
mentioned until the days of Abram, and so were till then unknown,
it is easy to point to persons and things which we feel sure must
have existed long before they are mentioned in the order of
events recorded in Genesis......Amraphel of Shinar is the first
man called a king (Gen.14:1), and Abraham the first called a
prophet. But.....men had been on the earth for a great many
years; and are we to suppose that mankind had lived century after
century without priests, kings, and prophets?
Again, Noah is the first who is expressly called a
'righteous man' and Abram is the first who is said to have
'believed in God' ; yet we know that before these, Abel and
Enoch were both righteous, and also believed in God. Once more:
the human race had been on earth, according to the received
chronology, about a thousand years before we read of musical
instruments; and was a thousand years later still when Abram
weighed shekels of silver as payment. But he would be a bold man
who would affirm that before these dates respectively, mankind
possessed neither music nor money !
The mere omission, therefore of the definite mention of a
law concerning tithe- giving, in the less than a dozen chapters
given to us in Genesis concerning the early history of the world,
is no proof or presumption whatever that such a law did not
exist.
As another objection to our hypothesis, it has been
suggested that the pagan nations of antiquity may have learned
the practice of tithe-paying from the Jews. But can
this suggestion be supported by one tittle of evidence? Can a
single passage by adduced from any Greek or Roman classic to
confirm such an idea? ......it has been all but demonstrated that
tithes were paid in Babylonia BEFORE Abram was born, so that
for the origin of the practice we are sent further back,
seemingly, than 2000 B.C.........."
End Quote.
We did see in part one of this study that the historical
evidence of the nations of the world, show the great probability
that tithe-paying was taught by God to Adam from the beginning,
as was physical animal sacrificing, hence both came through Noah
and the flood to all peoples, who when scattered from the tower
of Babel, took these religious custom and others with them.
Coming back to Abraham and our present study. It is clear
that this great Godly man DID TITHE! It is clear from the
Scriptures he was the first of the THREE fathers of Israel. It
is clear he was a man a FAITH. And faith is coupled with
OBEDIENCE or WORKS. It is plainly stated by God Himself that
Abraham OBEYED the Lord's voice, KEPT His COMMANDMENTS, STATUTES
and LAWS. One of those being TITHING! It is clear from the New
Testament that Abraham is held as an EXAMPLE that ALL true
children of God are to imitate and to DO HID WORKS of
righteousness and faith. Yes, he is held as the father of the
faithful. And yes, it does TAKE FAITH to TITHE, especially
if you are not one of the "rich of this world." Then again,
Jesus said it would be very difficult for the rich to enter the
Kingdom of God.
Abraham DID TITHE! No question about it, for it is so
written. AND THIS WAS ALL BEFORE THE OLD COVENANT ! Whatever
you want to argue about the law of tithing in the OC, tithing was
BEFORE ALL THAT! Just as GRACE and FAITH, the way of salvation,
came BEFORE the OC and all its VARIOUS LAWS pertaining to that
Old Covenant, SO THE LAW OF TITHING WAS WITH ABRAHAM BEFORE
CIRCUMCISION AND THE OLD COVENANT GIVEN TO ISRAEL THROUGH MOSES!
ALL THE ARGUING ABOUT TITHING COULD STOP RIGHT HERE! NO
NEED TO PROCEED ANY FURTHER. TITHING WAS BEFORE MOSES! AS THERE
IS NO STATEMENT IN THE NT TO "ABOLISH" THE LAW OF TITHING, AS
ABRAHAM TITHED TO THE MELCHISEDEC PRIESTHOOD, AND AS THAT
MELCHISEDEC PRIESTHOOD NOW BELONGS TO CHRIST, AS IT CONTINUES
TODAY IN CHRIST(HEB.7), SO TITHING BY THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM
(CHRISTIANS) WHO WILL DO THE WORKS OF ABRAHAM, WILL CONTINUE TO
THE MELCHISEDEC CHRIST PRIESTHOOD.
HOW SIMPLE ARE THE WORKS AND THE WAYS OF THE LORD. TRULY
JESUS DID SAY: "I thank you Father that you have hid these things
from the wise and prudent and have revealed them unto babes."
Next time we shall look at the question: Was there THREE
tithes under the Old Covenant given to Israel?
..................
Written May 1997
Tithing? #3Is the law of tithing for us today? ISRAEL'S THREE TITHES?
by
Keith Hunt
In chapter three of THE TITHE IN SCRIPTURE, Henry Lansdell
goes into quite some detail expounding the arguments for and
against the practice of three tithes in ancient Israel.
At the end of his chapter he gives the HISTORICAL sources we
have left us today that support the three tithes of Israel. We
have the book of TOBIT (1. 6-8) found in what is known as the
Apocrypha, which can be seen in some Roman Catholic Bibles. There
is the witness of the Jewish Pharisee Historian,
Josephus(Josephus Antiquities, book 4), who lived in the first
century A.D. There is the testimony of Jerome, who lived in
Palestine. And there is the witness of Chrysostom. And around
the 10th/11th century A.D. there is the witness of the Rabbi Aben
Ezra.
So, from about the 3rd century B.C. to the 11th century A.D.
we have a number of prominent witnesses that three tithes were
paid in Israel.
Yet, the proof of this fact does not lie, nor should it lie,
in various "histories." Can we go to the word of the Lord and
prove there was MORE than ONE tithe given to the people of Israel
to observe?
In the investigation of the Scriptures we are about to
undertake, please remember, I am NOT STATING ANYTHING about
whether the members of the Church of God should TODAY be
observing THREE tithes. That is another matter entirely. The
only purpose for this study is to ascertain as to whether Old
Testament Israel practiced under their economy, and were
instructed by God , under that covenant, to give three tithes as
a duty of their religious worship towards Him.
Let us begin.
GOD'S TITHE IN ISRAEL
The first passage we need to read is Leviticus 27:30-33.
From this passage we learn:
1) That a tenth of the produce of the land, whether of seed
or fruit, was CLAIMED by God, and was to be regarded as holy (or
set apart) for HIM.
2) That if the offerer wished to retain this tenth of seed
or fruit, he might do so by PAYING its value, and adding thereto
one-fifth. So a tithe could be given as MONEY to God and not just
as physical agriculture produce.
3) That every tenth calf and lamb also (that is, increase of
the heard or flock) was to be set apart for God.
4) That this form of animal tithe MIGHT NOT BE redeemed, nor
the animal EXCHANGED: but if an owner, notwithstanding, presumed
to CHANGE a tithe animal, than BOTH the tithe animal and that for
which it was exchanged were to be FORFEITED, and set apart FOR
GOD.
What needs to be NOTED and MARKED is THIS TITHE, "all the
tithe" not just PART OF this tithe was THE LORD'S. This tithe,
ALL OF IT, belonged to God. It did not belong to the person
giving the tithe for him to do with it, or part of it, what he
desired, and to whom he desired to give it, whether to the widow,
the fatherless, the poor, the stranger etc. This tithe is most
CLEARLY said to BELONG TO GOD!
Now with THAT POINT understood, as God had said this tithe
WAS HIS, that it belonged to HIM, then of course the Lord Himself
could DECLARE in specific ways HOW THIS TITHE was to be USED.
THIS He did tell Israel, as we see in Numbers 18:21-24.
Please now read this section of scripture carefully.
Hence this first, or Lord's tithe, is known also as the
Levites' tithe, concerning which it may be convenient here to
notice:
1) From this tithing no produce of land, or increase of herd
or flock is expected.
2) That the offerer had no voice in the disposal.
3) That though it was called a heave offering, the offerer
did not receive any of it back again.
4) That this tithe was not an amount that might be
diminished, or an alms that the owner might render or not as he
pleased, but a divine claim, the withholding of which was
regarded by God as dishonesty(Mal.3:8).
It may further be noted concerning this tithe to God and now
given to the Levite, by God, that the Levites were required by
Him to render a tenth of what they received as a heave offering
to the Lord, and to pay it to Aaron the priest - see numbers
18:26-28.
Those are the basic passages concerning THE tithe, ALL the
tithe. That was to go to God, who in turn said it was to be paid
to the Levites, who also in turn were to give a tenth of that
tithe to Aaron the high priest.
FESTIVAL TITHE?
We now proceed to another passage of scripture that talks
about a tithe. It is found in Deuteronomy 14:22-27. Again, I
ask you to read it carefully.
Concerning this tithe we can learn:
1) That it consisted of the yearly increase of the land.
2) That it was to be EATEN by the OFFERER, his household,
and the Levite, with firstlings of herd, and flock, BUT ONLY at
the APPOINTED place of worship.
3) The object of this was that Israel might always fear the
Lord.
4) This tithe might be converted at home into MONEY, to be
expended at the capital for sacrifices and feasting.
5) It was after converted to money, still tithe. So tithe
could be either agricultural produce or money.
6) The tithe payer was to EAT, DRINK, and rejoice before God
with this tithe.
7) This tithe was to be SHARED among the HOUSEHOLD of the
tithe payer and with the Levite who had no land inheritance in
Israel.
The due payment of this tithe involved a stay of at least a
week each at Passover/Unleavened Bread and Feast of Tabernacles,
as well as a shorter period at the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.
These three Festival periods in the calendar of Israel became
known as the three PILGRIM festivals. This tithe could be used
for and at all three festival periods.
Here I will quote from THE TITHE IN SCRIPTURE, pages 27-29.
"It will help us better understand this.....festival tithe,
as it is sometimes called, if we consider the end it was to
serve. All the males in Israel (with their families, if they
chose) were to assemble at the sanctuary three times a year for
the worship of God (Deut.12:6-7).........The primary end,
therefore, of the festivals was to foster religious principles
and to furnish a time and place for social observances and the
OFFERING of SACRIFICES, all being done in recognition of God's
bounty, and as acts of fealty and worship to Him.........So if an
Israelite sinned, his appointed way to forgiveness was by
SACRIFICE; and if he had vows to redeem, or thanksgiving to make,
all involved the PRESENTATION OF SACRIFICE. But this and other
sacrifices were not to be offered in just ANY PLACE the
worshipper chose(Deut.12:17-18), but MUST BE TAKEN TO THE
ECCLESIASTICAL CAPITAL, such as was afterwards established at the
resting places of the Ark as in Shiloh, and in Jerusalem.
Speaking generally, the Jewish sacrifice partook more or
less of the nature of EXPIATION (for sin committed), of
dedication (when seeking a favor), or of thanksgiving
(for favor received); and according to the intention of the
offerer was the kind of sacrifice presented.........
Thus the Israelite would have the OPPORTUNITY OF EATING AND
REJOICING BEFORE GOD, AND FEASTING WITH HIS HOUSEHOLD; AND
THE....FESTIVAL TITHE, WAS INTENDED TO FURNISH THE MEANS FOR
DOING THIS......" (emphasis mine).
Ah, did you get the gem of truth present here by
Dr.Lansdell? There was a great DUAL purpose in the observing of
the three Festival periods in the calendar of Israel.
They were to be PILGRIM festivals to be observed ONLY where God
has placed His name, which finally became Jerusalem. Yes, they
were to be times of worshipping God and learning to fear the
Eternal, times of eating, drinking, and rejoicing before God with
the whole family, with the widows, the fatherless, the poor, the
stranger, and the Levite of the land. Yet, they had a VERY
IMPORTANT OTHER function also.
As SACRIFICING for the above mentioned reasons by Lansdell,
were also a VERY SACRED RITE to be performed in Israel by the
people, and as those sacrifices were also to be performed at the
place where God would place His name, the same location as to
where to observe the Festivals, so it was that the three pilgrim
feasts served another role in the yearly worship of the Lord.
The saving of a FESTIVAL TITHE would not only secure the means to
attend the feasts of God in Jerusalem, BUT also guarantee that
the people would come to Jerusalem and offer their SACRIFICES to
the Lord as prescribed by the laws of Moses under the Old
Covenant.
Are you meditating on what we have learned, and from what is
clearly written about these TWO tithes so far mentioned from the
scriptures of the books of Moses?
As Lansdell has written in his book, pages 29, 30, "......if
the FIRST and SECOND tithes be COMPARED, it will be seen, by way
of DISTINCTION, that whereas the offerer had NO VOICE WHATEVER in
the DISPOSAL of the first tithe, the DISPOSAL of the second tithe
was largely in HIS OWN HANDS; and that whereas the offerer DID
NOT receive again ANY portion for HIMSELF of the first tithe, he
might receive in some cases the GREATER PART of the second tithe
for his OWN USE, or purposes, as well as for the enjoyment of
OTHERS" (emphasis mine).
I think it should be VERY CLEAR to those who have no axe to
grind, or position to uphold, but are wanting to see what the
word really teaches. The tithe to God was to God, ALL of it, it
ALL belonged to the Lord. It was HIS and no part of it BELONGED
TO THE OFFERER! God in turn then said He would give it to the
Levite, all of it, which no part came back to the offerer in any
way, shape or form. The Levite was to also give a tenth of that
tithe to Aaron.
The tithe for the Festival observance was in the hands of
the tither. It was clearly FOR HIM, belonging to him, and for him
to EAT and DRINK. It was for his household, and for the Levite
who had no inheritance in Israel. It was to be used at the three
pilgrim Festival sites where God would place His name.
The clear instructions from the Lord as to the use and
purpose of these two tithes can only lead to the conclusion that
there were at LEAST TWO tithes in Israel of old. Any other
conclusion would be contradictory and illogical, not to say
confusing to the tither.
ANOTHER TITHE?
We must yet look at another passage that speaks about
tithing. It is found in Deuteronomy 14:28-29. Again, I ask the
reader to study it carefully.
This seems to teach that:
1) A tenth of every third year's increase was to be laid up
at home.
2) This tenth was to be shared by the local Levite, the
stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.
3) The object of this tithe was, that God might bless the
work of the tithe-payer's hands.
It should be obvious from what we have seen from our study
of the first tithe and the festival tithe, that this tithe is yet
again DIFFERENT! Nowhere is anything stated within the context
of the tithe to God or the festival tithe, about YEARS,
specifically every THIRD year. It is not the purpose in this
study to argue about whether this was every third year of a seven
year cycle(meaning the third and sixth years within every seven
years, or the third only of every seven years), as that point has
no bearing directly on the subject under our present discussion.
This tithe is connected with a year. We have seen that the
tithe to God was HIS TITHE, ALL OF IT. We have seen that the
Festival tithe was left in the hands of the tither, and it was
for his HOUSEHOLD and the Levite at the feast site.
Here we have a tithe that is not only within a specific
year, but it is to be LAID UP in the gates of the tither, to be
used within the home living of the tither, which the other
two tithes were not. It is specifically stated FOR WHOM this
tithe was to be for, to be given to. You will notice NOTHING is
said that it was for the one giving the tithe, NOR for HIS
immediate HOUSEHOLD, as was the festival tithe.
This third year tithe is specially for the following
persons: The Levite, the Stranger, the Fatherless, the Widow.
They were to come and EAT this tithe. It was similar in many
ways to the USA "food stamps" of today. It was for physical food
stuffs for the needy and for the poor of the land.
I will quote again from the book THE TITHE IN SCRIPTURE to
answer other arguments put forth, pages 30-32.
" Some think this was not a third tithe, but a triennial
substitute for the second tithe, so that in the third, and again
in the sixth, years (as well as the seventh year, when the
land was not to be cultivated), the Israelite would not take the
second, or festival, tithe to the sanctuary, but would dispose of
it among the poor at home........
On the other hand, as opposed to these conjectures, it may
be observed:
That the Hebrew text NOWHERE says explicitly that the third
tithe should be substituted for the second.
The injunction is several times repeated that every male
should go up to the festivals yearly; but neither the third,
sixth, seventh, or any other year is EXCEPTED (Some.....have
supposed that, as the land was not to be sown in the seventh
year, no tithe would be paid........But if so, how were the
Levites during that year to live, unless a double or treble tithe
was to be paid in the sixth year? And this the law had already
provided for. 'If ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh
year? behold we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase. Then I
will command My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall
bring forth fruit for three years' Lev.25:20-22).
Besides, not going up to the festivals on the third, sixth,
and seventh years would be attended with further and practical
difficulty: for if a man had sinned after returning say, from the
last feast of the fifth year, he would, under normal
circumstances, be deprived of the opportunity of offering a
sacrifice of expiation at the sanctuary until after an interval
of two years........"
Ah, yes, some sound reasoning and logic on the part of
Dr.Lansdell.
The Feasts of the Lord were to be observed in the place
where God had chosen EVERY YEAR, with no stipulation that just
because the land was at rest that festival observing also took a
rest. The Temple and its Priesthood with daily sacrificing, was
to continue in Israel EVERY DAY of the week, every week of the
year, without resting. The Levite was to be fed from the tithes
brought, as was the High priest from the tithe of those tithes,
every week of every year, without stopping.
And so it was indeed possible, for those God gave
instruction for the LAND to rest every seventh year and in the
Jubilee or 50th year, the animals of the herds and flocks did not
rest. They still produced, so an increase of tithing was still in
force for that production, and the Levite and high priest
obtained their food, for the service that they never ceased to
perform at any time, in any year.
Also, as this was God's nation, under His laws and divine
watchfulness. The tithing law NEVER REALLY ceased at any time,
for even when certain parts of the economy rested(as the land at
times, so no tithing from the land in that particular year) God
would BLESS the LAND in the sixth year, so there would be double
or triple the increase, and so double or triple the tithe, to
carry them over until the land was once again in production.
What a time in history to have lived in. A nation under God,
a nation that could truly, with sincerity have said "In God we
Trust." For that nation of Israel who would truly serve and obey
the Eternal God of heaven, for them they would have seen the
MIGHTY HAND OF THE LORD BLESSING THEM IN EVERY WAY IMAGINABLE,
and their land flowing over, especially in the sixth year, with
ABUNDANCE of agriculture and flocks that would have been the envy
of all other nations around about them.
Truly all this would have brought to pass the verses of
Deut.4:5-8
" Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as
the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do so in the land
whither you go to posses it. Keep therefore and do them; for this
is your wisdom and understanding in the SIGHT of the nations,
which shall hear of these statutes, and say, Surely this GREAT
NATION is a WISE and UNDERSTANDING people. For what nation is
there so great, who has God SO NIGH unto them......And what
nation is there so great, that has statutes and judgments so
RIGHTEOUS as all this law, which I set before you this day."
From the Scriptures of the Word of the Lord that we have
studied, and from the recorded histories we have preserved, it
should be plain to see that ancient Israel under the Old
Covenant, did have and did practice the observance of THREE
separate TITHES!
This is how it was so ordained in ancient Israel for their
time and their economy. Does this mean THREE tithes are to be
employed and observed for the Christian TODAY under the New
Covenant and our economy.
I have written numerous times over the last 18 years that
the THIRD, or POOR TITHE, was Israel's welfare program. This
tithe today is BEING employed by most nations of the world in the
form of regular TAXATION. All tax paying peoples are supporting
and paying a third tithe(many estimate a lot more) through their
taxes to their government.
This third tithe should NOT BE paid to any church
organization, nor should any church require their members to pay
a third tithe to them.
Yet, in saying this, I must point out that the NT does
clearly teach that we as Christians do have a responsibility to
serve and help in physical ways, our brothers and sisters in the
church, and even in the community, if we are in the physical
position, to so serve and help. This is going the extra mile,
going above and beyond the call of duty, which Jesus plainly
taught we must do, if we are to be His followers.
AS for the second tithe. This is another area that most
today in the festival observing churches of God, do not fully
understand. I will cover that topic at another time in another
article.
Our study of the first tithe is still in progress. I must
look at the NT on this subject, and in so doing I will explain to
you WHY there is no direct command from the apostles or the
writers of the NT, about tithing to them or the church of God,
outside the seventh chapter of Hebrews.
But that is for next time.
...........................
Written May 1997
Tithing? #4Is the law of tithing for us today? WHAT DOES THE
NEW TESTAMENT SAY?
by
Keith Hunt
Using Strong's Concordance of the Bible it is relatively
simple to look up how many times the word "tithe" appears in the
New Testament(NT). The word "tithe" appears TWICE, and the word
"tithes" appears SIX times.
In NONE of the passages is there any hint that the law of
tithing is abolished under the NT covenant.
Our present study will only be concerned with the tithe
that, under the Old Covenant was designated as the "Lord's tithe"
- that which He claimed as His and then gave to the Levitical
priesthood.
A reader of the NT will soon see that there is NO verse that
says "tithing to the Lord is now abolished" or "under the New
Covenant tithing is not required" or "the worshipping of God in
Spirit and in Truth abrogates us from tithing to the Lord."
With no such plain clear statements as that in the NT we are
still left with the question: What does the NT say regarding
tithing, if anything?
There are certain basic elements within the NT that do shed
some light on this question. Let's begin to find them.
JESUS' TEACHING CONTAINING A TITHING LAW
Jesus did say many things in either direct language or in
parable form, regarding the topic of a persons wealth. He told
the young rich man that if he wanted to be fully perfect he
needed to give away his riches to the poor and come and follow
the one telling him to do this - Jesus(Mat.19). He did not stop
the woman giving to the Temple all that she had, though it was a
very small amount in a literal sense. He even said she had given
more than what the rich were giving (Luke 21:1-4). He gave a
parable to teach that covetousness and storing wealth when not
being rich towards God was foolishness (Luke 12:13-21). He taught
that part of ascertaining if someone had the right heart that God
could look at, would be found by observing where their physical
treasures would be put to use (Luke 12:33-34). Yet with all this
the word "tithe" is not used anywhere. Did Jesus say anything
that could TAKE IN within its context, the tithe on increase to
the Eternal God?
I believe He did in TWO sections of scripture. They are:
1) Matthew 4:4. In speaking to Satan, Jesus said: ".....It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD
THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD."
Now, I submit to you those words of Christ - taken from the
Old Testament - are pretty plain to understand. They say what
they mean and mean what they say. Man is to read ALL of the word
of the Lord, from Genesis to Revelation, and learn from the
WHOLE Bible HOW he/she is to live in this physical life.
Now there are some basic guidelines a person should know in
determining HOW to LIVE BY EVERY WORD OF GOD. I have written a
full, in-depth article covering those guidelines. It is not the
purpose of this study to restate or examine them. The reader can
request my article called "LIVING BY EVERY WORD OF GOD - HOW ?"
and it will be sent free of charge.
Reading through the Bible to learn how to live by every
word, we shall discover, as we did in a previous study on this
topic, that tithing was performed by two of God's greatest
servants - Abraham, and Jacob. These two men tithed to God, and
this was WAY BEFORE the Eternal gave the Old Covenant to a people
known as Israel. So one thing for sure, tithing did not BEGIN
with the OC given to the Israelites at the time of Moses.
As we continue reading through the OT, even into the
prophetic books(that foretell any number of things), we find not
one word that teaches tithing to God from your increase would
come to an end at SOMETIME or ANY TIME!
As we proceed on into the NT and we search in vain for any
verse that clearly tells us that tithing is now abolished, we can
then only come to one conclusion(that is if we are being honest,
and hungering for truth and righteousness) - tithing from our
increase to the Father in heaven is STILL TODAY, a part of
living by every word from our Father in heaven.
It is really just that simple when all is said and done.
Tithing was done BEFORE the OC came into being with the nation of
Israel. Tithing to the Lord of your increase was done under the
OC. The New Covenant and the NT gives no instruction that
tithing to God is not to be practiced by Christians. So the
simple logic would be that to live by every word of God, one
would still tithe on their increase to God.
2) Matthew 5:19,20. " Whosoever therefore shall BREAK one
of these LEAST commandments, and shall TEACH MEN SO, he shall be
called least in the Kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall DO and
TEACH them, shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven. For I
say unto you, That except your righteousness shall EXCEED the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case
enter into the Kingdom of heaven."
This tells you what Jesus thought about even the
commandments of the Lord that some humans would consider were the
LEAST. It tells you about not only this attitude Christ had
towards them, but it also tell you His attitude towards those who
would BREAK them, and TEACH others to also do the same. Yes,
this verse must be put within the context of Matthew 4:4 and the
guidelines of knowing HOW to live by every word of God. Some laws
the NT does change, such as no more "swearing" - no more "vowing"
(Mat.5:33-37), and some are today "nothing" such as physical
circumcision (1 Cor.7:18,19). But the OVERALL principle is what
Jesus wanted to convey to His true follower. Where God's word
should be obeyed, then obey it and teach others to obey it also.
In verse 20, Jesus states something that in many ways would
have been quite DRAMATIC for many of His listeners. A Christian
must in life, word, conduct, and thoughts, be doing a better job
than what the scribes and Pharisees were doing in their religion
towards God. We find in other parts of the Gospels that the
Pharisees were STRICT - TO THE SMALLEST AMOUNT - TITHE PAYERS TO
GOD!
I submit to you that in the words Jesus here states, He was
far from teaching that tithing to God was then or in the future,
ABOLISHED and no longer a law and commandment to be observed by
God's children. As the NT nowhere "does away" with the OT
commandment of tithing on your increase to God, I submit to you
that here within these words of Christ, is contained the
continual commandment that the people of God should tithe as part
of their righteousness which as a whole must be greater than that
of the scribes and Pharisees, if they are to enter the Kingdom of
heaven.
To many this sounds like a salvation by works, and a
contradiction to what Paul stated in Eph.2:8 that we are saved by
grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Many get very confused over
such passages of scripture spoken by Christ. What far too many
do not realize - because they are not taught correctly, from all
the verses on the subject of being saved - is that God does lay
down some CONDITIONS to being shown His grace through faith. For
the in-depth study on Salvation, the reader can request my
article called "SAVED BY GRACE" which puts all the scriptures
together making the truth very plain, and showing there is no
contradiction anywhere in God's word on being saved by grace, yet
having to have a righteousness greater than that of the scribes
and Pharisees, in order to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
3) Matthew 23:23. " Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for you pay TITHE of mint and anise and cummin, and
have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy,
and faith. These ought you to have done, AND NOT to have left the
OTHER UNDONE."
Very clearly Jesus taught that tithing should be done!
"Oh," someone will immediately say,"but Jesus was talking to
the scribes and Pharisees, NOT to His disciples or Christians of
today."
Yet, in the light of Matthew 4:4 and 5:19-20, can we really
use that argument effectively? I think not! But if we are
looking for a way out of not having to tithe to God, then of
course nothing that Jesus said will bear any weight in support of
tithing, for those who are looking for an escape from a law of
the Lord.
Then on the other hand the argument is also put forth that
Jesus was speaking to people who were under the Old Covenant, and
Christ was preaching Old Covenant theology.
Did Jesus preach OC theology? Did He preach things from an
OC perspective that when the NC came into effect at His death,
and the giving of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, all He
preached was "nailed to the cross" and "done away with"? If that
be the case then His teaching and preaching was only for three
and one half years, and the four Gospels really belong to the Old
Testament books of the Bible, and the NT books begin with the
book of Acts.
A little silly when you put it in that light I maintain.
Let's let Jesus tell us what covenant He taught and preached, if
it was the Old or the New.
".....You are they which justify yourselves before men; but
God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among
men is an abomination in the sight of God. The LAW and the
PROPHETS (the OT) were UNTIL JOHN (the baptist) SINCE THAT TIME
the KINGDOM OF GOD is PREACHED......." (Luke 16:15,16).
Jesus then went on to give two examples of the teaching of
the Kingdom covenant of the NT, and the restoring of one law back
to near as to when it was in the beginning. We have seen in our
previous studies that the law of tithing, because of the nations
of the earth practicing it towards their gods, way before
Abraham, it was also very probably a law of God from the
beginning.
When Jesus instructed the scribes and the Pharisees in
Matthew 23:23 about judgment, mercy, faith, and tithing, He was
instructing them concerning the things of the Kingdom, concerning
the things of the New Covenant Kingdom age, and what should be
practiced and followed now that that age of the Kingdom covenant
had arrived.
Tithing to God was STILL very much a part of that Kingdom
covenant!
Did Jesus receive tithes from people? Well we do know He
and His disciples had a money bag, that Judas was treasurer. We
know they were given money, received money from somewhere and
some persons. Was it tithe money? We are not told, but there is
no reason to suppose it was not at times tithe money or tithe
goods, in full or in part. If some would say this would have
been in violation of Old Covenant tithing laws, we must once more
remember that Jesus was preaching the New Covenant and that He
Himself said He was GREATER than the the Temple. As the God of
the OT who instituted the very Temple service, it certainly would
not have been wrong to have tithed directly to the God of that
Temple.
THE TEACHING OF PAUL
All Christians who have read the writings of the apostle
Paul will readily admit he did teach that the poor should be
cared for by the Church (Gal.2:9,10). That he taught Christians
should GIVE of their substance to the Lord, to the church of God
(2 Cor.9:6-9). That he taught that the workers in the Gospel
could live off the Gospel, live off those who were being served
by their work in the teaching and preaching of the Gospel (1
Cor.9:14. Please read the whole chapter in a modern translation
such as the Amplified Bible).
There will be little argument from anyone about what I have
stated above, for the NT scriptures are so very clear and plain,
the writings of Paul on the matter cannot be misunderstood. So
nobody has any way out from believing that the NT does teach a
physical giving by the members of the church of God to the poor
and needy, and to the support of the work of God and those who
may be employed full or part time in doing that work towards
others. I know few who have any argument with that theology
stance. But they say that is fine, because Paul taught GIVING,
he did not say anything outside of the book of Hebrews (which we
shall look at later) about a New Covenant law of tithing, and
that the members of the NT church of God should tithe.
Well, it may be true that we cannot find in the writings of
Paul, and I give emphasis to the WRITINGS of Paul, any specific
statement such as "we know we are all to tithe to the church of
God" BUT does that by itself mean Paul DID NOT teach that tithing
to God was not necessary? Some would immediately answer with,
YES! Those that do so, will be making a grave error my friends.
They will be overlooking a few very revealing parts of NT
scripture, one part in particular.
Please turn to Acts chapter 25. As you do so, I want you to
remember that Paul had by this time spent MANY YEARS here and
there, near and far, among the Jews and Gentiles, in and out of
the synagogues, teaching and debating, preaching and proclaiming
the word of the Lord, the truths of the New Covenant and all
things that pertained to the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ as
the Messiah and Savior.
By this time he had managed to build up quite a sizable
movement among the leaders of the religious Jews, that wanted to
nail Paul's hide to the wall. That wanted to DISCREDIT him,
especially within the religious world of the Jews. They would
have done anything to have been able to show he taught against
Moses and the word of the Lord as contained in the Scriptures
(which we today call the Old Testament).
These religious leaders of the Jews finally get Paul before
Festus and believed they would now show to everyone what a law
breaker he was. Do you see what is written in verse seven of Acts
25? The religious Jews from Jerusalem, ".....laid MANY and
GRIEVOUS COMPLAINTS against Paul......." they had had many years
to listen to the teaching, and the preaching, and the debating,
of Paul about the word of the Lord in all forms of living and
practice. They would, you can be sure of it, have had their
secret spies, their under cover agents, out watching and
listening and recording the things Paul was teaching and
preaching to all who would listen. They had been given much time
to collect their evidence that Paul was a law of Moses, a law of
God BREAKER and a teacher of others to so break those laws,
including the law of TITHING TO GOD, which for the Jew was part
and parcel of life as much as all that was connected to the
Priesthood and the Temple service.
Yet, with all the time and effort they had, notice what is
written when they brought forth these many and grievous
complaints. It is written, "....WHICH THEY COULD NOT PROVE."
And Paul, for himself answered: ".....Neither against the
LAW OF THE JEWS, neither against the TEMPLE, nor yet against
CAESAR, have I OFFENDED ANY THING AT ALL" (verse 8).
Festus asks Paul if he is willing to stand before him at
Jerusalem(verse 9). Paul says he will appeal to Caesar, and
notice part of his words in that appeal, verse 10.
"....to the Jews have I DONE NO WRONG....."
We find in chapter 26 and verse 26 that Paul affirmed before
Festus and King Agrippa that "this thing WAS NOT DONE IN A
CORNER." Paul did not hide himself in some corner of the land in
his teaching and preaching of the word of God and the gospel of
Christ.
As the saying goes "you can bet your bottom dollar" that if
the Jews COULD HAVE found any concrete evidence that Paul taught
the NONE OBSERVANCE of TITHING to God, THEY WOULD HAVE BROUGHT IT
FORTH. BUT THE PLAIN TRUTH IS THAT THEY COULD FIND NO PROOF OF
ANY KIND THAT PAUL PREACHED AGAINST THE LAW OF TITHING OR HAD
DONE ANY WRONG TO THE JEWS.
Festus had supposed the Jews would have brought certain
things against Paul, but as he himself stated before King
Agrippa, "...when the accusers stood up, they brought none
accusation of such things as I supposed: But had certain
questions against him of their own superstition, and of one
Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive" (Acts
26:18,19).
The Jews were able to QUESTION Paul(and you can bet they
questioned him about many of the OC laws) but they could not
accuse or prove he taught any law breaking, such as not tithing
to God or paying taxes to Caesar.
It should be evident for the honest reader of the life of
Paul, that he was a law abiding citizen of both the Roman and
Jewish world. The Jewish religious leaders from the seat of
Judaism in Jerusalem, could PROVE NOTHING against Paul in their
complaints of him before Festus.
Paul then did teach throughout his ministry that the people
of God SHOULD TITHE TO GOD!
But we are still left with the question: Why is it that we
cannot find any word from Paul or any other writer of the books
of the NT, that tell or instruct the members of the NT church of
God to tithe to God via the Christian Church of God. The answer
is very simple but most have missed it.
WHY NO INSTRUCTION TO SPECIFICALLY TITHE TO THE NT CHRISTIAN
CHURCH?
Stop and think now for a minute. We have seen that the law
and the prophets were until John the baptist, and then the
Kingdom of God is preached. We know Christ preached the New
Covenant. We know His death, resurrection, coming of the Holy
Spirit on the day of Pentecost, brought in fully as a begettal,
the New Covenant within Christ's disciples. Yet was the Old
Covenant with all of its rites, priesthood, animal sacrifices,
Temple worship, immediately none existent? Did the Old Covenant
priesthood just evaporate after the day of Pentecost? Why of
course not! Did the Temple in Jerusalem just disappear when the
Holy Spirit came to fill the disciples on Pentecost? Why of
course not! It would be 40 years later before those two
institutions would come to an end in a literal way.
Now ask yourself: Was the Old Covenant instituted by God or
did man just dream it up? The answer is found in Exodus chapters
20 through to 23 and other parts of the books of Moses. The Old
Covenant WAS FROM GOD, IT WAS INSTITUTED BY GOD, IT BELONGED TO
GOD!
Was the Priesthood of Israel instituted by God or was it the
invention of men? Read the last chapters of Exodus and the first
chapters of Leviticus. It was FROM GOD, INSTITUTED BY GOD, IT
BELONGED TO GOD!
Were the laws governing HOW those Old Covenant Levites and
Priests were to physically live off the physical goods brought to
them through tithes and offerings from the people, of God, or
just the ideas of men? We have studied this in the previous
articles on our present topic. Those laws governing how the
priests were to live off the tithes and offerings brought by the
people, WERE FROM GOD, INSTITUTED BY THE LORD, THEY BELONGED TO
GOD!
Was the physical Temple in Jerusalem an institution and
building first thought up in the mind of men, or was it that God
told Moses to build a Tabernacle patterned after the one in
heaven? The books of Moses and the book of Hebrews say quite
dogmatically that the basic idea of the Temple was FROM GOD,
INSTITUTED BY THE ETERNAL, THAT IT BELONGED TO HIM! Jesus said
the Temple was the Father's house, and He turned out many from
making the Father's house into a den of robbers.
Are you beginning to see where all this is leading? The OLD
COVENANT with its priesthood, sacrifices, temple, tithes going to
support the physical living of the priesthood of that temple and
old covenant service, WAS FROM GOD, IT BELONGED TO HIM, AND
FOR 40 YEARS AFTER THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON PENTECOST,
ALL THOSE SERVICES OF THE OLD COVENANT STILL STOOD IN PLACE. THEY
DID NOT COME TO A LITERAL END UNTIL 70 A.D. WHEN THE TEMPLE WAS
DESTROYED AND THE OLD PRIESTHOOD STOPPED FUNCTIONING IN THOSE
PHYSICAL SERVICES.
What this means is: FOR 40 YEARS THE OLD COVENANT CONTINUED
AND OVERLAPPED THE NEW COVENANT. FOR 40 YEARS GOD HAD BOTH THE
OLD AND THE NEW COVENANT RUNNING SIDE BY SIDE IN CERTAIN ASPECTS
OF FUNCTIONS. FOR 40 YEARS THERE WERE TWO PRIESTHOODS - THE OLD
PRIESTHOOD FROM GOD ESTABLISHED THROUGH MOSES, AND THE NEW
PRIESTHOOD FROM GOD, ESTABLISHED THROUGH CHRIST. AS LONG AS THE
LITERAL PRIESTHOOD OF OLD WAS FUNCTIONING, IT BELONGED TO GOD,
FOR IT WAS FROM GOD. THOSE LEVITES AND PRIESTS FUNCTIONING UNDER
THAT PRIESTHOOD WERE STILL ENTITLED TO LIVE OFF THE TITHES AND
OFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE!
Do you see what this is all amounting to? It is just this:
BOTH THE OLD AND NEW PRIESTHOOD WERE FROM GOD, BELONGED TO GOD.
BOTH UNDER THE LAW OF GOD COULD LIVE OFF THE TITHES AND OFFERINGS
OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD! THE APOSTLES AND WRITERS OF THE NT HAD NO
HESITATION IN CLAIMING THEY WERE MINISTERS OF THE LORD, SERVING
IN THE WORK OF THE LORD. YET THE MINISTERS OF THE OLD COVENANT
WERE ALSO STILL WORKING IN A WORK THAT WAS FROM GOD, AND HAD NOT
YET BEEN LITERALLY SET ASIDE. SO WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE, THE PEOPLE
OF GOD, THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD, HAD THE FREEDOM AND THE
LIBERTY UNDER THE LAW OF GOD, TO TITHE AND GIVE OFFERINGS TO
EITHER THE OLD OR THE NEW PRIESTHOOD AND THE WORK BOTH WERE
PERFORMING!!
Now with this FACT in hand, with this fact established,
until God had literally removed the OLD to leave ONLY the NEW,
there were TWO ministries that could receive the tithes of the
people, and live off the tithes and offerings of the people. As
the Old was from God, instituted by God, and as it still stood in
function, it would have been wrong for any of the apostles,
including Paul, to have taught that TITHES to God was ONLY to be
given to the NT church of God. Hence the subject NEVER CAME UP,
it was not mentioned until near to the time when the physical
Temple in Jerusalem was about to be destroyed, and the rituals,
sacrifices, and priesthood of the old was to terminate its
practices and functions. This will lead us to the book of
Hebrews(in our next study).
So Paul and the others knew that Christians had the LIBERTY
in Christ, as long as the Old Covenant with its priesthood was
still functioning, to give TITHES and OFFERINGS not just to the
church of God and its ministry, but to the Old Covenant church of
God ministry also. The choice was entirely up to the individual.
They could give part or all of their tithes and offerings to
either ministry, yet Paul certainly did not hold back in teaching
that the New Covenant ministry had also a right from God to live
off those they served, and that the NT church should serve and
help the poor and needy among its midst.
In our next study we shall see that as the day and time was
coming for the Old Covenant functions of the Priesthood,
Sacrifices, and Temple, to no longer function in its literal
practices, certain questions and concerns were being raised. Two
ministry systems had been in existence side by side for nearly 40
years, without very much controversy(except for that of physical
circumcision for which the Jerusalem synod was called - Acts 15)
taking place within the church of God. But now it was time to
analyze in depth, the importance of the two ministries, and which
of the two was ULTIMATELY the more important and the greatest.
That study and its relation to tithing, next time.
...........................
Written May 1997
TO BE CONTINUED
MANY CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS TEACHING TITHING. THE LAW OF TITHING WHEN APPLIED CORRECTLY HAS GREAT AND WONDERFUL BLESSINGS. A FINE EXAMPLE IS THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH. THEY HAVE MISSIONARY WORK SECOND TO NON. THEY HAVE SCHOOLS; THEY HAVE HOSPITALS; THEY HAVE SENIOR CENTERS. THEY HAVE COLLEGES; THEY HELP THE POOR OF THE LAND.
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