Tithe is
from the Hebrew word maser and means “a tenth part”, a requirement of the Old
Testament Law in which all Israelites were to give a tithe of everything they
earned and grew. One yearly tithe (10%) went to support the Levites and the
temple at Jerusalem. (Lev. 27:30-33; Num.
18:21-31) One yearly tithe (10%) went to sponsor religious festivals in
Jerusalem. (Deut. 14:22-26) And one tithe (10%) paid every third year supported
the local Levites, orphans, sojourners, and widows throughout Israel. (Deut.
14:27-29, 26:12-13) These were two 10% yearly tithes and one 10% tithe paid
every three years for a total yearly tithe of 23 1/3%. God commanded all three
tithes and used the plural, “tithes” in Neh. 12:14 and Mal. 3:8-12. But this
command, like the rest of “The Law” was given to the Israelites, not New
Testament saints abiding under Grace. We must remember the Apostle Paul warned
that to keep any part of the Law makes one a debtor to keep the whole Law.
(Gal. 5:3) And no one, except Jesus, has ever kept the whole Law! This is not
the road a saint saved by Grace should ever be tempted to travel…
New
Testament saints are owned by God, purchased with the precious blood of His
Son, so God owns us and all that we have... not ten %, and He may require all
if it at any time. He wants us to “abound in the grace of giving”, and allows
us to give as we have “purposed in our heart”, loving our sacrificial giving
with an attitude of cheerfulness. We are to purposefully “lay aside” our
excess, that which is over and above our own needs, to meet the needs of our
brethren (2 Cor. 8:1-7, 13-15; 9:6-11). This is sacrificial giving, living
frugally in order to have more to share; allowing the Holy Spirit to touch our
heart with the needs of others. Heart-based giving is much more difficult then
rule-based giving for Self will want to set the bar pretty low and keep more
for him Self. Giving is a love test of sorts, the Second Commandment in action:
Do we love others to the same degree that we love our Self? Do we cheerfully
give unto others as we give unto our Self? The answer is defining, measuring
our love for God and our spiritual maturity.
Old Testament tithing was
compulsory and earned favor and blessings with God. The Jews were prone to do
the external and material while neglecting the expression of the inner
qualities of the Spirit (Lk. 11:37- 42). In the New Testament tithing is
neither stressed nor commanded, but saints are urged to give voluntarily (2
Cor. 9:7) without neglecting the development of spiritual qualities: “But rather give alms of such things as you have ...” (Lk. 11:41). “Such things as you have” is a word cluster translated from the Greek
word enonta which means those things which are within the human heart ... spiritual
qualities, the Lord here speaking of the inner man from which one should give
alms... from the heart... out of love, joyously extending mercy. New covenant
giving is characterized by what Paul wrote to Philemon: “That your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but
voluntary.” (Phile. 1; 14)
Endnote: Much
of the twenty-first century church teaches tithing as a way to fund large
facilities, amenities, and worldwide ministries, including upscale living for
the ministry team. Not only are we prideful of our churches, many saints
believe the unfounded notion that a large prosperous church indicates God’s
hand of blessing on the ministry, as if getting a large number of people into a
building meant something. Saints are taught that tithing guarantees prosperity,
and giving to get becomes a lifestyle. Then when they hit a financial
speed-bump God takes the hit for failing to keep promises He didn’t make! Sorry
folks, but God never promises prosperity as an entitlement, and does, in fact,
warn us repeatedly about the dangerous of riches as in the parable of The Sower
where riches suffocate God’s word, and in the parable of the Rich Young Ruler where
riches make it hard, if not impossible, to enter God’s Kingdom.
“GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER”
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