The wording of the ordinance clearly states “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Levites and say to them: When you receive from the Israelites the tithes I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering…From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest of everything given to you.’” (Numbers 18:25-26, 28-29 NIV) Scripture clearly explains that the Israelites were instructed to give a tenth of everything from their land, herds and flocks to the Levites, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them…A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord…The entire tithe of the herd and flock – every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod – will be holy to the Lord.’” (Leviticus 27:1-2, 30, 32 NIV) In addition, the Israelites were not required to tithe during the Sabbath year (every 7th year) and the Year of Jubilee (every 50th year). (Leviticus 25:1-12) God made it clear that this ordinance was specifically directed to the Israelites and this tithe was restricted to everything from the Israelites’ land, herds and flocks…not money earned from any of their crafts or skills.
The ordinance of tithing to the Levites has obviously encountered many changes throughout the history of the Old Testament, to include the tithes being distributed directly to the kings and to the priests in the temple in Jerusalem. (I Samuel 8:10, 14-17; I Chronicles 23:1-5; II Chronicles 31:2, 4-6) Likewise, Scripture records how the Israelites later resumed bringing their tithes directly to the Levites in the cities where they worked around Israel. (Nehemiah 10:36-37) Nevertheless, the tithe was always limited to everything from the Israelites’ land, herds and flocks.
The early church at Jerusalem apparently experienced problems with believers who still wanted to follow the New Testament teachings of Jesus Christ, while still trying to observe the teachings of the Law. The Apostle Paul noted that the Pharisees from Judea and Antioch were trying to have the church in Jerusalem follow the law of Moses – “Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.’” (Acts 15:5 NIV) Obviously, these Pharisees were trying to mandate that the other churches observe the Law, which likely included tithing to the temple. The Apostle Paul further noted that the council at the church in Jerusalem confronted this issue by writing and sending the following letter to the other Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia, “’We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul – men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.’” (Acts 15:22-29 NIV)
Approximately six years later, the Apostle Paul returned to the church at Jerusalem and states how the church was taken over by thousands of believers who zealously observed the Law. (Acts 21:17-20) Before the Apostle Paul could address the rest of the church, the church leaders required that Paul and his men observe the Law by joining in their purification rites, paying their expenses and shaving their heads. (Acts 21:21-24) As a result of Paul trying to appease the church’s infatuation with the Law, several Jews around Asia saw Paul at the temple and almost killed him for bringing Greeks into the temple and defiling the holy place. After the Roman troops stopped the rioters from beating Paul, they subsequently arrested him and inquired what he was doing in the temple. (Acts 21:27-36) The reaction by the Jews at the temple made it quite clear that Christians, who were not originally Jews, had absolutely no right to defile the temple by observing the ordinances of the Law. Thus, any tithe that a Christian (who was not originally a Jew) gives to the Levitical priesthood would be unacceptable, since the ordinance of tithing was strictly limited to the Israelites.
As for other instances of tithing or giving a tenth, outside of the Law, the Bible mentions two primary instances – the first involving Abraham [Abram] giving a tenth to the king of Salem and Jacob vowing to give God a tenth of everything. These instances are often used to explain tithing as an eternal principle. However, an eternal principle or absolute is something that will often prove itself through nature, regardless of science or theological explanation. For example, mathematics can be considered an absolute that will prove to be consistent over time. Basically, the answer to the simple math problem “1+1” ends up being “2”…long before any formal mathematics system was ever created. The same goes for giving. People often find it a natural instinct to give and share with others – without regard to any given percentage they must share – they just do it. Tithing on the other hand is restrictive, since it limits giving to only ten percent…no more, no less. In other words, the eternal principle of giving does not have any limitations or boundaries.
As for Abraham, Scripture describes how he gave a tenth of everything to Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of the God Most High, after he returned from a war defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him. (Genesis 14:18-20) On the surface, this looks like a prime example of a believer tithing before the Law was introduced. However, the surrounding passages indicate that this was a one-time war tithe, since the king of Sodom told Abraham to give him the people and to keep the remaining goods for himself. Abraham responded to the king of Sodom by saying, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me….” Abraham makes it clear that he gave God the glory in the battle by accepting nothing from the war spoils. (Genesis 14:21-24 NIV) Scripture indicates that Abraham did not have to tithe to a priest, since he was a priest himself as a patriarch of his household. Scripture reveals how “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the Lord…From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel…There he built an alter to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord….” Abraham built alters and worshipped God directly. (Genesis 12:7-8 NIV) The author of Hebrews reiterates this point by saying how great of a man Melchizedek was since “Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!” (Hebrews 7:4)
As for Jacob, Scripture makes it clear that Jacob’s vow to give God a tenth of everything was a conditional vow. While at the place called Bethel, “Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give a tenth.’” (Genesis 28:18-22 NIV)
In summary, Scripture clearly teaches that the ordinance of tithing was specifically directed toward the Israelites, not the New Testament church. Israelites, who earned their livelihood from farming and herding, were the only people commanded to give a tenth of everything from their land, herds and flocks to the Levites. Likewise, the Levites were commanded to give a tithe, of the best and holiest part, of all of their received tithes to the priests. In other words, whenever tithing was practiced according to the ordinance, only one percent – not ten percent – of everything from Israelites’ land, herd and flocks ever made it to the priests, since the Levites kept ninety percent of the tithe as part of their inheritance and part-time duties in the temple. On the contrary, Israelites who earned a living from a craft or skill, as well as the poor, were not required to tithe products or money…but rather they gave freewill offerings.
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