I recently felt convicted that my teaching about tithing might be causing others to sin. I realized I was wrong about Tithing, and I decided to make this video to correct my errors.
If you’re like me, you’ve seen a lot of abuse in the Church when it comes to tithing, and that’s why I’ve struggled in the past to even talk about tithing. It also caused me to error in what I taught in my video about tithing.
I actually find it ironic that Sunday Christians who don’t believe we should keep the Torah – teach that we should tithe. Yet Torah keeping Christians who say the Torah is still valid – don’t believe in tithing.
That was me for quite a few years as well, so I understand where those people are coming from.
But it’s still ironic.
Many people only know about the tithe for the Levites, but there are actually three different tithes described in the Bible. The first tithe goes to the Levites for their work in the sanctuary, the second tithe is for you and your family to celebrate the Feast days, and the third tithe is every 3 years and it’s to help the poor, the widow, and the orphan.
Now, let’s look at what the Bible says about these three different tithes.
The first tithe is for the Levites for the work of ministry.
“Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.”
– Numbers 18:21
The Levites served God in ministry, and the tithes were given to them as their wages. But the Levites were also required to give a tithe from what they received.
“Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, a tenth of the tithe.”
– Numbers 18:26
Now, the second tithe was kept for you and your family to celebrate the Feast days.
“But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.”
– Deuteronomy 14:24-26
The journey it’s referring to is the pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. If the journey was too far to carry your food, you would take money instead and buy food when you get to the Feast. This money was used for you and your family to celebrate the Feast days. These Feasts were meant to be a huge celebration. The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles were both week long celebrations, and the idea was to have a Thanksgiving style Feast all week long.
The third tithe was given every three years, and it was to help the poor, the widow, the orphan, and others who were in need.
“At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”
– Deuteronomy 14:28-29
If everyone in the church would practice these tithing principles everything would work correctly. If we all gave 10% of our income to the church, the Church wouldn’t struggle financially. If we all set aside 10% of our income for the Feast days, we would never struggle to have enough to celebrate the feasts. And if everyone gave the third year tithe to help those in need, the poor and less fortunate would be taken care of.
All three tithes are commanded by God, therefore it’s a sin not to tithe, and I’ve been convicted about not teaching it this way in the past.
These were honest questions I had concerning tithes.
Is a preacher qualified to receive tithes since he’s not a Levite?
And since tithes were part of the sacrificial service in the Temple, how would we even participate in it today?
My attempt to reconcile those questions was to abandon the idea of tithing as a requirement, and to teach giving as a general principle. I was afraid to teach a 10% tithing principle, and simply encouraged basic generosity instead.
I still agree that we need to teach the principle of tithing, but I was in error for not teaching the principle of tithing 10% of your income.
The true principle of tithing is giving God the first 10% of your increase. Everything we have belongs to God, and all He asks is that we tithe from what He has given us.
However, we still need to address those questions concerning the Levites and the Temple.
If the tithe was part of the Temple service, and we have no Temple, can we tithe?
This is actually flawed thinking, because we do have a Temple and a High Priest.
“Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.”
– Hebrews 8:1-2
“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.”
– Hebrews 9:11
If the Law required God’s people to give tithes to the earthy Tabernacle, which was only a copy and shadow of the true Tabernacle in Heaven, why would we not also be required to give tithes in regard to the True Tabernacle and the Great High Priest, Yeshua?
What’s interesting is the book of Hebrews shows that even the Levites paid tithes to Melchizedek through Abraham.
“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all… Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham, but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.”
– Hebrews 7:1-10
The Levitical priesthood is inferior to the Priesthood of Yeshua, because Yeshua is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, and even the Levites gave tithes to Him through Abraham.
The argument here is that even though the Levites receive tithes on earth, Yeshua has an even greater priesthood and He receives tithes in heaven.
“Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.”
– Hebrews 7:8
So, we have a High Priest, and a Temple, but do preachers qualify as Levites to receive tithes?
We actually find the answer to this question in 1 Corinthians, when Paul makes a direct connection between the Levites and those who preach the gospel.
“Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.”
– 1 Corinthians 9:13
Those who minister in the Temple and serve at the altar are the Priests and Levites. They partake of the offerings at the altar because that is the tithes that belong to them as Levites. Likewise, those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. In other words, the ministers of the Gospel have the same rights to receive tithes as the Levites did.
This chapter actually gives us several really strong arguments for why Ministers should receive wages for their service, and he bases his argument in what the Torah teaches.
“Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock? Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?”
– 1 Corinthians 9:7-11
The argument is that the labor of the Gospel is meant to provide for the Minister of the Gospel. Just as a shepherd drinks the milk he receives from the sheep, so also the Sheperds of God’s flock are expected to be provided for by the people they shepherd.
If a beast of burden such as an ox is compensated for the work he does in plowing the grain, should not God’s ministers also be compensated for the work they do?
The question is “should those who sow spiritual things for you reap material things from you?”
Think about it this way, God appointed the Levites to serve in the Temple, and he commanded that they receive provisions in exchange for their service. Likewise, God has also appointed Ministers over His Church, and they are expected to receive provisions for their service as well.
So, now that the questions concerning the Temple and the Levites have been addressed, we need to address the lack of faith that keep us from obeying God with our finances.
When we look at our finances, our flesh tells us, “we don’t have enough.” I don’t care how much or how little you make, we all struggle with a lack of faith about our finances.
When we say we don’t have enough, we are actually saying that God is not a good provider.
Giving our tithes to God is an act of gratitude, and if we don’t tithe, we are showing God that we are not grateful for what He has given us.
Now consider what God says about testing Him concerning the tithes.
“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 blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts; And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts.”
- Malachi 3:10–12
This is the only time in the Bible where God encourages us to test Him in something.
The test is this, if we do what God says with our tithes, He will provide for our needs. The Bible says if you give all of your tithes, then God will pour out blessings on you.
However, the Bible also says if you don’t give your tithes, then you are robbing from God and He will curse you because of it.
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.”
– Malachi 3:8–9
Is it possible that you’re struggling financially because you are cursed for not tithing?
The Bible compares finances with scattering or sowing seeds in a couple of places, and I want to consider what that means.
”There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty.”
- Proverbs 11:24
The principle here is if you scatter your seeds you can grow more produce, but if you withhold your seed, and keep it for your own consumption, you will eventually eat it all and run out. Therefore, one who scatters increases more, but one who withholds too much leads to poverty.
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
– 2 Corinthians 9:6–7
Again, the metaphor of sowing seed is applied to giving of your finances. If you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly, but if you sow bountifully you will reap bountifully.
The Bible also addresses our attitude towards giving when it says to give with a cheerful heart. If the idea of Tithing makes you upset, then you have a heart issue you need to deal with.
All three Tithes have a purpose in the Kingdom. The first Tithe is given to provide for the Ministry and those who minister. The second Tithe is saved for your family to celebrate the Feast days with joy and abundance. And the third Tithe is given to help others who are in need.
We all need to submit our finances to God, and tithing is the method God established for us in Scripture.
