Tithing

Originally Written: Approximately 2017-05 - Last Updated: 2019-12-06

The issue of tithing is not something I claim to understand perfectly with 100% certainty. I am not writing this study to claim, "I'm right - listen to me". I'm writing this simply as a means to share my thoughts with others and have a place to point someone towards when they ask me for my opinion on this subject. If you find anything I'm saying is not based in Scriptures, I'm open to correction. In fact, if I'm wrong, I really hope someone can help me see that from the Scriptures; because this is a very serious subject and I take it very seriously. If I am wrong, I want to really understand and see that so that I don't speak incorrectly about this subject anymore if I have been doing that.

To get this topic started, I'll share a little about my personal history as it relates to this subject. I was raised in a very regimented environment where we were urged not only to give a 10th of our wages but also more for "specials" which were contributions taken up for missions and church plantings, etc.. Whether or not you gave was a very "big" thing - or at least it seemed like it to me growing up. Later on as a young adult, some things were revealed that showed mis-management of funds by some church officials and when the church I grew up in fell apart, I went through very dark periods in life and lived in sin. I was very hurt by what happened. However, when I started repenting and coming into understanding of keeping Torah in 2008, I still had the view that we should give 10% of all wages.

That view continued until around 2010 when I was struggling to know what the Father wanted me to do in my own hardships - do I pay my debts or do I tithe? Only so much to go around, I thought. I knew for certain I was commanded to pay off my debts:

Psalms 37:21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;

Pretty serious words, right? So it's pretty clear that יהוה wants us to pay back our debts. But in the crunch I was in at the time, I wondered, which comes first - tithing or paying off debts? If I could only do one or the other due to the amount of debt I had incurred and the hard situation I was in, which one takes precedence? This led me to studying out the issue of tithing to understand it better.

In my search, I read a study from a brother on the Internet pointing out that Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, and let there be FOOD in My house. And please prove Me in this," said Yahweh of hosts, "whether I do not open for you the windows of the skies, and shall pour out for you boundless blessing!" The author of the study also pointed out how the wage earner (aka Hireling) is among those who are "oppressed" where it says in Malachi 3:5, "And I shall draw near to you for right-ruling. And I shall be a swift witness against the practisers of witchcraft, and against adulterers, and against them that swear to falsehood, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages and widows and the fatherless, and those who turn away a sojourner and do not fear Me," said Yahweh of hosts."

The thought behind this is - when all the tithes were in the storehouse, there was FOOD in the house. It did not say "gold" or "silver" etc. when referring to "all the tithes"; it says, "food". The other thought shared was that the "wage earner" might actually be among those who should be GIVEN food or financial support, those who are oppressed, those who are vulnerable, those who are poor, those grouped along with the widows and fatherless. That kind of makes sense, if you think about it, because if someone was "so well off" financially, they wouldn't need to be a wage earner; they could just buy their own land and live off the land. They wouldn't need a "job" because they would own their own land and raise their own food. Even today this is true. It takes a wage-earner to be very well off to own their own land outright without any mortgage or debts of any kind.

This led me to question if I could prove, biblically, that we are "commanded" to give 10% of our wages, and to re-think about what tithing is and what tithing isn't, and what's commanded, and what's not commanded, etc.. At the end of my study, I was unable to "prove" to myself that we are "commanded" to give 10% of our wages in order to fulfill commands related to "tithing".

Obviously I believe we should tithe, and I believe we should obey all the commandments. However, I just can't find proof that giving your wages is somehow fulfilling that command. Giving your crops? Yes. Giving your animals? Yes. Things you eat and drink? Yes. Giving of those things is all related to fulfilling the "command" to tithe. Giving of wages? I've realized I can't find scriptures that outright prove wages are commanded to be given as part of the "commanded tithe".

Now a lot of people might stop here and assume I'm somehow "discouraging people from giving", but I'm not. If you are already jumping to that conclusion then you need to slow down in your mind and actually read everything here first.

Just because I don't believe there is a biblical mandate requiring someone to give 10% of their wages doesn't mean I'm saying, "Don't give". On the contrary, if we look at the first century example, they gave much more than 10% didn't they? And I think all of us are striving to have that kind of a heart.

We see Yahushua commending the widow in Mark 12:43 and Luke 21:3 for giving all she had to live on, so clearly giving is a huge deal to יהוה .

So what am I saying then? Well, what I'm saying is - YES GIVE. But no matter what you give, whether it's 3%, 5% 10%, 20%, or 100%, I view all giving of wages as a voluntary offering that you are CHOOSING to do VOLUNTARILY, and that by giving of your wages you are not "fulfilling a command to tithe" but rather are, "choosing to give a voluntary offering".

So whether or not we should give is not the question in my mind - we absolutely should give as we are able and as יהוה is leading us to. The real question to me related to tithing has to do with this being a matter of classification - how should the giving of your wages be classified? Is it categorized as a voluntary offering or as a fulfillment of a command to "tithe"? I view it as a voluntary offering. It's good to give, I hope you give, and for most of us, we'll probably meet or exceed the 10% amount, but regardless of what amount you give, I view giving of wages as a voluntary offering.

Genesis 14:18 And Malkitsedeq sovereign of Shalem brought out bread and wine. Now he was the priest of the Most High El.
19 And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Avram of the Most High El, Possessor of the skies and land.
20 And blessed be the Most High El who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tenth of all.

So, what about this in Genesis? Yes, Avraham gave a tithe of all to Malkitsedeq, but that in and of itself does not establish another tithe that is "commanded" to be given by everyone. My opinion on this is that the laws were written on the hearts of Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya'aqov and that the Set-Apart Spirit led them to give what they gave, knowing that later on there WOULD be a command to tithe, although that command had not yet been given.

Let's read what Hebrews says about this to understand tithing correctly:

Hebrews 7:4 Now see how great this one was, to whom even the ancestor Avraham gave a tenth of the choicest booty.
5 And truly, those who are of the sons of Lewi, who receive the priesthood, have a command to receive tithes from the people according to the Torah, that is, from their brothers, though they have come from the loins of Avraham,

Who has "a command to receive tithes"? The Scriptures tell you right here for themselves, don't they? "Those who are of the sons of Lewi". Isn't that sufficient?

Yes, Malkitsedeq received "tithe" from Avraham, but that did not establish a "command to receive tithes" which then added another requirement for the Israelites to fulfill IN ADDITION to giving a tithe to the Lewites.

The Scripture in Hebrews 7:5 is clear - it is the "sons of Lewi" who "have a command to receive tithes".

Hebrews 7:6 however, the one whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Avraham, and blessed the one who held the promises.

Yes, Malkitsedeq "received tithes", that is clear. But we don't see the Israelites giving another tithe in addition to the ones they gave to the Lewites, so this act of giving tithes to Malkitsedeq did not establish a "command to receive tithes".

Hebrews 7:7 And it is beyond all dispute that the lesser is blessed by the better.
8 And here it is men who die that receive tithes, but there it is someone of whom it is witnessed that he lives.

Pay very, very close attention to Hebrews 7:8. Where is "here"? Here on earth. Who are the "men who die"? These are the Lewites. Who receives tithes, then, among men who die? The Lewites. Are you a man who can die? If so, then you have to be a Lewite to receive tithes. Isn't that what this is teaching basically?

In verse 8, where is "there"? "There" might be "There in Genesis 14 in the Torah" or "there in the heavenlies". Who is the "someone of whom it is witnessed that he lives"? This is either Malkitsedeq, Yahushua, or both.

Hebrews 7:9 And one might say that through Avraham even Lewi, who received tithes, gave tithes,
10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Malkitsedeq met him.

This is another key verse to understand. Pay close attention Hebrews 7:9. It says that "even Lewi, who received tithes, gave tithes". Why? Verse 10, "for he was still in the loins of his father when Malkitsedeq met him". Well - if Lewi gave tithes for that reason, then why can't it be said that I did also? After all, it is written:

Galatians 3:29 And if you are of Anointed, then you are seed of Avraham, and heirs according to promise.

I am seed of Avraham also. So if Lewi was still in the loins of his father when Malkitsedeq met him, then couldn't it be said that I was also? And if it is said that Lewi therefore is said to have given tithes, couldn't it have been said the same about me also?

So even if there was a "command" to give tithes to Malkitsedeq also, it appears that has been fulfilled by what Avraham did already. How else am I supposed to interpret this in my brain? That's what I see here: Lewi already gave tithes in a sense. If that can be said for Lewi, than I can't find any reason it can't be said for me also.

But I think what we see here from Hebrews is that the only "commanded" tithe is to the Lewites. The Israelites were not tithing to both the Lewites as well as another tithe for the Priesthood of the Order of Malkitsedeq. If additional tithing beyond the commanded tithes to the Lewites and Sons of Aharon was required by everyone, I would expect to see such an example in the Scriptures.

Among men who die, it is the Lewites who have a "command" to receive tithes. This would be a great opportunity for the writer of Hebrews to say, "And also us, we too, among men who die, we have a command to receive tithes". But that's not what it says.

So yes, Avraham gave tithes to Malkitsedeq, but that in and of itself did not establish a "command" for all persons afterwards to tithe in some way that is not spelled out clearly in the Torah, and of which we see no example being done either in the Scriptures later on. The only instance we see giving us an example is what Avraham himself did. All other "tithing" afterwards is surrounding the commands to tithe to the fatherless, widow, etc., Lewites and sons of Aharon since they did not have land inheritances like the other tribes and needed food in order to continue in the ministry יהוה called them to.

Nehemiah 13:10 And I learned that the portions for the Lewites had not been given them, for each of the Lewites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field.

Why didn't they "go back to their jobs" since their "silver and gold" was not given? Because silver and gold wasn't given as a tithe. Instead they went "back to his field", because the tithe was to give them in the form of FOOD so they could avoid doing farm work and focus on the Temple related services.

So I say GIVE… give as much as you can that יהוה has blessed you with and leads you to give! But I don't consider that tithing. I consider it a voluntary offering. That is why it is written:

2 Corinthians 9:7 Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not of grief or of necessity, for Elohiym loves a joyous giver.

If tithing wages is "commanded" then why is he saying "not of grief or of necessity"? I thought it was "necessary" to tithe? Because giving of wages is voluntary, not tithing. They knew in the 1st century that it was only the sons of Lewi who had a "command to receive tithes".

Genesis 28:20 And Ya'aqov made a vow, saying, "Seeing Elohiym is with me, and has kept me in this way that I am going, and has given me bread to eat and a garment to put on -
21 when I have returned to my father's house in peace, and Yahweh has been my Elohiym,
22 then this stone which I have set as a standing column shall be Elohiym's house, and of all that You give me, I shall certainly give a tenth to You.

If giving a tenth was a "command", why was a vow made? A vow is not necessary if a command already exists. I think he voluntarily vowed what he vowed because the law being written on his heart, knowing that later the law would include a tithe to the Lewites, I believe the Spirit led him to do this. But when this was done, I do not believe there was a specific "command" to do this already.

Deuteronomy 14:24 But when the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to bring the tithe, or when the place where Yahweh your Elohiym chooses to put His Name is too far from you, when Yahweh your Elohiym is blessing you,
25 then you shall give it in silver, and shall take the silver in your hand and go to the place which Yahweh your Elohiym chooses.
26 And you shall use the silver for whatever your being desires: for cattle or sheep, for wine or strong drink, for whatever your being desires. And you shall eat there before Yahweh your Elohiym, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.

Deuteronomy 14:24-26 shows very clearly the tithe is not silver, because if it were then you would ALWAYS give it in silver. Rather, this proves the tithe was consisting of things you ate and drank. What ended up happening to the silver? Did it go to a ministry? No. It got converted back into things you eat and drink (things you tithe) and then you and those around you were blessed to enjoy it.

The only reason silver is even mentioned here is because on a long journey it is much easier to carry a sack of silver to your destination than to carry a ton of crops on lots of wagons and herd tons of animals along with you. So they would instead take the value of their tithe with them, possibly through selling their tithe to others for silver even, get to their destination, and convert the silver back into the form of things you tithe (things you eat and drink).

Hey, I'm not saying don't give to ministries - in fact I think we should all be involved in some kind of ministry. I think it is good to give. But I don't consider that giving as being a "tithe". Family itself is ministry also, and to an extent the expenses that go towards our own families could in some capacity possibly be categorized as ministry expenses.

2 Kings 12:8 And the priests agreed that they would neither receive any more silver from the people, nor repair the damages of the House.
9 And Yehoyada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the House of Yahweh. And the priests who guarded the door put there all the silver that was brought into the House of Yahweh.

Why would the priests agree to not receive something if they were "commanded" to receive it? The answer is because they were not commanded to receive silver. The collection of silver and/or gold or other metals was done on an as-needed basis, NOT AS PART OF TITHING. When people gave silver, gold, or other metals, this was all voluntary for the people to give in support of expenses that had to be covered for maintaining the Temple.

It is into such a box of similar purpose that the widow commended by Yahushua probably put her contribution. So I'm not saying don't give - but I consider that giving as "voluntary" not "tithing". A brother pointed out to me how Matthew 23:23 mentions tithing the plants such as the "mint" and "anise" and "cumin" and "rue" but no mention of the "shekel" or the "pence" or the "mite" or "copper" or anything related to smaller pieces of money. A sister pointed out to me how Luke 21:1 calls what was being put into the treasury "gifts" not "tithes". There seems to be one consistent message across all of Scriptures - that the giving of money/coins/etc. is not fulfilling a command to tithe - those are "gifts"; meaning they are voluntary in nature, not in fulfillment of a tithing command. The word for gifts in Luke 21:1 is from Strong's # G1435 "doron". Thayer's lexicon spells this in Greek as δῶρον ("doron") but in the Nestle-Aland Greek text it is written as δῶρα ("dora") in Luke 21:1. "Dora" means "Gifts". It does not mean "tithes". The word "tithes" is found in Luke 18:12 and is from a different Greek word linked to Strong's # G586 - which is a completely different word altogether.

Also - a few other comments: I don't think we should be collecting money on Sabbaths or have money boxes out or pass trays around related to money on set-apart days. That seems to fly in the face of what the days are for and bothers me. And putting things out for sale on a set-apart day is definitely wrong.

Also, I believe these big food companies who grow crops, raise animals, and sell food are the ones with the responsibility to "tithe". We can't give a tithe to sons of Lewi if we don't know who they are today, but we can give to the stranger and fatherless, etc. as shown in Deuteronomy 14:22-29 and Deuteronomy 26:12-14. The big agriculture farm and animal companies and those who raise crops and animals are the ones who need to be tithing to help the stranger, fatherless, widow, etc.. And that makes a lot of sense, because they are the ones who are well off financially and own land.

Also, if someone is struggling to feed their family or pay off debt, those expenses must be covered first before a family can do other things. We have to take care of our families and pay off our debts. That is required by the Scriptures.

The other questions to consider are - if we are to give, where should we give? What comes first? Do we help the fatherless? Widows? Do we fund evangelists? Can evangelists' wives and children be funded also? What is an appropriate salary for a minister who doesn't work a regular job? What about giving to prisoners? How much is appropriate to set aside for our children? What about mortgages and buying houses and cars? Should we be setting aside money so we can avoid loans, debts, leases, and other obligations for which we do not have money in the bank yet? Who qualifies to get donations? If I start a ministry, does that mean I can receive donations too?

You can see from the previous paragraph there are all kinds of other questions that may be related to managing our personal finances and, thus, somehow also therefore related to giving of our wages - specifically - where should we give? How much should we give when we have large families or other things we are responsible for that need attention?

I'm not going to get into all those questions in detail in this study, but I recognize those questions are important. I think, for now, the main purpose of this study has been accomplished, which is to share my view about the issue of "tithing". I may update and/or modify this study with additional comments if/when I receive corrections, comments, feedback, or criticisms from others.

In summary, I believe we should give as יהוה is leading, but all such giving of wages would be categorized as a "voluntary offering" according to the Scriptures, not tithing. I have other thoughts I could share, but I'm trying to keep this as short and simple as possible.