First record of tithing

First record of tithing was Abram to Melchizedek in Gen 14:20

The tithe will be holy unto the Lord:

Lev 27:30  And all the tithes of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD.

Lev 27:31  And if a man will at all redeem aught of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

Lev 27:32  And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.

 

You can borrow the tithe to help you out

If you lend the tithe, you need to pay 20% interest on it

Lev 27:31  And if a man will at all redeem aught of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

 

The tithe was meant for the Levites

The idea was the Levites would not have any belongings and that they would be supported by the other children of Israel. Regardless of popular belief, God does not need our tithes. Tithing is a principle that He established in order to teach us to give.

Num 18:24  But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

 

How the tithe was to be spent

The idea was that the tithe be brought to a central place where a big feast was to be held.

Deu 12:17  Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:

Deu 12:18  But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.

 

But some people would have to travel too far to the place where God wanted the feast. They were to sell their livestock for money and then take the money to the place of thanksgiving. Here they woule purchase some food and then give the rest to the Levites.

Deu 14:24  And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:

Deu 14:25  Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:

Deu 14:26  And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

Deu 14:27  And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

 

Then in the fourth year, the children of Israel was to bring all the tithes to the gates and hand it over to:

·         Levites

·         Stranger that has nothing to eat

·         Children that has no parents

·         Widows

 

Prayer offered with the Tithe

"I have brought your tithes from my house

"I have given them to the preachers, the fatherless, strangers and to widows according to Your instructions

"I have used nothing of it for other use

"Look at me from heaven and bless Your children according to Malachi 3:30+ and as you have promised our forefathers when you said we would live in a country of milk and honey 

Deu 26:13  Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:

Deu 26:14  I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.

Deu 26:15  Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou sworest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

 

What about us?

In most cases in the modern day we do not receive annual remuneration, rather monthly salaries. We could therefore apply this on a monthly basis instead of on an annual basis.

 

Mal 3:8  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Mal 3:9  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

 

Malchi was written to the priests. Why did they have to tithe? So that they could understand the principle of sowing and reaping as well as faith.

Why was it necessary to have food "In My house"? This food could not have been for the priests because the Lord was unhappy about the fact that they kept the tithe to themselves. Therefore the tithe was needed by somebody else - for the church to feed the poor.

 

The priests not only robbed God, they rob the whole nation. Because the church was supposed to look after the flock, they now went to the farms to earn a living leaving God's work.

 

Because they did not tithe, they could not participate in the blessings and that is why God called them cursed. People who do not tithe is cursed because they cannot participate in the blessing that overtakes everything.