Paul Davison

Old Testament Giving: The Law Of Tithing

The first thing we need to do is understand certain words and phrases: “Tithes and Offerings”. The word tithe means 10%.  It is an Old Testament, religious way, of saying 10%. And in the Old Testament we first read of Abraham giving 10% of the plunder taken in battle. Jacob also promised to give God a tenth of all he had. But the tithe, the 10%, really comes to the fore through the law given through Moses. And there we don’t read about one tithe – there are actually four.

1. The people paid 10% to the Levites
   
   

   “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting” (Numbers 18:21)
   
   All the tribes of Israel, except the Levites, had a designated geographical area as their “inheritance”. But the Levites — in return for their work within the nation — received income tax of 10% from the rest of the population. The Levites functioned as: the Health Inspectors, the Police, the Justice Department and the Education Department. To put it simply, the Levites were the Public Service in Israel, and they were supported by a system of income tax called “tithes”.

2. The Levites paid 10% of what they received to the priests
   
   The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering…to Aaron the priest…’” (Numbers 18:25-31).
   
   All the priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests. The priestly caste was descended from Aaron and they had specific responsibilities related to the Temple worship. The second tithe guaranteed the financial security of the priests. The people gave the Levites 10% who in turn gave the priests 10% of that. In effect, 1% of all that the people gave to the Levites ended up with the priests.
   
   
3. The people set aside 10% to pay for their pilgrimages to Jerusalem
   
   Deuteronomy 14:22-26 records this provision. The people of Israel were required to assemble three times a year at Jerusalem (as the place chosen by the Lord) for the major feasts. This was meant to be a time of rejoicing and the Lord ensured that everybody had sufficient resources available to enable them to fully enter into the rejoicing by commanding that they set aside 10% of their annual income for that purpose. The people are warned to “not neglect the Levites…” That is they still had to keep up with the first tithe. This third tithe — for the annual feasts — was not to be confused with the separate and distinct general tithe for the Levites.
   
   
4. The people gave 10% to the poor, the orphans and the widows – once every 3 years
   
   “At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do” (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
   
   This tithe went to the poor, the widows and the orphans. In New Zealand that’s called “Social Security”. It was payable once every three years, which equals one-third of a tenth annually.

These tithes were not ‘gifts’, they were taxes.  You have to remember that in Old Testament Israel religion and politics weren’t clearly separate institutions like we have them in New Zealand today.  Running the country meant supporting the state religion.  The religion of the day wasn’t limited to personal piety – it was how the country should be run.  Probably the closest equivalent for us would be how some Islamic countries are run by Muslim clerics.  Giving money through the mosque is political as much as paying taxes is religious.

So adding up the three main tithes – one for the Levites, one for pilgrimages and one for the poor every 3 years – totals up to 23.3% of their total annual income: an amount comparable to income tax paid by the average New Zealander. These 3 tithes weren’t gifts, they were a form of tax.  And on top of that there would also be the costs associated with participating in the sacrificial system: the cost of a lamb, goat or bird.  In addition to that, when the monarchy was introduced there was a further tax from the king.

The point being that it is too simplistic to pick up God’s rules for the Israelites living in a theocratic society (a society ruled and governed by God) with the visible signs of God’s rule through priesthood, temple, and divine law - and apply those rules to a very different society and culture where state and religion are clearly separated.

Even if we lived in a country similar to Old Testament Israel, the coming of Jesus has radically changed things.  Because of Jesus:

• There is no need for animal sacrifices for sins – for he has made atonement once for all.
• And therefore we have no need of a Temple building where sacrifices would be made.
• And no need of a priesthood to make the sacrifices.
• And therefore we don’t need to make any special pilgrimages to Jerusalem.

It is a very selective reading of the Old Testament that can see sacrifices, priesthood and temple all gone and yet insist that we are still obligated to tithe – “it’s God’s law!”  With no Levitical priesthood and no pilgrimages, that only leaves the 10% for the poor every three years.  We certainly have the poor with us today, but when people speak today about tithing it’s not the poor they have in mind, rather it is the church.

Because they mistakenly equate:

• The temple with church
• Levitical priests with preachers
• Sacrificial animals with money

It’s one of the ways that we continue to think and operate in Old Testament terms without taking full-account of the earth-shattering impact of Jesus’ life and death and rule from heaven.  We can’t take Old Testament practices and apply them to New Testament Christians without passing them through the grid of Christ’s coming; we can’t take BC patterns and apply them to AD churches without understanding them through Jesus; we can’t take the shadows and outlines suggested by the Old Testament and impose them on the substance and reality of Christ found in the New Testament.

Why We Give: Partnership In The Gospel

So if there is no rule, no law about giving, why do we give money to church?

1. There’s no admission fee, no annual subscription – but the starting place for giving is paying for what you get. If you’re at church regularly then your money is a contribution towards the costs of gathering as a church week in week out. The facilities, the morning tea and coffee, the office administration, the Sunday school material, the pastor, the children and youth workers – these services have a financial cost – the least you can do is pay your way. There is certainly more to Christian giving than this – but the most basic starting point is: Are you paying for what you use?
   
   
2. But much more than that, our giving as Christians is a response to the generosity and kindness we have received through the gospel. The good news of a fresh start in life through Jesus Christ has been so wonderful, that we want to see other people come to the same faith and the same hope. And so we give to the one institution in the world created by and committed to the proclamation of that gospel – the church.
   
   More than paying our way, we want to pay the way for others to have the opportunity to come to saving faith in Christ. And so we commit ourselves, and our time and our talents and our energy – and our money - to be part of this great cause. And the biggest expense in this church’s budget is people: staff.
   
   It’s important to be clear what it is you are paying for. You don’t pay the pastor an hourly rate to prepare a sermon or make a pastoral visit or chair a church meeting. The gospel is free of charge for all. No-one pays for pastoral ministry. You pay the pastor so that he doesn’t have to work at another job to support his family; you pay him so that he can concentrate full-time on the affairs of the church, without having to earn a living somewhere else.
   
   Church is partnership in the gospel with other Christians. No-one else will fund the work of the gospel except Christians. We are contributors to gospel work in our local church and to the work around the world through the missionaries we support. Part of the joy of partnership is adding your portion to the portions of others, small though they may seem individually – but together all the pieces come together to make a whole. We are committed together as a church for the gospel and we need to be committed financially together for the gospel.
   
   
3. And we also give as an expression of our love and gratitude. As we have received, so we freely give. We look out for the needs of others and we take up the privilege and joy of meeting those needs – which will include our money. We are to look after one another with our material wealth – whether that be small or large.
   
   “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10)
   
   Our Christian godliness will manifest itself through our generosity. We get to be like God as we give generously to others. Whether that be someone in need within our own congregation or whether it is to those in need of disaster relief on the other side of the world.
   
   “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)