A Closer Look at Tithing
Sunday, May 6th, 2007
avid Wayne, aka JollyBlogger, wrote a post early last week that touched on the subject of tithing. In his post, he looked at one of the passages that gives detailed information about the tithe in the Old Testament.
This topic can be touchy for a lot of people. As David, a vocational minister, noted in his post, his very livelihood depends on people tithing. I know of very few people who are in that position who would question how tithing is taught in our churches today.
The common thinking says that tithing is still a requirement for believers, and that the “storehouse” mentioned in Malachi 3:10 equates to the local church. Therefore, Christians are required to give at least 10% of their income to the local church. But the passage David looked at raised some questions in a small group discussion in which he was participating.
The passage is Deuteronomy 14:22-27:
You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. If the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the LORD your God blesses you, then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household. Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.
In his discussion of this passage, David came to the conclusion that in cases of hardship, tithing was not absolutely required. Specifically, in his own words:
I also think this is a good little point to make in our discussions on tithing and giving so that we don’t become more strict than the Bible. Ordinarily all of the tithe was to go to the Lord, but there were times when God allowed that giving of the tithe could create a hardship on the family and said it was ok to take care of the needs of the family.
I raised a question in the comments section regarding how David got this conclusion from the passage. This post here is the delayed response on my part to David’s request for more information from me regarding my difference of opinion.
First of all, the passage says nothing about concessions for hardship. What is conceded in the passage, however, is the practicality of traveling with large amounts of produce and animals.
In a nutshell, God instructed the tithe to be brought each year to “the place where He chooses to establish His name”. But for what purpose were the Israelites to bring the tithe? To put it in the storehouse? That’s not what this passage says.
The passage says that they were to eat the tithe. This is vastly different from how tithing is taught. The tithe was to be enjoyed in the presence of God by the one bringing the tithe.
Now, God does give a concession here if the distance to travel was too far to carry all of the tithe there. But the concession is not with regard to financial hardship, and the concession is not saying that those people did not have to tithe.
Rather, God says that if the distance is too far to carry all of it, the one tithing should sell their tithe for money, and then bring that money with them to the place designated.
Once they arrive, they should then purchase food with that money in order to eat in the presence of the Lord. And God even goes so far as to say, “Buy whatever you want to buy for this feast.” (my paraphrase)
In short, I do not understand the conclusion David got from this passage. This passage is not saying that in certain circumstances of difficult times, it is permissible to spend the tithe on your own food. Rather, this was the instruction for everyone tithing once a year.
Think about that. Once a year, the Israelites were to tithe by bringing their tithe to Jerusalem (eventually) and eating it in a celebratory feast in God’s presence!
Now, in the passage that I quoted above, I used the exact same group of verses that David did. However, I do want to point out that the passage mentions one other aspect of tithing that is made clear by the verses following what portion David quoted.
At the end of the passage above, the Israelites were instructed not to neglect the Levites that lived in their own town. What does this mean? Is this justification for tithing to our local church? Well, apart from the mistaken equation of church leaders to Levite priests who had no inheritance or land on which to raise his own food, it helps to look at the next statement in verses 28 and 29:
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. 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.
The provision for the Levite was that every third year, instead of eating the entire tithe in Jerusalem, the Israelites were to bring the produce tithe to a place in their own town. This contribution, then, would service the Levites and widows and orphans over the next three years.
Now, David is right in saying that we shouldn’t be more strict than the Bible. So, with that in mind, I’d like to open this up for discussion. Where did the concept of tithing to the local church come from? And why is it taught as a requirement for believers to support the local church in this way by equating it with the Old Testament tithe?
Until next time,
steve 
