Definition: A tithe is one-tenth of any produce of grain, flock, herd, income from any source.
What is it for. It is for food of the priest, the poor, the captives taken in war, to pay for the ransom of prisoners. Peoples in the Middle East as by Shemetic and Hamites practice it. It is a religious practice observed by Jews, Mohammedans, and Christians as well as others.
We shall study the tithe as practice by peoples in the Holy Bible, namely the Jews and the Christians. The first mention of the tithe is in Genesis Chapter 14, Verse 18-20. Melchizedick, king of Salem and priest of the most High God met Abram from his war against five kings led by king Chedarlaomer. Melchizedick brought bread and wine and blessed Abram “of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God which have delivered thine enemies into thy hand: and he gave him tithes of all”(KJV).
Melchizedick, the priest led Abram is a thanksgiving worship to the most high God. He pronounced blessings upon Abram who believed in God and blessings upon God most high for the victory against his enemies. Abram in thanksgiving to God gave to Melchizedick a tithe of all his booties of war. From this lovely narrative I believe gratefulness is express in worship and bringing of gifts to God.
Giving of gifts when we worship God is built in our beings when God created us in His own image and likeness and breathed His breath into us and we became living souls. We are of a truth “created a little lower than God.” So because God loves us so much He never tires of blessing us with every good thing in “good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over” (Luke 6:38). In like manner and because the curse of sin and death was lifted from us when we received Jesus Christ as our only LORD and Savior let us gratefully, joyfully, and heartily give our gifts whenever and wherever we are gathered for worship.
The second illustration of giving the tithe is found in Genesis Chapter 28, verses 12-22. In this passage Jacob was running away to escape the wrath of Isau, his brother, whom he had defrauded and deprived of his birthright and blessings.
During the night he had a dream in which he saw a ladder reaching up to heaven and God stood above it, and said “I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed; … and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed … I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, “How dreadful is this place! this none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” …And Jacob vowed a vow, “If God will be with me, and will keep me on this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on. So that I come again to my father’s house in peace: then shall the LORD be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that thou shalt give I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”
Here worship of God and the giving of the tithe is conditioned on God doing his promises to Jacob. This is a very primitive understanding of God. It speaks of the fallenness and depravity of man. Man sets the condtion by which God shall be his God to whom he can give all his tithes! There is no record that Jacob fulfilled his vow. God did because it is his character to do good and bless his people. But He does punished those who deny him honor, glory, and worship. Is it perhaps Jacob forgot to honor him with his tithes and offerings in worship that he told Pharaoh
“The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of my life been, and have not attained unto the days and years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage” (Genesis 47:9).
Worship is ordained of God. It is the highest good and it pleases God. This is expressed succinctly and wonderfully in a song
“LORD you are more precious than silver,
LORD you are more costly than gold,
LORD you are more beautiful than diamonds,
Nothing I desire compares with you.”
The tithe is an equitable measure of what a person, rich or poor, can offer to God in worship. It is democratic giving of what one has and not of what he does not have. The practice of tithing is an acknowledgment of God’s ownership of all that we are and our acceptance of our stewardship over all of God’s creation. We honor and glorify God when we worship and give Him a gift “in good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” The 9/10 is given to us to prove that we can be trusted to use it in things that will honor and exalt and glorify Him.
MALACHI 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.”
The above passage of scripture is one the most frequently and favorably use during the giving of offerings in church worship. It most popularly quoted by the prosperity preachers t o extract more money from the worshipers who desire more material and financial returns from their “seed” investments in the kingdom of God. What do they need more money for? Family vacations, travel, buy more spacious homes, buy health insurance, etc,. etc. The preachers or speakers are eloquent, well trained, and experienced. They know their business. They are expert in squeezing out your hard earned savings.
The problem in Malachi is lost of respect and reverence to God of the priests and Levites as well as the influential leaders of the people. It is “like priests like people”. They are religious, very religious indeed but for their own convenience. Listen to what God is saying to the priests through the prophet Malachi: “And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because you did not lay it to heart …For the priests lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But ye have departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 2:1-10).
God is holy. His holiness inspire fear among His people. It is not the fear of a slave towards his cruel master, but a fear of awesome reverence and obedience which lead man to glorify God in worship.
It is the giving of the best of who we are to Him alone. The complaint of God against the priests are:
a. They do not honor God
b. They despise the name of God
c. They polluted the altar with polluted bread and made it contemptible
d. They offered blind, lame, and sick sacrifices
If you offer this to the governor, would he be pleased with it?
How did this corruption and degradation of worship come about? The priests and therefore the people have lost their reverence and respect and fear of God. They robbed God of holy worship and fear and glory due his name. They have profaned His name and adulterated his worship. The prophet remind them that “From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:6-14 (Please Read the passage).
Malachi 3:10 enjoins the priests and people to return to Him, to honor and glorify his name. To fear and reverence him and to live righteously before him. The bringing in of the tithes in worship is the acknowledgment that the LORD is their God. God will remove the curse on their blessings.
The prophet Amos warned Israel that unless they return to God, God will send them a famine of God,s Word. It should be noted that for three hundred years from Malachi to Zacarias, the Father of John the Baptist, there was complete silence from God to his people. This is a warning to both the priesthood and the people of God to seriously repent of their sins and return to him as their only LORD and Savior and offer to him their “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. (Romans 12:1). Then God will bless them with blessings “in good measures, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over” (Luke 6:38).
But what of the tithe? It is nowhere taught in the New Testament. But it is an acceptable practice in the stewardship of possessions, time, and abilities or talents. It is a recognition and acceptance that God is our Creator and owner of all created things. God chooses man to be the steward over all His creation and have dominion over them. Jesus takes the tithe as the fourth priority to “justice, mercy, and faith” (Luke 23:23) Essentially the tithe is an equitable measure of giving to God in worship. It is most fair and democratic. The giver gives of what he has and not of what he does not have. The tithe is for the common giver. Christians and non Christians practice it. The convicted and repentant sinner, like Zaccheus give half of his goods. The Christ centered believer gives all to the glory of God (Acts 4:34-37;
2 Corinthians 8:1-5) The Macedonian Christians were able to give much in spite of their deep poverty, because they “gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.”
Malachi 3:10—12 “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my 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. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.”
Let us study the practice of tithing in Judeo-Christi biblical teachings only. I have already said that the act of giving something of value in our worship of God is built-in our vey being when God created us in his own image and likeness and breathed into us his very life and spirit and we became living souls. Throughout the Holy Bible we learn that God is always giving and pouring out His graces upon us. John writes to let us know that “we love him because he first love us” (1 john 4:19) “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should, but not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).” It is the very character of God to give. Since has created us in his image and likeness we reflect everything he is and does.
Nobody commanded Cain and Abel to worship God with fruits and produce of their labor. Yet in their hearts, minds, and souls both brought gifts to God in their worship and thanksgiving. There was no command to Abram to offer tithes of his booty in war to Melchizedick the priest of the Most high God in praise and thanksgiving in his worship of God. There was no condition of blessing from God because of the tithes. Neither was there a threat of a curse if Abram did not tithe. Therefore the tithe is a visible and tangible affirmation of man’s acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and ownership over all his creation. Psalm 24 declares “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” It also an acknowledgement and acceptance of God’s divine mandate. Psalm 8:5-6 “For thou hast made a little lower than the angels (other translators translate this verse ‘a little lower than God), and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands, thou hast put all things under his feet,” Therefore the tithe from a grateful heart honors and glorifies God who is pleased to bless him most abundantly with “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom” (Luke 6:38). This is the unchanging rule of God’s blessing “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”
The bottom lines in giving gifts to God in worship are a) know that God owns all things, b) He mandated man to be his steward over all his creation, c) “Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).
The tithe anti-dates the law of Moses. It was incorporated to the Law later as the tribes
became settled. It is not the same as the law of sacrifices and taxation on every male 20 years old and above. It alone survives the laws of sacrifices. Jesus places it as number 4 in priorities
which are justice, mercy, and faith, and tithe (Matthew 23:23).
You can be very strict and meticulous in giving your tithes, but if you are not humble and obedient to God your tithes become a curse and a stumbling block to faith. Never the less, Jesus says, you will not lose your rewards, But they shall be eaten by moths and destroyed by rusts and thieves break through and steal. So do give because you expect a reward. Give, whether it be a tithe or a freewill love offering to honor and glorify God. Make it a habit to be a giver expecting nothing in return. Be humble, compassionate, and charitable and blessings will continue to “come to you, and overtake you”. “And whatsoever your hands find to do shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3).
The tithe given to God in worship is an act of grace through faith Imagine what blessings God gives you by allowing to use nine-tenths of his treasures to invest in acts and things you do to honor and glorify God. your stewardship entrusted by God to is in your management of the nine-tenth. The tithe or one-tenth is God’s portion given to the church for whatever the church
purposes to do – feed the hungry sojourners, the poor widows and orphans, the sick and the infirmed among you, support of missionaries and missions, necessary infra-structures. It is in the nine-tenth and how you use it to honor and glorify God, that God will give you in “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men give to your bosom.”
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