The Bible is the Source for Christian Truth.  This is where we should find our understanding of the tithe.  The following is a scriptural accounting of tithing.  Some of the following is not mine it was free off the Internet (why reinvent the wheel).  I don’t bother giving credit to the writers, of this I ask your pardon.  One, I don’t want it judged by ‘the who’ did it and two, I don’t want to burden it with the ‘this is such and such and he said such and such.  I try to cover every scripture in the Bible that deals with tithing.  If you find something in the Bible concerning tithing that is not considered here please let me know by emailing me using the 'Contact me' link.

Pre-Law Tithing?

The word tithe first appears in Genesis 14, approximately 2000 years after Adam and Eve and during all that time there is no biblical reference to tithing. 

'Then Melchizadek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything' (Genesis 14:18-20). “See,” some say, “tithing was a necessary practice way back in the days of Abraham.”  But read the context, which, in this case, is the entire chapter.  The first thing you find is that the “everything” in question did not belong to Abram. It was the property of other people, including Abram’s nephew, Lot, who had been captured by the armies of several kings.  Abram and a small group of his servants had gone to battle against these great armies and — against all reasonable expectations — had won. Melchizadek recognized that God had granted this miraculous victory (v.20).  Notice Abram’s statements in verses 22-24. He owned none of the property in question before the battle and, although entitled to the spoils as the victor, he refused to take any of it: “I will accept nothing belonging to you…” (v.23).  Abram gave away ten per cent of other people’s stuff, in a representative act of thanksgiving to God on behalf of some people who had been miraculously rescued from a life of slavery. This was a once-only event. It has nothing to do with the now common teaching that you should give ten per cent of your income to the church.  You never see Abram give 10% of anything away again.  If people believe that you should follow the example of Abram in Genesis 14, you should go to war with a dictator who has ill gotten gain (like Arrafat or Hussein) with a small, impossible, underdog force and after God gives you the victory give 10% of your spoils of war away and the rest back to the victims.  

The next occasion in scripture that you see the tithe is in Gen. 28, “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth” (Genesis 28:20-22).

“See,” some say, “tithing was a necessary practice way back in the days of Jacob, long before the Law was given.” But read exactly what Jacob said in Genesis 28:20-22. 1. He made a vow, a promise (and there is no record in the Bible that he ever kept that promise.) 2. It was a conditional promise. Notice the five conditions:
 IF God will be with me;
 IF God will watch over me;
 IF God will give me food to eat;
 IF God will give me clothes to wear; and
 IF I return safely to my father’s house
(which didn’t happen until some twenty years later…),
 THEN, and only then, can God have 10% of whatever He gives me. If that is “tithing”, feel free to make a list of everything you want from God and — once you have received it all — start making your once-every-twenty-year payments.  In the meantime, on the basis of Genesis 28, there is no obligation to give anything. Another pre-law consideration is that of Joseph.  If tithing was God’s will, this knocked around son of Israel resurrected from the dungeons of Egypt, was given an awesome opportunity to incorporate it into Egyptian law.  Instead after securing for Pharaoh all the worldly goods and property of Egypt, and the Egyptians are as indentured slaves, he sets up a government that requires a 20% tax and nothing is given to the God of Israel. Finally, the Sabbath was given pre-law, Abel and Abram offered animal sacrifice pre-law yet today we understand that these are not applicable.  So, why is it that tithing is preached as applicable today with the logic being we see it in a fashion before the law was given?  Let us at least be consistent. 

The Levitical Tithe

There were four tithes in the Old Testament Law.

1. The people paid a general tithe 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 a tithe of the general tithe 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 castes were descended from Aaron and they had specific responsibilities related to the Temple worship.  The second tithe guaranteed the financial security of the priests, and thereby protected the Temple system.

3. The people kept a tithe to pay for their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.
But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose.  Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice (Deuteronomy 14:22-26). 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.  Notice the next verse (27), “And do not neglect the Levites…” This was a reference to the first tithe. In other words, the third tithe — for the annual feasts — was not to be confused with the separate and distinct general tithe for the Levites.

4. The people paid a tithe for the poor, the orphans and the widows 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 The United States this is called “Social Security”. At that time it was payable once every three years, which equals one-third of a tenth annually.  These tithes were not ‘gifts’, they were taxes. The total tithes paid by the Israelites were 23.3% of their total income, somewhat less than the average American pays today in income tax. Thus was the tithing system of the old covenant.

An important understanding of the old testament tithe was the land was the Lords.  His tithing law took this into account.  Leviticus 27:30-33, "And all the TITHE 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. And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the TITHE of the HERD, or of the FLOCK, even of whatsoever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it..."

We learn a great deal about tithing in this Scripture:

1. The tithe comes from the "land," not the air or the sea. Fishermen were not required to tithe fish. There were many businesses that were not agricultural.  They were not required to tithe.
2. It was the "seed" or agricultural products from the fields that was holy to God and tithable.
3. Products from "trees" were to be tithed. This not only included the fruit, but oils, etc.
4. Of "herds or flocks" it was the "tenth" that passed under the rod that was holy and dedicated to God.

It was not the first tenth, but rather the tenth tenth that belonged to God.   It’s the tenth one of a herd that belongs to God.

Another interesting point is this. If a herdsman had but nine cattle, he didn’t tithe his cattle at all! Also notice that God did not even require the best of the cattle, just the tenth one to pass under the rod even if it was the runtiest of them all. Remember, we are talking about tithing and not sacrificing (animals for sacrifice always had to be without blemish).

An Often Quoted Scripture, so what was Malachi all about?

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation” Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows" (Malachi 3:8-10).

This text definitely preaches a prosperity gospel.  This gospel is prevalent today in many ministries.  It is the gospel of ‘follow Jesus and you will be blessed by worldly possessions’, health and healing is often included in this message, but what is its context and what is it saying?  Which of the four tithes is in view in Malachi?   The tithe payable by the Levites, not the tithes payable by the people, Malachi is not rebuking the people, he is rebuking the Levites.  Mal.1:6 is directed to the priests not the people.  Mal.2:1 says, ”And now, O priests, this commandment is for you.”     The tithe that Mal.3:8-10 is speaking of is the number two tithe mentioned above payable by the Levites to the priests, “And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse” (Nehemiah 10:38).  If you want to understand the book of Malachi, read Malachi 4:4, “Remember the Law of Moses…” That is the whole thrust of Malachi.   But we do not live under the Law, we live under the grace provided in Jesus Christ. If you choose to submit yourself to even part of the Law of Moses, you have a problem.  A whole new testament book is dedicated to this theme. 
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them” (Galatians 3:10).
If you choose to place yourself under the works of the Law, you are under a curse for the simple reason that you cannot keep the Law of Moses. Your fallen, sinful nature will see to that. The purpose of the Law is to act as our tutor, or “school master”, to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24).

The First Church Council

Did Jesus Endorse Tithing

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others” (Luke 11:42) Again, 'Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.'(Matt.23:23)

When Jesus said “these are the things you should have done…”, did He mean that we should tithe? Look at His comment in context. Who was Jesus speaking to? The Pharisees. What was significant about being a Pharisee? They considered themselves to be “separated unto the Law” — that’s what the word ‘Pharisee’ signifies.  He was speaking about matters of the law to keepers of the law.  Jesus was saying to a group of people (who prided themselves on keeping the Law perfectly) that they should do their thing (keep the law) without neglecting justice and the love of God (the truly weighty matters / eternal matters of the law).  Jesus was not speaking to the disciples, and He was not imposing tithing on them. Christ was born of a woman under the law.  He was perfect without transgression to the law and in His unblemished sacrifice at the cross of Calvary we can now sing, ‘Free from the law O Happy condition”, we are not under the Law we are under grace.

Tithes Are 'Corban'

'And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. ¹⁰For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: ¹¹But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. ¹²And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; ¹³Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
 (Mark 7:9-13) (KJV)

If you have money your family needs, but you withhold it from them in order to pay it to the church as 'tithes', you are doing exactly what the Pharisees did. You are saying your money is "Corban" and Jesus taught that by doing so you were invalidating the Word of God.

Giving Versus Tithing

Notice what the definition of tithing is:

"tithe (tith) n. 1a. A tenth part of one’s annual income contributed voluntarily or due as a tax, esp. for the support of the clergy or church." (The American Heritage College Dictionary, p. 1444).

The LAW commanded tithing.

Giving is voluntary from the HEART.  The Lord said,’ it is more blessed to give than to receive.’  All said about tithing, this does not mean that Christians should not be a generous giving people.  It is just that Christ has brought us into liberty, we are free from the law and though we now have no obligatory requirements we now can give as God lays it on our hearts to give.  The gospel minister should be supported, the ox should not be muzzled.  The widow should be cared for and the missionary supported and all of this should be in the liberty where with Christ has set us free.  Freely we have received freely we should give.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty and there will also be generosity.  Christians should be different than the stingy, hoarding world, building bigger barns.  God loves a cheerful giver.  I can wake up Sunday morning and know Gods Still Small Voice say this is the way walk ye in it, give this much.  This liberty requires walking in faith, this is sometimes much more difficult than walking under the law’s predefined bondage.

Hebrews 7

Hebrews 7 remembers Genesis 14 and speaks of Malchizedek, Abraham and tithing.  Before this passage is explained lets consider the context of the book.

Hebrews is a great book.  It has historically been viewed as a book written to prepare believing Jews for the soon to be destroyed Temple (a huge part of their heritage) and to keep them from giving up Christ and returning back to the Mosaic Law.  Each chapter considers some aspect of the Jew’s heritage and compares it to what believers have in Christ.  The book begins with a statement about how God had spoken in the past by the prophets but now in these last days He has spoken with conclusiveness in His Son.  Through out the book there is constant reference of what was in the old/passing covenant and what now is in Christ and how much better this is.

Hebrews 1 shows how much greater Christ is compared to Old Testament prophets and angels

Hebrews 2 shows that if Old Testament apostates did not escape judgment how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation that is in Christ.

Hebrews 3 continues the warning to not harden your heart in unbelief

Hebrews 4 shows that in Christ we have an eternal Sabbath rest that does not begin on Friday and pass away on Sunday.

Hebrews 5 shows how much greater the eternal priesthood of Christ is to the sinful priesthood of Aaron.

Hebrews 6 shows a better hope, a more sure anchor and a more wonderful salvation that is all in Christ

In Hebrews 7 we come to the story of Melchizedek and we are told to ‘Consider how great this man was’, his greatness is seen as a type of Christ.  He is King of Peace (The Prince of Peace).  He is Priest of the Most High God (The High Priest).  He is likened to the alpha and the omega w/o beginning and w/o end.  It has even been considered in theological circles that Melchizedek was an appearance of Christ… so great is the type and imagery seen here.  The point that Abraham tithed a portion of the spoils to Melchizedek, before he gave the rest of his war spoils away, is that the inferior gave reverence to the superior.  The Levites, though unborn, are seen in Abraham giving respect to this wonderful type of Christ.  The Old (passing away) covenant/testament, is giving honor to the New (eternal) covenant/testament.  The priesthood that was to pass away, bows to the priesthood that is of an everlasting nature.  All of these shadows and types are seen in Hebrews 7.  The tithe preacher would use this chapter to say, ‘see Abraham gave 10% so should you.’  This is ridiculous, the tithe that is in Hebrews 7 is used to show that we have an everlasting / better covenant in Christ than what was in the old covenant.  Tithing was a part of the old not the new.  It is abandoned in place for the new.  The new involves the priesthood of all believers not just the Levites.  The new involves a relationship with God available for all not just a few. 

Sheep Should Be Wary

Peter warns:

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily [secretly] shall bring in damnable [destructive, fatal, disastrous, ruinous] heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And MANY shall follow their pernicious [lascivious, licentious, wanton] ways; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness [greed, lust] shall they with feigned words MAKE MERCHANDISE OF YOU" (II Pet. 2:1-3).  It is sad that there are many who use the generosity of Christians to line their own pockets or build their own kingdoms.  So, sheep should be wary when the pulpit is used to secure funding by the preaching we are under the tithing law.  It is too bad that pastors, in their financial insecurity, try to procure funds from the Lord’s people.  George Mueller of Bristol said, ‘The Lord’s work, done the Lord’s way, never lacks the Lord’s provision.’  He went on further to say that there is no need ever to communicate need or beg for funding.  Trust God to be Jehovah Jirah, the Lord who provides.  In short preaching that Christians should tithe is a ‘make merchandise of you’ doctrine.

Conclusion 

The Bible does not teach Christians to tithe.  The tithing doctrine is a damaging error that brings one into bondage.  Historically, many wolves have used it to fleece the flock.  At best, this doctrine is taught by innocent preachers that don’t understand what the scriptures teach concerning the tithe, at worst it is a tool of spiritual abusers who through greed of power and money build empires on the backs of Gods people.