Chapter 20: On Tithing and Giving Index

Transcription

1 Chapter 20: On Tithing and Giving Index Introduction Tithing Before the Mosaic Law Abraham Jacob Tithing in the Mosaic Law The Commandment The Purpose of Tithing Two Types of Tithe Two Theories on What Two Theories on Quantity Tithing and the New Covenant Of Giving and Blessing Differences in Purpose Of Obedience and Righteousness Giving Under the New Covenant Objective Principles The Principle of Need The Principle of Ability The Principle of Faith Subjective Principles The Principle of Devotion The Principle of Fellowship The Principle of Compassion How Not To Give Giving From Legalism Giving Into Freeloading Giving From Debt 769

2 20.1. Introduction Broadly speaking within the subject and thrust of covenantal ethics we have considered that there are various subjects that potentially seem uncertain as to under which covenantal order they fall. They are all commandments under the Mosaic Law, which nonetheless have some precedent outside of the ambit of the Mosaic Law. It is for this reason that many have held the beliefs that such commandments should nonetheless be followed. One of these subjects is the subject of tithing. Generally speaking there are two main approaches that one can take in applying the subject of tithing. The one approach is to say that the commandment to tithe is purely a (social) commandment of the Mosaic Law, and therefore does not bind us today, whilst the other approach is to say that the commandment to tithe is something beyond the Mosaic Law that it is something of a personal moral or ethical nature, a reality or a principle as it were that still holds validity for Christians today. The essential query before us therefore is to understand what the tithing commandment is in the Mosaic Law, and beyond it. The conflict that we have in this matter is predominantly covenantal. One needs to understand where tithing fits in terms of the covenants. There is however also a cultural, a traditional aspect to it. The institutional church both the catholic and evangelical church has long held a belief that there is a tithing imperative, and thereby finances its dealings. One therefore also has to consider to a certain degree at least the social impact of any conclusions that one makes. What is tithing? In Hebrew tradition tithing is called maaser kesafim. The English word to tithe comes from various words such as the old English Anglian word teogoþa or the Saxon, teoþa which simply means a tenth. To tithe is to in one way or another at various junctures to bestow a tenth of one s goods to another. Under the Mosaic Law these anothers would relate to the temple, the poor, the priests and one s self and one s own family Tithing Before the Mosaic Law There is a precedent of tithing well before the Mosaic Law. In fact there are two. Both Abraham and Jacob tithed or are at least said to have tithed. Our central enquiry into their practises is therefore to ascertain whether their tithes did reveal some or other general moral principle to tithe, or alternatively some or other greater tithing reality. It 770

3 is also important for us to recognise why they tithed, what they tithed and to whom they tithed. Genesis 14: Abraham So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him a tithe of all. Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion. Hebrews 7:1-10 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace, without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people 771

4 according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. The first passage on tithing, which deals with Abraham s tithe, and which was also endorsed in the book of Hebrews describes how Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, the King of Salem. What kind of moral guidance does this passage give us on tithing? Abraham tithed 10% of the loot to Melchizedek. This kind of tithe however is unlike the idea of tithing to which people usually refer. Firstly Abraham gave 10% to Melchizedek, and 90% to Aner, Eschol and Mamre and the King of Sodom. Earlier we read, (v8) And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar four kings against five. Abraham himself would then be the fifth king or commander. 100% divided between five commanders gives each one 20% each. Half of Abraham s portion would therefore be 10%. Why did Abraham share the booty in this way? Under Hebrew military law albeit after Abraham and under Moses we consistently note that those who stayed behind received an equal share with those who went to the war and finished it. Soldiers and support staff share the booty pro rata. We have examples of this in Numbers 31:25-31 when Moses went to war in particular as well as 1 Samuel 30:21-25 where David went to war. Each time those who stayed behind received an equal share with those who went to the war and finished it. This principle seemed to also have been applied particularly in how Abraham divided. (I think there is a spiritual principle in this. Those who labour now will inherit an equal share with those who are there at the Lord s coming.) After a victory one wants to celebrate one s victory. But with whom? The passage does present us with two tables of fellowship: the goods of Sodom or the table of communion of Salem. With whom would Abraham share fellowship? Sodom or Melchizedek; Sodom or Salem; Wickedness or Peace? Unlike Lot Abraham 772

5 fellowshipped with the priest of God in bread and wine, which is a picture of communion and of the Passover, and not the fellowship of barter with the king of Sodom. Abraham then gave half his share of the loot to Melchizedek and the rest (the other half) back to Sodom. After their defeat of their enemies at his hand, Abraham kept back nothing of the spoils. The 10% therefore seems to be the half or the whole of Abraham s share in the spoils of war, rather than any religiously ordained amount. Abraham also did not tithe 10% here but 100%, as he gave away the balance of the spoils (the other 10%) to the king of Sodom (the original owner). It was a chapter earlier (13:13) that we had read, But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD. Abraham gave everything away of Sodom s because he wanted nothing to do with Sodom. Perhaps he even felt that Sodom deserved to be attacked and raided. Abraham only went to battle to save Lot. What of his own profit, his own flocks and his own lands? Of that Abraham gave away nothing. The passage gives no command to tithe, nor does it give the tithe any religious import. Similarly Abraham offered the booty of his own free will and not at the instruction of God. I therefore cannot hold that this passage institutes any tithing principle. Once again looking beyond Abraham to the Mosaic Military Law, it is also important to note that of the booty of war, the Torah, the Law of Moses did not provide for any tithe. We do see that 1/500 of those who went to battle was given to the Lord, not as a tithe, but as a heave offering, and 1/50 of the booty given to those who stayed behind was given to the Levites. Turning away from the Bible, we do note historically that religious and governmental tithing was well in place at the time of Abraham. The Babylonians had their estretu an Akkadian term referring to a 10% tax. These taxes were paid to respective gods, as well as governmental officials. It is however hard to identify whether or not Abraham s tithe was by practise a parallel to these religious tithes, although the prima facie intimation of the passage is that it was not. 773

6 Genesis 28: Jacob Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You. Now after an encounter with God, Jacob made a conditional promise to God. He promised that if God blessed him, then he would do various things, including to serve him and to offer him a tenth of everything. Jacob was not under any illusions. He wasn t serving God yet. He put God on terms. If God blessed him then he would serve God and give him a tithe. He wanted to make a deal with God: 10% return on investment for God s blessing. This tithe he promised is not an annual tithe, or a monthly tithe, but a once in a lifetime tithe, and that is of everything that God would give Jacob. The tithe is promised to God himself, and we have no record of how, where, when or to whom Jacob tithed such things. (We do know that Jacob gave Esau a gift but in no clear measure and for no clear purpose other than it simply being a gift.) In fact before Jacob was blessed by God again, he did not give 10%, but rather he had sent everything away. Genesis 32:22-28 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, Let Me go, for the day breaks. But he said, I will not let You go unless You bless me! So He said to him, What is your name? He said, Jacob. 774

7 And He said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed. Jacob was leaving from Canaan for Haran, his grandfather and mother s land of birth, with nothing. When he came back he came with much material blessing, but he did not have an encounter with God before God had stripped him of everything he had gained, and he had nothing again. He left with nothing and put God on terms before he would serve him. God brought him back and met him when Jacob had nothing again. In fear Jacob had sent away not 10% but every single thing he had, even his wives and family. It is there Jacob experienced his transformation in character. He had to give God not a piece of the deal but his whole life. The promised tithe in the first passage seems to be a fleshly, a selfish response by Jacob to God offering God to share in on the profit of the deal, whereas God s point to Jacob is that God himself is all that Jacob truly has and that he wanted everything that Jacob is, was and had. This passage also therefore does not give us any tithing law. These two passages are the only passages that make any suggestion of a tithe beyond the Mosaic Law and neither seem to found any real principle of tithing beyond the Mosaic Law. This brings us to consider tithing under the Mosaic Law Tithing in the Mosaic Law Leviticus 27: The Commandment 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 to the LORD. If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it. And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD. He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. This is the first and main commandment of the law to tithe. It speaks of a tithe of the land, and in particular it would be a tithe of the fruit of the land. This would include the seed of the land, the fruit of the trees and of a person s flocks. This tenth is not the 775

8 best tenth or the worst tenth, but simply a tenth. It is the tenth tenth. This is a nett growth of someone s agricultural benefit. Leviticus 27 does not say to whom or what purpose the tithe goes rather simply that it is to the Lord. Jewish common law under the Talmud regulates the practise of agricultural tithing in terms of Tractate Zera im, a tractate of the Talmud that is noticeably devoted to Agricultural matters. It makes provision for four tithes. Ma aseroth, (the tithes generally, often in reference to the Levites), Ma aser Sheni, the different second tithes, and Terumoth, dealing with the Levite s tithe (the heave offering tithe). Deuteronomy 12: The Purpose of Tithing But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you. You shall not at all do as we are doing here today every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you. Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you. However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given 776

9 you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike. Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water. You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand The Purpose of Devotion A Tithe is a Gift to God We read in Leviticus 27 that, 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 to the LORD. A tithe is aimed to set apart a special portion of the increase of the land to God The Discipline of Celebration A Tithe is a Gift to Oneself and your Family to feast with God In Deuteronomy 12 we read that, And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you. Why tithe? Because, in as reverent a way I can put it, God loves a party. He loves to have a good time with his people. The tithe was never meant as a God-tax or at least not directly, but the opposite it was meant as a reason to celebrate and thank the Lord. The command to tithe was to set apart special time and special goods to feast with God. In the New Testament we read that the church had love-feasts of fellowship with God and with one another. This is also the same idea The Service of the Temple A Tithe Serves the House of God Deuteronomy 12 says,... you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand,... The place where the tithes of the people were to be given was at the temple of God. In the much quotes prophecy of Malachi God says, 777

10 Malachi 3:8-12 Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, In what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try 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 such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, Says the LORD of hosts; And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land, Says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3 identifies the temple as the place from which God would distribute the food to those for whom it would benefit. The audience of Malachi 3 is this whole nation in other words the nation of Israel as under the Mosaic Law. The temple had various storehouses from which the Levites could minister food to the Levites, the orphans, the widows and the poor, although the Levites would also distribute food directly. This was always a serious concern for God as the passage from Malachi indicates. There are other passages that reflect the same idea, such as Nehemiah 10:36-38, 12:

11 The Service of the Priesthood A Tithe Maintains the Priesthood In Numbers 18 we read that, Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting. One of the groups of people that the tithes had to serve was those who are in service to the tabernacle. Deuteronomy 26: The Service of Others A Tithe Takes Care of Widows, Orphans, the Poor and of Strangers So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you. When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year the year of tithing and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, then you shall say before the LORD your God: I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. God has always had a special concern for widows, orphans, poor and strangers. Perhaps one can take strangers to refer to refugees, but on whatever interpretation one takes, the command to tithe is a call to hospitality and to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves Two Types of Tithe The Tithe of the Land Maaser Sheni There are two main kinds of tithe under Moses. The first type of tithe of which we read of in Leviticus 27 is a tithe of the land. It is a tithe in fact of the fruit of the land, a 779

12 tithe of the increase which it offered, whether by seed, fruit or by any animal. There were two kinds or rather aspects of the tithe of the land: the tithe of the field and the tithe of livestock; plants and animals. Together they are a tithe of the land not of the sea, and so God never commands fishermen to tithe their fish. It is also not a tithe of the air. We do not find precedent of wild birds being tithed by bird catchers. There is no tithe of industry. Manufacturers never had to tithe of their products. Iterestingly enough this means that legally it is likely that Jesus as carpenter never tithed. It is also not a tithe of the marketplace. There is never a commandment given to anyone to tithe of their money. We have no Biblical record whatsoever of any commandment to tithe of money. And there is one example in the whole Bible, and one only, of one person tithing which would have included money. That example is of the story of Jesus told of the Publican and Pharisee praying in the temple in Luke 18. The Pharisee praised himself before the Lord for all he did, including his fastings and tithing of all he had. (It is unlikely that this Pharisee s tithe brought him closer to God. Since Jesus criticised the Pharisee, the passage is not a good precedent to found a major doctrine.) Permission was given to those who stay far from the temple to sell their tithe for money and then to buy livestock or harvest again to offer as tithe at the temple. (This system was greatly exploited by the religious leaders in the first century.) We never find examples of anything other than the fruit of the land, whether by livestock, fruit or seed given as tithes. Why? My understanding is this: God recognised the people of Israel, and indeed desired them to be, a people of the land. Throughout the Bible we find a deep connection between people and the land. Israel would be blessed in the land of Israel. The land was entrusted to Israel after Canaan had defiled the land. Man was originally taken from the land. Noah s flood purified the land from man s inequity. Abel s blood cried out from the land. In the New Testament we read under James that the wages of the (defrauded) labourers cry out from the land. God wanted a tithe from the land because in a sense it is the fruit of man. The tithe was a tithe the tenth portion. It was not the best nor the worst. It was simply the tenth portion. The Israelites were in fact called not to judge when considering which and what was the tenth portion under the rod. Now Israelites had to give three things under the Torah: tithes, sacrifices and offerings. Tithes were not classified in the same category as sacrifices or offerings. A tithe was not an offering but an act of maintenance and celebration with God. From what I can determine one had to give the best of one s flock and the best of one s grain for sacrifices and 780

13 offerings but this was something above and beyond the tithe. Because the normal tithe was not an offering or a sacrifice but simply a commandment, no discrimination was made into the nature of the tithe. The tithe of the land seems to have been part of the Israeli social-security-law. It made provision for God s religious ministers and for the poor and destitute. I do not think it is wrong to describe this tithe as a social-securities tax although in its heart and character it is closer in nature to paying maintenance. It is part of Mosaic social law not moral law and is part of one s maintenance obligations in society. In 1 Samuel 10:10-20 we note of how there would be a separate national tax, likewise of 10% on agricultural goods and products. Beyond the fact of its agricultural nature and its 10% mandate, the religious tithe and the national tax were different from one another in nature, character, purpose and role. The national tax served the king, the executive, and had no holy quality to it. The tithe was religious and for God. The national tax was a consequence of the people s desire for the king; the tithe is an expression of thanks for God s bounty. The national tax was a tax, and serves the king; the tithe however served the lowly and the holy. Numbers 18: The Tithe of the Tithe: The Heave Offering Termuah Maaser Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting. Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, a tenth of the tithe. And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the winepress. 781

14 Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the LORD from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the LORD s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. Of all your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the LORD, from all the best of them, the consecrated part of them. There is a second kind of tithe, a tithe restricted to the Levites called the heave offering. Now this tithe is a holy portion of a holy portion. It is therefore in a sense doubly holy. This heave offering was reserved for the high priest Aaron and his descendants. (Nehemiah 10:36-38.) This offering was stored at the temple. Unlike a normal tithe, or the tithe of the land, the tithe of the tithe was indeed the best portion that had to be set aside to God. This makes sense as it was indeed an offering Two Theories on What Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Luke 11:42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Nehemiah 10:35-39 And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD; to bring the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God; to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities. And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites 782

15 shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse. For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the singers are; and we will not neglect the house of our God. Now as per Leviticus 27 the general kind of tithe is a tithe of the land. It deals with seed and fruit, with one s flocks and their increase. Because it deals with the bounty of the land, we can read into it to infer such things as wool and milk because these things are also the increase of the land. From what I can determine things such as oil were also offered. But that is as far as one can take such tithes by tacit inference. The law commands no tithe of the sea, such as fish, and it commands no tithe of the marketplace, such as money. It commands no tithe of the air. There were no tithes of the sea, no tithes of industry and no tithes of the marketplace. God wanted the fruit of the land. Should one tithe money then? Likewise reading the practise under the Law of Moses, as per Nehemiah 10, there was no tithe of money, only of agricultural products. This was/is the source of great debate amongst the rabbis debates which we fortunately or unfortunately do not see directly in Scripture. Their absence may be significant however showing that those of the early church, including the apostolic writers, were not concerned with tithes. Some believed that one should tithe money also, and that that should be included, whilst others believe that the commandment to tithe money comes not from the Torah the Law but rather from the Talmud tradition. On a literal reading of the Bible, we have to agree with the latter group. What would Jesus say? Jesus did comment on the tithes of the Pharisees, being of plants and herbs. The Pharisees therefore tithed the choice things of the land. Jesus did not emphasise what the Pharisees gave but on what they did not give: justice and mercy. Jesus addressing tithing was far more concerned with the heart than the subject. Jesus did take a purposive interpretation to the Torah, and he did look at the heart of the commandments. Neither of these two approaches changes a tithe from the tithe of the land to anything else. Those approaches simple get the heart of tithing right. I must at pains emphasise that Jesus was at this point in time speaking to those who were under the Mosaic Law, the Old Covenant. When he says, These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone., it may be that he is speaking under 783

16 the New Testament books, but the New Covenant had not been instituted at that time. The Pharisees remained under the Torah s law to tithe. Jesus had not been crucified yet, nor had the Holy Spirit been poured out on God s people. Jesus was therefore not affirming tithing under the New Covenant in any way at all. As for under the Mosaic Law we are left undecided. Luke 18:11, Two Theories on Quantity The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank You that I am not like other men extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess. Deuteronomy 14:22-28 You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you. At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. Now to a more difficult issue. There came to be different theories as to how many tithes were to be brought. Some said one, some said two, and others added another 784

17 every third year. Thus there are two general streams of thought: that the Israelites had to tithe 10% and that they had to tithe 10% twice a year and again every third year an extra 10% amounting to a total average of 23,3%. The confusion seems at least in part to be about when that tithe was to be brought as the Torah at least in part seems to suggest that it could happen at different stages of the year. Another reason for the confusion is that God at different times designates different portions to different people such as in one instance to the Levites, in another for oneself in Jerusalem in the second, and the third tithe every three years to the poor. Or to put it differently: the idea is that Leviticus 27 proposes one tithe, and Deuteronomy 14 another two. The Jews seem to take the three-tithe view, holding one tithe to the poor every three years, one tithe for the temple, and one for the Levites. The continued Jewish practise in this regard should carry due weight, as the Scripture is potentially ambiguous. Aryeh Kaplan for example translates Deuteronomy 14:22,23 in his The Living Torah to say, Take a [second] tithe of all the seed crops that come forth from the field each year, You must eat this before God your Lord in the place that He will choose as dedicated to His name. [There you shall eat] the [second] tithe of your grain, wine and oil, as well as the first born of your cattle and smaller animals. The second is of course bracketed and inferred into the passage rather than read from it. The apocryphal Book of Tobit (1:6-8) records the historical Jewish practise in the second century before Christ the following passage, But I alone went often to Jerusalem at the feasts, as it was ordained unto all the people of Israel by an everlasting decree, having the firstfruits and tenths of increase, with that which was first shorn; and them gave I at the altar to the priests the children of Aaron. The first tenth part of all increase I gave to the sons of Aaron, who ministered at Jerusalem: another tenth part I sold away, and went, and spent it every year at Jerusalem: And the third I gave unto them to whom it was meet, as Debora my father's mother had commanded me... Ultimately Jews would therefore have tithed not 10% annually, but rather 23,33% (10% twice a year and 10% every three years. 10% to the temple, 10% to the priests and an effective 3⅓% for the rest including the poor and refugees.) 785

18 The proposition does leave one uneasy though. A ecclesiastical tax of agriculture of 23,3% before national taxation leaves fairly little for people to survive by and seems to be to be exploiting. Based on the principle of reasonability and humaneness I would hold an inherent presumption against such a burdensome interpretation of the commandment. Let us consider the two passages. Leviticus 27 says that one is to not enquire as to the nature or character of the tenth portion, whereas Deuteronomy 14 refers to the firstborn of the flocks, albeit in a somewhat indirect manner. Is there a difference in character between the tithes? It may however also be that God really wanted the best portion to be taken for celebration to Jerusalem, whereas the rest could be sold and redeemed in Jerusalem or distributed to the Levites. It is disturbing to note that the differentiation between the tithes is essentially made from different books and not consequentially from the same book. The trouble is that Leviticus 27 does not say for whom or what purpose the tithe is other than for the Lord. Are not all tithes for the Lord? The two tithes of Deuteronomy 14 also seem to me to be in fact quite the same and rather address practicality than distinction. Likewise Deuteronomy acted as a repetition and confirmation of the laws that came before, and as such, unless clearly otherwise, we should not use it to found distinctions between it and the first books of the Torah. And why would God want to confuse the people by referring to different tithes in the same vein? The general second trouble I have with the Jewish position is that it takes Deuteronomy 14:22-29 and it uses one word, i.e. tithe and distinguishes its use between different parts of the same passage. In verse 22 the words second is eisegetically inserted before tithe, and in verse 27 first tithe is eisegetically inserted. To my mind this just creates a muddle and reads things into the Bible rather than from it. I do not aim to unearth the whole debate. My interpretation of the situation under the formal Law of Moses is as follows. The people of Israel had to set aside a tithe every year. (I.e. Deuteronomy 12:5-7, Deuteronomy 14:22-28.) This tithe was 10% and aimed at Levites, temple maintenance, orphans, widows, the poor, and foreigners. It was up to the Levites to divide as they saw fit. That tithe could be sold and then redeemed in Jerusalem, or a portion could be taken to Jerusalem particularly from the livestock. Tithing seems to me to have constituted the Jewish social welfare system and was to be administered by the Levites. Tithing was therefore part of the Mosaic social laws and not moral laws or for that matter ceremonial law. The tithes 786

19 were collected by the Levites. The Levites would distribute some of the tithes there and then to the Levites, the poor, orphans, widows and foreigners. The rest including the best they would take back to the temple in Jerusalem. This seems to me to be confirmed by Nehemiah 10. This was a cumbersome process. In Hezekiah s day it took all Israel four months to bring the tithe in. (2 Chronicles 31:4-12.) Not very practical at all in a rural environment with no tarred roads and only donkey and ox wagons that had to carry everything. So instead what the law requires is that the Levites would bring the tithes which had already been set aside every three years. (Deuteronomy 26:11; Amos 4:4.) This third year was called the year of the tithe Tithing and the New Covenant The commandment to tithe is never given in terms of the New Covenant. We do not read of it in either Acts or the Epistles. The comments of Jesus about tithing relates to those under the Mosaic Law. We often see though that Christians gave far in abundance of 10% - in fact the first Christians sold everything they had to take care of the needs of the church. In the Epistles Paul never addresses tithing, but he does address giving. It is also significant that the early church never practised tithing. The first to recognise tithing over the Christian church was pope Adrian the first, in 787 AD, although I understand Catholicism treats tithing as a matter of conscience rather than as a moral command. During the middle-ages this remained predominantly an agricultural tithe rather than a tithe of money. Unfortunately tithing has often been used in church to exploit God s people, especially when used in conjunction with secondary tithes and offerings, such as 19 th century England, when farmers were driven to bankruptcy by tithing. Tithing has been a much abused Christian doctrine. It is important for us to discern the both the similarities and differences between tithing and giving. They are not the same but nor are they wholly dissimilar either. On the whole the two systems are in fact more similar than they are dissimilar. 2 Corinthians 9: Of Giving and Blessing But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his 787

20 heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! One of the differences between tithing and giving is this: that in a certain way and to a certain degree one tithed under the Mosaic Law in order to be blessed materially. This was one main emphasis of Malachi 3. Under the New Covenant one gives because one has been blessed. Christians nevertheless do also give in order to be blessed, but this process is somewhat different. Christians predominantly give in order to be blessed spiritually. This blessing is not any blessing in addition to Christ, but the joy of participating in the work of Christ. Under the Mosaic Law the motivation was obedience to the law. One gave because you had to. Under the New Covenant one s motivation comes from a transformed character because one wants to not from compulsion or begrudgingly. Paul describes this transformation as a cheerful giver. We can even call him a happy, or hilarious giver. An ecstatic giver. 2 Corinthians 9 is a challenging passage. It seems to challenge us personally and faith-wise. The heart of the passage seems to me to be that giving is a response to faith, a response to God. Giving is a co-operation, a partnership with God. God desires to give. God gives so that we may give. This passage mentions two groups of people. It mentions God dispensing to the poor and it speaks of the needs of the saints, the people of God. 788

21 Let us consider furthermore the process. We are called to give in order that we may experience God giving. There is the spiritual and the natural. We sow material things with spiritual motives namely to experience God. God blesses us spiritually and materially in order to allow us to be gracious as he is. This leads to thanksgiving on our part and once we move to thanksgiving, this leads to his glory. There are two measures in the passage. He speaks of always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. How much do we need before we give? The passage seems to suggest to me that that measure is when we have sufficiency. When we have enough to do what we need to do. The abundance is in order to give to others. Now Paul also says, in a passage very reminiscent of tithing under the Torah that, Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. Under the Torah one had to tithe a tithe of the land, i.e. a measure of the fruits of the land according to what one has sown. Here Paul speaks of spiritual seeds and spiritual sowing and spiritual reaping: sowing righteousness, reaping the fruits of righteousness in liberality; freedom and thanksgiving. Paul is painting a parallel between tithing and giving. It is fair to think that the Jewish hearers of Paul s words would have made the connection between tithing and giving, and saw the one as the predecessor of the other. The one acts as a picture of the next, and in this way the Torah also paints a picture of giving under the New Covenant. Whereas tithing aimed at the fruits of the land, - i.e. the physical, giving aims at sowing for a transformed character, - the fruits of righteousness. I have to qualify though that neither Paul nor God separate the physical and spiritual here. Paul foresees in the passage that our spiritual renovation occurs through material giving and through God s material provision. The heart-set and mindset remains however looking towards the spiritual with God in this strange dance, this partnership, this teamwork of receiving to give. Paul names giving a very strange name: the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ. Paul sees giving as a response to the gospel, as obedience to the content of its message. Lastly the great reality, reward and motivation of it all is, of the exceeding grace of God in you. Our aim in giving is to experience the power and grace of God dwelling in us, stirring his righteousness and grace. 789

22 Differences in Purpose There is a difference between the purpose of tithing and giving, albeit a limited difference. Under tithing one gave to fulfil the law. One gave to support the temple, and the priesthood of Levi. One also gave to provide for the poor. Under the New Covenant one does not give to support a priesthood or the temple. We all are God s priests, and the temple is not a building but a people. Unlike tithes which had to be brought at the temple and in grain and livestock, we are free to give with God wherever we are and with what we have. The only other real difference in purpose between tithing and giving is that tithing aimed at our justification before the law, whereas giving aims at simply sharing what God has shared not of compulsion but of grace, being gracious as he is gracious. Other than that the purpose of tithing and giving is the same: both tithing and giving are aimed at worship. Both tithing and giving are aimed at serving the widows, the orphans, the poor and strangers. Both tithing and giving are aimed at supporting God s ministers in the service of the gospel Of Obedience and Righteousness Now therefore Christians are under no compulsion to tithe. As tithing under the Mosaic Law in any event related to agriculture, very few among us save farmers are in fact in any position to tithe as the Torah required. We also do not have to tithe in order to be righteous, but we are called to give, not out of compulsion or bitterness but out of graciousness, knowing that God has received us, that he has justified us, and that he will bless us and care for us. What about people who want to tithe? Is tithing wrong? It is here where one needs to consider the traditions of man in the light of the New Covenant. Should one tithe? May one tithe? Now how and when one should give under the New Covenant we will discuss shortly. There is certainly nothing that says that one should not tithe. But in this I would offer three stern words of caution. Making a command of the Torah a tradition under the New Covenant can easily transform it into a law similar to the law of the letter. Once we seek to obey the law not as something of heart and of the spirit, from the purpose of compulsion and to be or even try to remain righteous before God, we set ourselves under the Mosaic Law, and effectively then, Christ avails you nothing. (Galatians 5:2). Some have sought to teach that not tithing is a barrier between us and God. They thus set themselves 790

23 under a standard of righteousness as of the Mosaic Law, and set aside the grace of Christ which blesses and receives us graciously and for free. Justifying themselves Christ avails them nothing a very scary proposition. Grace does not work in the same environment as conditional performance. Some say that a tithe, i.e. 10% is a useful guideline. The second caution I have is that a tithe or 10% is completely arbitrary. To one God would require 1%, to another 100%. To one who cannot care for himself God might well say, Give nothing and receive of the church whereas to another who has no need God might well say, Give everything. Looking at percentages trains us to have the mindset of, What can I get away with? We are thereby tempted to see giving as a God-tax. I am greatly tempted to say that anyone who sees giving in such a way should not give at all. The heart-set that we ought to have is to worship God, seek his face, and learn where and how God wants to minister. The third word of caution I have is the lesson of Jacob. Jacob sought to offer God a part of his life through offering him a tithe. God did not want a tithe from Jacob he wanted Jacob. Those who seek to tithe need to be wary of compartmentalising God, giving him bits and pieces, rather than their hearts. Better not give at all than to take the attitude of giving in order to set our responsibilities to God as fulfilled, and then get on with our own lives. One reason why we give is that when we give we automatically give of ourselves. Let us remember that. Thus I deem the practise of tithing as dangerous despite the fact that many have been blessed by it. Now the principles of giving under the New Covenant are difficult. Not because they are convoluted or contradictory, but rather because the New Testament is so full, so rife, so heavily saturated with the different aspects and ideas of giving. For the purpose of completeness I have summarised it as best as I have understood it. This does not formally form part of the doctrine of covenants, and my exegesis on it may be greatly incomplete for the bounty of teaching on it in the New Testament Giving Under the New Covenant It is quite difficult to look at the New Testament and to distil hard and fast rules about giving. This makes perfect sense. The New Testament does not institute laws but rather it calls upon us to respond to a relationship with God. If someone gave all he had but the process had not drawn him closer to God, then it all would have been an 791