What was tithing?

HiddenManna said:

Yes we see that some will fight tooth and nail to bring back "parts" of the law. I would like to have a dollar for everytime I have heard some preacher try to use Mal 3 in order to put believers under the bondage of the tithe. One can also see its pretty common to see that some will pick and choose portions of the law "breaking" the law into parts, as they desire. This is why the Lord said not one jot or tittle would pass away until all is fulfilled and as Paul wrote "cursed is everyone who continues not IN ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW TO DO THEM" There is no "moral" section of the law, and a "ceramonial" section. The law is one whole.

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Do you know Jesus already fulfilled the law?
The law is already fulfilled, that's why we don't follow it, we follow Christ.
There is no life in following the law, but there IS life in Christ! His life! Amen!

Levi said:

Do you know Jesus already fulfilled the law?
The law is already fulfilled, that's why we don't follow it, we follow Christ.
There is no life in following the law, but there IS life in Christ! His life! Amen!

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Of course, but issue of the tithe is directly related to the issue of the law. If one is set free from the law they are set free from the tithe. That is the point. Those who pick and choose parts of the law to keep are in error, This is my point. Do you have a point on the tithe or is your only purpose to attempt to ask me questions that are already very clear?

HiddenManna said:

Of course, but issue of the tithe is directly related to the issue of the law. If one is set free from the law they are set free from the tithe. That is the point. Those who pick and choose parts of the law to keep are in error, This is my point. Do you have a point on the tithe or is your only purpose to attempt to ask me questions that are already very clear?

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No, the tithe is connected to the Temple and the sacrifices and these no longer exist, therefore the tithe has lost its purpose.

Axehead said:

No, the tithe is connected to the Temple and the sacrifices and these no longer exist, therefore the tithe has lost its purpose.

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You do understand that the temple itself and the sacrifices where built according to the law and in service to the law? One cannot seperate the the temple from the law? Without the law, there is no temple or need for a temple.

HiddenManna said:

You do understand that the temple itself and the sacrifices where built according to the law and in service to the law? One cannot seperate the the temple from the law? Without the law, there is no temple or need for a temple.

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Sure, np. We are saying the same thing, coming from different angles.

Law, Temple, sacrifices, tithe all irrelevant today since we live by His Life within us.

Being led by the Spirit replaces strict adherence to the letter of the law. Giving from the heart replaces "payment system".

100% of our heart and all we own belongs to God, not 10%. Cannot hold anything back if the Spirit of God is telling us to give more than the letter of the law required.

We are not our own. We have been bought with a price, therefore we glorify God in our body 24x7x365.

HiddenManna said:

Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Mal 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.
Mal 3:11 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.

It seems very odd to me that those who claim to uphold the law, would find a way to avoid the tithe and the clear reading of the law. It seems that many just pick and choose what parts of the law, they desire to keep and explain away the other commandments as they please.

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True. But now we have the SUPER SPIRITUAL. They forsake God's law-word completely for their daily exercise 'in the spirit'. I heard one chap say he doesn't obey Jesus commands as now he has the spirit and this spirit will guide his conscious and teach him all he should know. LOL

So in this last day(s) we have replaced paper with electronic and God's word with spirit experiences and on it goes. B)

The Holy Spirit never throws out the Scriptures. If one is truly walking in the Spirit then he does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceededth from the mouth of God. Jesus and the Apostles knew the Scriptures and constantly referred to them, but at the same time they never denigrated walking in the Spirit. They upheld both the Scriptures and heeding the voice of the Holy Spirit.

ChristRoseFromTheDead said:

That's a good point. I'm beginning to see it as the influence of a spirit of Christian mysticism, where doctrine is thrown out the window for the sake of unity, and faith is replaced with 'spiritual' experience.

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Absolutely. The devil isn't going to sit still in these last days and do nothing. He will as sharading as a 'spirit of light' deceive many and I think because of such a demonic stronghold many shall by way of idolatry(spiritual mysticism) and the like(discontentment) fall away.

Faith without obedience is like the body without the spirit - it's dead. Obedience presupposes commandments to follow and faith really equates to not only a renewed mind but obedience(Holiness and Godliness in practice). Without the manufactories manual(word of God) we have no way of telling one thing from another and we are all subject to deception.

Moreover, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth(God's word) and bring that back to our remembrance as we commit it to heart. He also stated he(Holy Ghost) would NOT speak of himself but that which he hears. Ultimately, without the word of God we have NO guide and the Holy spirit has nothing to draw on, so as to instruct us.

For it's said that in these last days "he has spoken to us by his son".

JB

JB_ said:

True. But now we have the SUPER SPIRITUAL. They forsake God's law-word completely for their daily exercise 'in the spirit'. I heard one chap say he doesn't obey Jesus commands as now he has the spirit and this spirit will guide his conscious and teach him all he should know. LOL

So in this last day(s) we have replaced paper with electronic and God's word with spirit experiences and on it goes. B)

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Yes. This is a form of the heresy of Quietism. Any person who is totally consumed by prayer at the expense of obedience and actively loving outwardly though service is in spiritual peril, not to mention risking his sanity

ChristRoseFromTheDead said:

I would like to begin a study on tithing in an attempt to better understand what the tithe really was.

Tithe simply means "ten", or "tenth". Whether that means 10%, or the tenth member of a cardinal sequence (e.g., 1, 2, 3, ... 10), or both, remains to be seen. Whatever it was, the tenth was holy to GOD:


As most of us know, many religious leaders today define the tithe as being 10% of gross income, i.e., an income tax. The scriptures, though, paint a different picture. In the law, the tithe is always described as being the tenth of the increase from the field, i.e., crops and livestock. There were many income producing professions in ancient Israel, but there is no scriptural evidence that any of those who worked in them were ever required to 'pay tithes'.

In light of these facts, it can be inferred that the tithe honored GOD for giving the increase. In other words, men labored, but GOD gave the increase. Making a tree produce fruit is something no man can do, and glorifies GOD.

Apart from this economy, men labored and were owed wages. Since there was no increase from GOD, no tithe was required.

It also is important to point out that the concept of income tax is a modern innovation.

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The Levites were not given a portion of the land God had promised to the other children of Israel, instead they were to attend to the tabernacle. They were to have the cities and some grazing land for livestock.

Lev 27:32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.

Num 18:26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.

This has nothing to do with Christian leaders receiving tithes. We are asked to give offerings as we feel to give, but not tithes. Pastors want tithes so they can have a fixed amount they know will come in. Not biblical.

I have known many "full time" pastors and most of them had plenty of time to work a secular job and fulfill their duties at the "church" and still not put in the hours of service as many of the those who volunteer their time.

The truth is, that because the Christian religious system is man-made it must have money to survive and employ the carnal teaching on tithing to manipulate it's members into proponents.

The New Testament strengthens what was said on the Old Testament. If tithing in the Old Testament was interpreted by many of us as the 10th of one's income or wealth, why couldn't we settle on the concept of tithing today as the portion of what our heart desires to give. What is the worth of giving 10th of your income when your heart is not glad at all. God will be happy to accept what we give, no matter how small it is, if it is deep from our hearts.

Pastors in the USA are fond of talking about the giving of tithes, but do they ever talk about the biblical use of tithes? No, not to the best of my knowledge.

The Old Testament dictates who was to be on the receiving end of the tithe. Deuteronomy 26:12 (NIV) says the following:

When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

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In short, the tithe was a poverty tax enacted to make sure that the poorest people of the land had enough to eat. The tithe also served to provide food for Levite families because Levite men were forbidden from working in food-producing occupations.

ChristRoseFromTheDead said:

Where is that written? See post #7

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I will admit that I could be mistaken about Levite men being forbidden to be in food-producing occupations. Even a Melmacian can be wrong sometimes.

Levites were not given any land to farm or keep livestock.

ChristRoseFromTheDead said:

That statement clearly contradicts scripture...

Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites common land for the cities round about them. And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the common land of them shall be for their cattle, and for their property, and for all their beasts. And the common land of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about. And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the common land of the cities. Numbers 35:2-5

From the best I can interpret, this was approx. 900 acres of land per city for pasturing and crops.

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Thanks for the reference CRFTD, I don't remember reading that passage before.
I based my statement on Deuteronomy 14:29
Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all your work.

Greetings all,

I just came across this thread, hear what The Lord has to say about tithing.

God bless.


[Jesus The Christ] You also ask of tithes... Here is wisdom: Abraham, your father, gave ten percent of his spoils to the king of Salem, Melchizedek, and later a portion was also given of the tribes of Israel and to the Levites so they may serve God, and so it is today. Yet today, the voice of God is not with His people, as it was then, for none will listen. So give directly to the poor, as your heart leads you, for in serving God shall no man profit by monetary means, but shall profit only by that which The Lord God gives. And the profit God gives is true, and in no wise is it of men or mammon. For The Lord delights in that which one gives to another, in My name, and by the works of their own hands and feet in all righteousness... This is the tithe in which The Lord delights most. If one comes to you, saying, ‘Give me a cup of water’... Give them a drink in My name.

If one comes, saying, ‘I need a shirt, for I am naked and cold’... Give them your shirt and your coat also. And if this same one asks, ‘Will you walk with me this far?’... Go with them double. So tithe not just of your money, but of your possessions, of your body, of your strength, of your time, of your very life, and you shall receive ten-fold in Heaven and in the Kingdom to come. Do this, and you shall really know Me and The Father also, for I am of The Father.

Excerpt from:
Receive the Lord’s Blessing
http://trumpetcallofgodonline.com/index.php5?title=Receive_the_Lord’s_Blessing