Sunday 15 January: Tithe Equals a Tenth

The definition of tithing on the Oxford Reference website is: ‘One tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the Church and clergy. The practice derived from Jewish custom, as recorded in Jacob’s vow at Bethel, Genesis 28:22. (tithe. Oxford Reference. Retrieved 27 Jan. 2023, from https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803104737677.) 

A tithe of everything produced on the land belongs to the Lord and it is holy to Him. (Leviticus 27:30,32) 

Tithe is 10% of our increase back to God and is ‘the minimum testimony of our Christian commitment.’   

A: Abram’s response to meeting Melchizedek was giving him tithes (a tenth part) of everything he had. Genesis 14:18-20 describes the encounter when Abram returned in victory after rescuing Lot, the people, and possessions held in captivity by the four kings. Hebrews 7:1-9 retells the event explaining the law requires descendant priests of Levi to collect tithes from the people however Melchizedek was not a Levite yet still he received tithes from Abraham. This teaches us this practice goes back 4,000+ years in history.  

‘…tithing precedes and follows the specialness of the Levites. Tithing is not exclusively a Jewish custom and did not originate with the Hebrews at Sinai.’  

A: At Bethel, Jacob dreamed of God standing above a ladder reaching heaven from earth. God promised Jacob many descendants spreading out in all directions of the earth. Through Jacob’s descendants ‘all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ (Genesis 28:13-14)  

Jacob’s response to God was to make a vow saying that if God stayed with him, looking after him and providing him with food and clothes; so that he returns to his father’s house in peace then the Lord would be his God. Furthermore, the stone he set for a pillar would be God’s house and he would give God a tenth of all God gives him. (Genesis 28:20-22) 

A: It is important to understand that tithing, like the Sabbath, was not something that originated in the ancient Israelite legal or even religious system because otherwise, we’ll erroneously conclude it is a custom or practice under ceremonial/civil laws repealed when Jesus died for us on the cross. The message that we who live after the cross should take from this truth is tithing is we are required to tithe today.