Frank Chase Jr.'s Blog, page 2
August 26, 2019
Tithing Explained in Words and Infographics
Hold the presses, check your wallets and purses, it’s an emergency. Tithing from your paycheck isn’t in the Bible but was an invented doctrine imposed on believers in the sixth century. So who’s the culprit for this epic deception. If you open the book https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Kleptomaniac prepared for a jaw dropping revelation. But sometimes even words or scriptures still won’t help a person understand what tithing really is and why it is not required today. So in this post I have prepared three tithing info-graphics to help some people get an understand of what tithing is.
[image error] The Bible Presents tithing as Clear as a Picture
The church says to tithe money, but God said to tithe crops, herds, flocks, and grain. Money was introduced as a mandatory tithe by the catholic church through edits, and church law that cancelled God’s command of an agricultural and livestock tithe. The tithing truth can’t be found in the church, it can only be found in the Bible and research. But sometimes even if you still show people scripture that prove what tithing is, it’s still not enough to convince them. God’s crop, herd and flock tithe belonged only to the Levites not pastors or churches. So it would be incumbent upon all believers to do research and get informed about tithes so that you don’t let your finances get raided until you know the facts about God’s tithe requirements. You can began your search here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfiqI6GVUJo&feature=share. And you can also start by reading books like Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? Just contemplating about tithing leaves you vulnerable to deception. Reading about tithing makes you an informed giver who knows the doctrinal shell game and tricks of the institutional church monetary tithe trade. Be forewarned and forearmed with tithing truth so you don’t drink the Kool-Aid. The process of changing the biblical authorized livestock and produce tithe from eatible items to money happened over a long period. As the church and state became bedfellows in the 8th century under Charlemagne, he formed the unified Holy Roman Empire and began teaching monetary tithing first as a voluntary act but became more aggressive and transformed into requirement to support ministry. All of this was done outside of scripture. So let’s look at the first infographic about tithing to see if this information can help you clear up some issues you might have.
[image error] The Truth is in the Food
“Tithes were referenced as food 16 times in the bible. It was never referenced as money but still church people still believe this lie.” A tithe infographic is worth a thousand words, and if words can’t convince people maybe a picture will.
post from facebook on February 16, by Sayen Talisha Israel
No matter what you hear come from the pulpit, always remember that when the Bible says tithes, God is asking for eatable agricultural products from the land and livestock. But when you hear the supposed tithing Levites of Christendom say tithes, it is not crops and cattle they want, but money is the focus because they justify changing the use of the Hebrew word for tithe to include money outside of the Bible. The centuries-old fleecing campaign of God’s people has gone on far too long.
Based on the sabbatical cycle and the Scriptures, the tithe did not go to the temple. Every third and sixth year of the sabbatical cycle, the tithe stayed in the towns for people to eat. The first person to get the tithe was the Levite, then strangers, the fatherless and widows got to eat the tithe in the towns where they lived. The tithe was brought to the local Levites and distributed to the needy in their communities. Deuteronomy 14:27-29 and 26:12-14 indicated the eatable tithe stays in the community for the people including the Levites. The third year tithe serviced Levites, widows, orphans, and strangers. It was a public service for the less fortunate so people would not go hungry. Unlike our society today, Israel did not have an economic system that resulted in two social classes: the haves and have-nots. This is because the third year tithe or the poor tithe took care of the needs of those less fortunate. What is also amazing is that strangers, widows and orphans did not tithe because they were not landowners. That’s right! The poor in Israel did not tithe. The Bible says the tithe belongs to the Levites as their inheritance from God. Before the law, no tithe command existed and all giving fell under the auspices of gratitude or freewill giving. Now when God speaks to Moses, he commands a tithe as part of the law and introduces a middleman, the Levites. The tithe Abram gave before the law didn’t come from a pre-law principle but happened based on customs for the rules of war. Tithing existed long before Abram gave a tithe to Melchizedek. When God instructs Moses on the tithing laws, He defines what the tithe is. In Numbers and Deuteronomy, God states to whom and where Israel should tithe. The context of Leviticus 27:30-33 shows the tithe is land based, which makes Israel an agricultural economy. Israel had a monetary system and never tithed money in a partial agricultural economy. Let’s see if another infographic with five facts about tithing will help your understanding
[image error] The Truth Cannot Be Hidden Forever
[image error] Tithing Facts You Can’t Dispute
Many people are confused about storehouse tithing, but don’t get bamboozled by the storehouse tithing doctrine. Here is a quote from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
“From every storehouse reference in the Bible, is their one that either directly or indirectly implies that the storehouse is the modern church building? I think not. The definition of the storehouse in the Bible depends on what translation is used. The first form of the word storehouse is mentioned in 2 Kings 20:13, “Hezekiah welcomed the messages and showed them all the silver, the gold, the spices, and the fine oils that were in his storehouse….” (CEV). Now, if you read this verse in the NKJV, it says, “…showed them all the house of his treasures…”. In the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB), it says, “…showed them the building where he kept his treasures…” and all his gold, silver, spices, and oils. Genesis 41:56 says, “The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt.” As you can see, Joseph stored up grain, and at least one-fifth of Egypt’s produce for the upcoming famine. In the Contemporary English Version (CEV) of the Bible, Deuteronomy 28:8 reads, “The LORD your God is giving you the “and he will make sure you are successful in everything you do. Your harvest will be so large that your storehouses will be full.” This same verse in the CJB and the NIV uses the word barn instead of the storehouse. Barn is also used in Job 39:12 and Haggai 2:19 of the KJV.
In addition, the Bible reveals other references to storehouses that have nothing to do with tithes or money but weather. The CJB says in Job 38:22, “Have you gone into the storehouses for snow or seen the storehouses for hail.” Another reference to storehouses that relates to nature is in Psalms 33:6-7. The weather is also referred to as God holding the wind in storehouses in Psalms 135:7, “He raises clouds from the ends of the earth, he makes the lightening flash in the rain and brings the wind out from his storehouses” (CJB). Other Bible verses refer to storehouses as a supply depot or warehouse for storage of government supplies such as food, treasures and military equipment (see 1 Chronicles 26:15; 27:25 and 2 Chronicles 11:11).”
[image error] Get a Copy Now!
The truth about tithing is in plain site but minds eye of people are blind because of cognitive dissonance and a lack of understanding biblical context. For years I was afraid to do deep research on tithing to find out what the truth was about tithing ten percent of my income to the institutional church. I was scared straight and gave the ten percent to the point of my financial downfall just to escape the curse of God. But when I decided to take the plunge and search the scriptures, I first produced a 117 page power point tithing study, then I turned that into a powerful book called Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? Here’s a quote from my book that no pastor will be able to filibuster and pontificate to escape the truth of the eatible tithe, “If an Israelite lived too far from the temple to take his tithe, he was suppose to convert the tithe to money and then re-buy the products and eat and share with levites, strangers and the poor at the place chosen by Yahweh.” Don’t believe me read the book, https://store.bookbaby.com/book/kleptomaniac . When it comes to tithing, the church acts like a kleptocracy. Here is another infographic for about what fruits really are for your study.
[image error] What are First Fruits in the Bible?
[image error] The Tithing Truth is Right in Front You in Plain Site
Prior to writing my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway, I planned on just ending my research with my 117 page tithing power point study and this New Testament Giving Power Point Slides. It it 48 slides. But after many people encouraged me to write a book, they said it did not make since to just do the slides and stop. So I expanded everything into more research and finally wrote the book. Boy did I learn so much over the years. And now I know for a certainty that no one who goes to church owes God a monetary tithe. So let giving be giving and let tithing be food as the Bible instructs. If the Bible says, “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 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. These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai,” why are pastors trying to change God’s word to collect money as tithes when the scripture says tithes comes from what is grown from the land and tithes are herds and flocks, and that the tithe command was given to the Children of Israel who grew crops and raised livestock to offer God as a tithe. The answer is God doesn’t want your money as a tithe. Leviticus 27:30, 32, and 34. And in the New Testament, Jesus never taught his disciples to tithe. The apostles did not tithe and neither did the churches they preached at. So why is there so much attention placed on Old Testament tithing, an Israeli agricultural practice by Christians of the modern day to twist tithing into money? Twisting the Biblical agricultural tithe into monetary income so preachers can get paid, is extortion and changing God’s word, which is forbidden. Don’t fall for the con but follow the context! Follow the New Testament rule of 2 Corinthians 9:7 and give whatever you decide to give! So let’s see what the next infographic bring to light about tithing.
[image error] Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
[image error] God’s Tithe Alert is Clear and Concise
Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway Media Kit from Dr. Frank Chase Jr
&lt;span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;iframe&gt;You can find&nbsp;&lt;a href=”http://lmuog.com/frankchasejr”&am... Whos’s Really Robbing God Anyway&lt;/a&gt;&nbsp;by looking up my book on Google.&lt;img class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-1977″ src=”http://tithenomore.com/wp-content/upl...” alt=”” width=”900″ height=”600″ /&gt;Follow the social media campaign for&nbsp;&lt;a href=”http://www.fcpublishing.com/about_kle... Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?&lt;/a&gt;&nbsp;on&nbsp;&lt;a href=”https://allauthor.com/social-media-fe... Author&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a title=”Frank Chase Jr latest interview by AllAuthor” href=”https://allauthor.com/interview/drcha... src=”https://media.allauthor.com/img/origi...” alt=”Frank Chase Jr latest interview by AllAuthor” /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Author and former military man Frank Chase Jr. grew up in Baltimore, MD. He got interested in writing from watching movies and listening to a radio show called mystery theatre, but it was only in his thirties after a divorce that his desire to write escalated. His debut book “False Roads to Manhood: What Women Need to Know: What Men Need to Understand” took him seven years of research and writing. If he weren’t a writer, Frank would be a stage actor as it has been his passion since high school.Being a writer has taught him that everyone will not agree with you or what you may write, but it leaves a record and a legacy that can help future generations long after you have passed on. He is currently writing a scripture-centered book and also plans on writing a fiction novel soon. &lt;a title=”Read Frank Chase Jr full interview by AllAuthor” href=”https://allauthor.com/interview/drcha... full interview…&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;<br /><br />
February 16, 2019
The Tithe Test
https://gobook.com/kleptomaniac-whos-really-robbing-god-anyway
For many people, taking a test can be nerve racking. It gets even more complicated when you start asking questions about biblical subjects such as tithing. Over the years, I’ve heard many people talk about tithing from a matter-of-fact perspective, only to discover that the facts they thought were correct amounted to nothing but error and mis-information.
It is strange that when questions arise as to what tithing is, it never ceases to amaze me how the collective religious flash mob responds and says, tithing is your talent, time or money without one single biblical verse to back up their definition. If you present another perspective that challenges their tithing definition assumptions, it can send people into immediate cognitive dissonance. In this blog post, I will give a list of tithe questions and answers so that readers can begin the journey to seek the truth about what God required as a tithe and to whom the tithe was paid to. Of course the answers will not be exhaustive but will start you on a path to discovery for deeper meaning.
When discussing tithing, it must be understood that no matter what you believe, biblical context drives how one should view tithing. In the Bible, agricultural (produce), herd and flock tithes were eaten by the people, given to Levites, shared during the yearly triennial feast and the Levites paid a tenth part of the eatible tithe to the high priest by Abram to Melchezedec once
Tithe Test Questions and Answers
What is the biblical definition of the tithe? Answer: The word tithe in Hebrew means ma’asar. The literal meaning refers to a tenth part but has no relationship to offering, gift or sacrifice. The tithe based on scripture is narrowly defined as agricultural increase from the land and every tenth animal from herds and flocks according to Lev: 27:30, 32, tithe from …“seed of the land… fruit of the tree …herd or of the flock.”What is the secular non-biblical definition of the tithe? Answer: The non-biblical definition of the tithe is defined as ten percent from either gross or net income or pay which is paid to support religious institutions or to pastors as a salary. Malachi 3:8-10 is used out of context as the basis for justifying monetary tithing. There is no scripture to support monetary tithing in the church.Who paid tithes in the Old Testament? Answer: According to Hebrews 7:5, 11, the people [tribes of Israel] who were land owners farmers and herders paid the tithe to the Levites who were commanded by God and the Law to collect tithes. Numbers 18:25 says God Commanded Moses to tell the Levites to take tithes from the children of Israel who grew crops, and raised cattle [the 11 tribes].Who received tithes in the Old Testament? Answer: If it is not a foregone conclusion that only Levites by bloodline received the tithes in Israel as an inheritance, then let’s make it clear using scripture. God said, “And, behold, I have given the children of Levi [levites] all the tenth [tithes] in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation” (Numbers 18:21).What was the contents of the tithe and was money tithed? Answer: The answer to the latter part of the question is no. Money could not be tithed because the law never required it. The tithe in Israel consisted of grains, fruits, wine, oil, corn, nuts, herds and flocks. The only time money is associated with tithing is when the tithe was too much to carry to the temple, it was turned into money and spent on purchasing eatable items such oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink and it was consumed by the tither and shared with the Levites (Leviticus 27:30-33, Duet. 12:17, 14:22-23).Jesus was required to pay tithes? True or False. Answer: The answer is false because Jesus was neither a farmer or herder in Nazareth. In fact, he and his father was carpenters and would not have paid tithes from their salary because only crops and cattle were on only accepted by the temple as tithes. It is well established that Jesus paid temple taxes because he told his disciples to take money out of the mouth of a fish and pay the temple tax.Did Abram pay tithes from his wealth? True or false? The answer is false because Abram received some of his wealth and was made rich in Egypt by getting wealth from Pharaoh (Genesis 13:2) long before the law was established. Abram never paid a tithe from his cattle, silver or gold to Melchizedek. The one-time tithe Abram paid once happened when he was 80-years-old and came from other people’s goods he confiscated on the battlefield. And Hebrews 7:4 is says, “4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.” It is clear from scripture that Abram took a tithe from spoils of war and give it to Melchizedek.What occupations in Israel did not pay tithes? Answer: There are many occupations that did not pay tithes in the Bible, such as artists, carpenters, blacksmiths, boatbuilders, bakers, potters, fruit pickers, doctors and fishermen, which was the occupation of all the disciples. Priests, tax collectors, tent makers, which was Paul’s occupation did not pay tithes. However it is important to note that poor people did not tithe but were recipients of the tithe and if a hired field laborer worked the field to harvest the crop tithe, or worked with the herd and flock tithe and received pay; that pay was not tithed because it was earned income from working in the animal and crop husbandry industry.A tithe can come from money, time, talent or anything? True or False? This is false based on the definition of the tithe. You cannot substitute what God requires a tithe to financially support the institutional church using out-of-context scriptural interpretation.Were the tithes in Israel always brought to the temple storehouses in Jerusalem? True or False? The answer is false because tithes were also brought to the levitical cities where Levites lived. The Bible is clear on this in Numbers 35:2-4, “2 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 suburbs for the cities round about them. 3 And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. 4 And the suburbs 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.”First fruits and tithing are interchangeable because they are both money? The answer is patently false. Tithing emphasized quantity because it was a tenth part of the crops and every tenth animal. The tithe consisted of bulk. First fruits and tithes are only similar in that they are both eatible. On the other hand, first fruits emphasized quality. First fruits came from what grew out of the ground first and it was placed in a basket like it says in Duet. 26:2 “2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.” It should also be noted items were small enough to be placed in the basket as first fruits and the list is, grapes/wine, barley, wheat, figs, olives/oil, honey, pomegranates. Check out Duet. 18:4, “4 The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.” Based on these two verses alone, it clear tithes and first fruits are completely different quality and quantity. So it is clear money is not biblically a first fruit.Tithing in the law took place every year without a break? True or False? This answer is false once again. Because we are dealing with an agrarian theocracy, you have to have some knowledge of agricultural cycles. Tithing in Israel was based on planting and harvesting cycles of the sabbatical cycles. It is a known biblical fact that for six years they sowed in the fields but on the seventh year there was no tithing. If we hypothesize that tithing was money, although it is not, why do churches not follow the law and suspend tithing every seventh year? A true understand of tithing in the New Testament can be gleaned from Apostle Paul who wrote so much about giving and never mentioned tithing anywhere in the New Testament. The questions everyone must ask is why. So check out Paul’s view on tithing and giving in this book bubble: https://bublish.com/bubble/stream/18922
[image error]Learning About Tithing Will Save Your Financial Future
https://authoruproar.com/author-frank-chase-jr/
There are many questions that can be asked about tithing and all the answers are in the Bible. It just takes a little study and research to discover the facts. Being duped by scriptural shell games only hurts those who fall for the monetary tithe that’s not contain on the page of the Hold Scriptures. No matter how much you post and explain that the New Testament does not command monetary tithing, some people never accept this truth, but hang onto to the notion that if they don’t tithe, churches all over the country won’t be able to pay its bills and thus will have to close. Many people have vested interests in their places of worship. The building is a fixture that’s been etched into the psyche of all believers. The fear that a building could be lost due to a lack of tithing money is a powerful drug to maintain the cashflow. The indoctrination into monetary tithing has centuries-old roots. And to undue ingrained beliefs about mandatory payments of ten percent will not stop just by writing a book that dispels tithing myths. Other strongholds such as fears of God cursing people who don’t tithe or hopes of receiving abundant blessings for paying God his tithe money keeps the truth about tithing sequestered in the religious mind. Sometimes I still can get over that fact that it took me 30 years to find the truth about tithing. Can you imagine the millions of believers who died never knowing the truth about tithing and may have never taken care of their family properly all because they felt compelled to tithe even when they didn’t have the money.
Kleptomaniac Book Excerpt
[image error]God’s Tithe Is Not Monetary Find Out Why
http://seriousreading.com/book-reviews/education-teaching/20967-kleptomaniac-whos-really-robbing-god-anyway-the-untwisted-truth-about-the-centuries-old-tithes-and-offering-deception.html?fbclid=IwAR0pnMKD9qWli20u7xEmnVWYzc12XxWWp8mnv6uSKh4nXfGiBIEqkMiSnr8
“If there is one truth anyone should take away from this revealing expose is that the tithing system that exists today in modern Christianity was not birthed in the Bible but was inherited from the Middle Ages in Catholicism when the Catholic Church ruled Christianity and perhaps the entire world. Their published documents such as the New Catholic Encyclopedia admits to creating the new tithe out of thin air. Here is what the record says, “The early Church had no tithing system. The tithes of the Old Testament were regarded as abrogated by the law of Christ…But as the church expanded and its material needs grew more numerous and complex, it became necessary to adopt a definite rule to which people could be held either by as sense of moral obligation or by a precept of positive law. The tithing of the Old Law provided an obvious model, and it began to be taught…The council of Macon in 585 ordered payment of tithes and threatened excommunication to those who refused to comply.”
There you have it! “It was the Roman Catholic Church in 585, which forced tithing on Christians. They instituted this law for all Catholics to follow and if they disobeyed, they could face excommunication. In reality, the state police, sheriff, and legal authorities were often used to forcibly ‘collect’ and estimated ‘tithe’ from the recalcitrant parishioners in Ireland and throughout Europe. The tithing law was religiously enforced on the people whether they wanted to or not. Excommunication, of course, was a very serious penalty. It could mean a loss of a job, loss of income, ostracism by the community and former friends, and loss of land, houses, and possessions. It could even lead to charges of heresy, and imprisonment or death.” Excerpt From: Dr. Frank Chase, Jr., Th.D. “Kleptomaniac.” iBooks. https://store.bookbaby.com/book/kleptomaniac
Check out Kleptomaniac on the web
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Get Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? on your iPad: Kleptomaniac – Frank Chase Jr
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September 1, 2018
Biblical Tithing is Not What You Think or Have Been Told
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Most people never ask themselves what biblical tithing really looks like. I know for more than 30 years I questioned tithing but never really took time to research the subject to discover the facts of how the Hebrew people practiced tithing. When I began this journey, I was shocked at how much information existed on the internet about the subject that disagreed with the prevailing theology of paying ten percent of a paycheck to a church or pastor. More shocking was that the pro-tithe movement effectively put a gag order on any dissenters who disagreed with monetary tithing by simply pontificating aggressively to make monetary tithing a mandatory and permanent practice.
Recently after many years, my wife decided to do a video with me on tithing to share some of her experiences about what happened to us as we ventured from tithing to learning how to become freewill givers. Here is a short video titled, Dr Frank Chase and Teresa Chase share tithing testimony.
In this post, you will be reading excerpts from multiple authors who have brought the fight to proclaim the true meaning of tithing. First, I want to share a chapter from my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? This chapter focuses on What Paul thought about tithing and giving.
In speaking of tithing in the book of Malachi, Rob Robey wrote,
It is important to keep Malachi 3:8-10 in its proper context. For, in keeping it in context, we discover that Malachi is not telling the children of Israel to return stolen tithes to the House of God. Nor is he telling the Body of Believer’s in Christ Jesus today to return a stolen tithe to the local religious institution they attend. (Christ’s Church does not even exist at this point in History)Malachi is speaking to the Priests of Israel.As we read in Malachi 1, the Levitic/Aaronic Priests had robbed God of acceptable offerings. In chapter 3, we find that the Priests had also robbed God of His tithes. (These were the tithe of the tithe discussed in our previous chapter) Robey, Ronald. The Biblical Tithe: CASH or CROPS? (pp. 88-89). Kindle Edition.
The of Malachi never asks any believer to tithe money, but it is clear that some so-called biblical experts don’t want God’s people to know that tithes in the storehouse was not money and the storehouse was not the modern church.
In speaking of tithing, Author Thabani Menposha wrote,
Money for the temple was given as freewill offerings and taken from a self-imposed annual fee of a third of a shekel. Money for the temple was not taken from tithes because tithes were food for the Levites. “Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God;” Neh 10: 32,
Money for the temple came from freewill offerings and a self-imposed annual temple fee of one third of a shekel. Even Kings Cyrus and Artaxerxes who were not Jews made monetary contributions to the work of the temple. At no point are tithes described or used as money. The purpose of the tithe was limited and specific; it was food for the Levites (Num 18: 31). Maphosa, Thabani. Defusing The Malachi Bomb: The Old Covenant Tithe Versus New Covenant Giving (Kindle Locations 2753-2756, 2791-2794). Kindle Edition.
It is apparent from my research that money was used in the temple and that temple support never came from tithes because tithes belonged to the Levites as eatible items by inheritance as long as the temple stood.
In speaking of tithing as it relates to helping the poor Noam Zion write from the Jewish perspective,
The first book’s subtitle, like the subtitle of the second book, uses a famous formulation that echoes – with a difference – Karl Marx’s famous principle of the collection and the distribution of wealth in a communist society. When reaching the highest level of economic development toward communism, Marx promises that “society shall inscribe on its banners: From each according to one’s ability, to each according to one’s need!”[ i] When Marx uses the phrase “to each according to one’s needs” in his Critique of the Gotha Programme (1875), however, he makes it clear that this is not an absolute principle of socialist justice to be enacted in any economic situation. Rather it is only possible when “the springs of co-operative wealth flow more abundantly.” That same principle of distribution of privately and communally-owned property according to need is already found in the earliest Christian community that Marx communism.” “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things in common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every person according to their need.” (Acts 4: 32-35) In the Biblical and Rabbinic literature there is almost no notion of common ownership of all property or collective labor by the community. Nor is there a critique of the usual unequal distribution of excess wealth. However, all are required to share their wealth by progressive taxation (tithes or tzedakah tax assessments) with the poor and cover their basic needs, without making all equal in wealth. That contribution from one’s own wealth to the poor’s budget is, however, not a gift but an obligation. The common substratum of Biblical laws in the Torah and Rabbinic sources in the Mishnaic era is the assumption that these “gifts to the poor” are in fact duties to the poor. These are moral and legal requirements incumbent on those whose financial situation enables them to be self-supporting. The plausibility of those who have paying for the needs of those who do not is established by an appeal to dramatic metaphors about God’s ownership of Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel. In rabbinic tradition, then, one may be coerced to give according to one’s ability, as in the tale of Rabbi Akiba who coerced the wealthy Rabbi Tarfon to give more money to poor people. But the Talmud is disturbed by this tale.
Zion, Noam. Duties to the Poor from the Bible to the Welfare State and Tikkun Olam (Jewish Giving in Comparative Perspectives: Tzedakah, Greek Philanthropy, and Christian Charity – A Trilogy) (Kindle Locations 679-700 and 700-741). Zion Holiday Publications. Kindle Edition.
As you see from this excerpt, tithing and giving is counterintuitive in the philosophy of Rabbinic and and Hebrew tradition. So as I have said in my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway a monetary tithe could be given but only as ma’aser kesafim and only to the poor. And it always amazes me that when the believer brought the money and laid it at the Apostles feet, not one penny was paid to Paul or the synagogue or temple as a tithe. The money was redistributed to those in need. So as the excerpt indicates, a tithe of ten percent is a tax assessment to help the poor. It was never for church or ministry. No wonder Paul wrote in II Cor. 9:7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
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In speaking of tithes and first fruits, Mash Udenla wrote explicitly about what the tithe consisted of:
2. Though money was in existence during the introduction of the Mosaic laws relating to offerings, tithes and first fruits, God specifically identified what was to be offered. It was animals and farm produce. Tithe was not in the form of money. 3. Tithe related to a tenth of all farm produce and animals, and it did not matter the state of the tenth-whether bad or good. It just had to be the tenth as per God’s instructions. 4. All the males that were born first of men and animals were dedicated to God. The cows, sheep and goats were actually sacrificed to God (a portion was burnt before God), while man’s first-born male was to be redeemed and replaced with an animal. Of course this is one principle you can never apply today owing to the fact that money has no gender! 5. The first fruits only related to a very insignificant portion of the first harvest from the ground. This portion could not even be 1% of your usual entire harvest. Try to ascertain what percentage of a one hectors’ crop production a basket full harvest will be, and you will agree with me! A sheaf of wheat cannot even produce a loaf of bread, by the way! 6. I could have gotten it wrong, but the times I have heard first fruits being taught, I get the impression that first fruits and first born, are in principle, the same thing. The scriptures however, make a clear distinction of what these two represented. They are totally two different things with two different underlining principles. 7. By nature of what tithes and first fruits were, It would be practically impossible for someone who did not own a farm or animals to give tithes and first fruits. Meaning an individual who worked for someone and earned wages (whether in money terms or in kind) but did not own his own production could not tithe or offer first fruits. In fact, the Bible in Deuteronomy 14: 29, indicates that, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow were to be invited to eat the tithe with the one tithing. This is indicative of the fact that some people were practically unable to give tithes and first fruits because they were not in production and were poor. Following this reasoning, I am of the view that tithing and first fruit principles could only make practical and legalistic sense to people who owned the means of production because these are the people who practically experienced production increase. That is the people who owned farms and animals. Udenula, Mash. The Modern Teachings On Tithes,Offerings and First Fruits (Kindle Locations 1080-1094, 1094-1112). Kindle Edition.
No matter what author you read who does researches the biblical tithe, they always conclude that tithes were crops and cattle. So it puzzles me why so many believers, pastors and teachers still want to peddle the tithe lie, and not accept New Testament giving principles.
In speaking of tithing before the law, Brother Amartey wrote:
Before the law was given to Moses, there were only two references to tithing. One was Abraham’s tithe, which was a different kind of tithe. The other was Jacob’s tithe, which he vowed to give, but there is no record that he did, and if he did, to whom did he give the tithe? Meanwhile, tithing proponents are running wild with the claim that he did, and are deceiving people who don’t know their Bible. Tithing is not a universal principle which believers have to observe as the prosperity preachers want you to believe. Adam and Eve did not tithe, nor did their children Cain and Abel, who only offered sacrifices to the Lord (Genesis 4:1-4). Noah and his children did not tithe, nor did Enoch, nor did anyone after them! Even Abraham’s promised son, Isaac, did not tithe, though he inherited the blessings and great wealth from his father. Brother Amartey. Tithing-Robbing And Stealing From God’s People (Kindle Locations 299-304).
Many of the authors who have written books on their disagreement with monetary tithing can’t all be wrong when they present indisputable evidence that contradicts many of the unsubstantiated claims made by pastors and churches to position monetary tithing as a biblical fact. There are many reasons in the Bible why tithing is not required but some people are imprisoned by their cognitive dissonance that they can’t see how what they believed for 30 years could be so wrong. For may people in the church it is unconscionable to think that the devourer in the book of Malachi is not the Devil. How does one come to believe something so strongly even when it is not in the Bible. There is one scripture that addresses this issue and 2 Tim. 2:15 reads: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Why is it so hard to accept that the Bible teaches God’s tithe is crops and cattle and not money.
In speaking of tithes in the New Testament, Hope of Israel Ministries writes :
Preachers, priests, evangelists, rabbis and theologians who have received the ordained Biblical tithe MUST REPENT of their SINFUL WAYS and inform the church membership to also REPENT of their sins in this regard. Why? Because the ordained tithe has been ILLEGALLY used by those who are CARELESS with Biblical teaching! In a nutshell, it is a SIN against the teachings of YEHOVAH God for the ordained Biblical tithe to be used today, in ANY capacity, in the propagation of the Gospel, in paying ministerial salaries, in building churches or synagogues, to print books or tracts, hymnals, or to send to missionaries. The Biblical tithe is HOLY and it is NOT to be used in the fashion that preachers, priests and evangelists are using it today. The time has come to get back to the teachings of the Bible and QUIT the OVERT SINNING of demanding and MISUSING the ordained tithe of the Bible that Christian denominations are doing on such a wide scale today! HOIM Staff. Tithing and the New Testament (Kindle Locations 18-22-25). Hope of Israel Ministries. Kindle Edition.
During my research for Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway, I read many books written by Jewish authors, rabbis and those with extensive backgrounds in Jewish history, land, language and literature who said that if any Jew today tried to pay a tithe to the synagogue or the Rabbi would be sin and a violation of the law because the tithe was only given to Levites by inheritance as long as the temple stood. If someone else like a pastor or church suggests that they should receive tithes that would amount to robbery because the tithe inheritance was commanded for Levites only and the Bible clearly says this in Hebrews 7:5, And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:.. It is clear from Hebrews that tithing is of the law. And if someone tells you that the New Testament teaches grace tithing or tithing is a matter of the heart is not telling the truth when the scripture says tithing is of the law. In Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway there is no sectarianism only scripture, history and theology. Five years ago, I did an interview about my book on Blog Talk Radio with Host Churchboi.
In speaking of biblical tithes the Anonymous Preacher writes:
You see, because so many preachers take Malachi 3:10 completely out of context, most Christians don’t realize that even in the Old Testament Law of Moses God never asked His people for their money. If you were a basket-weaver in those days, you had money, but you didn’t tithe. If you were a blacksmith, you had money, but you didn’t tithe. If you were a carpenter, you had money, but you didn’t tithe. (For example Jesus grew up an Israelite while the Israelites were still trying to obey the Law of Moses, but He never tithed because He was from a carpenter’s household, he was not a farmer or rancher.) The Israelites had and earned money, but they never gave any of it to God or the Levites or the church. Why? Because even though God’s people (starting with Abraham) have always had money, the tithe has never had anything to do with money. So the astounding fact is, the ancient Israelites never gave 10 percent of their money to God. And not every Israelite tithed crops and livestock, because not every Israelite was a farmer or rancher. Again, why should we be put under a burden to do something not even the ancient Israelites did? Folks, if you read through the entire Bible you will find that the only tithing commandments in Scripture were contained in the Law of Moses. (Jesus commended the Pharisees – who were Israelites living under the Law of Moses – for tithing “mint and cumin and rue”, their backyard spices, in strict obedience to agricultural tithing requirements of the Law of Moses. The Pharisees had money but didn’t tithe it, and Jesus did not command them to tithe money instead of their spices. More on that later.) Not every Israelite had to obey the tithing requirements of the Law of Moses because those tithing commands did not apply to every Israelite – only the farmers and ranchers. Plus, those tithing commands had nothing to do with money, even though the Israelites had money. The Anonymous Preacher. No, You DON’T Have To Tithe: Undeniable Biblical Proof That You Do NOT Have To Give 10% of Your Money To Your Church (Kindle Locations 150-166). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
Back in April of this year, I did another interview with Butterfly Evolution Radio on Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway to explain my theological position on tithing. One thing I found as I studied tithing is that context is everything. If you get context wrong, you can wreck your spiritual life in unimaginable ways. In the book, Perspectives on Tithing the author David A. Croteau writes:
The Mosaic law never directed the Israelites to give of their increase; it specified particular products that were liable to tithe laws, and these products were always connected to land. There was a very strong connection of products liable to tithes to the land; originally, only products produced from Israel were included. In the New Testament periods, artisans, fishermen, and tradesmen did not pay tithes on their income, and Jews outside Israel (those in the Diaspora) did not pay tithes on anything. Furthermore, priests and the poor (who owned no land or animals) were exempt from tithes. Perspectives on Tithing: 4 Views, Copyright 2011, B&H Publishing Group, Nashville Tennessee.
In the book, Freedom to Give the author, Danial Mynyk explains Abrams tithe and why it cannot be extrapolated to justify monetary tithing for today:
Several questions and issues can arise for one who examines the account of Abram’s tithe in detail without merely viewing the presence of the word tithe through the lens of modern tradition. Reading the details of this account, one can notice several problems with an attempt to extrapolate Abram’s tithe to one’s current understanding of the alleged tithing doctrine. These problems shall be analyzed using Abram’s tithe as the “tithe that binds.” First, how many times do the Scriptures record Abram giving something in the form of a “tithe”? Genesis chapter 14 and Hebrews chapter 7 are the only accounts of Abram’s tithe, and they are both of the same event. As far as we know Abram only tithed to Melchizedek once. Accordingly, we can then notice that Abram only tithed to anyone once. A legitimate question protrudes from examining this problem: How does Abram’s one-time tithe to Melchizedek argue a case whereby those who claim him as a “father” must tithe not only once but continually? Read chapter 15 of this book to analyze a possible significance between the priesthood of Melchizedek and the fact that Abram tithed only once. Second, of what source did Abram tithe? Did Abram tithe of his own “income”? One author claimed: “It is a disputed point whether Abraham meant a tithe of all his property, or of all the spoils of war which he had with him.”[26] Although Genesis 14:20 says that Abram gave Melchizedek “tithes of all” and Hebrews 7:2 says that Abram gave “a tenth part of all,” Hebrews 7:4 clarifies that he gave “the tenth of the spoils.” One could argue that the “tithe of spoils” was only part of what Abram gave Melchizedek in the “tithes of all.” However, this reasoning fails both logic and Scriptural analysis. Obviously the “all” can mean “all the spoils of the battle.” The context of Abram’s tithe is directly within the context of winning the battle, returning the spoils, and the king of Sodom requesting a return of his people. Abram gave Melchizedek the tithe after returning from chasing the alliance of Chedorlaomer to Hobah. Abram met both Melchizedek and the king of Sodom in a place called “the valley of Shaveh,” which likely belonged to the king of Sodom. Mynyk, Daniel. Freedom To Give (The Biblical Truth About Tithing) (Kindle Locations 606-627). CrossLink Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Scripture shell games can be played with the word “all” as it relates to whether Abram’s tithes of all meant money. But as I said before, understanding context, the land, language and literature of the Hebrew people dictates the meaning of word all. And the final answer is that “all” in reference to tithes only refers to the spoils of war Abram captured. It is clear from the context and in light of tithing scriptures before the law, Abram did not tithe from his personal wealth and therefore only tithed from war booty taken from the defeated kings. In an effort to force all to include Abram’s personal wealth, one has the remove text from context, which means all you have left is con. So to say tithing comes from all sources of money is a con because the text has been removed. In Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway you will find no con job relating to tithing but only context.
The next book excerpt from Debunking the Tithe of Israel by Alvin Bates says:
The modern teaching that our “firstfruits” is really our first 10 percent of every dollar we make is really, wrong. The firstfruits when the children of Israel entered the Promised Land was the first of all the produce that grew out of the ground and not “money made.” Why is it that today and for hundreds of years churches have claimed firstfruits as “money made,” even when 90 percent of all Christians were farmers all around the world just a few years ago, and farmers could give food! In old England, some churches used to build “tithe barns” on church property to hold their tithes. Whew! I guess they knew that the tithe was really food. Calling “the tithe” money is a total perversion of scripture, and to call money “a shadow” as to what God was saying to the children of Israel is “heresy.” For God to say one thing and for us to do another is a total and complete perversion of scripture. This is hypocrisy, pure and simple! Alvin J. Bates. Debunking “The Tithe of Israel”: Warning: Ministers of the Gospel Read only at your own risk! (p. 36). Xlibris. Kindle Edition.
When the word fist-fruits is proclaimed from the pulpit it is always assumed that it means you must pay God some money before doing anything else. That includes paying you bills. This trickery is prevalent and it works because people will not take the time to study the word first-fruits to see how God defines the word. So to make sure you don’t get hoodwinked about tithes and first-fruits are the same, check out a study on first-fruits 101 and get information before you cough up any money. In my book Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway I write extensively about what God defined as first-fruits and how they were paid and who was authorized to collect them in an article titled, Can Money Be Required as First Fruits? And you will be shocked that the first-fruits could fit into a basket. Ten percent of your pay check is either a fact, fiction or fraud. The only way to find out the truth is to study the scripture and the history of tithing in Israel.
The next author’s excerpt really explains what is going on with the tithe of the Levites. Author Byron Shorter writes:
Here we encounter what I have entitled “Double Duty Tithing.” Let us notice the charge. It says, “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.” The Levites were to take (Heb. “laqah” – to lay hold of, receive, or acquire 20) from the children of Israel the tithes, which was given (Heb. “nathan” – assigned or bestowed 21) to them as their inheritance. It was not Moses who gave the Levites the tithes; he was their leader, nor was it Aaron; he was their high priest, but it was the LORD who gave the Levites the tithes. It was from this inheritance that the Levites were charged to offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, “a tithe of the tithes” (NASB). This heave offering (Heb. “terumah” – a present, offering, contribution 22) was reckoned to them “as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and as the fullness of the wine press.” Thus this “heave offering” to the LORD from all the tithes were given to Aaron the priest. Hence, double duty tithing. For more information concerning the support of Aaron and his household see “the covenant of salt” in Numbers 18:8-19. Shorter, Byron. Unmasking Traditional Untruths about Tithing by Byron J. Shorter (Kindle Locations 408-419). Unknown. Kindle Edition.
It is amazing that on any given Sunday, when an unauthorized monetary tithe is collected from the congregation, no one ever explains that the Levites who received a tithe had to pay a tithe as well to the high priest and his son. In this care it was Aaron and his sons. It must be clear that pastors are not Levites and have no authority to collect biblical tithes in the form of money because the Bible never commutes God’s tithe to money in any age or dispensation and it does not matter what type of new economies exist. Tithing always remains produce and livestock. Even in my book Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway, there is a host of scriptures covering money and not one verse instructs Israel to pay money as a tithe.
John Lilly, Author of Why You Don’t Have to Tithe writes:
The only time Jesus referred to tithing was when He was rebuking the Pharisees because they tithed on their little garden spices but didn’t really help anybody out in life. Jesus said in Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” Notice, what were they tithing on? Agricultural products. “Mint and dill and cumin”. Not money. We know the Pharisees had money, because the Bible says they were lovers of money! But yet they didn’t tithe on their money! They tithed on their garden spices! Why? Because the tithe commands of the Law of Moses had nothing to do with money. Why were the Pharisees tithing their spices? Because tithing of agricultural products by those who grew them was a “provision of the law” – it was commanded in the Law of Moses. See, the Pharisees tried to appear religious outwardly by keeping details of the Law of Moses, and in this case they were being nitpicky about it to the point where they brought a tithe of the spices they grew in their backyard in order to obey God’s tithing law for farmers and ranchers in the Law of Moses. Jesus told them, “This you should do” (because they were supposed to be spiritual leaders and examples to the people in obeying the Law of Moses), but then rebuked them for neglecting the weightier matters of the law (like actually loving and helping people). Now, I’ve heard preachers say that Jesus’ statement, “This you should do” (in reference to the Pharisees tithing from their little spice gardens), proves that Jesus wants us all to give 10 percent of our every paycheck in the offering plate. The problem is, the Pharisees didn’t give 10 percent of their money in the offering plate. They brought 10 percent of their spices. Their money was sitting in their house under the bed. We know that the Pharisees had money because the Bible says they were “lovers of money” (Luke 16:14). But Jesus never commanded the Pharisees to tithe their money. Jesus didn’t say, “You should bring 10 percent of your money instead of these spices!” No, Jesus never mentioned money. He just said (my paraphrase), “It’s fine that you are very nitpicky in following certain details of the Law of Moses like tithing agricultural products, because you’re supposed to be the leaders and the examples for the Israelites who are trying to live under the law. I’m not rebuking you for that. I’m rebuking you because you’re hypocrites who tithe your little spices but you don’t care about people and thus you neglect more important aspects of the law of Moses. Lilley, John. Why You Don’t Have To Tithe: Undeniable Biblical Proof That Tithing Is Not An “Eternal Principle” and You Are Not Required To Do It (Kindle Locations 258-279). Panta Press. Kindle Edition.
It is evident that tithing is of the law and if money is being collected and called a tithe, that is a violation of the law. In fact in Matthew 23:23 it was about rebuke not praise of the Pharisees. If tithing was money, why didn’t Jesus mention money in his list of tithe spices from their garden. One must also ask, Did Jesus Collect Tithes? It is apparent that if the Messiah wanted money from the Pharisees, he would have asked for shekels, talents, gold or silver. But he didn’t. So don’t get sidetracked by scriptural shell games. The truth is hidden in plain site if you choose to see it in the scriptures. Misinterpretations of tithing is the result of Eisegesis, which is an interpretation, especially of scriptures that expresses the interpreters own ideas or beliefs, bias or the like rather than the true contextual meaning of the text. To say tithing is required comes from Eisegesis, which is con without text. As much as I possibly could, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway , tries to explain tithing using Exegesis, in which the text of the book uses critical explanation or interpretation of a scripture text that is not based on private interpretation. Here is a more formal explanation of proper scriptural interpretation from a Facebook Post.
Exegesis vs. Eisegesis
May 6, 2018
Has Tithing Created a Church Kleptocracy?
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Author and former military man Frank Chase Jr. grew up in Baltimore, MD. He got interested in writing from watching movies and listening to a radio show called mystery theatre, but it was only in his thirties after a divorce that his desire to write escalated. His debut book “False Roads to Manhood: What Women Need to Know: What Men Need to Understand” took him seven years of research and writing. If he weren’t a writer, Frank would be a stage actor as it has been his passion since high school.Being a writer has taught him that everyone will not agree with you or what you may write, but it leaves a record and a legacy that can help future generations long after you have passed on. He is currently writing a scripture-centered book and also plans on writing a fiction novel soon. Read full interview…
The modern monetary tithe phenomenon in the church has become as important or even more important than people giving their lives to Yeshua. It is astonishing how much time churches spend on motivating congregational members to cough up ten percent of the paychecks every week. From my experience, the tithes and offering ceremonies look like shakedowns in the style of mafia payoffs. The push to increase tithing income to one-hundred percent in the church has made some pastors financial predators in the Pulpit. This behavior is some respects has turned the church organizational structure into a kleptocracy. That is one of the reason’s why my tithing book is titled, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
Before going deeper into this analysis, we must sift through some definitions of what a kleptocracy is. There are many definitions of this term, so I’ll list a some example references that you can use for your own analysis on the relationship between money, the church, government and monetary tithing. A key part of the word kleptocracy, democracy, aristocracy, plutocracy, autocracy and theocracy is the suffix “cracy” and it comes from the greek where it has a meaning of power and rule. At this point you should see a pattern emerging as it relates to tithing in the church, which is actually not a religious term but an organizational secular term.
A society whose leaders make themselves rich and powerful by stealing from the rest of the people.
A government or state in which those in power exploit nationalresources and steal; rule by a thief or thieves (Dictionary.com).
A government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed (Webster.com).
A corrupt governmental human body made up of thieves, additionally sullied by nepotism and croneyism (Urban Dictionary).
A ruler uses political power to steal his or her country’s resources (Dictionary.com).
A government characterized by rampant greed and corruption (FreeDictionary.com)
With these definitions, you can’t make a definitive declaration that the church has become a complete kleptocratic institution, but once you extrapolate that ancient Israel practiced tithing only from resources derived from agricultural products and herds and flocks, it appears that monetary tithing as practiced in a democracy inside the church resembles a secular practice outside of the Bible. The foundational pillars of kleptocracy is rule and power over the people. We know the Hebrew term for tithe is masser. The term is defined as tenth part, not ten percent. Based on context, exegesis and the cultural/historical underpinnings of Israel, and the land, language and literature of the Hebrew people, and the Jewish historian Josephus to include Leviticus 27:30-33, all tithing in Israel came from edible products (livestock, grain, crops).
In each of these entities, kleptocracy, democracy, aristocracy, plutocracy, autocracy and theocracy, the idea is rule and power. Today, it’s not hard to see that history proves–in some cases–that wherever the government goes, so goes the church. The church is an institutional organizational structure with a hierarchical leadership. In one sense, the church could be an autocracy because of government by one ruler pastor. This is where the senior pastor rules and has all the power of decision-making. In another sense, the church could be described as an aristocracy because the tithing doctrines pushed from the pulpit has made many pastors filthy rich as they built mega church ministry empires. So how does a church become a kleptocracy? All one has to do is open their ears and listen to the dialogue of what happens to people who don’t pay their ten percent to the church. Some pastors say believers won’t go to heaven if they don’t tithe. Some pastors say congregational members who do not tithe will be cursed by God. Other pastors promote positive financial tithing messages by telling parishioners God will reign down blessings they won’t have room to receive if they simply pay God ten percent. More often, the curse messages about tithing strikes fear into the hearts of congregants. Just as soon as their car breaks down, a child gets sick, a major financial problem occurs or some other calamity arises, it is immediately associated with God punishing them for not paying the tithe.
In any of these “ocracies” it is the structure that robbing the people and in the institutional church, it is the structure that robs the congregation by draining their resources using scripture out of context, which leaves some members in poverty or broke and not able to take care of their families. The theocracy of Israel and its tithing system never took from the poor but gave to them through a set of tithing laws. The church becomes a kleptocracy because they changed God’s tithing laws from livestock and crops and who the recipients were to money to support a sustainable financial system where money is redirected to unauthorized receivers and none of this is covered in the Bible. The Bible never instructs anyone in Israel to pay money as a tithe to the Levites or priests and the rebuttal argument that most pastors like to use is that although Israel did not have a money or banking system, their tithe was their form of money. They wordsmith the tithing scriptures using isegesis to substantiate their position. However, I blow up that argument in one of my previous blogs, Show Me the tithe and the Money in Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? Most churches run like a corporation, but the New Testament ecclesia is not did not operate on based on vertical leadership, where one man ruled but was set up based on horizontal leadership based on the dictates of the book of Acts. Church leadership that claims scriptures give them the power and authority to lay claim the to the financial resources of congregational members income in perpetuity are kleptomaniacs who really rob God’s people of the truth about tithing. More and more disingenuous tithing methods are created everyday to ensure the cash flow doesn’t decrease in the church. Teachings like grace tithing, first fruits tithing or tithing in general is what connects believers to God are making the rounds on the church circuit. It appears the rule of kleptocracy in maintaining a mandatory monetary tithe in the church is not subsiding. But as long as authentic theologians speak up about the kleptomaniacs who are really robbing God’s people of tithes, we will see the truth set people free so they can become true authentic givers based on New Testament instructions instead of Old Testament tithe laws that were nailed to the cross.
History often tells truth about the church where the church does not want to admit. Historians have left published records that Americans and Christians have not liked dealing with the phenomenon of paying for God or paying for religious services. Most people do not realize that prior to the disestablishment clause to the Constitution, most churches existed on free-will offerings and that the church was traditionally a part of the public sector which received public support from the government much like public television. In the colonies, the state supported religious institutions as a public service deserving public support to finance religion with the use of user fees, licenses, taxes for public good. Some of this is still in practice today as in the case of public education. Property taxes were assessed to pay for schools and property taxes were levied to pay for religion in America. Citizens were charged taxes to pay for religious services. There was no tithing doctrines in churches during the 17th and 18th centuries as America was forming. In the quote below, many churches and pastors during this time did not like the eventuality of religious disestablishment having benefited from it financially for two centuries. It meant losing some of their financial support from the public sector of government. In the book, In Pursuit of The Almighty Dollar by author James Hudnut-Beumler he writes on page 8 and 9 that some of the founders of America like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison whose political philosophy centered around freedom of belief and limiting government in its involvement in religion. Others saw that:
Religious disestablishment was the largest instance of privatization in all of American history; it moved a large part of the traditional public sector into the private marketplace in a relatively short period of years. For those portions of the ecclesiastical world accustomed to state finance–the Anglican, Reformed, and Congregational churches in the South, the mid-Alantic states, New York, and New England-disestablishment was not a godsend delivered by the political philosophy but a frontal challenge to their understanding of who ought to pay for religion and why.
This is a powerful statement that the early American church did not want to be de-funded by the disestablishment clause of the Constitution. In the aftermath of the legislation, churches have to create new forms of self-sustaining financial support and the author lists such plans such as renting pews, subscription books that were passed around community households that asked people to pledge money until the church met their financial goal. Another financial plan was the permanent fund where people just made pledges. Also, at this time, American Chattel slavery was in full operation, and the most shocking practice besides slavery in the church during this time was that Churches in the south who owned slaves rented them out and their children to raise money for the needs of the church. Churches employed all kinds of financial tactics after losing the public sector funding and being forced into the private sector, which lead many churches to depend wholly on the resources of its members of the congregation. As time went on, voluntary giving doctrines were pushed into a systematic forms of giving. Then teachings on stewardship began to emerge. Around 1870 to 1920, churches began reinventing the biblical tithe because fundraising and stewardship was needed to support churches and clergy. Over time, pew renting and all other forms of fundraising fell out of favor as monetary tithes doctrines began to emerge. The move to make monetary tithing was stick was that:
Tithing was attractive as a source of funding to the degree that clergy could convince themselves and others that it was spiritual law, as unappealable as the laws of motion, force and gravity. It was also obvious to these advocates of tithing that their churches had been getting by on a good bit less than a tenth of their members’ money…… But the advocates of tithing were not prepared to accept less than a tenth any more than advocates of grape juice were willing to accept wine in the Lord’s supper. page 51
There you have it. The clergy or pastors were not accepting freewill offerings anymore and the congregation had to cough up that ten percent. So they re-imagined God’s tithe and reinvented new tithe context so members had to accept paying for God. And it does appear that from the 1870s and on, the church stepped into kleptocracy to maintain an enforceable monetary tithe doctrine after loosing public sector financial support with the disestablishment clause that defunded religion in America, which they fought hard to keep. It took about 50 years for voluntary support to lose its impact, then more forceful means of stewardship arose with early preachers like Charles Finney. Once the church was cut off from government public funding, it pushed pastors into becoming professional fund-raisers within their own congregations.
As Protestantism grew, the means to finance the church came do to a fact that:
Every one owes the tithe to Jesus Christ. Not less than one-tenth of a man’s income will discharge debt. It is to be paid before any other debt. Jesus Christ should be the preferred creditor; nay, more–no man has a right to pay his debts to another man with the property of Jesus Christ personally challenges as his own. Furthermore it is a debt to be paid before anything else can be called a gift, or freewill offering to Christ. page 52
This above quote from the 1800s is totally out of context with scripture. First of all, Christ paid the debt on the cross when he gave his life. So no man or woman owes God a tithe because a tithe is not monetary but is agricultural, herds and flocks. Many pastors today teach this quote but be assured it is not biblical accurate no matter what Protestant preachers claim. I argue that the New Testament church gives no such command to tithe to any church today, In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway, I argue that although monetary tithing grew in many churches since the 1800s, there has been a long history of believers and leaders arguing against the monetary tithe doctrine. There is a crisis in the modern church because stewardship and fundraising programs are off the rails and out of control. Mega churches popping up and financial scandal is causing many of them to implode. Here is an excerpt below from my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
Kleptomaniac Book Excerpt
False Pro-Tithe Arguments
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Israel’s farm produce was their income and they tithed on it. Money is what I produce by my labors. Therefore I should tithe my money.
This statement seems biblical and plausible; however, it is not true. When you work for money, you are selling your labor to man for a price. Therefore, you can’t produce money from your labors but you can earn money from your labor. Israel tithed from God’s labor. The Israelite farmer’s crops and animals were their farm assets not income. The farmer’s income came from the sale or barter exchange of those assets. What a farmer received from the barter exchange or sale would be the farmer’s income. The income was NOT what God wanted tithed but rather the assets (crops and livestock), which came from God’s hands as miracles. Here is an example: Fruit is not a payment or compensation. Fruit is classified as an asset because it is property, a product. The sale or exchange of the fruit would create income. There are no Scriptures showing Israel selling crops and cattle and taking the money from the sale and giving a tenth to the temple or to the Levites as a tithe. If you study every money verse in the Bible, it was never a titheable item. For example, Joseph gave Benjamin 300 pieces of silver (Genesis 45:22). According to Genesis 47:15-17, food was used for barter only after money had run out. Banking and usury laws exist in Leviticus even before tithing. Therefore, the argument that money was not prevalent enough for everyday use is false. Yet the tithe contents from Leviticus to Luke never includes money from non-food products and trades. The only mandatory tithe in the Old Testament is eatable items (crops and livestock).
Tithing is a mandatory biblical practice taught in both Old & New Testament.
According to Scripture, tithing was mandatory only for those who owned land and grew crops and raised livestock in the Old Testament inside Israel. There are no implied or direct mandatory commands to tithe money from the Apostles in any of the Epistles. To assert that tithing money is mandatory in the New Testament is an argument from silence in the Scriptures. Tithing is mandatory in the Old Testament under the law and not mandatory under the New Testament because it was not passed down. The New Testament encourages giving from the heart as outlined by Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:7. If Paul wanted to drive home a tithing argument, his style of direct and to the point writing would have been clear because the text would possibly read: “So let each one give a tithe as God commanded.” When Paul says give what you decide in your heart, he is emphasizing freewill grace giving not percentage based giving.
Read Book excerpts from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway and learn some of my personal thoughts about what went into writing the book excerpts.
Is the Church the Storehouse for Tithing?
Did Jesus Collect Tithes?
Will a Man Rob God?
Eating Tithes vs. Paying Tithes
What are First Fruits in the Bible?
Official Orthodox Biblical Tithing Has Passed Away
Jesus and his Ministry Never Received Tithes
Paul Never Taught Believers to Tithe Money
The Church and Its Money Grab Tactics
Monetary Tithing is not a Foregone Conclusion
Money Tithing or Eatible tithing, Which One?
Arguments Against Tithing Has a Long History
What Does True Giving Look Like?
Tithing on Increase
The Law Does Not Teach Monetary Tithing
Research Brings Truth
Understanding Tithing Starts With a Definition
The Fight Continues
Did Paul Convert the Tithe to Money?
How Did God’s Tithe Become Money?
The author of the book, In Pursuit of The Almighty Dollar makes it clear that evangelicals wanted to expand expand the establishment of religion so that any and who decided to preach could benefit from public sector money. Beumler writes on page 10:
The plan had been to widen the establishment of religion to one in which every freeman paid a tax got to specify to which church it went (much as was the case in the late eighteenth-century states to the north) The Anglican gentry and even the Presbyterians recoiled in horror at the notion that “any laymen, or mechanic, if he finds a motion within him from the spirit, may leap from the anvil or the plough, and in a few minutes go forth a preacher of the word of God” and be supported by publicly collected funds in pursuit of wild doctrines and disorderly gathering of the faithful.
As you can see, it appears some denominations were for anybody preaching and having access to the public money to go on the preaching circuit. Some groups wanted to control who had access to public sector money for preaching. The nasty little secret of church, tithing, government and slavery has alway been swept under the carpet of American history. And so America’s history began with some denominations competing and outmaneuvering each other for the public’s money to sustain themselves. If the competition was this cutthroat then, it is not unusual that kleptocratic methods crept into the church to enforce mandatory tithes by any means necessary to lay claim to church member resources. The disestablishment clause sent shock waves through the church and left many of them spinning their wheels on what to do next now that the government money was gone. Paying for God seems to have been a standard practice throughout history and even now monetary tithing in churches is no different. People who pay a tenth of the income to institutional church based on some alleged scriptural authority are paying for God too. The reason why the church seem comfortable in kleptocracy is that today people can have as much religion they can pay for in a society where the church has went from institutional church to consumer church. The tithe doctrine’s strength lies within the consumer church movement where mega buildings appeal to the masses and where classism exist.
Earlier in this discourse, I mentioned grace tithing as one of the new scams being used in the church. But what the Bible really teaches is grace giving from the heart as the spirit leads one to give. So the slide gives you an example of how grace tithing works in the book of Acts.
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To show you how scriptural hermeneutic manipulation occurs, pastor use Apostle Paul’s own words to get you to think that he collected tithes from churches. A kleptomaniac practice they use is from II Cor. 11:8 which reads: “I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you.” So the argument is that this verse is the smoking gun for collecting tithes. They say when Paul wrote he robbed other churches to preach freely to the Corinthians, he was talking about tithes he collected. This is total foolishness. But when you exegete the word “robbed” Paul was actually using hyperbole which is an expression speech or exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Paul was simple using the word to impress upon the Corinthians and prick their conscience that other churches provided him support while they provided nothing but should have provided some support. This verse is not about tithing. To prove this verse is not about tithing, Paul would have been forcing the Corinthians to break God’s Tithing laws if he refused to take their tithe. And in fact, Paul refused to accept any support and did not want to be burden to them but chose to work his craft of tent-making to support himself and those with him on the preaching journey. In the book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway you will know by the end of the book that the pro-tithe proponents have ushered the church into a kleptocracy run by many aristocratic and autocratic pastors who operate in what is now consumer christianity.
So let me conclude with a quote from Author Ernest L. Martin who wrote The Tithing Dilemma. What he say about tithing puts the nail in the coffin on mandatory tithing and what all giving now represents. He writes on page 59:
The rules are now changed. Since tithing is not applicable for members of the Christian ekklesia, all the money (and this includes all the increase of crops and animals) belongs to the Christian who produces the income. This means 100% of his or her income still belongs to the income producer as far as God is concerned. Now some of that money will go to pay taxes (and the Bible states that taxes should be paid—Romans 13:6–7), but as far as God is concerned, 100% of the money Christians earn is theirs. This means that when a Christian gives the first 1% of income to support the work of the Gospel, that 1% is from the start reckoned as a free will offering. If one gives 5% or even 10% (or whatever one gives), it is ALL a free will offering. But with the tithing system which was in force in the Old Testament, that 1% (or more) of free will offering only started after one gave the required 10% to the Levite. But with Christians, all the support is reckoned to be free will.
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March 26, 2018
Scholarship, Theology, Research and History Says God’s Tithe is Not Money
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The real truth about whether God ever wanted a tithe in cash or crops is hidden in plain site of scholarship, theology and history. When one studies the land, language and literature of the Hebrew people of the Old Testament in context the truth of the tithe is glaringly evident. Many modern pastors and teachers like to dismiss the biblical facts and teach a corrupted form of tithing that was invented by the Holy Roman Catholic Church. In essence they have corrupted the covenant of Levi as stated in Mal 2:8 You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” Says the LORD of hosts. The covenant Levi had with God was that they would inherit the tithe of the land and livestock in perpetuity as long as the temple stood. The church has corrupted the tithe law by commuting God’s commanded tithe to money.
In this post is is evident that many authors, theologians, scholars and scribes have authored works to set the record straight on how the church can correct their error of corrupting the covenant of Levi and return to teaching the truth of God’s edible tithe from livestock and crops as Leviticus 27:30-33 makes clear. God’s tithe cannot be changed simply because we no longer live in an agricultural society. To say that Israel crop and livestock was their form of money is biblical piracy. The tithe God required came from God’s labor not man’s labor from selling his talent to an employer for a paycheck. The tithe came from assets not a paycheck. So as you read this post, lets see what was written about the tithe.
In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? I set the record straight by writing about the phenomenon of full-time pastors who do not work and whether or not the Levites worked full-time. In Chapter 8 of my book, I wrote about the work schedule of the Levites:
“One of the most intriguing phenomenon of the church today is the pastors’ rhetoric regarding working full-time in ministry as if the duty to full-time pastoring is a call from God. Let’s dive into the muddy theology of whether there is scriptural support from the Levitical priesthood to back up claims that God calls people to full-time ministry. Is there a reason why so much attention is focused on becoming a full-time pastor? The answer may lie in the need for money to sustain a certain lifestyle apart from any Biblical evidence other than to keep up with the Joneses. Though the tribe of Levi in Israel received the tithe inheritance, forty-eight cities to live in and common land, do pastors deserve these same benefits? If claims that the Levites worked full-time are true, how could they take care of the land and cities they received from their Israelite brothers? The picture gets a little clearer as you study the context. The Levites could not have been full-time service to the temple because they used the land gift to take care of livestock and crops when not working in the temple. Numbers 35:1-3 has insight on this issue.
On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns. Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals…” (NKJV).
The rest of Numbers 35 details the Levite gifts. The Scripture text in no way teaches that all Levites worked full-time without a single Levite to take care of the land or do the work in the cities where they lived. Numbers 26:62 says, “All the male Levites a month old or more numbered 23,000. They were not counted along with the other Israelites because they received no inheritance among them” (NKJV). Let’s take it one question at a time. Could 23,000 Levites work full-time all at once? What would that many people do? How many Levites does it take to set-up and breakdown the movable temple in the desert? How many Levites worked when a permanent temple was built? When you ask logical questions that don’t receive sound answers, you realize somebody is not teaching the Bible right, or is doing a very good snow job of purposely ignoring Scripture. After you put on your thinking caps, you’ll realize how impractical and foolish it looks to pack 23,000 Levites into the temple full-time because the temple was too small for that number of people. It is clear Levites never worked full-time in the temple; furthermore, there is no biblical command for them to operate that way. They actually worked part-time and the Scriptures bear this out. The Bible doesn’t teach full-time ministry as a command nor does it instruct full-time ministry workers to ask or receive support through tithes. That being said, congregations who want to financially support preachers and gospel workers in full-time ministry can do so as a personal financial decision under charitable giving rules. Financial support for full-time ministry must never be justified by twisting tithe Scriptures out of context to get money. Numbers 35 shows that Levites lived all over the land of Israel.” Excerpt From: Dr. Frank Chase, Jr., Th.D. iBooks “Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?”
Not only does my book dispel the monetary tithe myths it also puts the full-time pastor concept under scrutiny of the New Testament church structure. So if money tithing is important to the church to sustain a consistent cash flow system, it is important to make sure you know what has been written about tithing and what the record says. Author Leonard Bupanda writes this:
“Now, it is important that you pay attention to what the Spirit, through the scriptures, has to say. I do not seek to feed you with my own thoughts and understanding, but with the word of God, for I shall let the scriptures speak. Starting with the way I am addressing Abraham, you will notice that I have used the name Abram as it relates to events that took place before his name was changed. Similarly, the name Abraham relates to God’s dealings with him after his name was changed. Therefore, I have drawn the distinction between the two names to ensure that we do not mix up the facts.
Now, one of my observations is that by being the first to give a tithe, Abram showed a remarkable insight and judgment to determine who deserved to receive the tithe. The spirit within him signified that Melchizedek was worth the tithes. I do not think that is the case today in which anybody can call for the tithe or receive it. Another observation is that Abram gave tithes of all only once (Gen. 14:17-20), as already mentioned somewhere in this book, because Abram’s encounter with Melchizedek took place only once. My curious observation is that Melchizedek did not ask for the tithe either. If this proves difficult to take in, I will advise that you go to the scriptures again. Therefore, it is conclusively clear that no recipient of the Old Testament tithe ever demanded or commanded it as today’s preachers and beneficiaries do. Abram’s tithe was voluntary, while that of the children of Israel was commanded by God on behalf of the Levitical tribe. Not even the priests asked for it. But the cardinal point here is that Abram’s tithe, when put under serious scrutiny, has a lot of flaws as it was given in the flesh as you will discover later. The proof is that the proof is that it did not continue after the tithers’ names were changed.Therefore, in view of the above observations, I do vehemently believe it is erroneous to attribute the tithe to Abraham. This is a misrepresentation of facts that has lead many of us to believe that Abraham was the first to give the tithe. No, Abraham never gave a tithe, but Abram did as a pagan practice of that time. So, if you cannot see the difference between these two names, then you cannot grasp what I am talking about either.”Excerpt From: Leonard Bupanda. “The Tithing Dilemma And The Triumphs Of Love.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-...
Not very many people pay attention to the difference between Abram and Abraham in the scriptures and Mr. Bupanda makes a sound argument and if you read the scripture, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that Abraham did not tithe but Abram did. When I studied tithing, one of the first things I noticed was that none of Abram’s sons tithed. So is became clear to me that something was not right with the tithe teaching. And the more you read excerpts from authors, you start asking questions yourself about tithing. What is clear about tithe teaching today is that pastor go directly to Malachi to establish their so-called binding tithe positions the congregation must comply with. Have you ever had a pastor explain in detail how the livestock and crop tithe worked in Israel? I bet you can’t find one pastor who does. But that is the first place a believer should seek in trying to find the truth about tithing. Many authors painstakingly explain the tithe in context without subterfuge. Here is what Michael Morrison says in his book, Sabbath, Circumcision, and Tithing Which Old Testament Laws Apply to Christians. © 2002, 2003, page 160.
“In the Law of Moses, biblical commands about tithing generally concern grain, wine and oil. A different system of giving was required for some animals. In the last plague on Egypt, God killed the firstborn male of every animal and human, but he spared the Israelites and their animals. Therefore, God claimed ownership of every Israelite firstborn and firstling male animal (Exodus 13:2; Numbers 3:13).
This applied not only to the generation that left Egypt, but every future generation as well. “Clean” firstlings were to be given to the priests and sacrificed (Numbers 18:15-17); priests and people ate them during the festivals (Deuteronomy 15:19-20; 12:6, 17; 14:23). Firstlings of unclean animals and humans were to be redeemed (Exodus 13:12-15; 34:19-20). This continued to be the law in Nehemiah’s day (Nehemiah 10:36) and in Jesus’ day (Luke 2:23). The people also gave firstfruits of their harvest (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 2:14), but these firstfruits do not seem to be a fixed percentage. Tithing was required on flocks: “every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod” (Leviticus 27:32). Was this in addition to the firstlings, or was it instead of firstlings? We do not know exactly how these laws would be administered.
“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30). The tithes and firstfruits belonged to God, and he gave them to the Levites (Numbers 18:12- 13, 21, 24). They could keep 90 percent of what they were given, but had to give 10 percent as an offering (verses 26-32). Tithing was done in the days of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles31:5-6), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10:35-39; 12:44) and Jesus (Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42). In Malachi’s day, tithing was required (Malachi 3:8-10), and physical blessings were promised for obedience, just as physical blessings were promised for obedience to the old covenant.”
Tithing is clearly edible items but why is there so much consternation about hiding this truth from believers around the world? I suspect that when churches are wholly financial dependent on steady income for the banker to pay off huge mortgages, pastors will resort to any out-of-context teaching to sustain this income because they have long since abandoned New Testament giving methods. Even believers with no biblical training can figure out the false monetary tithing teaching. Brother Amartey wrote in his book, Tithing Robbing God and Stealing From God’s People, that:
Other false teachers say that by nurturing the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil without eating of its fruit, Adam and Eve demonstrated the principle of tithing, and that tithing is an eternal principle. Beloved, this is sacrilegious! These deceitful preachers who want to rob and steal your money would use every lie and deception to get your money, just like scammers do. The truth is that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a test of obedience and love and had nothing to do with tithing whatsoever. God said that the penalty for eating the forbidden fruit was death (Genesis 2:15-17). He did not say if Adam and Eve did not give tithes they would die. He did not say they had to pay tithes in order to stay in the Garden. Rather, God provided them everything and told them to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). God did not require anything from Adam and Eve except obedience and faith, and not tithes! http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/....
There is a lot of talk and teaching about Abram and Abraham on tithing. Of all the books I read on tithing as it relates to the father of our faith, one thing is certain, many authors are very clear about their understanding of the tithe. Daniel Mynk author of Freedom to Give The Biblical Truth About Tithing is no different in explaining the tithe in his excerpt. Crosslink publishing ©2011 iPad excerpt.
There are many other instances of money references in the Bible, but none of them say money is required as a tithe.
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The nature of Abram’s tithe Several questions and issues can arise for one who examines the account of Abram’s tithe in detail without merely viewing the presence of the word tithe through the lens of modern tradition. Reading the details of this account, one can notice several problems with an attempt to extrapolate Abram’s tithe to one’s current understanding of the alleged tithing doctrine. These problems shall be analyzed using Abram’s tithe as the “tithe that binds.” First, how many times do the Scriptures record Abram giving something in the form of a “tithe”? Genesis chapter 14 and Hebrews chapter 7 are the only accounts of Abram’s tithe, and they are both of the same event. As far as we know Abram only tithed to Melchizedek once. Accordingly, we can then notice that Abram only tithed to anyone once. A legitimate question protrudes from examining this problem: How does Abram’s one-time tithe to Melchizedek argue a case whereby those who claim him as a “father” must tithe not only once but continually? Read chapter 15 of this book to analyze a possible significance between the priesthood of Melchizedek and the fact that Abram tithed only once. Second, of what source did Abram tithe? Did Abram tithe of his own “income”? One author claimed: “It is a disputed point whether Abraham meant a tithe of all his property, or of all the spoils of war which he had with him.”[26] Although Genesis 14:20 says that Abram gave Melchizedek “tithes of all” and Hebrews 7:2 says that Abram gave “a tenth part of all,” Hebrews 7:4 clarifies that he gave “the tenth of the spoils.” One could argue that the “tithe of spoils” was only part of what Abram gave Melchizedek in the “tithes of all.” However, this reasoning fails both logic and Scriptural analysis. Obviously the “all” can mean “all the spoils of the battle.” The context of Abram’s tithe is directly within the context of winning the battle, returning the spoils, and the king of Sodom requesting a return of his people. Abram gave Melchizedek the tithe after returning from chasing the alliance of Chedorlaomer to Hobah. Abram met both Melchizedek and the king of Sodom in a place called “the valley of Shaveh,” which likely belonged to the king of Sodom. Abram was not in his own home when he gave Melchizedek the tithe. It would defy logic and be to argue from silence to believe that Abram brought all his many possessions with him to battle. Abram did not have all his possessions with him. He tithed to Melchizedek of the spoils of the battle as Hebrews 7:4 makes clear. If, indeed, Abram tithed only of the spoils of war to Melchizedek—things that were stolen from the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah—and not from his own possessions, how does Abram’s tithe in this regard present an obligation to those who claim him as “father” to tithe of their own “income”?
Not only is Abram’s tithe interpreted out of context in the church, the flagrant misinterpretation of first fruits is rampant in the church. The audacity of some pastors to ask member to donate first fruits of the first weeks’s or first day’s or the entire first year’s paycheck is robbing God’s people using scripture out of context. I remember days when the pastor asked the congregation to cough up our first weeks pay and that God would reward us for our sacrifice. Some people actually do pay the week’s, day, or first pay check at the beginning of the year to receive God blessing for the rest of the years. This is utter madness and financial manipulation that can reek havoc on families especially if they are not financially well off. But in the book excerpt, Debunking The Tithe In Israel ©2011, Xlibris Corporation, iPad version), Alvin J. Bates shares some insight on first fruits that is sure to make you put that first paycheck of the year back in the bank and not in the church offering plate, He writes:
The modern teaching that our “firstfruits” is really our first 10 percent of every dollar we make is really, wrong. The firstfruits when the children of Israel entered the Promised Land was the first of all the produce that grew out of the ground and not “money made.” Why is it that today and for hundreds of years churches have claimed firstfruits as “money made,” even when 90 percent of all Christians were farmers all around the world just a few years ago, and farmers could give food! In old England, some churches used to build “tithe barns” on church property to hold their tithes. Whew! I guess they knew that the tithe was really food. Calling “the tithe” money is a total perversion of scripture, and to call money “a shadow” as to what God was saying to the children of Israel is “heresy.” For God to say one thing and for us to do another is a total and complete perversion of scripture. This is hypocrisy, pure and simple!
In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway, I wrote extensively on the first fruits doctrine and I recorded a few YouTube videos to make sure people were well informed about the false monetary first fruits teachings that is sweeping through churches around the country. How does a basket full of fruit get turned into a pocket full of money for the church coffers. I call it slick hermeneutics and isegesis that imposes private interpretation into the scripture without context. When God wants first-fruits in a basket, who has a right the change the scripture to collect money as a substitute and violate the first fruits laws of the Old Testament to justify church financial support using scripture out of context. The only way to combat this phenomenon is to spread the truth about tithes and first fruits. In my book excerpt on first fruits, it is clear that paying money as first fruits is a colossal financial scam of epic proportions. Once you read this excerpt from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway you will know how to respond when a pastor or church requests first fruits from you at the beginning of the years. Read this excerpt and be forewarned and forearmed with the Word:
“This is how the Hebrew people handled firstfruits in an article titled, How were the Firstfruits Handled by the Israelites? The pilgrims that brought up the Bikkurim to the Temple were obligated to recite a declaration set forth in Deuteronomy 26:3-10. (Bikkurim 3:6). This declaration was incorporated into a beautiful and grand festive celebration with a procession of pilgrims marching up to Jerusalem and then the temple with gold, silver or willow baskets to which live birds were tied. (Bikkurim 3:3,5 and 8). The pilgrims were lead by flutists to the city of Jerusalem where dignitaries greeted them (Bikkurim 3:3). The procession would then resume with the flutist in the lead until the Temple Mount where the Leviim [Levites] would break out in song. (Bikkurim 3:4). The birds were given as sacrificial offerings and the declaration would be made before a priest while the basket was still on the pilgrim’s shoulder (Bikkurim 3:5-6). After the basket was presented to the priest, it was placed on the Altar and the pilgrim would bow and leave. (Bikkurim 3:6).55
If you read carefully, notice that firstfruits were brought in a basket “in a festive celebration to the temple and given to the priests. The firstfruits were subject to strict Torah and later rabbinical regulation. The regulation was that God wanted seven specific items as firstfruits and they could only be presented in a basket. The Scriptures are clear on this requirement in Deuteronomy 26:2.” “Take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name (NIV).
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 pinpoints what happened with the Israelites and the firstfruits. God tells them that he wants the firstfruits (produce) from the land. Yahweh identifies different types of firstfruits from the land that were brought to the temple in the basket in Deuteronomy 8:7-8 and 18:4.” Excerpt From: Dr. Frank Chase, Jr., Th.D. Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? iBooks.
“One of the most perplexing arguments among Bible scholars and theologians is how many tithes did Israel pay? Though I addressed the issue in my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? I did not argue the point. However, I pointed out the positions that some take only to make a point that if there was more than one tithe, then why are churches collecting one tithe when the Bible teaches more than one tithe. This is why it is important to not accept anything as fact until you research for yourself. One Theologian Russell Kelly, PH.D writes about how many tithes in chapter 7 of his book, Should the Church Teach Tithing? I would like to say that some Jewish scholars and those who just studied Israel’s tithing practices believe there was one tithe based on Jewish Terumah laws and others think there were more than one tithe. My point here is that whether there were more than one tithe or not, tithes were still edible item anyway? So getting down into the minutia of one, two, or three tithe is not that important if we are trying to establish whether the tithe is money or crops and cattle. Russell writes:
Was the biblical tithe only 10%, or could it have been as much as 23 1/3%? Was there one tithe, two tithes, or three? A discussion of these questions was not originally part of this book until it became evident why only one answer is acceptable to most who teach New Covenant tithing.
Most casual readers of the Old Testament will conclude that there were at least two, and perhaps three, separate tithes, averaging either twenty or twenty three and one third percent (23 1/3%) per year, instead of only one ten percent (10%) tithe. For two thousand years theologians have been split over whether these were all separate tithes or somehow merged into either one or two tithes. The “multiple tithe” position is held by Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, Matthew Henry, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Bruce Metzger, Charles Ryrie, the Jewish Talmud and most Jewish writers, like Josephus.
Charles Ryrie combines the second and third tithe into one. “Two tithes were required: an annual tithe for the maintenance of the Levites (Lev. 27:30; Num. 18:21) and a second tithe brought to Jerusalem for the Lord’s feasts (Deut. 14:22). Every third year, however, the second tithe was kept at home for the poor (Deut. 14:28).”40 The McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia, tithe, Section I, last paragraph, also concludes that only two tithes existed. My only objection is that,if this were true, then we would have to conclude that there were no feasts every third year if there were no food brought.
For those, like the author, who believe that New Covenant giving under principles of grace replaces the entire tithing system, there is no reason to be dogmatic about which position is correct. However, for those who believe that tithing is also expected from the New Covenant Christian, the ONE tithe of ten percent can be the ONLY true and acceptable explanation. This position is for very obvious reasons! While it is difficult enough to ask average church members for ten percent, it would be much more difficult to ask them for twenty or even twenty three and one third percent!
Therefore, those who defend exact tithing have often placed themselves into a no-compromise position which concludes that the Old Covenant only taught one tithe of ten percent. Notice the tone of Eklund’s remarks, “The notion of three separate tithes has been circulated among commentators for a long time. Nevertheless, we must remain true to Scripture and not the traditions of biblical interpreters. Some have used the idea of three distinct tithes as a means of rendering tithing an obsolete doctrine, not valid for the New Covenant believers. This is done by rendering the Levite tithe as government taxation, the festival tithe as antiquated ritual, and the welfare tithe as giving to the poor. Since taxes and welfare funding are levied by the government, it is assumed that the tithe is no longer necessary.”41
In reply to Eklund, first, it is unprofessional to attack those who disagree by accusing them of following the “traditions of biblical interpreters” and accusing them of not remaining “true to Scripture.” Such superior attitude simply will not convince scholars to concede their own researched positions. Second, many of Eklund’s own denomination’s seminary scholars and textbooks hold the opposite position which he criticizes. When he says “we,” he errs in thinking that his own denomination totally agrees with him. Third, his discussion hints at an ulterior motive for insisting on only one tithe.” ©Copyright ©2000, 2007, pages 49-50.
One argument that tithe teachers love to expound on is that Israel did have money and that’s why they did not tithe money. It is a false argument that all Israel was an agricultural economy and that prevented them from tithing money. All Israelites were not farmers and ranchers as some would have you to believe. Pastors push this argument to justify collecting of ten percent of your income. This fact is easily and simply disproven by just reading the scriptures in the Bible on money. Author Thabani Maphosa, who wrote, Defusing the Malachi Bomb: The Old Covenant Tithe Versus New Covenant Giving. ©2015 iPad version. He asks in Chapter 1, Was There Money in the Israelite Economy?
“Some have claimed that money was not in use at the time that the laws of tithing were enacted. This is not true. Some bible translations use the word ‘silver’ and others ‘money’ to denote currency as a medium of exchange. Here are a just a few texts that show that money was in use at this time: “ Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold” Gen 13:2 “but every man’s servant who is bought for money , when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it.” Exo 12:44 “If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money .” Exo 21:11 “The owner of the pit shall make it good. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall be his.” Exo 21:34 “If a man delivers to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief is found, he shall pay double.” Exo 22:7 “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor. You shall not charge him interest.” Exo 22:25 “You shall purchase food from them for money that you may eat. You shall also buy water from them for money that you may drink.” Deu 2:6 Money continued to be in use throughout Israel’s history as shown below:
“When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up this once, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.” Jdg 16:18 “Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near my house; and I will give you for it a better vineyard than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money .” 1Ki 21:2 “I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed him the money , even seventeen shekels of silver.” Jer 32:9 “Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money : yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.” Mic 3:11″
So not only do other authors prove that Israel economy has money, I make the same assertion that Israel was not a 100 percent agricultural economy. Many of us who did not grow up in Israel thousands of years ago do not realize that their understanding their economy and their tithing system is in some aspects is counterintuitive. I spent a great deal of time writing about money in Israel in my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway to make sure I understood how money was used in a theocracy. In fact, I studied every verse in context to see if an argument for money tithing could be made. At the end of my research journey, not one scripture verse that address money was ever paid as a tithe. Here is an excerpt below from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? about how money was used in Israel, and you will be shocked if you read Chapter 6 of my book titled, Show Me the Money not one time was money ever paid to the temple as a tithe in all 140 verses.
“Another example of money not being tithed is in Genesis Chapter 33:18-19, when Jacob buys land much like his grandfather.
Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money (NKJV).
The context deals with Jacob buying a piece of property. The strange occurrence here is that if God promised the land of Canaan to his family, why is Jacob negotiating with the children of Hamor to purchase land? What we notice is that to have full ownership and deed to the land, a legal act to purchase the land was required. God promises are sovereign; however; His promises do not negate our responsibility to act in a legal way. In Jacob’s case, God promised the land, but Jacob still had to legally purchase the land to have full ownership.
The phrase in the text one hundred pieces of money is Strong’s #7192. It is the Hebrew word “quesiytah,” which is a unit of unknown valve and the TWOT #2081 suggests it means to weigh out. Apparently the value of the one-hundred and ten pieces of money weighted out are pieces of silver, but the Bible does not indicate how much the silver pieces cost in dollars during Jacob’s time.
The next instance of money handling in the Bible occurs in Egypt with Jacob’s son, Joseph. However, there is no mention of either of them tithing silver or gold throughout their life story. The story of Joseph’s brothers dropping him in a pit and eventually selling him into servitude in Egypt is a fascinating story. As the years passed, Jacob’s son’s deceived him into thinking that a wild animal killed Joseph. During this time, a famine broke out in the land and Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to purchase grain. I will not cover the entire story, but I will focus on the money aspect of the story. Genesis 42 begins the story and throughout the whole saga money is mentioned as part of the conversation but never as a tithing practice. The context is about hunger and famine. Genesis 42:25, 27 and 35 mention money in relation to food and nothing else.
Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them…But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid (NKJV).” Excerpt From: Dr. Frank Chase, Jr., Th.D. Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? iBooks.
Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway Blog Book Tour from Dr. Frank Chase Jr
Nothing speaks louder than the words that comes from the horses mouth. In this case, the words from Jewish scholar Noam Zion’s book, From Each According To One’s Ability: Duties to Poor People From the Bible to the Welfare State and Tikkun Olam gives understanding about the tithing system and it counts as fact in my book. In this book excerpt he explains Israel’s duties to the poor clearly shows tithes came from the land. In Israel, the people lived on God’s land and benefited from God’s hand in their economy and how they took care of the poor in the tithing system. To show you how complicated the tithe is, this jewish excerpt will make it clear how tithing took place and how the poor benefited from the tithe which came from the land of Israel. This excerpt gives insight into how the poor were viewed and how God expected them to be teated. The almighty American dollar is not a part of God’s tithing system in the land of Israel. One thing about the title of this book is that Israel tithe system had a Welfare component. Below is tithing explained in the land, language and literature of the Hebrew people.
“In Chapter #4 we explore how support for the poor is integrated with the agricultural system in Biblical Israel and how the rationale and forms of this generosity are informed by a third metaphor, God as a landlord . The Torah’s laws of the land warn its inhabitants to refrain from taking complete credit for and possession over their accumulated wealth or land. In contrast to the previous chapters on Biblical giving the motivations behind agricultural allotments to the poor are neither empathy with those who suffer nor indignation at abuse of the rights of the poor. In contrast to a later chapter on the Jubilee tithes and peah are geared to maintenance , not rehabilitation, of the economically stressed. These entitlements are land-based, and so they designated marginal portions of the produce of otherwise privately-owned land. The Biblical delivery of aid was seasonal in the land of Israel, and it occur s chiefly at harvest time through the institutions of peah, leket, and shikhikha , whereas the modern approach has acquired a broader application to include individuals outside of Israel and monetary relevance . In the Middle Ages a monetary tithe is added to these in-kind agricultural contributions and it constitutes a new understanding of the “ poor tithe.”’This mechanism and its rationale is of particular interest because of its widely varying interpretations having run the gamut from a voluntary pious act to an institutional obligation, and from personal, communal or ritual use to the benefit of the less fortunate. The idea of tithing within the Jewish tradition will also be compared with a variety of Christian interpretations, which are based on the idea of grace and tend to value greater generosity with one’s possessions.
The great American oil baron and Baptist philanthropist, John D. Rockefeller, explained his legendary generosity simply by acknowledging: “The good Lord gave me the money.” [102] [cdxiv] The story one tells oneself about the origins of one’s wealth is essential to the narrative of why one gives it away and to whom. In the next two chapters we will explore the rationale behind four modes of agricultural giving to the needy that are all commanded in the Torah by God. Those gifts are land-based and apply only to Jews living as farmers on their own land in Eretz Yisrael because their narrative of wealth teaches them that God gave them this promised land and allotted them their particular ancestral property, so they can say almost like the Baptist, Rockefeller: “The good Lord gave me the land.”
What are these agricultural gifts to the needy from God’s gift to the farmer and how does each add a twist to its rationale for being generous? In chronological order of their distribution, the farmer first designates , during his harvest, the “ corners of his field ” –peah –still filled with produce and still attached to the ground and to the vine. At that point “No Trespass” signs can be removed, so-to-speak, and the peah is now accessible to the poor and that only the poor may harvest themselves. In the meantime the farmer harvests t he rest of the field a first time , but all that was left behind –still on the plants –now belongs to the impoverished gleaners who collect what is called leket . After the harvest the farmer has his produce bundled in the field and then removed for storage. Whatever bundles forgotten –shikhikha –are reserved for the poor and prohibited to the farmer who accidentally forgot them. In the meantime the bundled produce is counted, and a tenth is set aside –the tithe, ma’aser –which is designated for the Levi or the poor depending on the year of the seven year cycle. The tithe is presented to any chosen poor person at the farmer’s discretion, while a ll the other gifts –peah, leket and shikhikha –are collected at the initiative of any indigent and by the ir labor . When the farmer finally gathers his family for a feast after the harvest on his agricultural holidays –Sukkot ( Hag HaAsif ) and Shavuot ( Hag Hakatzir ) –then too the farmer shares his ready-made food with the needy at his table. Every seventh year, the Sabbatical, the farmer is commanded to abandon his own field leaving it fallow, and thus returning it to a state of ownerless nature. All the produce that grows naturally on what was once a cultivated field is accessible at any time to the limited subsistence foraging of the farmer and the poor equally. Finally on the Jubilee, once every 50 years, the land itself –not its produce –is given away by whoever owns it to the original owner in the same ancestral plots once distributed by God in the days of Joshua when the land was first conquered and given out by a divinely regulated lottery. Thus the poor male citizens regain their agricultural capital. Sabbatical and Jubilee will be discussed in future chapters.
The rationale for these gifts is, first and foremost, that: YHWH our God brought us to this good land of river beds, springs and deeps in the valleys and mountains. A land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, a land of olives, oil and [date] honey. A land in which one may eat bread without scarcity, and nothing is lacking in it. …You shall eat, be satisfied and bless YHWH your God for the good land God gave you . ( Dt. 8: 7-10).
Hence one is commanded to share one’s gift from God both with God directly through sacrifices and offerings, and first fruits and halla h for bread with the priesthood and tribe of Levi who serve God with these gift-offerings in the cult’s gift-giving. The tie between God’s “ giving ” and the Jewish landowner’s “ giving back ” is gratitude for that gift . That reasoning is made most explicit regarding the first fruits ( bikurim ). As Martin Buber notes, the sacred recitation upon presenting the first fruits to the priest in the Temple compares by its word choice God’s “bringing” the people to the land of Israel and the farmer “bringing” a gift to the Temple (Deut. 26: 9-10). [cdxv] For that reason the Rabbis stipulated that first fruits are to be brought only from produce of the seven species associated with Eretz Yisrael’s best fruits (Deut. 8:8; Mishna Bikurim 1:3), only by farmers in the land of Israel who own their land, and only when the Temple is still functioning (Maimonides, Laws of First Fruits 2:1).
Tithes are brought form any produce of grain, grapes and olives but again only from the land of Israel. In the poor tithe one shares one’s agricultural gift from God with God-designated needy from the land of Israel. Note that the verse describes this land as one without “lack” ( lo-tekhsar ), so logically when there are indigent in this land that God gave you, one is obligated to “open one’s hand” and provide from God’s bounty “enough for their lack which they lack ” dei mahsoro asher yekhsar lo –Dt. 15:8).”
Read Book excerpts from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway and learn some of my personal thoughts about what went into writing the book excerpts.
Is the Church the Storehouse for Tithing?
Did Jesus Collect Tithes?
Will a Man Rob God?
Eating Tithes vs. Paying Tithes
What are First Fruits in the Bible?
Official Orthodox Biblical Tithing Has Passed Away
Jesus and his Ministry Never Received Tithes
Paul Never Taught Believers to Tithe Money
The Church and Its Money Grab Tactics
Monetary Tithing is not a Foregone Conclusion
Money Tithing or Eatible tithing, Which One?
Arguments Against Tithing Has a Long History
What Does True Giving Look Like?
Tithing on Increase
The Law Does Not Teach Monetary Tithing
Research Brings Truth
Understanding Tithing Starts With a Definition
The Fight Continues
Did Paul Convert the Tithe to Money?
How Did God’s Tithe Become Money?
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A Tithing Study Presentation by Dr. Frank Chase Jr. de Dr. Frank Chase Jr
Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? by Frank Chase Jr
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January 20, 2018
The Malachi Tithes and Offerings Conspiracy
Were Offerings in the Old Testament Money?
Malachi 3:8 is the bread and butter of tithe proponents. It is the main scripture used to enforce a mandatory monetary tithe in the church today. Many believers never question the doctrine because of fear of a curse from God. The conspiracy to change the biblical tithe from an agricultural base to a monetary base began before many of us were born. The scriptures read in Malachi 3:8-11:
Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 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. 11 “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;
The key to interpreting these verses is to ascertain the main subject, which is food not money. God said to them to bring the tithe into the storehouse (barn) so there would be food (to eat) in his house for the Levites when they were on duty in the temple. The verse starts out by saying that the priest robbed God in Tithes and Offering. And yet people want so bad to make these verses refer to money when the context is clear that God interest was in agricultural products and herds and flocks. We know that tithes in this verse is based on the Hebrew word Ma’aser, which means everything edible. So what was God implying when he said to the people in Malachi that they were also robbing him in offerings also? Were offerings money? Here’s how the pulpit preacher butchers this verse. They say that a believer can’t or God won’t accept an offering from them until they first pay their tithe. But in Malachi it say tithes, which is plural and tithes is mentioned first. So that means tithes come from many products, and money is not one of them. In previous blogs, I wrote about three different tithes in Israel and I also covered the various tithes in my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?. So looking at this verse which references tithes and offerings it is clear many people in today’s churches are not paying tithes and offerings like Malachi 3:8-10 dictates.
So what does the offerings consist of in Malachi 3:8-10 and what kind were they? In this blog, I will give you a short list of scriptures on offerings for you to read so that you can determine for yourself whether offering are simply money you give on every Sunday morning tithe stickup. The offerings we are going to look at come from Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. I will not list everyone in the Bible, but you will know from this list what offerings consisted of and its purpose.
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Exodus 13:12 first Offspring of every womb: that you shall set apart to the LORD all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the LORD’s (NKJV). In this verse, we see that first-born male animals were dedicated to the Lord. In follow on verses donkeys was not accepted but had to be redeemed with a lamb. So that means the herder gave the donkey and bought it back with a lamb. Also God wanted every firstborn male child, but they were also bought back the parents and told to remember this as God killed the first-born males in Egypt. In this verse, there is no money request from Yahweh in the law of the firstborn.
Exodus 29:14 Sin offering: But the meat, the skin and the food still in the bull’s stomach must be burned outside the camps as an offering to ask forgiveness for the sins of the priests (CEV). In this verse, which requires a sin offering is clear is that in the old covenant, payment for sins committed required the life of an animal. So the question is, if the pastor says you can’t pay an offering until you first tithe, then are you using money to pay for your sins and rejecting the finished work of the Messiah on the cross? As you can see, a sin offering did not require money. The fact is, money can only be offered only if the verse specifically calls out shekels, silver, gold, talents, denari or other forms of biblical money.
Exodus 29:18: Burnt offering: 18 And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD (NKJV).
Burnt offerings don’t look like money to me. To be facetious, I guess you pay your money offering in church and according to the scripture, if they are hundred-dollar bills I guess by scripture you have to set them on fire as a sweet-smelling savor to the Lord. I regress, but it doesn’t look like this verse can be used to extract a money offering from congregants on Sunday.
4. Exodus 29:40 Drink offering: With the one lamb shall be one-tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering (NKJV). Here is how it reads in the CEV: With each lamb offer two pounds of your finest flour mixed with a quart of pure olive oil, and also pour out a quart of wine as an offering.
In this verse, the text is painting a picture of full-fledged dinner cooked up for the evening for God. So far the offerings that Malachi speaks of appear related to food and not money. So the question becomes, does Malachi’s offerings have anything to do with robbing God of money? So as you can see, this is food offered to God and then he told the offeror to pour out the wine on the fire for sweet aroma to God. Now this wine was not unfermented. This wine in the text is the Hebrew word yayin or yahyin. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, it was fermented wine that Yahweh wanted poured on the fire with the flour, oil and lamb so he could smell it. There goes the false teaching that fermented wine did not exist in the Bible.
5. Exodus 29:41 Grain offering: And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; and you shall offer with it the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD (NKJV).
In this verse, the priest are offering more edible items to the Lord as offerings. There is no way offerings of money can be assumed from this verse either. Isn’t is amazing that scripture proves itself through context. Offerings in Malachi are what the context tells you not what the preacher tell you to interpret. All the offerings up to this point are related to temple worship.
6. Exodus 30:10, 16; Annual atonement; And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD (NKJV).
In this verse once a year atonement was done for the people of Israel. In no way can this be associated with any form of modern-day offerings of money in church. This verse has been fulfilled because Christ has made the final atonement for us on the cross. There is no need for believers today to try to pay money for their sins. To do so using the tithes and offerings according to Malachi is a violation of the all the offerings laws God specifically requested.
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In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? you will find hundreds of reasons why you should stop tithing and embrace New Covenant Grace Giving that Paul taught in the letters written the assemblies in the New Testament. If you would like to read more about tithing, click on the links below to read book bubbles from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
Money in the Temple
Now this is a good place to insert an example of how money came into the temple. In Exodus 30:11-16, the context is clear. When Israel went through a census, God required every man to pay ransom money. The amount of the money was a half a of shekel. The money was used for service of the temple. And notice that it was only men from twenty years old and up. These verses never ask women and children to pay ransom money. It was the men who were responsible for the financial temple obligation. Wouldn’t it be nice today if women were not responsible for the church financial obligations and the men took the lead for that. Something to think about. Here is God’s ransom money requirement that was not an offering. As you read you will see that the context is about ransom money for the temple to make atonement but not about offerings as money. This money was used for the upkeep of the temple and it was not tithes or offerings. In this verse, both the rich and poor paid the same amount for the temple upkeep. What a novel idea, it almost sounds like a building fund but the problem is, this fund was only collected during census time.
11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD. 14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves. 16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.” (NKJV)
Were Offerings in the Old Testament Money Cont.?
But I digress, so let’s get back to the offerings in the Bible. By the time we get to Leviticus, there are several types of offering God requested from the people of Israel. Surely there must be money associated with these offerings. Let’ dig into them to find out.
Leviticus 3:1, Fellowship or Peace offering: When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace-offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD (NKJV).
In this verse, we see that this offering has no association with money, but God specifically identifies the herd as the fellowship or peace-offering. Both the priest and the giver partook of the meal. This offering was done three-time a year during the annual three festivals in Israel and thousands of Israelite participated in this practice of the communal meal. The amount of animals killed in these offerings ranged in the thousands. Sounds like a bloody hot mess and lot of cooking going on. Well it looks like no money exchanged hands in the peace/fellowship offering.
2. Leviticus 5:15-16 Guilt offering: If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the LORD, he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. 16 He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven (ESV).
In these two verses, once again we do see money exchange hands from the one who sinned to the priest who forgave the sin, but this time the payment is for unintentional sins in the holy things of the LORD. The only way to pay for the sin is to bring a ram and its value in silver and give it to the priest along with additional fifth part of it. Some Bible versions record it as twenty percent of value of the ram. Now this guilt offering is payment for the sin and to make restitution to others affected. So the price of the ram is paid in silver to the priest and the individual sins was placed on the ram and sacrificed for forgiveness. Can you imagine paying money for sins today, everybody in the church would be dead broke and destitute for life unintentional sins. I’m glad the Messiah paid the price for our sins once and for all. Glory!
3. Leviticus 7:11-12, Thanks/peace-offering: 11 ‘This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the LORD: 12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, or cakes of blended flour mixed with oil.
In this verse, this offering is cakes, wafers and oil. Well, well, here we go again with edible items as offerings. There is a whole lot of food offerings going on in the Old Testament and money is not the major concern of God in mandatory offerings. In Malachi the offerings are not voluntary but mandatory. So the offering the church requests is totally out of context with scripture.
4. Leviticus 19:23-24 Praise offering: 23 ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the LORD.
In this verse, the praise offering is thanking God for the food he provided by his hand after they planted the tree in the promise land. Wow, they could not eat the fruit until five years later and at that time they praised God in the fourth year. A praise offering that had nothing to do with money. But in some churches, you will find people praising God and throwing money on the altar for the pastor when the sermon has got their emotions running high. Folks, don’t get played by the offering requests and stick to giving from your heart.
5. Leviticus 22:18-21 Freewill offering: 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to the LORD as a burnt offering— 19 you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. 20 Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. 21 And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the LORD, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it.
In these verses, it appears freewill offering that most of us are accustomed to in the form of money has been blow up by the word of the Lord. The freewill offerings mentioned here come from cattle, sheep, and goats. This is shocking evidence that even freewill offerings in the Bible at least in the Old Testament are not money. Money in the old testament was silver and gold metal, but coinage did not appear until the seventh century. Most offerings in the first five books of the Bible related to animals, grain, wine, oil. So it appears that in the Old Testament, there are 1094 verses with the word offering/offerings and just by a scan of them all, none of them clearly defined offering or offering as strictly money. However by the time we get to the New Testament, we know coins were highly in use for temple offerings.
6. Numbers 5:15, Grain offering for Jealousy: Numbers 5: 11-31 deals with the husband offering a grain offering for a wife he believes has cheated on him. The text is worth reading because even if she was not caught or if the husband became jealousy he still had to offer a grain offering for jealousy to free himself from the iniquity. So the wife had to go through the procedure whether innocent or guilty the law of Jealousy. The process required a grain offering without oil or incense on it as reminder of guilt to the accused wife.
7. Numbers 19:17 Purification offering: 17 And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel.
This text simply deals the what people must do if they if enter the tent of the dead man or are around a grave or touches a dead man in an open field or a bone of a dead man. As it stands God had many mandatory offerings that covered every possible scenario in the Old Testament, but it appears money was not a required mandatory offering. So in today’s church is the word offering the term used to give from the heart or should the term be gift?
8. In Numbers 28:11-15 God required a monthly burnt offering, which consisted of two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs, pounds of flour mixed with oil. two quarts of wine and a goat along with daily sacrifices. I can tell you one thing about the Old Testament offerings, there was sure a lot animal killings going on. I often wonder how did the clean up all that blood. If offerings are so important, why did God leave out monetary offerings in the Pentateuch?
In this blog, and from what I have studied about tithes and offering, it appears they were never combined of mixed for any purpose in the OT and the distinction is very clear in the scripture text. No where does the Bible teach that Levites or Priests tithed from offerings they received. In fact, Levites on paid a tithe of the tithe and priests never tithed at all.
Before we go, someone might say that I did not cover offerings in the New Testament (NT). So let’s go into that right now. I found one example of a NT offering being given by the widow in Luke 21:1-4 and Mark 12:41. 1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had. And from the context there is a lot to learn about this widow woman. In fact, because of her widow status, the rich where according to the law were suppose to take care of her but by this time the temple was robbing the very least of these that they were suppose to protect and take care of based on God’s Laws for the widows. The temple was supposed to follow the laws God gave to Israel to take care of widows, but they abdicated that responsibility and violated the law. Jesus made it clear that the teacher of the law were financially taking advantage the widows by devouring their houses. In other words, the teachers of the law were cheating widows out of their homes. And it is no different today when pastors cheat members out of their money by teaching a false doctrine of monetary tithing, which has left many believer poor like the unfortunate widow.
The next time a pastors asks for an offering, you’d better have them explain and clarify which offerings are they talking about in the Bible, sin offering, burnt offering, drink offering, grain offering, fellowship offering, guilt offering, thanks offering, praise offering, freewill offering, reminder offering, memorial offering, purification offering or monthly burnt offering. The Old Testament has 1094 types of offerings and the New Testament only teaches that you give from the heart and you decide the amount to give based on what you have and not what your don’t have.
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In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? you will find hundreds of reasons why you should stop tithing and embrace New Covenant Grace Giving that Paul taught in the letters written to the assemblies in the New Testament. If you would like to read more about tithing, click on the links below to read book bubbles from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
Is the Church the Storehouse for Tithing?
Did Jesus Collect Tithes?
Will a Man Rob God?
Eating Tithes vs. Paying Tithes
What are First Fruits in the Bible?
Official Orthodox Biblical Tithing Has Passed Away
Jesus and his Ministry Never Received Tithes
Paul Never Taught Believers to Tithe Money
The Church and Its Money Grab Tactics
Monetary Tithing is not a Foregone Conclusion
Money Tithing or eatable tithing, Which One?
Arguments Against Tithing Has a Long History
What Does True Giving Look Like?
Tithing on Increase
The Law Does Not Teach Monetary Tithing
Research Brings Truth
Understanding Tithing Starts With a Definition
The Fight Continues
Did Paul Convert the Tithe to Money?
How Did God’s Tithe Become Money?
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Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway Blog Book Tour from Dr. Frank Chase Jr
Thanks Gary for reading my book
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Thank Rodney for reading my book
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I hope this blog helps many people in search for truth about the tithe of the Bible. And I hope the lady who was sent a fine for not paying tithe one day discovers my book and know that she is not required to tithe to God, now, in the future becuase of grace and Christ sacrifice on the cross. And if need be I hope she read the New Testament givig slides below so she can be equipped to deal with modern tithe teaching that are not in the Bible. Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway is an ebook from Amazon and in PDF, iPad and Kindle from Book Baby.
New Testament Giving By Dr. Frank Chase, Jr from Dr. Frank Chase Jr
If you interested in where my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? is on the internet, please share these links below with all of your friends and network, so the world will know that tithing is not money.
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December 10, 2017
Income-Based Tithing is an Invention of the Church
Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway Blog Book Tour from Dr. Frank Chase Jr
In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? you will find hundreds of reasons why you should stop tithing and embrace New Covenant Grace Giving that Paul taught in the letters written to the assemblies in the New Testament. If you would like to read more about tithing, click on the links below to read book bubbles from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
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It’s amazing when you discover a new biblical truth. That what happened to me several years ago when I went on a biblical journey to study tithing. What I uncovered literally shocked me into truth. I also discovered how easy it is to be biblically ignorant even when you think you are an well informed person. Needless to say, I suspect that many believers are not as astute in biblical theology and understanding. It’s no fault of their own, but when you allow so-called biblical experts tell you what the Bible says, without you doing personal follow-up, you’ll most likely become well informed in biblical error.
In the case of tithing and what the Bible defines as a tithe, many of us have become victims of phantom tithing passages interpreted in mysterious spiritualistic ways to get money for the church. In this post, I really want you to see that many experts, theologians, scholars, and Bible readers have not fallen for the Sunday morning tithe stickup. Where do people get the idea that God requires money as a tithe? I would have to say ignorance, confusion and a lack of scripture study is the culprit. This post will be a list of quotes from many in the christian community debunking the tithe myths that exist today. Based on the research that I have done in my book, kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway, tithing money or paying a tenth of your income is actually not in the Bible. In fact, phantom tithing verses and propaganda come from pervasive biblical illiteracy, and that can be financially dangerous to the believers in church. Proper biblical exegesis, hermeneutics, context and theology have fallen to wayside, and the idea of what a person thinks the scripture means personally has become the standard. That opens the door to private interpretation of the scripture which the Bible warns against. For example, many people think the phrase, “God helps those who helps themselves” is a verse in the Bible when it actually is not in the Bible. Because of phantom verses, many people believe tithing money is in the Bible, when it actually is not. So what are the experts, theologians, scholars saying about tithing? Let’s take a journey. But Before we do that, I would like to share with you, why i resigned from tithing.
What are People Saying About Tithing?
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Studying the full scope of tithing as presented in the Bible, one discovers that tithing is first mentioned in Genesis 14: 17-24, where Abraham is described as “giving” a voluntary offering of a tenth to Melchizedek, King/priest of Salem. Of course, we “pay” an obligation, but we “give” a gift because we choose to. There was no law of tithing in the Word of God demanding that Abraham pay Melchizedek tithing on the spoils of war. (Also, see Chapter III.)
Clearly, tithing was codified in the ceremonial law along with burnt offerings, sacrifices, heave offerings, vows, and the practice of circumcision. (Deuteronomy Chapters 11, 12 ,14, and 26, and Leviticus Chapter 12.) “Under the Levitical system God ordained …the tithes….” S.D.A. Bible Dictionary, 1127.
Because Abraham “gave” tithes to Melchizedek before Moses and the ceremonial laws of Moses’ day, some contend that the practice of tithing is perpetual.
In addition, some churches contend that Abraham paid (not “gave” as Scripture reads) a tenth of the spoils of war to Melchizedek because there was an unwritten tithing law that required him to do so. Consider this. This action by Abraham is in no way related to the law of tithing later revealed in the Book of Leviticus. The Levitical law required that tithe be paid only on land and animals. (Lev. 27:30-31.) Spoils of war do not represent an increase from farming. The Mosaic law required that the priests receive 1/500th of the goods from the spoils of war, not 1/10th. The Levites received 1/50th of the spoils of war, not 1/10th. The law concerning spoils of war had nothing to do with tithing. (Numbers 31: 27-29.) Now, if Moses, in Genesis, were recording a universal law of tithing at the time of Abraham, why does he depart from this law some 400 years later? Abraham’s gift was one of free-will, an offering of thanksgiving. Nothing more, nothing less!
It is true, of course, that tithing was a part of the ceremonial codes (Deuteronomy 14:22-29 and 26:12), but the fallacy of assuming that there was a perpetual law of tithing at the time of Abraham, is immediately observed when one studies the practice of circumcision. Circumcision existed before Moses (Genesis 17:10) and was adopted into the ceremonial codes as was tithing (Exodus 12: 44, 48 and Leviticus 12:3); however, as we see in Colossians 2:16,17, Paul states that Christ’s death made void the ceremonial laws (Hebrews 9: 8-11), including the practice of circumcision (Galatians 5:6; 6:15, and 1 Corinthians 7:19). Therefore, even though circumcision and tithing were practiced before Moses and the writing of the ceremonial codes, this practice did not make either of these acts perpetual. (Taken from Beware The Tithe Trap by Dr. Fillmer Hevener)
1st Century Jewish perspective
The 1st Century Jews who were the very first Christians–and who are the Christian example that we have in the bible—had a unique perspective. Perhaps we have lost this perspective in the church of today–having to deal with so many years of tradition from which most of our churches operate.
The people in the Bible understood certain things–I believe much better than we do. They had experience that we do not have–we understand certain things that are stated in the Bible–but we do not live them out in the same way that they did–and one of the reasons this is –is because of the particular perspective the 1st Century Jews operated from.
These people had “grown up” in the traditions of the Jewish faith of that day. They lived out their lives–their tradition in these ways-
They paid a tithe–which consisted of 1/10 of their goods–1/10 of the herd and the crops which they grew. It was the part of most of the people to (those who were not of the tribe of Levi) to render this tithe to the priests–the Levites.
The Levites were the anointed appointed delegated authority within Israel to do ministry. They were the only ones who were lawfully allowed to serve God–to perform the many and various ministries–offerings unto God throughout the year. The Levites had the “office of ministry”. They had authority over the rest of Israel to be the ones who were chosen by the covenant laws delivered to Moses, to be the tribe of Israel which were allowed to be ministers unto the Lord. No one else in Israel could be a minister. No one else had the anointing to do this. The Levities were delegated by the law to be the ministry which received the tithe. They offered the tithe–which is holy unto God–as the sin offering for the people–the rest of Israel–and themselves. Their ministry function was to properly make these offerings unto God–to properly use the tithe–the offering to God for the sin of the people. They also lived on the tithe–they were allowed to eat of the slain animals–and partake of the fruits and grains which were offered through the tithe. (Taken from Vision of the Church)
Leviticus 25:1: And the LORD spake unto Moses in Mt. Sinai saying,
Verse 2: Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, when ye come into the land which I shall give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the LORD.
Verse 3: Six years shalt thou sow thy field, and six years shalt thou prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
Verse 4: But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a Sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
Verse 5: That which growth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the Land.
Verse 6: And the Sabbath of the land shall be meat (food) for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for the stranger that sojourneth with thee.
Verse 7: And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
The Israelites observed a seven-year agricultural (and tithing) cycle. Every seventh year the land (and the tithers) got a break. No large-scale reaping was to be done, so no tithes were to be paid. Any Jewish rabbi will tell you no tithes were paid in ancient Israel on the seventh year, and tithes were never collected from the wages of the poor. During the Sabbatical year, people were to take from the land just what they needed for their own personal consumption, and nothing more. How would this set with “conservative” preachers who holler about having a strong work ethic, and making the most (money) out of every waking moment of your life? What if somebody out in the congregation decided that every seventh year he would ditch the factory job, sling on a backpack and go live off the land like the Indians did before the coming of the white man?
Today’s tithers simply don’t get that seventh-year break commanded by Scripture. They’re pressured to slave SEVEN years out of seven to satisfy Organized Religion’s hunger for finances. When one job isn’t enough, people are encouraged to work two. Preachers LITERALLY (and wrongly) apply the Tithing Law, while “spiritualizing away” people’s need for physical rest, to keep the cash rolling in. Parents who must work extra jobs come under criticism because they aren’t always there for the kids and “have poor family values”. Think of it. God actually gave the farmer a whole year off every seventh year from plowing, sowing and reaping, besides their weekly Sabbath Day rest. God even cared about the land, which is nothing but dead, wormy dirt! Funny how preachers don’t worry about other Christians dropping dead from overwork. I kinda suspect God is a lot more merciful than His supposed representatives up in the pulpit. (Taken from the article Rewriting Scripture to Justify Tithing)
Several years ago when I fist started learning about tithing, I joined an Yahoo Tithing Study group. This group of believers were very well versed on tithing. One of the profound questions that escapes some people who subscribe to monetary tithing is that they never ask how God’s tithing system became a money grab for the church. Let me tell you that insofar as scripture is concerned, the Bible was not source. The catholic unilaterally established a (income based) tithe by means of religious church legislation patterned after secular law in the six century. I cover this phenomenon in my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? Here is what the catholic church decided, “The earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the canons of the Council of Maçon in 585. In course of time, we find the payment of tithes made obligatory by ecclesiastical enactments in all the countries of christendom.” The process of ripping up the God’s biblical tithe laws to change them to fit the needs of the worldwide catholic church began by proclamations to the effect: “The Church looked on this payment as “of divine law, since tithes were instituted not by man but by the Lord Himself” (C. 14, X de decim. III, 30). As regards the civil power, the Christian Roman emperors granted the right to churches of retaining a portion of the produce of certain lands, but the earliest instance of the enforcement of the payment of ecclesiastical tithes by civil law is to be found in the capitularies of Charlemagne, at the end of the eighth century.” (Taken from New Advent). So what we have is that the Catholic juggernaught took it upon themselves to decree and declare that income-based tithing was legal based on their personal doctrinal view of the authority as religious leaders of the world. They felt it was not necessary to prove monetary tithing from the Bible because when they decreed it, that meant it was law.
Now some people believe tithing always existed in America and in the churches but, but as I discovered in my research, tithing money or income based tithing did not appear in American churches until it was invented in 1873 by Alexander L. Hogshead and John W. Pratt according to the Dean of Vanderbilt University’s James Hudnut-Beumler’s book, “In Pursuit of the Almighty Dollar,” (c) 2007 Vanderbilt University. You can see an article written by Russell Kelly explaining the invention of the the in United states in 1873, in an article titled, 1873: TITHING FIRST SUGGESTED IN USA.
Manipulating the Bible is can be done so easy and yet the hearers never question that a scripture is taken out of context. For example, when tithing taught using Proverbs 3:9, it reads, “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase..” Now, in the average congregant ears, what are they hearing after they have been indoctrinated into the income-based tithing system? Well, this is how the verse is contorted in their mind, “Honor the Lord with your money, with the first 10% of your paycheck. Mind you, the actual verse has nothing to do with money. Proverbs 3:9 is about edible items not cold hard cash. You can check out a book bubble I wrote on first fruits titled, What Are First Fruits in the Bible? The internet is the greatest invention known to man and it has exposed all the falsehoods about income-based tithing. What do we know about tithes and first fruits?
“Tithes and first fruits were not given concurrently during each year. For example, first fruits were offered on the 16th day of the first money (Nisan) and the sixth day of the third month (Sivan) of the Jewish calendar year. In contrast, the year for the tithing of livestock [not money] commenced the first day of the sixth money (Elul); while harvest tithing initiated on the 15 day of the 11th month (Shevat). The specific tithes were due one year form the date preceded. (Sources: “The Book of Our Heritage”, By Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov/The MacArthur Study Bible, p. 185 [NKJV], by John MackArthur. (Taken from A Closer Look At Tithing by Victor T. Stephens”
When you pay money to a church as in tithing a tenth of your income, you are paying a tax of sorts. I would even say that you a paying a temple tax or a spiritual tax which the Lord does not require. What he does ask is that believer have a whole heart of giving.
Israel’s Tithing System
We cannot stress too strongly the importance of interpreting Scripture in context. By the simple expedience of beginning the text two verses earlier, we can see how dramatically that alters one’s perception. For example, in the New Testament, there is a verse that every Christian in the world knows – it is from Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi and he writes, “Work out your salvation in fear and trembling,” I imagine that most Christians are familiar with this verse but how many can complete the sentence? “for it is God that is at work within you to will and to do.” [Phil. 2:12-13]
Now, if it is true that we have to be careful to set verses in their context, it is imperative that we also set the text into its historical and cultural context. In order to see these verses in their proper light, we must first ask the question – Under what Covenant was Malachi writing, the Old or the New? Quite clearly, Malachi is both Old Testament and Old Covenant. Therefore, any exposition and contemporary application needs to take that into account.
Unlike the New Covenant where we are a “Priesthood of Believers,” in the Old Covenant was a “Priest-class” – a specific tribe designated as Priests and this was the tribe of Levi. The Levitical Priesthood, as it was known, is the concern of the Malachi passage. The over-arching argument of Hebrews is that the Priesthood of Jesus is better than the Levitical Priesthood. The writer to the Hebrews insists that:
The Levitical Priesthood was inferior to the priesthood of Melchizedek;
The Levitical order is both outclassed and replaced by the new order and has become redundant.Under the now redundant Levitical system, the priests acted as representatives for the people and served as mediators between them and God. Whilst having priestly privileges, a Levite had no worldly comforts. For example, he had no income and no property. A Levite had no independent means of support whatsoever. Moreover, when Jacob divided Israel’s inheritance, there was not even an allotment to Levi. In such circumstances, the other eleven tribes met the day-to-day needs of the Levites. It was, if you will, an Old Covenant quid pro quo – The other eleven tribes not being allowed to minister unto the Lord is tempered by the Levites not being able to work.
The solution was an entirely practical and pragmatic one. Each tribe would be responsible for bringing into a central storehouse one-tenth of their produce to meet their everyday needs. The Malachi passage is a rebuke to those who were withholding their support and thus, compromising this system.
I am of the view that tithing is one of the things in the Bible that is “biblical” but not Christian. I readily admit that for some that is a bitter pill to swallow but we take it for granted that circumcision is clearly biblical and yet, it is not viewed as Christian. The same can be said of polygamy. My fundamental objection is that those who press the hardest the case for tithing demand that we give like Israelites do not themselves live like Levites.
Moreover, if tithing is a New Covenant praxis, why does Paul not mention it when he writes a thoroughgoing passage on giving? I do not think that it is sufficient to argue from silence that tithing was an axiom of the Christian life. Accordingly, I raise the following objections:
The Levitical priesthood belongs to the now obsolete Levitical Priesthood;
The entire book of Hebrews makes the argument that Jesus and His Covenant is superior to Moses and his covenant;
The point to note is not that Abraham paid the tithe but that Levi paid it. His purpose in doing so is to pose the question, “Which is the greater priesthood, the one who paid the tithe or the one who received it?”;
Hebrews confirms that there has been both a change in the priesthood and a change in the law;
In the New Covenant, there is no such office as Priest, rather, we are a royal priesthood; priest and pastor are not interchangeable terms;
The apostle Paul not only supported himself, he also supported others. (Taken from The Tithing Controversy: No Laughing Matter by Paul Anderson-Walsh).
In the end as it relate to giving, you have to be free not to give and if you are not, then you are not free to give because it does not come from the heart but from percentage. Become a freewill give and don’t get trapped in the tentacles of income based tithing. Below is one of my readers. Thanks Charles for joining the tithe conversation.
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Is the Church the Storehouse for Tithing?
Did Jesus Collect Tithes?
Will a Man Rob God?
Eating Tithes vs. Paying Tithes
What are First Fruits in the Bible?
Official Orthodox Biblical Tithing Has Passed Away
Jesus and his Ministry Never Received Tithes
Paul Never Taught Believers to Tithe Money
The Church and Its Money Grab Tactics
Monetary Tithing is not a Foregone Conclusion
Money Tithing or Eatible tithing, Which One?
Arguments Against Tithing Has a Long History
What Does True Giving Look Like?
Tithing on Increase
The Law Does Not Teach Monetary Tithing
Research Brings Truth
Understanding Tithing Starts With a Definition
The Fight Continues
Did Paul Convert the Tithe to Money?
How Did God’s Tithe Become Money?
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November 23, 2017
The Bible Debunks Tithing Money And Declares Tithing Food
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One of the reasons, I write these tithing blogs is to make sure people have information to fight against the monetary deception. For the Bible says in Hosea 4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” To reject knowledge about God’s authentic, authorized biblical agricultural and herd and flock tithe can lead to financial ruin. The Law of God declares the tithe as edible items but today most of God’s people have forgotten the law of their God and changed His tithe into a money collection system that has produced a grotesque financial aristocracy in the leadership of the institutional church.
Many pastor argue that how are they suppose to pay the church bills if people don’t tithe. Many of them are taught in seminary what the true tithe is, but are cautioned not to teach what the Bible actually says because they my go bankrupt if the people don’t give. So pastors think they only have two options in order to survive: one, they much teach people will be cursed if they don’t tithe ten percent of the annual income or two, trust God in faith to provide the money from voluntary gifts given from the heart as the Bible in instructs in 2 Cor. 9:7 that “each should give according to what he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly, or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (CJB). Now, Paul’s statement makes it clear that every individual must decide how much to give, which makes it illegal to say that a tenth of someone’s income is required by Yahweh. No pastor or church is authorized to use the Old Testament tithe law in the New Convenant.
When Paul wrote Hebrews 7:18, it reads: “For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment…” The question to ask is what is the former commandment that Paul sets aside and annuals. Based on strict exegesis from Hebrews 7:5 which reads: ” And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; …” the commandment Paul refers to setting aside is Hebrews 7:5 because he refers to no other commandment in the chapter or any surrounding chapters. So as it stands, the “disannulling of the commandment” is no other than Paul setting aside the Levite’s tithe commandment for the institutional church and the believer. So why did Paul disannull the tithe command? The next verse in Hebrews chapter 7, verse 19 says why tithing is set aside in the New Testament: “for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” The new hope in Christ is that we give from the heart as we purpose in our hearts. Just as Christ gave his life freely, we give freely as he did without compulsion or grudgingly as cheerful freewill grace givers. Paul rejected tithing because he understood that Christ came from another priesthood and considered Levi’s priesthood as one that was made after a carnal command.
Based on the law, and in Hebrews chapter 7 verse 5, the Bible says that Levi had the commandment to collect and receive tithes. If you look in Numbers 18:26, reads “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.” From this verse, it is clear that the Levites had to pay a tithe of the tithe. In other words a tenth of the tenth. Mathematically that is one percent. So that means the High Priest Aaron and his son received on one percent of the tithe. The chapter also says that Levi paid tithes in Abraham when Abraham tithe to Melchizedek (Heb. 7:9). What Paul indicates in this chapter is that Abraham’s one-time tithe was for Levi (the future priesthood of Israel), and not a tithe for Abram himself.
The Bible debunks money tithing because tithing is commanded in the scripture from agricultural increase in Leviticus 27:30-33, Deut. 12:17, Duet. 14:23, 28, 2 Chron. 35:1-6 Nehemiah 10:37 and 12:44, Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42. Anyone who suggests of commands Christians to pay tithes from income have misread the Bible when it clearly proves there is no such thing as tithing o non-agricultural increase. Agricultural tithes were mandatory in the scripture and they came from land based products. And by the way, offerings were required three times a year and guess what, only men were required to bring offerings. See Deuteronomy 16:16 which reads “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.”
Most pastors love to use the Abraham argument of tithing before the law law to justify why believers must pay a tithe in the age of grace. However, as James Ngari of Facebook’s Tithing. The Bitter Truth dispels any notion that tithing is required or that Abram freely tithe based on God’s command when he wrote:
Abraham’s Tithe to Melchizedek Reflected Pagan Tradition. The false teaching is that Abraham freely gave tithes because it was God’s will. For the following reasons, Genesis 14:20 cannot be used as an example for Christians to tithe.
(1) The Bible does not say that Abraham “freely” gave this tithe.
(2) Abraham’s gift was NOT a holy tithe from God’s holy land gathered by God’s holy people under God’s holy Old Covenant.
(3) Abraham’s tithe was only from pagan spoils of war common to many nations.
(4) In Numbers 31, God only required 1% of spoils of war.
(5) Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek was a one-time recorded event.
(6) Abraham’s tithe was not from his own personal property.
(7) Abraham kept nothing for himself; he gave everything back.
(8) Abraham’s tithe is not quoted anywhere in the Bible to endorse tithing.
(9) Genesis 14, verse 21, is the key text. Since most commentaries explain verse 21 as an example of pagan Arab tradition, it is contradictory to explain the 90% of verse 21 as pagan, while insisting that the 10% of verse 20 was God’s will.
(10) If Abraham is an example for Christians to give 10% to God, then he should also be an example for Christians to give the other 90% to Satan, or to the king of Sodom!
(11) Since neither Abraham nor Jacob had a Levitical priesthood to support, they had no place to bring tithes and probably left food for the poor at their altars.
Another person in the feed on Facebook wrote that item (12) would be that Abram had to kill someone before he had the elements to tithe.
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A Tithing Study Presentation by Dr. Frank Chase Jr. de Dr. Frank Chase Jr
Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? by Frank Chase Jr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
TITHING MONEY DEBUNKED BY MANY IN HISTORY
Not only does the Bible debunk tithing, but many people throughout history have argued that tithing money is not biblical and that God never required.
Didascalia Apostolorum (ca. 225)
“No more be bound with sacrifices and oblations, and with sin offerings, purifications, and vows . . . nor yet with tithes and firstfruits. . . . for it was laid upon them [i.e., the Israelites] to give all these things as of necessity, but you are not bound by these things. . . . Now thus shall your righteousness abound more than their tithes and firstfruits and part offerings, when you shall do as it is written: Sell all thou hast, and give to the poor.”
Hugh Connolly, Didascalia Apostolorum: The Syriac Version Translated and Accompanied by the Verona Latin Fragments(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1929), 2:34–35.Waldenses (ca. 12th century)
The Waldenses, followers of Peter Waldo (ca. twelfth century), believed that tithes should not be given to priests “because there was no use of them in the primitive Church.”
Allix, “Some Remarks upon the Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of the Piedmont,” 1690, reprint, Bible Truth Library: Bible and Church History Collection, The Bible Truth Forum, CD-ROM. Available from http://www.bibletruthforum.com, 218, 232.
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1275)
“Paying tithes, it appears, is no longer of precept, because the precept to pay tithes was given in the Old Law. . . . Paying tithes cannot be considered a moral precept, however, because natural reason does not dictate that one ought to give a tenth, rather than a ninth or an eleventh. Therefore, it is a ceremonial or a judicial precept.”
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiæ, vol. 39 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964), 139.
Roger Williams (1603–1683)
Roger Williams has been credited with founding the first or second Baptist church in America. In 1652, Williams concluded that ministers of the gospel are to serve freely and be supported freely, “and that not in stinted Wages, Tithes, Stipends, Salaries, &c. but with larger or lesser supplies, as the Hand of the Lord was more or lesse extended in his weekly blessings on them.”
Roger Williams, The Complete Writings of Roger Williams, 7 vols. (New York: Russell & Russell, 1963), 7:165.
John Milton (1659)
Milton wrote forcibly against tithes, which he considered ceremonial and abolished.
John Milton, Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove hirelings out of the church. Wherein is also discourc’d of tithes, church-fees, church-revenues; and whether any maintenance of ministers can be settl’d by law.(London: L. Chapman, 1659), A9–A10, 15–18, 32–35, 37.
John Bunyan (Baptist; 1628–1688)
John Bunyan (1628–1688), author of Pilgrim’s Progress, commented on Luke 18:10–13, “This paying of tithes was ceremonial, such as came in and went out with the typical priesthood.”
John Bunyan, Bunyan’s Searching Works: The Strait Gate, The Heavenly Footman,The Barren Fig-Tree, The Pharisee and Publican, and Divine Emblems(Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1851), 24.
The Little Parliament (1653)
The Little Parliament (1653), under Cromwell and the Independent Churches, was moving toward voluntarism, that is, “that the maintenance of Churches by means of tithes ought to be done away.”
Henry William Clarke, History of English Nonconformity, 2 vols.(London: Chapman and Hall, 1911-1913), 1:374.
Martin Luther (1483–1546)
“I would even be glad if [today] lords ruled according to the example of Moses. If I were emperor, I would take from Moses a model for [my] statutes; not that Moses should be binding on me, but that I should be free to follow him in ruling as he ruled. For example, tithing is a very fine rule, because with the giving of the tenth all other taxes would be eliminated. For the ordinary man it would also be easier to give a tenth than to pay rents and fees. Suppose I had ten cows; I would then give one. If I had only five, I would give nothing.”
Martin Luther, “How Christians Should Regard Moses,” In Luther’s Works, vol. 35, edited and translated by E. Theodore Bachman (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960), 165-66.
Separatists in Amsterdam (1602–1603)
“That the due maintenance of the Officers aforesaid, should be of the free and voluntarie contribution of the Church, that according to Christs ordinance, they which preach the Gospell may live of the Gospell: and not by Popish Lordships and Livings, of Iewish Tithes and Offerings.”
Henry Martyn Dexter, The Congregationalism of the Last Three Hundred Years, as Seen in Its Literature (New York: Harper, 1880), 307.
“VII. That the due maintenance of the Officers aforeſsaid ſhould be of the free and voluntary contribution of the Church, that according to Chriſts ordinance they which preach the Goſpell, may live of the Goſpell, and not by Popiſh Lordſhips and livings or Iewiſh Tithes and offerings.”
Henry Ainsworth and Francis Johnson, An Apologie or Defence of Such True Christians as are commonly (but vniuſtly) called Brovvwinsts (n.p.: n.p., 1604), 58.
John Smyth (1609)
John Smyth (1609), a Separatist whom many credit with being the first Baptist, said that Christ abolished tithes.
John Smyth, Parallels, Censures, Observations [Amsterdam]: n.p., 1609, text-Fiche.
John Robinson (1610)
Robinson was the pastor of the “Pilgrim Fathers” before they left on the Mayflower. Robinson remained in Holland with the majority of the congregation. He wrote that he supported the views of Ainsworth and Smyth. In his argument, he claimed that the author of Hebrews taught that “the law is abolished by the gospel, in the sense we speak of: and the old testament by the new, in respect of ordinances,” and tithing was one of those ordinances that had been abolished. He argued that the maintenance of ministers should be through voluntary contributions.
John Robinson, The Works of John Robinson: Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers, 3 vols., edited by Robert Ashton (London: John Snow, 1851), 2:185-86; 466-67.
Adam Clarke (ca. 1762–1832)
“I say again, let there be a national religion, and a national clergy supported by the state; but let them be supported by a tax, not by tithes, or rather let them be paid out of the general taxation; or, if the tithe system must be continued, let the poor-rates be abolished, and the clergy, out of the tithes, support the poor in their respective parishes, as was the original custom.”
Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary: A New Edition, with the Author’s Final Corrections,6 vols. (New York: Methodist Book Concern, 1846), 1:179-80.
Charles Buck (English; 1833)
His article on tithing stated that nothing in the New Testament commanded tithing since “the divine right by which they were raised necessarily ceased.”
Charles Buck, “Tithes,” in A Theological Dictionary, new ed., edited by E. Henderson (London: James Duncan, 1833), 905-06.
Newton Brown (Baptist; 1836)John Newton Brown (1803–1868), who wrote the draft of the New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833), edited an encyclopedia. The article on tithes in this encyclopedia (published in 1836) explicitly said they ceased. The New Hampshire Confession of Faith was a precursor to the Baptist Faith and Message.
Newton Brown, ed., “Tithes,” in Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 2 vols. (Brattleboro: Fessenden, 1836), 2:1124.
Campbell Morgan (English Congregationalist; 1898)“I hear a great deal about the tithing of incomes. I have no sympathy with the movement at all. A tenth in the case of one man is meanness, and in the case of another man is dishonesty. I know men today who are Christian men in city churches and village chapels, who have no business to give a tenth of their income to the work of God. They cannot afford it. I know other men who are giving one-tenth, and the nine-tenths they keep is doing harm to their souls. (Taken from http://www.truthaccordingtoscripture....).
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In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? you will find hundreds of reasons why you should stop tithing and embrace New Covenant Grace Giving that Paul taught in the letters written the assemblies in the New Testament. If you would like to read more about tithing, click on the links below to read book bubbles from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
There is no scripture in the Bible were they did turn the land and crop tithe into money, but what the Israelites did with the money once they got to the temple blows up any argument that Israelites paid money to the temple or to the priests. Here is what Deuteronomy 14:24-27 says, “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, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26 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. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.” This scripture clearly debunk monetary tithing because God told the Israelite farmer and herders that if the livestock and crop tithe was to much to carry to the temple festival site, they could sell their tithes and carry the money rather than the goods to the temple site. When they arrived at the place where God choose he told them according the Jewish Bible “…and exchange the money for anything you want–cattle, sheep, wine, other intoxicating liquor, or anything you please–and you are to eat there in the presence of Adonai, and enjoy yourself , you and your household (verse 26).”
Based on scripture, not one penny of the money carried to temple was ever paid as a tithe. In fact it is clear that they spent the money on food and drink and ate the tithe in what I would call a potluck dinner. They had a party with God and ate good food celebrating the blessings they had received. Sorry pastors, Duet. 14 is not a smoking gun for monetary tithing, but it is a clear rejection of the monetary tithe scam. Following the examples of the New Covenant giving principles is the only way to support ministry and churches.
In my effort to debunk false tithing claims, let me give you more refutations that blow up the pro-monetary tithe doctrine so that you will know that truth does not lie but sheds light on falsehood. We often hear preacher say that tithing was before the law. That claim is false because the tithe before the law was not the same as the tithe in the law. The tithe was not commanded until the law was established under Moses. The tithe ordinance law was abolished by the institution of the New Covenant and Hebrews 9 and 10 makes this clear. Another twisted tithe searching asserts that tithing is how God’s church receives support. There is no verse in the Bible to substantiate that claim so it is false because Paul stated that believer support the church in this way 2 Cor. 9;7: Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (NIV). One of the most heinous violations of scriptural interpretation is when a pastors say, tithing keep the Devil from attacking your finances. This is blatant robbery of God’s people and is patently false and out of context because Malachi 3:8-11 is not talking about money tithing. And the devourer mentioned in the verse refers to Israel’s devourer which is locusts. Here is an excerpt from my book, kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? that explains the devourer in the proper Hebrew text.
The theological question one must ask is: Who is the devourer? Is he the devil or is he something or someone else? If you don’t know, keep reading and the truth will set you free from fear forever. So let’s see what the Bible says based on the Hebrew language and not what man says from personal interpretation. In Malachi 3:11, the key word is devourer. From Strong’s #398, devourer in the Hebrew is “akal.” It means to eat, feed, or consume. It refers to something that eats food, either man or animal. The Hebrew word has six meanings: “1) to eat (human subject), 2) to eat, devour (used of animals and birds), 3) to devour, consume (used of fire), 4) to devour, to kill (used of sword), 5) to devour, consume, destroy (inanimate subjects: that is, pestilence, drought), 6) to devour (used of oppression).”
If you examine the context of Malachi 3:11 and the six meanings and nuances of the Hebrew word “akal,” then who and what is the devourer? Using word study and replacing the word devourer in the text with each of the Hebrew meanings will show you how to interpret the text.
And I will rebuke the [humans] for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground…
And I will rebuke the [birds, animals, insects] for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground…
And I will rebuke [fire] for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground;… And I will rebuke the [pestilence, drought] for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground…
And I will rebuke the [sword] for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground…6. And I will rebuke the [oppressor] for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground…
Because the Hebrew word “akal” has different nuances and meanings, we must examine its use in the text to make sure who and what the context of Malachi 3:11 refers to when it uses the word devourer. In Exodus 24:16-17, devourer is used to describe God as a devouring fire. What we see in the text is God in a theophany (a manifestation or appearance of a deity), as a cloud in verse 16 and fire in verse 17. To the Israelites, the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire (Devourer Heb. akal KJV) on top of the mountain. In this context, the devourer (akal) is not the devil but is God as a manifestation.
In Deuteronomy 4:24, “akal” is used to describe God as a consuming fire. “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire (Hebrew Akal), a jealous God.” The context of this verse has no connection to the devil but ascribes human feelings and affections to God associated with jealousy using figurative language, which is often called anthropopatheia in theology.
In Genesis 37:33, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers and they took his coat of many colors and killed an animal and dipped Joseph’s coat in the blood to fake his death to Jacob. Jacob said in verse 33 “…It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured (Devourer Heb. akal) him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces” (NIV). The word devourer in this context is the nuance that speaks of an animal consuming human flesh like a devouring beast. No way one can insinuate that the devil is referenced in this verse either. To equate the devil with the word devourer would mean that Joseph’s brothers would have had to say the devil ate the body of Joseph. That is preposterous!
It is amazing what word study can do for people who seek truth to what a word means in the Bible. Word study is a valuable study practice to ward off false doctrine. The same Hebrew word “akal” is used in Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, You are free to eat (“akal”) from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat (“akal”) from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die.” As I stated earlier, devourer in this nuanced context of the Hebrew word “akal” deals not with an animal but with Adam, a human, eating from the trees in the Garden of Eden. There is no way you can turn the Hebrew word in this verse into the devil either. I hope you realize at this point that the devourer in Malachi is not the devil and never has been.
When the prophet spoke in Malachi 3:11, could he have had Psalms 105:34-35 in mind because the same Hebrew word “akal” describes what devourer means. The verse says, “He spoke, and the locusts came, grasshoppers without number; they ate up [“akal”] every green thing in their land, ate up [“akal”] the produce of their soil” (NKJV). The text shows that pests were devouring everything in Egypt. There are many other instances of devourer appearing in the Scripture that show the word “akal.” Amos 4:6-9 and Exodus 10:3-5, 14-15 refers to the same Hebrew word “akal,” where pests are eating something.
Nowhere does the word “akal” imply that the devourer is the devil. From the list I gave, only number 2 is the correct word for Malachi 3:11. In the verse God uses the pronoun he to indicate something that eats crops. The context shows that God will rebuke insects or locusts from destroying their crops and would prevent fruit from falling off the vine before they ripen. The devourer is not the devil in Malachi. So there is no curse on you or your money for not tithing. If you suspect that my analysis is wildly inconclusive, then let the Bible explain itself. Malachi 3:11 says, “I will also stop locusts from destroying your crops and keeping your vineyards from producing” (CEV). The NIV says, “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty.”
When God said he would rebuke the devourer, he was only speaking of little creatures and insects that destroy agriculture. There was no blessing of rain because God shut up the sky. Without rain, the animals would starve and die of thirst. So in Malachi it was drought and insects that caused problems for the Hebrew people all because the priests profaned the tithing covenant laws of Levi. The Hebrew language explains and proves the devourer in Malachi is not something you should be afraid of unless you are a farmer. The curse of Malachi is God holding back rain from the land and allowing insects to run rampant throughout the crops during a drought. If Israel tithed livestock and crops in the manner God instructed, He promised to give them rain, to keep locust from eating their crops and that the fruit from the trees wouldn’t fall prematurely. What God promised in Malachi is directly related to Israel’s agricultural land economy and nothing to do with money. Malachi is not talking about your paycheck. Finally, if a pastor tells you that you will not receive God’s best and are cursed for not tithing, tell him or her the New Testament says in Galatians 3:13 that Christ became sin and a curse for us, so there is no curse for not tithing. Tell them that Paul wrote, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree” (NIV).
No matter what you hear come from the pulpit, always remember that when the Bible says tithes, God is asking for eatable agricultural products from the land and livestock.
One of the most common claims made about tithing is when Christians say, “I tried tithing and it works,” but that claim is false because tithing money is based on a false assumption and false motive that tithing is money that God requires. The reality is, God does not honor a practice based false assumptions and misinterpretation of scripture. Then we have other believer saying, “The Lord convicted me to tithe.” That may sound noble, but it is a false claim because the Holy Spirit always convicts based on truth and not falsehood, lies or error. The conviction to tithe does not come from the Lord, it comes from the conviction of another who browbeats people to pay ten percent from the pulpit or be cursed. It really is not the Lord convicting Christians to tithe, it is fear of a so-called curse from God that motives people to believe that ten percent of their paycheck is required from Yahweh. One of the latest shell tricks from the pulpit is to tell believers that Jesus is their Melchizedek as if that is enough to force them to believe in tithing, which some do. Melchizedek was a priest and because Jesus priesthood was after the order of Melchizedek, all believers are required to tithe. It is false because Hebrews 10:12 says, “But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,” This scam won’t work because we are all no Kings and Priests in the Kingdom of God and as such, we as priest don’t pay a tithe. There is no more sacrifice or tithing because our high priest Christ is sat down at the right hand of the father.
If people take time to study their Bibles, it would not be difficult to debunk tithing. However, when I studied the subject I wanted to make sure I left no tithing scripture unturned. So in my power point original tithing study on New Testament Giving compiled some evidence from others on how others refuted an debunked false tithing claims. Check out the two slides below.
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Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway Blog Book Tour from Dr. Frank Chase Jr
In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? you will find hundreds of reasons why you should stop tithing and embrace New Covenant Grace Giving that Paul taught in the letters written to the assemblies in the New Testament. If you would like to read more about tithing, click on the links below to read book bubbles from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
Is the Church the Storehouse for Tithing?
Did Jesus Collect Tithes?
Will a Man Rob God?
Eating Tithes vs. Paying Tithes
What are First Fruits in the Bible?
Official Orthodox Biblical Tithing Has Passed Away
Jesus and his Ministry Never Received Tithes
Paul Never Taught Believers to Tithe Money
The Church and Its Money Grab Tactics
Monetary Tithing is not a Foregone Conclusion
Money Tithing or Eatible tithing, Which One?
Arguments Against Tithing Has a Long History
What Does True Giving Look Like?
Tithing on Increase
The Law Does Not Teach Monetary Tithing
Research Brings Truth
Understanding Tithing Starts With a Definition
The Fight Continues
Did Paul Convert the Tithe to Money?
How Did God’s Tithe Become Money?
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October 10, 2017
The New Testament Does Not Command Believers Not to Tithe Argument
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A Tithing Study Presentation by Dr. Frank Chase Jr. de Dr. Frank Chase Jr
Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? by Frank Chase Jr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Folks, many pro-tithers take pride in saying, the New Testament does not command anyone to not tithe. In fact, many times Mathew 23:23 is used as proof text to prove you must tithing money to the church. However if anyone has an ounce of biblical sense, they would know that Jesus’ instruction based on the context of the verse is not about tithing money. When he said “not left the other undone” many pro-tithers think the endorsement of tithing in Mathew references your weekly paycheck. Tithing in the Bible was never based on a weekly or biweekly paycheck process. Tithing in the Bible was based on the sabbatical cycle not a paycheck cycle. The tithe was land based not income based. Many who argue that the New Testament does not say not to tithe, think they have you over a barrel, when they use this verse out of context. But what tithers fail to understand is that New Testament wouldn’t have to say not to tithe because the words “not left the other undone” that Jesus spoke referred to agricultural and livestock tithing. Jesus was not endorsing a monetary tithe. He simply told the hypocritical Pharisees that crops and cattle should be tithed and not left undone. There is no monetary tithe context in Mathew 23:23. The reason why the New Testament does not command believers not to tithe is because the first century audience already knew the the tithe was eatible items which was a tenth part of the crops and every tenth animal from the land of Israel. Trying to play a scriptural shell game with the scriptures will not work if someone knows the land, language and literature of the God’s people.
There are some days when I think that standing up for biblical truth on tithing is all a waste of time, then when I see articles in the news where a Church in North Carolina asks members to commit unemployment fraud to keep the tithe money coming in is worth all the effort in trying to say people’s financial future.
It is hard to convince people that the Bible does not endorse monetary tithing, and even in the face of overwhelming scriptural evidence to support that a tenth of their income is not required of God, it amazes me that people choose ignorance over truth. But maybe if someone else provided proof, maybe that would help. So below I posted a Facebook friend’s answer to the argument that says, the New Testament does not say not to tithe. Or the question goes, show me where the Bible commands us not to tithe. The following is a post by Anthony Todd on Facebook:
I humbly and with all due respect request someone to tell me of one verse in the New Testament that tells us not to tithe. Please don’t twist or change a verse to suit your opinion or inclination. This group has been characterized by name calling, insults and the sort, I wish you avoid that in your responses. Talk the truth not your opinion.
Kimathi Remmy RE: “Thanks for all those responses people. Now in reference to the teachings of the Bible (Which is our guiding book) How did Jesus (Who is God) disqualify tithing? Mention the word for me to understand this. Thank you.”
>>> Why would God have to “disqualify” tithing to people God never “qualified” it to in the first place? And…
1. Where did God instruct Christians to pay/surrender tithes? NOWHERE.
2. Where did God ever tell us that a church or a pastor has a right to takes tithes? NOWHERE.
3. Where did God transfer the ownership of the tithe from the tribe of Levits to to any Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher, Evangelists, church, ministry, organization, or anyone? NOWHERE….
“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.” – Numbers 18:26
4. Where did God instruct Christians to “continue tithing?” NOWHERE.
5. Where did God establish the paying of money as “tithing?” NOWHERE.
6. Where did God instruct Gentiles to tithe in the Old or New Testament? NOWHERE.
7. Why didn’t the first church council when the Apostle James (speaking for the Apostle Peter), include in his instructions to the Gentile Believers to “make sure you tithe”?….
“For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.” – Acts 15:28-29
Not one word from the Apostles Peter or James to tithe. If tithing was so important and an instruction from to tithe; why did the Apostle Peter leave it out of his instructions?
> Also, left out of this verse…
“Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law [i.e., tithe: Jesus said tithing was a matter of the law – Matt. 23:23]: to whom we gave no such commandment:” – Acts 15:24.
If tithing was required and taught in the New Testament for Christians, it would have to be clearly detailed and outlined in the terms and conditions of the New Testament like all promises and commands of the New Testament are.
Tithing instructions would be clearly included in the New Testament. No such terms, conditions or details are outlined anywhere in the New Testament. Tithing was never, is not now, and will never be part of the New Testament.
No Apostle ever taught tithing, asked for a tithe, rebuked any person or church for not tithing, or received a tithe. Not one of them. The early church (i.e. Book of Acts) NEVER tithed. We have NO record of them doing so.
>>> AND ONE LAST QUESTION…
An inconvenient question; one that tithing teachers and tithers avoid and prefer not to discuss or answer…
If we are supposed to be tithing money, or at all for that matter, as tithing teachers claim; why are we not supposed to be doing what God says with the tithe money? Like this…
1. Do not pay the tithe in the form of money. Keep the money in your hand (bind it to your hand) until you…
2. Buy wine with it.
3. Buy strong drink (harder liqueur) with it.
4. Buy livestock and other food.
5. Buy whatever you desire, whatever you lust after.
6. Share what you buy with a Levite and family.
7. Only convert your tithe money back to fruits, vegetables and clean live stock, etc., at the location you will share it with a Levite if it is too far to transport it in the form God says it is to paid in.
8. Eat your tithe with the Levite.
9. Learn to fear and respect the Lord by doing one through eight above.
>> Why don’t tithing teachers tell their faithful tithers this?…
> Deuteronomy 14;
22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:
25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:
26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
>>> CONCLUSION; as you can see, these five unscriptural attempts to pressure Christians into tithing do not hold water and are not validated when scripture is closely scrutinized and studied. If proper biblical interpretation and using the Bible to interpret the Bible is employed, each false argument falls like a house of cards. We are called by God to be free will cheerful generous givers, not tithers.
The Facebook post above shuts down the felonious argument that the New Testament does not say stop tithing. I used felonious on purpose because it related to a crime, and it is a crime to force people to pay a tithe from their paycheck, which amounts to robbery. In chapter 12 of my book, The Gospel Syndrome I address the the issue Matthew 23:23 and point out that the New Covenant has not been established so the Old Testament Laws of paying the herd and crop tithe was well in effect. Here’s an excerpt from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
“Jesus did not ask for an income based tithe because money is capaciously absent from Matthew 23. An established monetary system did exist in Jesus’ time, and the Scriptures confirm this by informing us of an incident where He turned over the moneychanger’s tables in the temple.
Remember, the events in the Matthew’s Gospel and the other gospels took place simultaneously when the temple stood and the Old Covenant was still in effect with the Levites performing temple duties and collecting tithes. None of this had any connection to the New Covenant because the Old Covenant still operated and had not been superseded by the New Covenant. Matthew 23:23, does not apply to the Ekklesia (today’s congregation of believers). Many people assume that Matthew 23:23 was transferred to the New Testament Ekklesia as a requirement. This is not the case because the tithe laws applied only to the Hebrew people as a part of God’s Covenant with the Levites for their service in the temple. The disciples were not Levites and did not work in the temple and the physical rituals associated with the Old Covenant temple services in Jerusalem do not govern today’s New Testament Christian congregation. “That’s why tithe teachers cannot prove Christ paid or collected tithes. During His ministry from age 30 to 33, Jesus never used tithe money to support His ministry or pay ministry expenses. Moreover, the Bible proves this in Luke 8:3, which details how Christ obtained support: “Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means” (NIV). Christ and the disciples were supported by private funds and freewill offerings from many followers who believed and not by tithes.
In Matthew, the eatable tithe of mint, dill and cumin the Pharisees and scribes offered is worthless because it was without a commitment to judgment, mercy and faith. When tithing is taught as a requirement to receive a blessing, it is an error. The context of Matthew 23:23 refers to tithing under to the law and this is what the Pharisees followed. So the next time you hear tithing was before the law, you know the preacher or teacher is contradicting Jesus by trying to disconnect tithing from the law. Here’s the problem with preachers who use Matthew to prove God wants Christians to tithe 10 percent of their income.” Excerpt From: Frank Chase Jr. “Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? iBooks.
Since the church has a inordinate fascination with money, lets look at some verse from the Bible where money is mentioned so that we can see if money was ever tithed in the scriptures. Now I can tell your that a huge section of my book covers money in the Bible and I know for certain that money wherever is it mentioned, there is not one instance where God said pay a tithe with money.
The everlasting argument Bible theologians, scholars, pastors, Christians and those who investigate Bible history and archeology is whether we can say with certainty that biblical peoples tithed money or crops or both. What was the money used for in the Bible? Was there ever an instance where money was paid as a tithe? Or did Yahweh ever commute the agricultural, herd and flock tithe to money? In the OT the both the words money and tithe are mentioned. But are these items the same? A quick search finds that there are 140 scripture references to money. So let’s look at some verse to see it God wanted money as a tithe.
Money is mentioned is Gen 17: 12-13, 23, “And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.”
The Hebrew word money is Strong’s 3701 (Keseph/kesep). This type of money was a type of metal, silver with a pale color (TWOT 1015a). It was not coins or paper money, it was pieces of silver for use in buying and trading.
The above verses context deals strictly with the circumcision covenant between God and Abraham.
The only command God gives Abraham is that when he buys a slave or one that is born in his house with money to circumcise them.
God issues no command in this context to tithe the money.
One must find somewhere from Genesis 1 to the end where God issued a command to tithe money.
In reference to money, you must examine how Abraham got all his money. You can trace Abrahams money trail from his time in Ur of Chaldess in Gen. 11:31 – Gen. 13: 2-3.
None of Abraham’s wealth came through tithing, but through a promise
The context of these verses is circumcising people born in his house and circumcising purchased slaves bought from a foreigner
God mentions money to Israel during Exodus 30:16, which deals with paying redemption money (gold or silver) to the temple during the census, “And thou shalt take the ATONEMENT MONEY of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.”
The context here is for temple/sanctuary dues not tithes and certainly not a tenth of money. Wow!
The payment was required for every Israelite twenty year old up during the census.
The atonement money was used for Temple upkeep, not Tithes. The atonement money was not a tithe, a tenth or ten percent.
There was no special treatment given to the rich or poor. Everyone needs redemption and payment was the same for all, a half-shekel.
Each man had to pay when he became a certain age.
Notice women and children did not pay.
The amount of the half-shekel cannot be figured out exactly but in Today’s values as best we can tell was anywhere from 5 to 8 dollars. Back in Moses time it could have been anywhere from 25 Cents to 50 Cents. All of this was determined by the values of the specific times.
Every male in Israel paid this money yearly to the tent of meeting.
9. The Bible clearly shows the tent of meeting (OT Sanctuary) was supported by ransom/atonement money and not by a tithe in Exodus in in the pre-law society of Israel.
Conclusion of Exodus: What does Exodus tell us about money? Every reference to money in Exodus says nothing about paying money as a tithe to the Tent of Meeting. But it is explicit as to what money was used for. Here are the facts of scripture with no conjecture or private interpretation.
Money was used to buy servant/slaves
Money was used to purchase women in reference to marriage and if a woman was refused in marriage the man was required to fulfill her rights.
The abuse of a slave was forbidden because the slave represented money.
Money was paid when a owners bull kills another Israelite.
Money was paid when by a owner who dug a pit and didn’t cover it up and another person’s animal fell in and died.
Money was paid if a person thief if he was caught for stealing someone stuff left in the care of another one home.
Money was paid by a man who had sex with an un-betrothed virgin if the father refused to give her in marriage.
When money was loaned to a fellow Israelite, no interest is to be charged.
Money was paid as a ransom/redemption during census. It was given to the tent of meeting as a payment to God for protection.
Genesis and Exodus, no tithing was mentioned. But in Leviticus chapter 27:30-33, God finally mentions the tithe and describes it in detail and breaks down the contents of the tithe and never mentions tithing as money. If God required money as a tithe, the verses would have had to indicate the Hebrew word for money, which is Kesafim and the list would cite silver, gold, or shekels but the verse does not.
“30 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. the LORD’s: it is holy unto the LORD. 31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 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. 33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”
The tithe is seed of the land
The tithe is fruit of the tree
The tithe is herds (cattle and oxen), flocks (sheep and goats)
The tithe is every tenth animal that passes under the Shepard’s rod
The tithe is not money. The Hebrew word for money is Kesafim and is not shown in the list of requirements
The agricultural tithe could be bought back with an additional fee attached and the farmer could keep the tithe but paid an additional fee on top of the cost of the tithe. The money the Israelite paid to keep his tithe was not a tithe, it was given in lieu is the tithe.
The Hebrew word for tithe is Ma’aser. It is Strong’s 1711h. The word means tenth part, not ten percent, as it is understood in cash. They tithed a tenth part of the crops (seeds of the land and fruit of the Trees) and every tenth animal from the increase only.
The tithe was from grain, fruit, nuts, grapes, herds and flocks.
The first place money is referenced in Numbers is on Num. 3:48-51: 48 And thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons. 49 And Moses took the redemption money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites: 50 Of the firstborn of the children of Israel took he the money; a thousand three hundred and threescore and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: 51 And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The money in the verse is the same Hebrew word Keseph, which is silver.
The Levites were not originally supposed to serve in the Tent of Meeting, it was the first born males of all the tribes. See Numbers 3:45
God changed his mind after the Golden calf incident, see Exodus 32:26.
God wanted all the firstborn of Israel but choose the Levites and their animals.
There were 22, 000 Levites and 22, 273 first born Israelites.
Those that were over the count were 273 Israelites and they had to pay redemption money of five shekels per head.
The money was not tithe money but redemption money. As you can see, Moses had to give the money to Aaron and his sons as support.
The 273 first born paid 1,364 shekels to Moses.
So far a lot of money was paid as redemption money but not one red cent was paid as tithe money before or during the law in the Old Testament.
If money is a tithe, then John 2:14-16 would be a perfect place to see if monetary tithing took place during one of the Jewish Feasts at the Temple in Jerusalem. Jews came from around the territory and from afar to offer sacrifice. In John 2:14-16 “And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.”
During this time when it was time to celebrate one of the three feasts, Israelites had to bring their animal and crop tithe to the temple. This stuff came from the tithe and freewill offerings.
As discovered, those Israelites that lived to far away from the Temple, had the option to covert their tithe to money and journey to the Temple with the money and repurchase their tithe at the temple. Deut. 14 explains this clearly, “22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of they flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD they GOD Always. 24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, 27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.”
The above scripture give some context to Jn 2:14-16. The Temple was a busy place during the Passover, the feasts of weeks and the feast of tabernacles (booths).
The people who came to the temple with money are those most likely who converted their tithe to money. According to Duet they had to rebuy their tithe.
Here come the money changes who set up shop in the temple to convert Roman money to acceptable temple money which was most likely Jewish shekel
If Jews brought Roman money to the Temple it had to be converted to Jewish money by the moneychangers who are banker types.
The money changes made a handsome profit on the exchange and even cheating by charging above the rate.
Roman money could not be accepted because of the image of a pagan Emperor God and was not fit for Jewish worship and was considered an offence . 5-8 from the Zondervan pictorial Dict. Page 555.
Once a year at the temple every Jewish male over 19 years old was to pay a temple tax as stipulated by Lev 1:3 and Deut 17:1 and Duet 16:1-17 explains the three feasts at the temple.
10. According to the Note in Archaeological NIV Study Bible on page 1707, it states that “The temple area (the outer court of the Gentiles was the place where various items necessary for sacrifices were sold: animal, wine, oil, salt and doves. In addition, money was changed form Roman currency to the required Tyrian shekels in accordance with the Law (Ex 30: 11-14). The practice becomes permanent once a year.”
11. The money changer in Greek is “Kollubistes”, he was a coin dealer, a banker
Based on their cheating in exchanges rate, Unger’s Bible Dictionary on page says, they could have made up to 40-45 thousand dollars. They were the ultimate hucksters.
This cheating force Jesus to over turn the Tables and expose the cheating of the Temple. Would Jesus go into churches today and overturn the money tithe system and accuse dogmatic tithe teachers as turning the church into a den of thieves or God people objects of merchandise?
14. The priests allowed these shenanigans to go on and most likely benefited from financial kickbacks from the practice, and perhaps go taken to the cleaners by the moneychangers also.
The Final Analysis
Money was not tithed in all 140 instances referenced on the Bible.
Money was used for almost everything else except a tithe.
Tithes were turned into money and spent by the tither for food, drink and sharing.
Money was used for taxes, bribes, land purchase, dowries, selling yourself into servitude, .ect, but never as a tithe.
Money Tithe (maser kesafim) is not commanded on the pages of the Bible.
Israel had an ancient money banking system.
Israel was not a 100 percent agricultural society.
Arguing Money Tithing from unsubstantiated scriptures is an argument from silence in scripture.
Tithing of money (Maaser Kesafim) according to some Jewish authorities, it is believed to be an oral command or a rabbinic injunction that is required but not according to the TORAH.
Tithing of money (Maaser Kesafim) according to some Jewish authorities say that it is neither required by the scriptures or by Rabbinic authority.
The only tithe the Bible commands is Maaser (A tenth part of that which grows from the ground that is eatable).
Tithing of money according to Jewish authorities is that the practice is a custom, a tradition that can be practiced but no scripture requires it.
Tithing of money according to Jewish authorities says if it is practiced, the tithe can only be given to the poor and nowhere else.
The tithe of money was a recent invention to support massive church building programs by early leaders of the Catholic Church around the forth century by commuting the tithe to money as a law both civic and religious.
The New Testament church of the book of Acts did not tithe but shared and took care of each other.
Because the Temple still stood in the Book of Acts, the official tithe (Maaser) would have still been going to the Jewish Temple and the Levites, not to the leaders of the people of the way.
Because Paul and the Apostles were not Levites and that Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin he and the others could not accept or ask for a tithe because it would have been considered that he was stealing the inheritance of the Levites which God said belonged to them only.
Paul Jewish background forbids him to profit from the TORAH but he had to work throughout his ministry and he accepted support from caring believers not tithes.This blog’s purpose is to spur believers to study how to give. The truth about money, tithing and everything else in the Bible is only hidden from those who don’t hunger or thirst for truth. So study to show yourself approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of truth. Money will always be a point of contention in the church and shall always be unless the truth comes out.Give According To Paul’s Instructions: As a man purposeth [deciding in your own mind] in his heart give cheerfully not grudgingly, not of necessity according to what one has, not according to what one does not have ( II Cor. 8:12 and 9:7).
There are many other instances of money references in the Bible, but none of them say money is required as a tithe.
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In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? you will find hundreds of reasons why you should stop tithing and embrace New Covenant Grace Giving that Paul taught in the letters written the assemblies in the New Testament. If you would like to read more about tithing, click on the links below to read book bubbles from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
Is the Church the Storehouse for Tithing?
Did Jesus Collect Tithes?
Will a Man Rob God?
Eating Tithes vs. Paying Tithes
What are First Fruits in the Bible?
Official Orthodox Biblical Tithing Has Passed Away
Jesus and his Ministry Never Received Tithes
Paul Never Taught Believers to Tithe Money
The Church and Its Money Grab Tactics
Monetary Tithing is not a Foregone Conclusion
Money Tithing or Eatible tithing, Which One?
Arguments Against Tithing Has a Long History
What Does True Giving Look Like?
Tithing on Increase
The Law Does Not Teach Monetary Tithing
Research Brings Truth
Understanding Tithing Starts With a Definition
The Fight Continues
Did Paul Convert the Tithe to Money?
How Did God’s Tithe Become Money?
August 5, 2017
The Tithe Conspiracy and the Lies Behind Monetary Tithing
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There is so much teaching on tithing that it is sometimes hard to keep up with the rhetoric being propagated in pulpits about whether God requires ten percent of a a believer’s income. No matter how many times you say tithing is not money, people will override indisputable evidence, biblical scholarship, reason and logic to maintain a belief that Yahweh commands a monetary tithe. It is as if the Bible becomes secondary and the word of the pastor or teacher supersedes the authority of the scriptures. Most tithe proponents are convinced that their buildings which are owned by the bank, will go into bankruptcy if they don’t mandate a tenth of income from pew members. With that kind of fear, I suppose scriptural accuracy is secondary when it comes to financial obligations to financial institutions. When you sign a mortgage with a bank to purchase a building or edifice inaccurately called church, the pastor is thrust into a the role of a constant fundraiser in order to pay the bills to maintain a building. Now I’m not saying anything is wrong with that, but scripture cannot be taken out of context to support a monetary tithe doctrine. New Testament giving principles are clear in the letters of Paul, and he made it clear that every believer should give willing without regard to percentage amounts. It can’t get any clearer than this: So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver (II Cor. 9:7). For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have (II Cor. 8:12).
The question becomes that if a person is obligated to pay ten percent of their income in perpetuity, it becomes a payment of necessity and can turn into grudging giving if they can’t afford to pay ten percent. As a result, their giving didn’t come from what they purposed in their heart, and that cannot be cheerful giving. And Paul continued to explain that giving must be from a willing mind and according to what a person can give. Monetary tithing violates 2 Cor. 9:7 and 2 Cor. 8:12.
It is amazing how the false monetary doctrine has captured the hearts of many unsuspecting believers and pastors, so I’d like to share some information compiled by Terrence Todd on a Facebook discussion with a pastor he had for several weeks: Here is how the conversation begins:
Just a thought…
Yesterday I had a discussion with a Pastor who teaches tithing, and as used by many tithing teachings, he claimed that we should be tithers because, and I quote; “the Bible, our New Covenant, doesn’t tell us to stop tithing.”
My answer was…
“That is not proof that a Christian should be tithing because we were never told to tithe in the first place. How can we continue something we never started, and were never told to start?
Tithing, as God established and organized it, was part of the Law, the Law were the details of a Covenant between the Nation of Israel and God. In that Law, Gentiles were never commanded to tithe.”
The debate abruptly ended at that.
It appears the pastor could not refute the evidence and decided not to engage Todd anymore on the subject. Here’s more from the Terrence Todd about questions. So if you are discussing tithing with hardcore believers in the doctrine ask them these questions:
Question; The tithe(s) was established by God as fruits, vegetables and clean animals grown on the Promise Land. In the Law alone, this is stated 16 times in various scriptures (see examples below). Even in Deut 14, where the tithe was temporarily converted to money for purposes of transportation to the feast where the feast tithe (the second tithe) was given to a Levit Priest and their family, the tither was told to “bind it to their hand,” that is to say, not pay it in the form of money, and then go out and buy wine, strong liqueur, meat, and what ever the tither wanted to buy with the money, and then share the purchased tithable items with a Priest.
Answer: Deuteronomy 14:23-26 “bind up the money in thine hand”
“And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn it into money, and BIND UP THE MONEY in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,”
Answer: The tithe is “fruits, vegetables, clean animals” (no mention of money, wages, gold, silver, etc.)…
“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 passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. – Leviticus 27:30-33
“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.” Deuteronomy 14:22-23
??? When and where did God change the tithe to money, gold, silver, paid on everyone’s income? Please provide chapter and verse where God has now decided that tithes will be paid in money from all incomes from New Testament believers.
Question; Under the Law, which is where God established His tithe, there are clearly THREE TITHES (see scriptures below), not just one that had to be paid, but three. Question; when did God change it to one tithe? Two tithes were paid yearly, on a regular basis, one tithe was paid every thrid year (see scripture below), tithing amounted to about 23 1/3 percent.
>> One tithe paid every third year and it was used to help the poor and needy, and also shared with a Levit Priest (and was also to be kept behind your gates, and paid as you decided to according to the law)…
At the END OF THREE YEARS thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt LAY IT UP WITHIN THY GATES (i.e., keep it under your control in your home): And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.” – Deuteronomy 14:28-29
Answer: Three types of Tithes in Israel:
1. The Levitical, or sacred tithe (Num. 18: 21, 24).
2. The tithe of the feasts (Deut. 14:22-27).
3. The tithe for the poor (Deut. 14:28, 29).
??? Please provide chapter and verse where God has now decided that there will only be ONE tithe paid, and no longer three tithes, and to paid by all New Testament believers.
Here Are a Few Lies Told About the Tithe
“Lies About Tithing.” Here is lie Number One…
Lie – “God required Abraham to tithe in order to make him wealthy, his wealth came from being a tither.”
Truth – There is no scripture verse in the Bible that records God telling Abraham to tithe, or that his wealth accumulation would be the result of tithing. It simply doesn’t exist. Abraham’s one time tithe had nothing to do with his wealth. Also; Abram was already rich prior to tithing.
“Lies About Tithing.” Here is lie Number Two…
Lie – “God required Jacob to tithe, and Jacob’s wealth came to him because he was a tither.”
Truth – There is no scripture verse in the Bible that records God directing Jacob to tithe, or that his wealth accumulation would be the result of tithing. Tithing teachers often claim that “Jacob was anexample of tithing we should follow.” The Bible records no incidence where Jacob actually tithed. Jacob, on his own accord, promised to tithe, but the Bible records NO activity of him ever doing so.
The Bible does, however, record God telling Jacob to keep his vow from 20 years before (which included tithing, among other things), not because God required Jacob to tithe, but because God was holding Jacob to his vow, holding him to his word. But even after that, the Bible still records no time that Jacob tithed. Also; God made Jacob rich before he ever tithed, if he ever did. Tithing had nothing to do with Jacob’s wealth. Jacob was wealthy because of the promises God had made to him. Wealth was not a result of tithing for Jacob.
“Lies About Tithing.” Here is lie Number Three…
Lie – “In Matthew 23:23 (also; Luke 11:42) Jesus was teaching Christians to tithe, saying it is something we ought to do.”
Truth – Jesus was talking to Jews who were still, at that time, under the Law. Jesus had not gone to the cross yet, there was no New Testament where we are taught to be free will givers, not tithers. Additionally; we are not under the Law which required tithing for Israelis living on the Promise Land…
Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
Romans 7:6 – “But now we are DELIVERED FROM THE LAW, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.”
We must be careful to not to take scripture out of context; Text taken out of context is a pre-text to deceptive text. Text must not be taken out of textual, historic, situational, or any other context, or it will say what anyone wants it to say. Also, Jesus referred to tithing in Mathew 23:23 as “a matter of the law.” Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint, dill, 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.”
Also; if you will notice, the tithing they were doing was vegetables, agricultural items (spices; mint, dill, and cummin) because all tithing under the law was fruits, vegetables and clean animals grown on the promise land, never money. 16 times in the Old Testament God declares…the one and ONLY one who makes the rules and decides what a tithe will be…that the tithe will ONLY be fruits, vegetables and clean animals; never gold, silver or currency…NEVER.
And, nowhere in God’s Word did God transfer the ownership of the tithe to any New Testament pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet, apostle or church, OR ANYONE, for that matter. Money; gold, silver, mites, shekels, a monetary tithe, was never authorized as a tithable item. We are to give freely, not giving under a legalistic tithe system that has passed away and not part of the New Testament…
2 Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; NOT grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
Notice the word NOT, which means NO, DO NOT DO. No to what? No to giving grudgingly or under necessity or compulsion. Tithing was necessary and compulsory, it was LAW, laws are compulsory. We are told NOT to give under compulsion.
That, along with many other New Testament scriptures such as Jesus teaching “freely give, because you have freely received.”
“Lies About Tithing.” Here is lie Number Four…
> Lie – “Malachi 3:6-11 is written to New Testament Christians, and is a commandment for us to tithe. It is God’s method to support churches and bring us abundant individual wealth. According to Malachi 3:11, you have an enemy that will steal all your finances, but, when you bring God the whole tithe God will rebuke the enemy for you and wealth is yours.”
> Truth – Malachi 3:6-11 was a promise to the Nation of Israel to bless their food supply with abundance, NOT a promise to any individual to release them of personal debt or make them personally rich. There were other Laws that did that (cancel a person’s debt), such as the Year of Jubilee (every 50 years), which was automatic and did not require a person to be a tither to receive debt cancellation.
Fisherman didn’t tithe, day laborers didn’t tithe, carpenters didn’t tithe, only producers of vegetables, fruits and clean animals on the Promise Land tithed; how did they, non tithers get out of debt?…The year of Jubilee, among other ways, such as paying their debts.
Tithing NEVER released ANYONE from debt. In fact, it was a debt in itself paid to the Levite and the poor and needy.
The “pay tithes and get out of debt while getting rich” nonsense is a lie “word-faith prosperity gospel” ministers, and other tithing teachers, use to compel and trick people into paying a monetary tithe to them. It has no foundation in scripture at all. And, there was no monetary tithe permitted by God. Tithes were to be fruits, vegetables and clean animals grown on the Promise Land ONLY.
Malachi 3:6-10 was a rebuke written to a corrupt priesthood of Malachi’s time. Malachi 2:1 puts Malachi 3:6-10 in proper context…
“And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.”
Notice; FOR YOU. Who YOU? The Priests of Malachi’s day. Who was Malachi talking to and rebuking? The Priests!
And WHO was to bring the tithe into the Storehouse? The Levite, not the common people, not the non- Levite. A comment I posted before…
Tithing has nothing to do with Christians, and was never put in place by God to make an individual rich. Malachi 3:6-11 was talking to the Nation of Israel, and in particular, the Priesthood of Malachi’s day, who were corrupt and stealing the tithe from the Temple Storehouse for personal profit (see Nehemiah chapter 13 for the historical context of the Book of Malachi, especially Malachi chapter three.
The common people NEVER brought any tithes into the Storehouse, that was the responsibility of the Levites…
Nehemiah 10:38 – “And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.”
Numbers 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.”
As posted before…
16 times in the Old Testament God declares…the one and ONLY one who makes the rules and decides what a tithe will be…that the tithe will ONLY be fruits, vegetables and clean animals; never gold, silver or currency…NEVER.
and…
Nowhere in God’s Word did God transfer the ownership of the tithe to any New Testament pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet, apostle or church, OR ANYONE, for that matter.
This is the Biblical tithe, there was, and is, no such thing as a monetary tithe…
16 times in the Old Testament God declares…the one and ONLY one who makes the rules and decides what a tithe will be…that the tithe will ONLY be fruits, vegetables and clean animals; never gold, silver or currency…NEVER.
And, nowhere in God’s Word did God transfer the ownership of the tithe to any New Testament pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet, apostle or church, OR ANYONE, for that matter. Money; gold, silver, mites, shekels, a monetary tithe, was never authorized as a tithable item. We are to give freely, not giving under a legalistic tithe system that has passed away and not part of the New Testament.
>> The three different types of tithes are as follows: 1. The Levitical, or sacred tithe (Num. 18: 21, 24). 2. The tithe of the feasts (Deut. 14:22-27).
3. The tithe for the poor (Deut. 14:28, 29).
> THE FIRST TITHE
Leviticus 27:30-33 defines this tithe as a tenth of crops and animals in herds and flocks.
Numbers 18 gives the ordinances, or instructions, for this tithe, and commands this tithe be taken to the Levites.
Purpose of this tithe: to support the Levitical Priesthood.
> SECOND TITHE
Deuteronomy 14:22-27: aka The Festival Tithe – a tenth of crops, plus add to that the firstborn animals, and take to the yearly feasts.
Purpose of this tithe: that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always
> THIRD TITHE
Deuteronomy 14:28-29: aka The Three-Year Tithe aka The Poor Tithe – a tenth of crops, kept at home, and invite the Levites, widows, orphans, stranger to eat.
Purpose of this tithe: to feed the poor.
Which one do you see Christians paying? NOT ONE! They pay, if deceived, into paying a monetary tithe of their income which God has not authorized or commanded in the New Testament.
The ONLY people in the Old Testament that were commanded to tithe were those who INHERITED
THE PROMISED LAND WITH EVERYTHING ON IT. They received the land, houses, animals, crops, etc. ALL FREE AND CLEAR. No mortgage payment or rent to pay. And THEY were commanded to tithe on the crops and animals and take it to the Levites who INHERITED the tithe INSTEAD OF the promised land. No one else tithed. Wage earners did not tithe. Jesus did not tithe as a carpenter. Paul did not tithe as a tent maker. Peter did not tithe as a fisherman.
Footnote; how can your church, ministry or pastor, be “The Storehouse?” Notice; Storehouse, NOT Storehouses (not plural). There was ONE Storehouse, the Temple. Churches are NEVER called Storehouses in the New Testament, neither is any other New Testament ministry. They do not have any claim of a tithe being paid to them as a Storehouse or otherwise.
“Lies About Tithing.” Here is lie Number Five…
Lie – “Tithers (which tithing teachers claim all Christians are required to be) must pay 10% of their paychecks, that is to say monetary income, to God via a church or some ministry.” Some tithing teachers such as “word-faith/prosperity gospel” ministers additionally claim that you MUST tithe off your gross salary, not just the net, or God will not help you with your taxes.
Truth – Under the law (which ALL tithing teachers refer to when teaching tithing), monetary tithing was not permitted. Even if they had to convert their tithe to money (by selling it so they could carry it to the location of the feast), it was to be “bound to their hand” and not given to a Levite/Priest until it was converted back to fruits, vegetables and clean animals.
They were NEVER permitted to tithe money of ANY KIND… > As God states…
“And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
Then shalt thou turn it into money, and BIND UP THE MONEY IN THINE HAND (do not give it to anyone), and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.” (This is one place, at the feast, the Levite/Priest was tithed to).
– Deu 14:23-27
Notice how the Children of Israel were to “BIND UP THE MONEY IN THINE HAND” and tithe ONLY what was permitted to be tithed on; fruits, vegetables and clean animals grown on the Promise Land. They were NOT permitted to pay their tithe in the form of money.
If monetary tithing was commanded by God, why didn’t they simply pay the Levite/Priest the money?
Next time your Pastor asks for a tithe, ask him to prove he is of the Tribe of Levi. If he can, hand him a Chicken Salad from Israel, if he can’t, call him a thief, and warn him to stop stealing money.
Of course there are hundreds of lies taught about tithing but this short list should give your an idea what is at stake in this teaching. Your financial future is at stake and the more you know the better prepared you will be when facing people who believe and teach tithing as a mandatory practice. In an effort to help your understand how the tithe ended read these steps below to put the nail in the coffin of tithing.
Six Steps That Prove Tithing Ended
Step 1: Hebrews 7:5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; (NKJV).
Hebrews 7:5 confirms that levi received tithes according to the law under the levitical priesthood.
Step 2: Hebrews 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law (NKJV).
Hebrews 7:12 tells us changing the priesthood will also change the law.
Step 3: Hebrews 7:18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. (KJV)
Hebrews 7:18 verifies that the command to tithe was disannulled. In other words, disannulling of the commandment cancelled the tithe.
Step 4: Ephesian 2:15: Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in the ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; (KJV).
Colossians 2:14: Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross (KJV).
Since tithing was an ordinance of the law it and other ordinances of the law were nailed to the cross. As Christ became the Lamb of God, he in effect was the final perfect type and shadow of the tithe as a sacrificed lamb, which ended tithing on the cross, but the physical tithe ended when the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Romans.
Step 5: Galatians 4:5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons (KJV).
Galatians 4:5: Tells us that the Messiah redeemed those who were under the law at the Cross.
Step 6: 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” (NKJV)
There is not curse for not tithing because Galatians 3:13 says, “13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), (NKJV).
Paying Tithes Vs Paying ALMS
How to Refute the Lies of Tithing
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It is a fact that the tithe in the Bible was always livestock and crops and never money, and Duet 12:17-18 is the nail in the coffin of monetary tithing which reads: 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. But you must eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all to which you put your hands. It looks like a whole lot of tithe eating took place in the Old Testament. So my question to all the people who practice pay what they think is a tithe, show me the tithe money? And to don’t day that crops and cattle were Israel’s form of money but since we are not an agricultural economy we pay tithe in money. I would respond by saying, show me chapter and verse where God commuted the tithe to income?
But before you start pontificating the merits of monetary tithing, let me show you chapter and verse in Duet 14: 22-29 that God’s tithe was about eatible items not cash.
22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 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. 24 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, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26 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. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you. 28 “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. 29 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.
Let me present the evidence of what the tithe is according to scripture in Leviticus 27:30-33:
30 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. 31 If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it. 32 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. 33 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.’ ” 34 These are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.
As you can see based on exegesis, hermeneutics, context, the tithe consisted of the seed of the field, the fruit of the tree, the herds and flocks. If money was required as a tithe, a form of the Hebrew word for money would have been included in the list. The Hebrew word money is Kesafim, which means that the list would have to include some form a money such as gold, silver. And if you think the term first fruits has anything to do with the tithe or money in any way, let me clear that up for your in 2 Chronicles 31:5-6, which says:
5 As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. 6 And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God they laid in heaps.
This scripture proves that tithes and fruits are not the same thing, so they can never be interchanged because they are distinctly different. The tithe was herds, flocks (oxen and sheep) and produce, the fruits were grain, wine, oil and honey. And as you can see all of these tithe items were goods you eat. So if someone tells you can’t eat your tithe, the answer is you can eat your tithe because God commanded the tithe to be eaten by the Israelites. The tithe will forever be food in the Bible that is eaten and there is no mention of gold, silver, or any form of money being tithe to the Levites or priests. Notice also that the tithe command was only given to Children of Israel and not the New Covenant believers in Leviticus 27:30-33.
And if you want proof that Paul took care of his own needs as an itinerant preacher, read Acts 20:33-34 closely:
33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. 35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak.
Paul worked and preached in the cities where he preached. And he also took care of those who went in preaching journey’s with him. He was clear that he did not covet no one’s money or clothes but worked as a tent maker to earn a living. If this post does not set the record straight about the lies of tithing and giving, then it nothing else will until the blinders are removed from those who have eyes and can’t see and those who have ears and can’t hear.
Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway Blog Book Tour from Dr. Frank Chase Jr
In my book, Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? you will find hundreds of reasons why you should stop tithing and embrace New Covenant Grace Giving that Paul taught in the letters written to the assemblies in the New Testament. If you would like to read more about tithing, click on the links below to read book bubbles from Kleptomaniac: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
Is the Church the Storehouse for Tithing?
Did Jesus Collect Tithes?
Will a Man Rob God?
Eating Tithes vs. Paying Tithes
What are First Fruits in the Bible?
Official Orthodox Biblical Tithing Has Passed Away
Jesus and his Ministry Never Received Tithes
Paul Never Taught Believers to Tithe Money
The Church and Its Money Grab Tactics
Monetary Tithing is not a Foregone Conclusion
Money Tithing or Eatible tithing, Which One?
Arguments Against Tithing Has a Long History
What Does True Giving Look Like?
Tithing on Increase
The Law Does Not Teach Monetary Tithing
Research Brings Truth
Understanding Tithing Starts With a Definition
The Fight Continues
Did Paul Convert the Tithe to Money?
How Did God’s Tithe Become Money?
