Frank Chase Jr.'s Blog, page 6

Tithing Study Part 33 and How to Debunk Tithe Arguments

Today’s blog is about some of the tithe arguments that people make and how to answer them. The problem with most people is that they have this notion that everything a pastor says can’t be checked out and bounced aginst the Scripture. Most tithe arguments are so convincing, even the most ardent bible student would have problems trying to offer a rebuttal. The key to this whole situation is knowing what the original language actually teaches. In my upcoming book, KLEPTOMANIAC: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway, I explain some aspects of tithing in Israel, but I did not go into other aspects of tithing from the Hebrew perspective. This post will cover some of those other tithing aspects. What some believers don’t know is that Israel tithed in three different fashions.  Now it is important to know that theologians do not all agree on whether Israel tithed multiple tithes as three separate tithes or from one tithe used in three different ways. The Hebrew language is clear about what the tithe is and that’s what I’m going to share with you in this blog, along with how to debunk tithing arguments. But first, let me explain the word tithe. Tithe in Hebrew is the word ma’aser. It means tenth part, not ten percent. The definition never explains what the ten part is supposed to be. However, the context where the word tithe appears in Scripture defines the Hebrew word ma’aser as everything eatable. That’s right folks, tithing is about food, not money.

In the book of Leviticus 27:30-33 and Numbers 18:21, 24-31, we find what is termed as the Levitical Tithe, also known as the first tithe. The Hebrew name for this tithe is ma’aser rishon. If you check the Scriptures carefully, the recipients of this tithe were the Levites. Once the Levites got this tithe, they had to turn around and pay a tenth of the tenth of that tithe to the priests. The reason and the purpose the Levites received the tithe is because God willed what belonged to Him to the Levites as a substitute for land inheritance in Israel. The Levites did not get any land in the Canaan, so God gave them the tithe for their service in the temple. They could eat this tithe anywhere and it consisted of every tenth animal that passed under the rod and the crops to be paid by the other tribes in Israel.

In the book of Deuteronomy 12:5-7, 17-19 and in 14: 22-27, we find what is termed as the Festival Tithe, also known as the feast tithe or the second tithe. The Hebrew name for this tithe is ma’aser sheni. If you check the Scriptures carefully, the recipients of this tithe were the Levites, the tithe-owner, and family, and male and female servants who lived in the tithe owner’s hometown. This tithe was eaten during the festivals in Jerusalem and its purpose was to teach the fear of the Lord. The firstborn animals of the livestock were a part of this celebration. It was  Once the Levites got this tithe, they had to turn around and pay a tenth of the tenth of that tithe to the priests.

In the book of Deuteronomy 14:28-29 and 26:12-14, we find what is termed as the Charity Tithe, also known as the poor tithe or the third tithe. The Hebrew name for this tithe is ma’aser ani. If you check the Scriptures carefully, the recipients of this tithe were aliens, poor, orphans, widows, and the Levites. The purpose of this tithe was to share with the less fortunate and for the Lord to bless all the work of their hands. This tithe that was shared with aliens, poor, orphans, widows and the Levites was eaten within the gates of the city where the Israelites lived and was not taken to the temple. This tithe consisted only of agricultural products and no animals.

With this lengthy explanation, you can see that money was not a part of the tithing process because the tithe is not money. And yes, before you say that Isreal did not have money, the Bible references money 140 times in the Old Testament. Not only that, the Bible never mentions tithing on denarius, bekahs, drachmas, gerahs, talents, mites, shekels gold, or silver. From Matthew to Revelation money was not tithed but money was given as offerings. The Hebrew term for tithing money in Hebrew is ma’aser kesafim. However, these two words never appear together in any tithe verse of the Bible, which means money did not qualify as a tithe. For example, if money is tithed Leviticus 27:30 would read “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree or silver, gold or shekels is the Lord’s…” Any form of money is left out of Leviticus 27:30-33. Do your research on this and you will be amazed and shocked at what the Bible really teaches.

Now let’s move on to another aspect of tithing that I covered in the video below. As I said earlier, some people are unaware about how to deal with tithe arguments that appear biblically sound. Well if you want answers to 60+ tithing arguments, click on the link. I share some of those arguments in the video below.

If giving ten percent of your paycheck is not really a biblical tithe then what should a tenth of a person’s paycheck be called since the Bible does not describe money as a tithe. Nobody in Israel tithed ten percent of anything. They tithed a ten part of the crops and every tenth animal. So what do we call a tenth of your paycheck? We call it a tax. That’s right folks, a tenth of your check is not a tithe but a tax. You can call it a ten percent tax or a temple tax or simple tax return giving to a charitable organization which includes the church based on the IRS code for charitable gifts. Ten percent of your hard earned cash is not found on the pages of the Bible. In the New Covenant under grace, we give from the heart and the amount is what we decide in our hearts. So don’t let anybody guilt you into the ten percent philosophy by saying, you should do no less than a tenth because at least Israel paid a tenth and we should do no less.” Paul never taught tithing or percentage giving in the New Testament, and you won’t find one verse where he encouraged anyone to pay ten percent to him or the co-laborers who journeyed with him on his travels. The slides below from my initial tithing study give accounts of how to debunk flowery tithe arguments.

This should be enough evidence to shut down the tithe argument, but as human nature goes, letting go of long-held beliefs that have been etched in conscience as fact can cause cognitive dissonance for those having to confront the truth. But in the end, this next slide is the cold hard truth about what the contents of the tithe is.

 

Tithing Scenarios, Arguments Advocating Tithing, Tithing Study Part 19

Folks, in searching and studying tithing, you sometimes run across information that is go good at analyzing the tithe subject, it merits reposting. My blog is just not about what I have learned about tithing, it is also a place where you can learn about what other scholars, theologians and people who study the Scripture have learned about the subject. In all of my years going to church, I have heard many tithing testimonies, arguments and scenarios why is required. Some of them appear plausible, but if you lack knowledge of the context of scripture, you an easily think that the arguments advocating a pro-tithe position are biblically sound. A few days ago, I was reading a post by Ronald Ward Robey on Facebook, titled Two Scenarios posted on Bible Untwisted: Tithing and Churches Run Like Companies. What you reading below is what Mr. Robey posted.

Two Scenarios by Ronald W. Robey

Two Scenarios

Scenario A: Man enters your place of business and says harm will befall your family if you do not give him a percentage of your weekly profits.

Scenario B: Man stands behind a pulpit in Church and says harm will befall your family if you do not give the Church ten percent of your every paycheck.

The fact is, if the members of the Church would take the time to open their Bibles at home, and study every Scripture, every verse, that has anything to do with tithing, one would find that God’s commanded tithe:

was agricultural (Lev. 27:30-33)
was required of the Children of Israel (Lev.27:34)
was not to be observed in any geographical location other than the land of      Canaan (Deut. 6:1-3; 12:1,10-11)
was to be given to Levites, widows, orphans and strangers in Canaan (Num. 18:24-26; Deut. 14:22-29)
was never commanded of Gentile nations (Psa. 147:19-20)
was not to be imposed upon Gentile nations (Acts 15:5,10,19-20)
was still agricultural in the last place it was seen as a command in the Bible (Heb. 7:5-8)

With this concrete evidence that tithing was never money and never commanded, nor authorized for the Ekklesia, the called out assembly of Believers in Christ Jesus, there can be no doubt that both men in scenarios “A” and “B” above are guilty of the same crime,… Robbery with threats of calamity if the victim does not comply with the perpetrator’s demands for money.

Two questions to ponder:

1) Why would you consider scenario “A” to be robbery but not consider scenario “B” to be robbery?

2) Why would you consider calling the police to prevent the man in scenario “A” from robbing you each week, yet allow the man in scenario “B” to rob you on a weekly basis? Here’s a video of the same conversation below.

It is amazing that  people are not concerned about really trying to understand the biblical tithe. There are many experts who have taken up the mantel and have written many books. And one the authors is Dr. David Croteau. What follows is a summary of tithing arguments he put together Advocating Tithing that you might hear on any given Saturday or Sunday. I can guarantee many of the arguments come from a process called eisegesis. Examine each one and you can determine whether there are scriptures to confirm each argument.

Summary of Arguments Advocating Tithing

By Dr. David A. Croteau

The following arguments are arranged in order of weakest to strongest. Furthermore, advocates of tithing sometimes have provided reasons for tithing that do not qualify as arguments. These are not included.

The arguments have also been broken into three categories:

A. Deceptively Attractive Arguments

B. Unconvincing Arguments

C. Arguments Deserving Consideration.

A. Deceptively Attractive Arguments

(1) Argument from the Garden: God has always set aside a sacred portion for himself. The fact that he did this in the Garden of Eden by setting aside a portion of the trees demonstrates the universality of tithing.

(2) Continuity Argument: The people of God have always given a tenth and Christians should also.

(3) Concession Argument: Christians are supposed to give all, but since they have failed in this, they should, at least, give a tenth.

(4) Exceeding Righteousness Argument: Christian giving should exceed the giving of the Jews, since Christians have received so much grace. Sometimes Matthew 5:20 is cited for a proof-text.

(5) Anecdotal Argument: God’s blessing on those who have faithfully tithed demonstrates that this is his method for giving in the current era.

(6) Tithing as the Eleventh Commandment: Since Leviticus 25:1–2 places the context of Leviticus 25–27 on Mt. Sinai, and since tithing is commanded in Leviticus 27:30–33, tithing should be considered as binding as all the Ten Commandments.

B. Unconvincing Arguments

(7) Argument from Genesis 4: Tithing goes back to Abel (who tithed) and Cain (who did not), based on the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) and Hebrews 11:4.

(8) Historical Argument: Tithing is a well-tested, ancient form of giving that has been validated throughout church history.

(9) Pragmatic Argument: Tithing is easy to understand, it is easy to do, and it is systematic. This is the only reasonable method of giving based upon Scripture.

(10) Argument from the Sabbath: Just as the Sabbath is still binding, so is tithing.

(11) Argument from Malachi 3: Since Malachi 3 declares that withholding tithes is equivalent to robbing God, Christians should tithe. One form of this argument relates the withholding of tithes to the commandment against stealing.

(12) Jerome’s Argument: The clergy are in the line of the Levites; their portion is God. Therefore, the clergy today are due tithes just as the Levites were due tithes in the Old Testament.

(13) Argument from Jesus’ Example: Since Jesus was never accused of failing to tithe, and since the Pharisees ate with him (demonstrating that he was not a law breaker on tithing), he must have tithed. Since Jesus tithed, so should we.

(14) The Caesarian Argument: Matthew 22:21b says to give to God the things that are God’s. These “things” refer to tithes.

C. Arguments Deserving Consideration

(15) Argument from the Mosaic law: Since Deuteronomy 16:17 commands proportional giving, and Paul is referencing Deuteronomy 16:17 in 1 Corinthians 16:2, tithing, the prescribed proportion, is still binding.

(16) The Argument from Hebrews: Hebrews 7 proves that Christians should tithe. Since tithes were due to Melchizedek, and Jesus is in the line of Melchizedek, tithes are now due to Jesus.

(17) The Argument from Jesus’ Teaching: Matthew 23:23 should be understood as Jesus commanding Christians to tithe. Rather than referring to Matthew 23:23 as a command, some use commend, endorse, approve, or sanction. Furthermore, if Jesus wanted to abrogate the law, this was the perfect time to do that.

(18) Moral Law Argument: Tithing is a part of the moral law (within the view that the Mosaic law has 3 parts: civil, ceremonial, and moral) and therefore continues.

(19) Paul commended tithing conceptually: Though Paul never mentioned tithing explicitly, the concept is present in his epistles (especially 1 Corinthians 9:13; 16:2).

(20) The Argument from Natural Law: Since tithing was practiced before the Mosaic law and by almost all nations in the history of the world, it is a part of natural law or is a universal law (typically based upon its ancient practice).

One book that helped in my research on tithing was very helpful and it included both pro and con positions on tithing.

In my tithing study, I talked about Jesus and tithing. I discussed how Mary and Joseph gave a lesser offering when they could not afford what the law required. According to what the great Bible teachers say, being a good bible student, disciple and follower of Christ is to have the ability to question and challenge. A student who does not ask questions of the Scripture is considered a poor student and would be one who would not qualify to follow the rabbi.  If you want to know the truth on tithing and giving, ask questions and if you get an out of context answer, search and study the scriptures for yourself. Get familiar with the Hebrew language about tithing. Know the truth and you will be set free to give.

In my initial tithing study, I prepared two power point slides dealing with why the tithe disappeared and why New Testament tithing is not based on the Bible. Both slides will you some insight.

Now, why do I persist in proclaiming the truth facts on tithing? It is because people persist in distorting the scriptures and making claims that believers might not go to heaven if they don’t tithe.  http://www.psalm12outreach.com/2015/05/rick-warren-teaching-twisting-scripture-teaching-storehouse-tithing-and-word-of-faith.html. In Rick Warren’s teaching, there is no way he truly understands tithing for him to connect someone’s salvation to tithing. Come on people, read your Bibles and stop swallowing falsehood and embrace truth.

Abram’s, Pre-Law Tithing, And the Eight Levels of Charity From the Word TZEDAKAH

In this video, I take a look at the pre-law position on tithing. Throughout my 30 plus years of tithing income and reading the Bible, I never found a verse that hinted of anyone tithing before the law except for the one time Abram did at 80-years old. I never took the time to verify if the Bible gives any evidence as to whether God taught Abram to tithe. Discovering what the Bible really teaches about tithing and giving is vital. Without study and knowing what the Bible says, you could wreck your financial future for generations. Tithing and Giving are not the same but are different as apples and oranges. Tithing ten percent is a personal choice, but it should be understood and practiced with the right understanding. For example, most people give the ten percent and then claim it on their taxes. The question is, is that true free will giving?

If you pay a tenth of your income should it be rightly a called tax return or tax deductible giving? Pay a tenth of your income is really a tax. As a tax, it is acceptable by the tax code as a charitable gift to lower taxable income and in some cases, people will get a refund from the IRS. Pay a tenth income is not a tithe but a tax. Furthermore, tithes are food and not money anyway.  In reality, what people call tithing is really a form of paying a temple tax for the upkeep of a church building and paying salaries. That’s fine as long as it is stated that way. However, to be biblically accurate we cannot say that tithing money is s a New Testament command because it is not. In fact, if you are a member of an organization or church, it can’t run without money, so you give to churches, YMCA or any 501C3 organization to keep it running, but mandating a tenth of someone’s income is going beyond the interpretive boundaries of the scripture, which is out of context. Check out the video about Abram and the pre-law tithe.

While doing research on giving, I ran across some information that literally changed my life and relieved me from years of guilt giving. Before I began my journey, I already knew that my Christian faith had its roots in the Hebraic culture of the Hebrew people of the Bible, who are later identified as Israelites. When I found out that there were eight giving levels in the Jewish perspective, my heart skipped a beat. My reaction after reading all eight levels of giving was one of surprise and joy. The key word for giving in Hebrew is  TZEDAKAH and it means charity and literally righteousness. The video below explains what TZEDAKAH is and the eight levels of giving from a Hebraic perspective. I think you will get some good giving points from this video that will help you in your understanding of giving from God’s view and not man’s view. Of course, you know my mantra is that you should always independently study because nothing beats personal study especially if you put in the effort yourself. I will also post the slides from my tithing study for your reading pleasure.

Some may ask why am I spending so much of my time posting videos and writing blogs that some people may never read or care about. They may also say, the entire church world believes in tithing and your one single voice will not change centuries-old tithing practices overnight. My response would be, I am not the only voice crying in the wilderness. Besides, this subject has become a passion and so I have no choice but to share and post what I’m learning on this journey. My only regret is that I did not do this sooner when I first heard that the tithe was not money and that God does not require a tenth of income as a tithe for life. Back then, fear prevented me from studying my Bible on the subject. But now I have no fear of sharing this truth from the Scriptures. For those who say all Christians who try to expose the error of popular teachings, such as tithing are heretic hunters and are unstable and rebellious. That’s not true because the Bible says in Proverbs 5:21 “to prove all things…” and in the Jewish Bible says, “But do test everything.” So writing a book and posting blogs and doing videos is an act of obeying the Bible in putting all teaching from the Scriptures to the test of research, hermeneutics, and exegesis based on the land, the language and the literature of the Hebrew people.

So get your pens and your study material out and start your journey in finding out what the pre-law tithe is and the eight levels of giving are from the people of the Bible.

 

So in the end, you have to decide who is robbing God. Make an effort to study for yourself and I assure you, it will not be in vain because your entire life will be changed in a powerful way by becoming a free will generous giver. So when we talk about pre-Law tithing, neither Abram’s/Abraham tithe nor Israel’s tithe were from their monetary income, which in Hebrew would ma’aser kesafim and you can believe that.

Did Paul Teach Tithing?

In my upcoming book, KLEPTOMANIAC: Who’s Really Robbing God? I spent a lot of time talking about Paul’s position on giving. I also put together some power point slides on New Testament giving. In the process of writing the slides, I kept debating whether to write a book on tithing and went back and forth and debated wit myself. My first intention was to compile the slides and move on with the rest of my life. Somehow that did not happen and the issue of writing a book kept coming up in my thoughts. I really could not run away from the idea even though I tried. So when I to put pen to paper, it took me a year and a half to finish the book. Even after I compiled a lot of research for my power point tithing and giving study, I still had to do more research for my book. The Old Testament study was 117 pages, and the New Testament power point study was 48 pages. Today, I’m sharing some slides to help you on your journey. One reason I posted these slides is to give readers information to help them know that my studies did not just cover the Old Testament but the New Testament as well. So today I did a video about whether Paul assumed tithing from silence in the Scripture.

Check out the tithing slides and the information in them to gain an understanding about what Paul says about giving. Research everything I say and add to what I have learned by posting your research to my blog.

To give you a clue about Paul’s instructions on giving, here an excerpt from my book, KLEPTOMANIAC: Who’s Really Robbing God? that will clue you in on Paul’s instructions on giving and why he never mentioned tithing to any of the congregations he preached. In Chapter 12, Did Paul Convert the Tithe to Money, I write:

When you break down the text of 1 Corinthians 16:1, what is Paul really dealing with in Corinth? Let’s look at the verse. “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to churches of Galatia you must do also. On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper that there be no collections when I come” (NKJV). Let’s add some context to the back-story. The Corinthians who wanted Paul to address some issues asked him a series of six questions. Paul uses the phrase “now concerning” in three places to give answers to their questions in 1 Corinthians: 1 Corinthians 7:1, asks about marriage; 1 Corinthians 8:1, asks about personal liberty and about food offered to idols; 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 ask about conduct among the congregations; 1 Corinthians 12:1 asks questions about spiritual gifts in the congregation; 1 Corinthians 15 asks about the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 16:1 Paul uses “now concerning” to address not only the previous questions the Corinthians asked, but also questions about the collection. The purpose of the language, now concerning, is that Paul changed his thought pattern to address the collection question after he dealt with all the previous questions. When Paul says, “now concerning,” he is addressing questions that the Corinthians had previously asked him. In Bible study, it is always important to place historical and cultural context, exegesis, and proper hermeneutics above opinion and personal theology before accepting any teaching as the gospel truth. Because context is important, I would like to list some contextual points of reference about 1 Corinthians 16:1-3. As you read the Scriptures pertaining to this giving effort, ask yourself if it is possible to assume tithing is the context. I assure you the answer will be no. Here’s why. Of all the questions the Corinthians asked Paul in the epistle, they never uttered a single question about tithes. Paul never said, “now concerning tithes.”

There were many books that helped me understand giving and tithing. One of them is called, You Mean I Don’t Have to Tithe? is a well researched theological studies book that analyzes Old and New Testament giving and tithing. Author, David Croteau writes about 1 Cor. 16:1-3 and says on page 246 that:

Giving should be proportionate, in keeping with a household income. It should not be a fixed proportion, but a proportion in keeping with income. In Paul’s terms, the amount to be set aside depends on the degree to which the giver has been prospered. No specific percentage is designated. This context [1 Cor. 16:1-3] would have been an ideal place for tithing to enter into the discussion. Yet tithing is not mentioned. According to Paul, if anyone has been prospered greatly, he should give a large amount. If one has been prospered only little, a smaller gift is completely acceptable.

When Pual wrote 1 Cor. 16:1-3 to the Corinthians about saving up until he got there, perhaps, he had Deuteronomy 16:1-17 in mind. Perhaps he took an Old Testament verse to create a concept to help them out. The verse 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. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.” When you look at the parallels between Duet. and 2 Cor. 16, here is how it breaks down. When they gave in Israel during the festivals, it was three time a year. In 1 Cor. 16, it was the first day of the week. The persons who gave in the Old Testament was every man, and in 1 Cor. 16, it was let each of you. The amount given in the Old Testament during the festivals, God said as he is able according to the blessing, and in 1 Cor. 16. Paul said as he may prosper. The source of what was given during the three festivals in the Old Testament was of the LORD their GOD, and in Paul’s letter, we give knowing that God prospers us. There is no way tithing can be assumed from 1 Cor. Chapter 16.  So let me say this while I’m thinking about it, don’t be fooled by any teaching the says Paul is teaching grace tithing because he is not. All New Testament giving is grace giving.

In the video below, I talk about Cornelius, a gentile man who gave to the poor and how God responded to his generosity to those less fortunate.

 

What Are First Fruits in the Bible? (Tithing study 14, 15 and 16)

Often the term firstfruits and tithes are intertwined as if they are one in the same. When I began my tithe research several years ago I thought the same thing. However, I found out that firstfruits are not tithes and vise vera. The argument goes that the first check you write is the tithe check which qualifies as the tenth as your firstfruits. Now that sound good but it is not fact. The firstfruits doctrine takes on many forms. In some churches, they may ask for the first week’s pay of the year or the first day’s pay for the year as your firstfruits. This also sounds good but does the Bible support claims like this. When the Bible speaks of first fruits, you don’t have to guess at what God meant. The picture above is a representation of what the firstfruits are. So how does money play a role in this issue? Once again, you have to suspend common theological sense in order to convince people that money qualifies as firstfruits.

In my initial tithing presentation, I put together 10 slides describing the contents of firstfruits. Not one time does the Bible ever identify money as firstfruits. So to put to rest what the firstfruits are, let the Scripture be your guide in Deut 26:1-4. and Deut 18:4 which describe some of the firstfruits. You can also look up firstfruits in Numbers 18:8-13.

1“And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.

4 The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him [in a basket].

What must be understood is that firstfruits are only the first produce that grows from the ground, and to say that firstfruits are really the first tenth of a person’s paycheck is absolutely incorrect. So how do we know that tithes, first fruits, and offerings are not the same? The Bible in Nehemiah 12:44 classifies them as separate and they cannot be conflated. First fruits were food for the priests and tithes were limited and specific, which was food for the Levites. The verse reads: And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered (NKJV). They were gathering everything (first fruits, tithes, and offerings) that was eatable from the field. Money from your wallet or purse does not qualify as a tithe.

I’m sure many of you who been in the institutional church for any length of time probably have heard sermons about bringing firstfruits to the man of God. A couple of scriptures that may be familiar are Neh 10:37, “to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities” (NKJV) and Eze 44:30 “And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house” (KJV).  Even though both of these verses clearly indicate the context is about food, they are often taken as sermon topics to conflate dough with money. For example, A typical sermon title would be, “Pay the Man His Dough.” In the African-American community, the term dough is a term often used in blacksploitation movies when referring to money. Today not so much, though. In conversation, it is not uncommon to hear someone say, “Man, you better pay me my dough or else. The context of the term in the cultural dialect is that dough always refers to money. Now when you translate that to the preacher’s sermon which says, pay the man his dough, he is eisegetically engaging in a process that misinterprets the text or a portion of text in such a way that he introduces his own presupposition and biases into and onto the text by taking the cultural influence of the word dough to repackage it as money as if the preacher is now somehow connected to the priest and the Levite who received dough. In the case of the preacher dough is not what he wants but the dough as it relates to money. As I researched tithes and firstfruits it was clear to me that they were both different and so did many authors who wrote tithing books. One author, M.D Ewing writes:

The giving of tithes was totally different from giving of first fruits offering. These were two different types of offerings, and the phrase, “the first fruits of all your increase is not to be considered the same as the rendering of tithes, as people generally teach. There were no commands or requirements that governed tithing in the days of Abraham and Jacob.

So if your church asks you to bring firstfruits to the church or the man of God, the bible says you are to bring, grapes/wine, barley, wheat, figs, olives/oil, honey, pomegranates and put them all in a basket and carry them to the temple. But because you are not a farmer, this requirement on your cash does not apply and never will.  To sum up, the Bible defines first fruits literally as food. The real story is that money does not qualify. Fruits are nothing but items placed in a basket to be presented to the High Priest to eat at the place of worship. Remember, Levites in the Old Testament never received the first fruits. First Fruits only belonged to the Hight Priest and Aaron’s sons and their generations. Giving first fruits in the form of money is non-biblical. The practice of money as firstfruits is foreign to the Bible. Christ fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits. When someone asks you to pay first fruits in the form of money, hold onto your wallet and purses and run for your financial life. They are spiritualizing the biblical text for the purpose of money and preying on your ignorance and the basic human need for wealth

Check out my videos on first fruits. Maybe even post your comments about what you have learned about true tithing and firstfruits.

Here is a quote from my upcoming book, KLEPTOMANIAC: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? In Chapter 8, I propose that:

Hypothetically, if firstfruits were converted into money today according to the law and rabbinical teaching as understood by the Hebrew people, it would look something like this: let’s say your first weeks pay of the year is $900.00. Based on the math calculation, 1/40th of this is considered generous firstfruits, which is about $3.60. So why do tithe teachers ask for your first weeks pay or first days pay when God only asked for 1/40th of the amount, which is much less than 10 percent?

For an extensive word study on first fruits go to firstfruits 101. I hope this first fruits study provides insightful information that will help you get to the truth. Since this web site is not about just what I’ve learned, I always like to post articles the provide insight. Whether we are talking about tithes, firstfruits, and offerings any time a pastor chooses to tell the truth about tithing, there is a risk. It’s almost financial suicide to teach that tithing money is no in the bible and yet one pastor does teach why you should not tithe even though it is a risk.

 

Historical Analysis of the Tithe (Tithing Study Part 20, 21 and 22)

Before I get started, take a look at the picture in this post. What you see is what looks like a traditional church building. Needless to say, while studying tithing, I ran across a similar picture and thought I was looking at a church building. To my amazement, I discovered that what looks like a church is called a tithe barn. It is where the people brought, crops and cattle. This picture is what is described as a storehouse for tithes. Now picture the image in your head and connect it to Malachi and you have a perfect psychological connection to how the image of a barn for tithes makes it easy to associate money being brought into the storehouse, which is now called a church. The construction of this building is what many churches looked like in early history. In order to fool you into believing that money is required in the storehouse using Malachi, you have to change the tithe barn into a church and crops and cattle into money. Once you establish a psychological argument to suspend common sense, then you can add to that by hammering that God said, bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Even when the Scripture identifies the tithe as meat/food, people still think money is the context, which it is not. That being said, A history of tithing is what this post is all about.

And if you don’t think I know what I’m talking about concerning how the storehouse is connected to a barn, take a look at the picture below. The picture, which looks like a church goes back to the dark ages where peasants brought tithes of crops, not to the church, but to the tithe barn that looks like a church. Now you can see how easy it is for people to think money is a tithe because the tithe barn looks like a church that they call the storehouse for tithes. If the people in the dark ages knew tithes were crops and cattle, why are people so convinced today that money is a tithe? The caption of this tithe barn reads: GIVING TO THE CHURCH. The peasants had to give one tenth of their crops to the church. This huge barn [which looks like a church] was built to store the produce given to one group of monks in England. Back then, very few church officials went hungry. If you scan the landscape of American church building, a lot them look like this picture. I would have you to know that much of the crops brought to this storehouse rotted and spoiled because storing that much crop could not be eaten, so as the food went bad, it drew rats and all sorts of unhealthy problems without refrigeration. My opinion as to why this system did not last was that another form of support had to come about. So as history has it, the catholic institution mandated that tithes of crops and cattle were no longer required and money became the substitute for agricultural products and cattle. As history advanced, many church buildings architectural designs looked much like a tithe barn. The tithe barn no longer stores crops and cattle but became a storehouse or church for congregants to bring money and still today the clergy and church officials don’t go hungry now that the tithe has been commuted from crops and cattle to money. So if your church structure looks like this picture, you are sitting in a barn. Now most present church construction today is different, but you get my point overall. Now see below what I’m saying.

Below are three slides that address the question as to whether the church is the storehouse for tithing.

What you will find in my upcoming book, KLEPTOMANIAC: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? is a historical examination of the tithe that if you spend time reading will set you on a path to understanding the Bible and many other topics such as how Old Testament people used money. In tithing study  part 20, 21 and 22, you will learn lots of information about the orthodox historical tithe, your pastor will never  tell you. In my studies, I often

In my studies, I often read lots of information about the tithe that make me raise my eyebrow. On a facebook post, Ronald Ward Robey chimed in on the tithe argument that Abram’s tithe before the law is the standard that tithing is based because the tithe then was before the law, which makes it a requirement under grace. Robey writes:

Many tithe proponents, in a feeble attempt to prove we are supposed to tithe today, will run to Genesis 14 as their proof-text. Their argument is that tithing existed before the Mosaic Law, and is therefore an eternal moral principle. But, is it really an eternal moral principle as they claim? I believe Scripture proves it is not based on the following verse… Exodus 10:26 (KJV) 26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither. In the text, Moses and Aaron argue with Pharaoh. Pharaoh wanted the Israelites to leave their cattle behind. Moses and Aaron said the animals would go with them, because they did not know what God would want them to worship Him with. Had tithing been an eternal moral principle, there would have been no uncertainty. Moses and Aaron would have known that ten percent of something would have been required. Yet they had no idea what would be required as worship. And, what was the sacrifice that was made when the Israelites left Egypt and arrived at the place God took them to? Was it a tenth? Of course, it is easy to see that it was not. As a matter of fact, many sacrifices were made prior to the Law. None of which was a tenth. For this reason, we can know assuredly that the tithe that Abram gave to Melchizedek was not continued and could not be an eternal moral principle.

In the videos, you will learn some interesting facts about tithing overall I hope this post helps you see the light a little better. For those say I don’t have anything on New Testament giving, stay with me because I will share biblical information on giving too.

 

Many people may see my efforts as futile and unproductive, but the work I do on tithing has helped me understand more than I ever thought about the Bible. It is stories like a pastor suing a dead woman’s estate for tithes that drives me to go forward with the truth about tithing.

 

The Malachi Tithe Doctrine Dismantled (Tithing Study Part 11, 12 and 13)

In these videos, I explained how Malachi 3:8-10 has been taken out of context to justify how followers of the Messiah are supposed to pay the church an obligatory ten percent until death. I would argue that if you are going to give your church money, use the scriptures of the New Covenant to teach giving. Malachi is the foundation and the backbone of all tithe teaching today. Over the 30 years of my church experience, these verses scared the daylights out of me. I remember days when I struggled to pay tithes or buy food and the guilt that followed when I chose to buy food instead. It took me years to gain enough confidence to sit down and study Malachi in context. When I did make that decision, I was shocked beyond measure at how far off the tithe of Israel had been contextually corrupted. The tithe doctrine based on the Malachi text is often presented in a context of fear, which produces fear based giving to avoid a curse from God. Sometimes tithing is presented in a dynamic fashion of overwhelming blessing that faithful tithers receive for paying tithes to the storehouse, which is supposedly the church. What I did was examine Malachi in great detail. As I searched the Scriptures, darkness became light and what I thought was true about tithing morphed into falsehood. The truth of God’s word brought me great relief. I realized that I had been fooled by slick hermeneutical and exegetical misapplication of the Scripture concerning tithing. Anytime you read Malachi, follow up by reading the book of Nehemiah.

The tithe doctrine based on the Malachi text is often presented in a context of fear. The words, will a man rob God can conjure up all kinds of unnecessary fear when taken out of context. When I first heard those words, it produced fear based giving to avoid a curse from God. But if you are afraid not to tithe, don’t be. Because the Bible says, “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, love and sound mind” (1 Tim. 1:17).  If that’s the case, why are pastors and churches using a spirit of fear to get people to cough up money to prevent a curse from God? Sometimes tithing is presented in a dynamic fashion of overwhelming blessing that faithful tithers will receive for paying tithes to the storehouse, which is supposedly the church. When I did examine Malachi in great detail and searched the Scriptures, darkness became light and what I thought was true about tithing morphed into falsehood. The truth of God’s word brought a great relief. I realized that I had been fooled by slick hermeneutical and exegetical misapplication of the Scripture concerning tithing. Anytime you read Malachi, follow up by reading the book of Nehemiah.

In other church circles, tithing is presented in a dynamic fashion of overwhelming blessing that faithful tithers receive for paying tithes to the storehouse, which is supposedly the church. When I did examine Malachi in great detail and searched the Scriptures, darkness became light and what I thought was true about tithing morphed into falsehood. The truth of God’s word brought a great relief when I understood that appeals to fear and overwhelming blessings from Malachi where not what the Bible teaches. I realized that I had been fooled by slick hermeneutical and exegetical misapplication of the Scripture concerning tithing. Anytime you read Malachi, follow up by reading the book of Nehemiah

Anytime you read Malachi, follow up by reading the book of Nehemiah because it is important to understand the context of both book of the Bible concerning the tithe. One of the big lies of tithing is that everybody paid a tithe. But if you read the Scriptures very closely, the landowners and cattle ranchers were the tithers who paid tithes in livestock and produce. What very few people know is that everybody in Isreal did not tithe. One of many of my research books, written by Benny D. Prince addressed this matter of who did not tithe pages 38-39 and says,

Now since the tithe was only from land produce and livestock, the following people did not have to tithe in Israel. The tradesmen who made baskets for harvesting, the cobblers who made the shoes for the servants of the field, the carpenters who made wagons used for harvesting the fields, the potters who made the jugs for carrying water to the servants in the fields, women who made garments  for the field workers and fishermen, since fish aren’t a land produce or crop. And by the way, the Lord Jesus who was a carpenter by trade did not tithe.

Take the information in this post and study it. Learn about tithing and you will know what is truth and what is falsehood about giving. The videos and the slides from my initial power point study should start you on a rewarding journey into the Bible. And, it is for this reason that I desire to blow up the erroneous Malachi tithe doctrine because of incidents such as a church sending a member a collection notice for not paying unpaid tithes.

What you often hear in church week after week is called a spiritualized version of Malachi and not the correct textual version. Check out the slides below.

If you do not study tithing or any biblical teaching, you will fall into what is called a TRAP where the institutional church will Takes Reasoning Away Permanently, and it does not turn out so good if you suspend your mind, will and inner voice to allow someone else to be your puppet master.

Tithes are taught as threats and blessing. The “threat” is that if you don’t tithe you “rob God.” If you don’t “pay tithe” you are not doing your part to pay the electrical bill on the church building–or you are not giving that money that the work of the church “requires.” On the other hand, if you do tithe–God will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing.” In other words, if you pay tithe, God will pay you back–sometime–somewhere–the check is in the mail–(and superstition will take care of the rest. (Taken from a article titled Tithe, What Your Pastor Doesn’t Want You to Know)

One final point about Malachi is that most people who read the words will a man rob God, they often assume that God is speaking to everyone in the church today. In my book shoot this argument down and so does one of the research books I read titled Defusing the Malachi Bomb by Thabani Maphosa. He writes,

When God asks “will a man rob God? he is asking an individual and not the entire nation. It wasn’t the general Israelite population which was robbing God and thereby bringing down a curse on the entire nation. It was  the dishonest thieving priests like Eliashib (Nehemiah 13:4-14) that was robbing God and cauing the entire nation to come under a curse on account of their dereliction of [preistly] duties.

 

Searching Scriptures About Tithing

It is important when studying Scripture that proper use of hermeneutics and exegesis is applied. Not only do I encourage this Bible study method, but an example of this studying habit is found in a group of people Paul preached to in Acts 17:11. That group of people responded to Paul’s Gospel message not by accepting what he said willy, nilly, but they searched the Scriptures to see if his message lined up with the Scriptures. Paul writes, “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (NKJV). In my upcoming book, KLEPTOMANIAC, Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway, I go into detail to explain what is involved when you search the Scriptures by defining the meaning of search in Greek. Here’s a short excerpt from my upcoming book:  

The word search in Greek is “anakrino,” (Strong’s #350). It is the act of examining the Scriptures beyond reading the text. This Greek word “anakrino” is found in Acts 17:11 and is a verb which implies action and encourages one to scrutinize, investigate, interrogate, judge, determine, and examine Scripture. Examining also involves asking questions.

Strong’s, #350, Greek, “Anakrino,” ©2001, 21.

No person who sits in the church pews should be passive listeners of the word, but should be active participants in the study of the Scriptures. That is what the Thessalonica congregation did when they researched Paul’s message. It is also what I did when I searched the Scriptures about tithing. And what I discovered over the years has literally brought tears to my eyes. Tithing is not a subject you just read verses about and think you understand. It takes a lot more than reading Bible verses, and the people in Thessalonica prove that point. My video examines the tithe and all its variations. Though I talk about tithing in the language of first, second and third tithe and the festival and poor tithe, I am not settled on how many tithes Israel had. And because I’ve searched, studied, investigated, judged, determined and examined the Scriptures like the Greek word for search implies, I know my research is true because I searched the Scriptures to see if tithing was money or food much like the Thessalonians did with Paul’s message.

The slides in this post were not discussed specifically in the video but they are connected to another group of people who ate the tithe. In my book, I talk about the poor receiving the tithe every third year. As you begin to pick apart every aspect of tithing from a scholarly perspective, you have to decide on what path you will take in searching for the truth. You can either let others study for you or you can take the Bible and begin your own personal journey. I learned a great deal about the subject and a whole lot more about God and his character in dealing with his people. When I started studying tithing, I assumed the Levites were the only people who received the tithe. As I dug deeper, little did I know that poor people were recipients of the tithe too. Read the slides and listen to the video.

 

If the poor received the tithe in the Old Testament, why are poor people not receiving the tithe today? Some people will say that all I post is non-tithing information. But don’t worry I have a complete power point presentation on New Testament giving and you won’t miss a thing because that information will be posted. On the issue of multiple tithes in Israel, I mention both views about first, second and third tithes. In the video, I mentioned the plurality of the word tithes and stated that there are different schools of thought one the plurality of the word tithes.

On the issue of multiple tithes in Israel, I mentioned both views about first, second and third tithes. In the video, I mentioned the plurality of the word tithes and stated that different schools of thought existed on the issue. Some view the plurality of the word tithes to mean multiple tithes and others view the plurality of the word tithes as nothing more than the tithes that came from the 12 tribes who tithed to Israel. One of the research books that I read in my tithe studies addressed this matter of the plurality of tithes. Author, Jeff Farris writes on page 43 that:

it has been argued that since Scripture speaks of ‘tithes’ (noting the plurality of the word), that there was more than one tithe and this supports a second or third tithe. But this argument is immediately nullified once we understand that there was a tithe of produce and a tithe of livestock [not money], which can further be broken down into the various kinds of plants and animals that were tithed. Added to this is the fact  that there were eleven tribes in Israel with families represented in each tribe. They all tithed. All of these can be taken together in a variety of ways and be called, ‘tithes,’ thus accounting for the plurality of the word.

This means tithes addresses the types of items given and not whether there was more than one tithe. However, I used the words first, second and third tithe to make sense of a complex tithe system. So remember, those who were not landowners in Israel did not tithe. One the reasons I spent so much of my time studying this subject is to make sure all people and the especially elderly in the church understand what the Bible says about vulnerable people. I dived into this tithing phenomenon because of things such as a 92-year-old woman being kicked out of her church for being sick and not tithing. You can’t make this stuff up. And that’s why I wrote the book, KLEPTOMANIAC: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway? And it appears some churches may be guilty of robbing its members by abusing tithe Scriptures.  The following quote from the book Iron Sharpens Iron by Michael Burman offers some insight into possibly why more than one tithe came about.

The following quote states: “The rabbis … interpreted them [spring and autumn harvests] as two different tributes: one to be given to the Levites, ‘the first tithe’, and the other to be brought to Jerusalem, ‘the second tithe’ … the implementation of these laws was almost impossible … 20 percent … was too high …” (Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1971, volume 15, “Tithing”, pages 1161–1162).

The Scribes and Pharisees had adopted numerous traditions that transgressed the original intent of the law. Christ said to the Scribes and Pharisees: “… ‘Why do you transgress the commandment of [GOD] because of your tradition?’” (Matthew 15:3).

The historian Josephus states: “Let there be taken out of your fruits a tenth, besides that which you have allotted to give to the priests and Levites … Besides those two tithes, which I have already said you are to pay every year, the one for the Levites, the other for the festivals, you are to bring every year a third tithe to be distributed to those that want …” (Josephus, Book 4, chapter 8, entry numbers 8, 22).

Although Josephus mentions a second and third tithe he was only citing the traditions of the Pharisees. Did you notice that the priests and Levites asked their local communities to pay a third tithe EVERY YEAR! The original intent of the law was that a tenth was to be taken out of a single tithe every three years, not every year. It was traditions like this that placed an enormous burden onto the shoulders of the tithepayer.

The scholarship on tithing is indisputable and yet people still refuse to accept the truth of Scripture. With this above quote, it appears that one tithe existed in Israel and that multiple tithes seem to have been an extra taxation by Rabbis later in history, which the author claims Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because of their excessive respect for the law by creating more laws and traditions that violated the original intent of the law.    

Remember the tithe in Israel was based on an economic system where assets were tithed on and not Israel’s income. If you dig into the historical context of the Hebrew people, you will never see God ask for money as a tithe in Israel. He always asked the 12 tribes who farmed the land in Israel for a tithe from the increase from His miracle and not man’s effort through a wage. The word increase has never been associated with money in the Bible. God wanted a tithe from Israel’s assets, which were crops, cattle, grain, herds, flocks and all items He increased. The term increase in Scripture is yield from the field and offspring from the herds, flocks and cattle. Never assume what a tithe is until you deeply study the land, the language and the literature of the Israelite people. Knowing  the truth means seeking out orthodox Hebrew to understand the nuances and the different sects of Jewish thought concerning the tithe.  When you do that, you will see that tithe teachers in today’s church are far from understanding Israel’s tithe economy. Now I do have to warn you. Some Jews today are not immune to fall prey to the money tithe system. Despite the best scholarship, people still get duped by the modern interpretation of the tithe.