Bring The Whole Tithe

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“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of Heaven and poor out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’”  Malachi 3:10

Take a dollar bill and cut it in half. Cut in half again, and then once again. You should now have a small piece of your dollar that is just a hair wider than three quarters of an inch – about the width of your thumb. That piece – worth 12.5 cents if ripped paper money was valued in percentages – is still worth more than a tithe. A tithe isn’t much. And yet, tithing has long been one of the most controversial topics in all of Christendom. Even some disciples wonder: “Does God command us to give a tithe?” “When did this whole tithing thing begin?” “And where is all the money supposed to go?” In an age where so many preachers “peddle the Word of God for profit,” (II Corinthians 2:17) it is now more important than ever to understand God’s command to“bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.”

The History of the Tithe
The conception of tithing can be traced back as early as a mysterious interaction between the father of our faith and the king of Salem (early Jerusalem) – Abraham and Melchizedek. (Genesis 14:18-20) Melchizedek comes to, at that time, Abram, as God’s high priest. How he became high priest is not mentioned in the Scriptures, as his time was well before the Levitical priesthood was established through Aaron. However, his significance is pointed out later by the Hebrew writer who identifies Melchizedek as a foreshadowing of a future high priest (also outside the line of Levi) – Jesus. It is at this time that Melchizedek breaks out bread and wine (which would also later symbolize Jesus’ body and blood through communion) and blesses Abraham. “Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.” (Genesis 14:20)

Interestingly, Abraham’s sacrifice came in response to a blessing and to communion. At this point, it wasn’t commanded of Abraham, nor was it expected. Abraham’s tithe was a simple gesture of gratitude – a gesture that would be remembered throughout the generations. Picking up where his grandfather left off, Jacob, in response to a dream in which God promises him that He would bless him and his descendants, makes a vow to God. He says, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God… and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” (Genesis 28:20-22) Jacob’s vow would later become Israel’s vow, as Jacob was renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28) and his offspring became the people of God. Ironically, Israel means “to struggle with God.” How apropos, as tithing can often be the thing we wrestle with the most!

Jacob’s vow, and therefore all of Israel’s vow, was nearly forgotten for almost two generations until Israel escaped the clutches of Egyptian slavery and formed a nation. As the nation of Israel formed, God established law and order through Moses. It was then put into law, “A tithe of everything form the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord…the entire tithe of the herd and flock – every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod – will be holy to the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:30-32) As disciples, we understand that the Old Testament was written as a foreshadowing of what was to come in New Testament times. God’s physical nation of Israel would come to represent God’s spiritual nation of Israel – His disciples. And the physical realities of the Old Testament would represent the spiritual realities of us today. (I Corinthians 10:6) Therefore, the question must be asked: Do we, as God’s spiritual nation, have to uphold the same vow that God’s physical nation of Israel was commanded?

Interestingly, there is no New Testament Scripture that explicitly commands a disciple to tithe. Some have mistakenly seen this as evidence for a “no” answer to the question above. However, there is another Scripture that should clarify what was commanded of the New Testament disciple: “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33) Jesus didn’t just ask for a tenth, a tithe, or any percentage of what we have for that matter, but for everything! Therefore, it must be concluded that “everything” includes a tithe. Consider some of the following examples: The poor widow, who gave up everything she had to live on; (Luke 21:1-4) Zacchaeus, who gave half of his possessions to the poor and paid back those he stole from four times the amount that was stolen; (Luke 19:5-8) Barnabas, the son of encouragement, sold property that he owed and set the money at the apostles feet; (Acts 4:36-37) The rich, young ruler, who refused to sell all of his possessions and skipped out on the Kingdom of God; (Luke 18:22-23) and those 3,000 plus disciples who “gave to anyone as [they] had need.” (Acts 2:45)

Do What Abraham Did
One of the songs I’ll always remember from growing up in Sunday School was Father Abraham. The song goes, “Father Abraham… had many sons. Many sons had father Abraham. I am one of them… and so are you…” As disciples, we understand that Abraham is our father through faith. The Bible says, “[We] are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of [us] who were baptized into Christ have clothed [ourselves] with Christ…If [we] belong to Christ, then [we] are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29) When someone has faith, repents and is baptized, they enter into a covenant with God – the same covenant given to Abraham. It is no wonder that God promised Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky. Every Old Testament Israelite and now every New Testament disciple is Abraham’s son or daughter. However, Jesus also says, “If you [are] Abraham’s children… then you [will] do the things Abraham did.’” (John 8:39) Abraham gave a tithe. Therefore, the goal of every disciple is that they must at least give a tithe!

Because We Have Communion with Christ
On the other hand, sometimes we can give, but miss the heart in which we are to have in giving. Abraham didn’t need to be commanded, urged, compelled, convinced or manipulated to give. He gave very simply because he had communion with God! It’s the same heart that God’s modern day disciple must have. Paul said, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (II Corinthians 9:7) and “I want to test the sincerity of your love.” (II Corinthians 8:8) We don’t give because we have to, because we like the preacher, or because we like the programs the church puts on. We give because we have association and fellowship with Jesus! Like Abraham, we give out of our gratitude for God. It’s this mentality that separates a true disciple from the rest of the religious world – many of whom also give tithes.

Even the Pharisees gave a Tithe
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, perhaps the greatest of all time, Jesus preached, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) Jesus was never impressed by the religious traditions that handicapped the Pharisees from seeing the truth. He wasn’t moved by their claim to perfect obedience. And He certainly wasn’t going to applaud their strict adherence to the Sabbath. As Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, He says, <“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (Matthew 23:23) Amazingly, even the religious leaders and the Pharisees gave a tithe! And Jesus says that our righteousness needs to surpass that of a Pharisee. Fascinating to me is that even members from the Mormon Church, the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Church, the Jehovah’s Witness Church, and many others are highly devoted to tithing. If Pharisees are devoted to tithing, how much more so a sold-out disciple of Jesus? It’s no wonder why these churches have had such an impact on our society. If we are going to impact the world, it’s going to take a devotion to sacrifice that surpasses the commitment of these Pharisaical groups and a devotion to give up everything we have!

Supporting the Work of the Temple
But what should the money be used for? In about 466 BC, Nehemiah went back to Jerusalem from Persia with one goal in mind – the rebuilding the city walls of Jerusalem. The walls of Jerusalem, along with the temple and the rest of the city, had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) in 586 BC, though Nebuchadnezzar first attacked Jerusalem in 606 BC. (Hence the 70 year marking point for Jeremiah’s prophecy!) The people were then exiled in Babylon until God freed them in 536 BC to go back and rebuild the temple. However, after rebuilding the temple, the people sat idle for 50 years without rebuilding the walls. Understanding that a city without walls is destined for destruction, Nehemiah sets out to have the walls rebuilt. As you could imagine, this was a massive undertaking – physically and financially. As Nehemiah leads the charge, he preaches to the people, >“We will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work…’we will not neglect the house of our God.’” (Nehemiah 10:37-39)

Interesting though, is what happens just a few chapters later. Nehemiah once again preaches to the people, “I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites has not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. So I rebuked the officials and asked them, ‘Why is the house of God neglected?’” (Nehemiah 13:10-11) The people were commanded to tithe in support of the temple’s leadership. Once the tithes stopped being given, the leadership of the temple had to go back to their own fields to support themselves. Money given in tithes was used to hire temple “staff.” Paralleling the Old Testament temple is the New Testament church. (I Corinthians 3:16-17) As money in Nehemiah’s time was given to support the Levites and the singers, so money given to God’s modern day church is given to support staff and ministry needs. Sadly, the singers of today are unpaid volunteers!

Unknown to many, Malachi was a contemporary to Nehemiah. Now understanding the culture of his time, it is plain to see why the Lord commands, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.” Without financial sacrifice, there can be no staff, there can be no advancement, and there can be no fruit. Yet, as we few disciples wholeheartedly work to imitate the faith of Abraham, fulfill the vow of Jacob, and advance the Kingdom like the disciples of the first-century, God’s promise is to “throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that [we] will not have room enough for it.” Let us, therefore, test the Lord, and “Bring [our] whole tithe” into His storehouses! To Him be the glory!

Evan Bartholomew