Most people at least understand the concept that tithe is 10% of your income. The word "tithe" even means "a tenth." The following passage lays out what is to be tithed on:
Leviticus 27:30
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... The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD. He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution.
Today, most people don't grow food or raise animals for a living. No matter what you do, you get paid in currency and virtually all trading and purchasing is done with currency. Therefore, the modern application of this scripture is to dedicate a tenth of whatever money you make to God. You are to dedicate it to God as soon as you get it, acknowledging that it "belongs to the LORD." Furthermore, your tithe is "holy to the LORD" - it is His, and it will be used for His purposes, not your own.
Most people are not aware that there is another kind of tithe in addition to this. The Israelites were commanded to observe the Holy Days every year, and there was another tithe, separate from the first, which was to be used in order to observe these feasts:
Deuteronomy 12:17
You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to.
The reason that this is not the same tithe being talked about in Leviticus 27 is that this tithe is to be eaten by the people. The first tithe was given to the priests to eat, but this second tithe was for the people to consume when they went to keep the feasts "at the place the LORD your God will choose." That means that not only should you be giving 10% of your income to God as you receive it, but you should be setting aside another 10% in order to keep the festivals of Leviticus 23. I have heard many people criticize the idea of giving 10% of their money to a church - if only they understood that they were also commanded to set apart another 10% to celebrate about 2 1/2 weeks worth of festivals for the year! Additionally, there is also a third tithe (that's another 10%) commanded to be kept every third year that is specifically used to provide for widows and orphans. You can read a more complete discussion of these 3 tithes and how you are to fulfill them here.
But wait, what about offerings? There are whole chapters in Leviticus devoted to various offerings (the burnt offering, grain offering, etc.) which the people of Ancient Israel were required to give. Some of these were sacrifices for their sins, and such offerings are fulfilled in Christ. Others, however, are simply counted as giving back something of yours to God because you feel convicted to worship Him because of the blessings He has afforded you. These types of offerings could be given at any time and were optional. Similarly, Christians today have the ability to give spontaneous offerings to God when He blesses us with the ability to do so. But, in addition to the times that you just want to give an offering to God, there are certain times when offerings above and beyond your tithes and other offerings are commanded!
Deuteronomy 16:16Three times a year, all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks [Pentecost], and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed: each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.
These offerings are still commanded today, just as are the Holy Days on which they are commanded to be given. We should all give additional offerings to God "in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed [us]." It is up to each of us individually to determine how much we are willing to give to God, but it should be proportionate to our blessings.
The main reason that I chose to address this topic today is because we are currently in the fall Holy Day season. The Feast of Trumpets was last Thursday, the Day of Atonement starts tomorrow at sundown, and the Feast of Tabernacles begins next Wednesday night. Thousands of people around the world will be using their second tithe to celebrate the feasts and making their commanded yearly offerings to God. In future articles, I hope to delve into reasons why our tithe today should be paid to God's church and ways that tithing is beneficial to our relationship with God. In the mean time, if you are on the fence about tithing, remember that tithing, since it is part of God's law, is in effect for Christians today (see: Unfulfilled Aspects of God's Law: Trumpets and I, the LORD, Do Not Change). Lastly, I will leave you with the words prophesied through Malachi:
Malachi 3:8-12
Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, "How do we rob you?" In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 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 pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit, says the LORD Almighty. Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, says the LORD Almighty.
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