Summary:
The subject of tithing in the Scriptures comes from the days of Abraham and has passed under the Law of Moses as an old covenant institution. Some Christians today believe that giving tithes in the form of money applies to them. People who want to force the old covenant traditions and institutions in a perverted way in the new spiritual covenant of Christ, want to keep the first tabernacle/temple alive, while it is dead and buried in Christ, according to the book of Hebrews…
Heb 9:6-10 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. 7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: 8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
For those living under the new spiritual covenant of Christ, there is a completely new meaning for tithing in “the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:10)! The standards of the new covenant in Christ are so much higher than the standards of the old covenant:
Mat 5:17-20 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Let’s repeat: Jesus expects a “more abundant” righteousness from His followers than the type of righteousness that prevailed under the old covenant! This is not about a part or section of our lives to be given to God, but a lot more. Our whole life is the sacrifice acceptable under the new covenant in Christ. The old covenant was never given to justify anyone before God. The old covenant is based on fleshly ordinances, and our good works in the flesh are a big problem if we are to have righteousness before God. There is no spiritual perfection in a covenant based on fleshly ordinances:
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Heb 9:8-10 with which the Holy Spirit makes it clear that the way to the sanctuary has not yet been opened as long as the first tabern
acle is still standing. 9 This was a picture in view of the present time in which gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make perfect to the conscience him who performs the service, 10 because it consisted only in food and drink and various washings and carnal ordinances imposed until the time of restoration.
The best efforts of humans have never been successful in getting God’s favour:
Rom 9:31-33 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Thus, only through the better covenant in Christ can we satisfy God’s perfect standards. This includes the concept of tithes, as understood under the new covenant. We have to give the whole tithe and that means everything we have:
Rom 12:1 Therefore I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable religion.
Mat 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Mar 12:28-34 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Under the old covenant the focus was on sacrifices of animals or agricultural crops to be given as a tithe to the Levites, one of the twelve tribes of Israel who was excluded for the land allotment. The Levites were separated to perform priestly service to God and the nation. The other tribes had to supply them with food and other necessities:
Jos 13:33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.
Num 18:20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.
The sacrifices under the new covenant “are more than all the burnt offerings and the sacrifices” of the old covenant because the old covenant focused only on outward appearances. Jesus tells us that the inside of the cup (our innermost being — that which is in our heart/mind) must get the focus and then the outward appearance will also be lived right:
Mat 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites? for you give tithes of mint, and of anys, and of coriander; and ye leave the heaviest of the law, judgment, and mercy, and truth. These things you ought to do without leaving the others to leave. 24 Blind guides, who sift out the gnat but swallow the camel! 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites? for you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside it is full of robbery and im moderation. 26 Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, that the outside thereof may also be clean. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and of every sort of uncleanness.
If our focus shifts inward, to our thinking and what is going on in our heart, and God’s light shows us what is hiding there, then we will cry out to God for a new heart.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.
To renew our minds is to receive our new heart from God. However, it is a process that we will have to strive for every day to die for the carnality in our hearts as we die with Christ.
1Jn 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world— the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the greatness of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever.
1Cor 15:31 I die day by day, brethren, as I glory in you in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And what I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
We find Christ’s life and spirit in His Word and through the Word our minds (hearts) are changed:
Joh 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
This is how we have the mind of Christ, as we obey His Word…
1Cor 2:15 But the spiritual man judges all things. He himself is not judged by anyone. 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he might instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Through the mind of Christ in us, we can also further understand why the story of Abraham giving tithes to Melchizedek is mentioned in the scriptures. There is an order that is emphasized. The earthly priesthood in the tribe of Levi paid tithes to a higher order of priesthood represented by Melchizedek (Levi was in Abraham’s “loins” when he offered Melchizedek a tithe of the spoils of war).
Heb 7:1-7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,” 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. 4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 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; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
Christ’s spiritual law is “the better” law – the new law has “a disannulling of the commandment going before”:
Eph 2:14-16 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Heb 7:18-19 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. 19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
Christ Himself came in flesh and lived under that old law for almost thirty years.
Mat 5:17-20 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Gal 4:1-5 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
When Jesus was about thirty years old He started to preach about the new covenant:
Luk 3:21-23 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. 23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.
Luk 4:16-21 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Jesus came to set the captives free, “to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord”. The old covenant was focused on earthly ordinances (earthly tabernacle /temple with his sacrifices and priesthood) and that is indeed the “lesser” and kept people in captivity. Christ is the only true High Priest, and the few He chooses are the priest who serves in His true spiritual temple of God. These priests in Christ’s spiritual temple place their focus on the spiritual tithe. These elect in Christ are the holy royal priesthood of the new covenant that offers better sacrifices —their whole life (the “whole tenth” —Mal 3:10)!
Heb 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus.
1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the excellers of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.
Php 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
God’s abundance in our lives detaches us from the flesh and its divisions. Indeed, God loves a cheerful giver, and such a giver is not one who has to work out with a calculator whether he/she should give 10%, 20% or 30% of his life:
2Co 9:6-7 But remember, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Let each one give as he has resolved in his heart, not with sorrow or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
A cheerful giver knows that everything they have already belongs to God, including their whole life. What we give was first given to us by God, as David could see…
1 Chron 29:14 For who am I, and what are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.
Our “voluntary gifts” are also not as “free” as some might think. God’s counsel “works” all things in this creation — including our gifts:
Eph 1:11 in him in whom we also received an inheritance, having previously been ordained to do so according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.
So the tithe actually has to do with the whole that God gives us during our earthly life, because everything is God’s and we owe our whole life to Him (in spiritual terms, according to the Scriptures, the number 10 depicts our fleshly earthly life). If we give the whole flesh as a sacrifice to God, then God opens up His heavens in us so that the streams of living water (His spirit) also eventually takes over our whole life!
Mal 3:10 Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Mat 13:10-13 And the disciples came and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 And he answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For he that hath, It will be given to him, and he will have an abundance. But he that hath none, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because, seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear or understand.
The physical understanding of tithes (or other fractions mentioned in scripture) makes people focus on a part of the whole. But God’s spiritual Mathematics works completely differently. Everything is God’s — and we bring the “whole tenth” to God, i.e. our whole life. The true child of God gives ten tithes:
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable religion. 2 And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.
1Cor 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
4windkoinonia 