for me i rather give to the needy than paying tithes, all this pastor use their members money to buy all sorts of expensive cars. imaging a pastor carying body gaurds along with them that means they dont trust theirselves incredible.

@clemiss, don't border what pastors do with ur money, only obey the scripture. God command us to pay our tithe. u can also give to the needy for ur more rewards.

@beautymc
God NEVER commanded christians to pay tithes. Mordern day tithing was arrived at through manipulation of scripture and is totally different from the type of tithing practise directed to the jews in the old testament. The commandment Jesus actually gave us was to give to the needy this is far more important than tithing as it is practised today cause tithing today is a man made rule unlike giving to the needy which is a direct commandment of christ himself

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TEACH ABOUT TITHING?
By 'Jide Akeredolu


"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1).

"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God, I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all that is in it" (Psalm 50: 7-12).

"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" (Romans 11: 35).

God created the universe. He sustains it by the word of His power. He doesn't need your money and he doesn't want your money. What God want is you! And 100% of you. That God will not bless you unless you give 10% of your income to your church is a blatant lie. It has no biblical basis; it is the ultimate "419". There are multitudes of preachers, priests, evangelists, general overseers etc. who are sinning every day in their use (or better, abuse) of the biblical tithe.

There is nothing more clear in the bible than the teaching of God about the ordained tithe. The Bible tells us who were to pay the tithe, who were to receive the tithe, the type of products that were to be tithed, who was not to tithe, how the tithe was to be used, along with regulations that gave limitations and restrictions on its use. Yet these clear laws of God are daily being violated wholesale by preachers, priests, and evangelists etc. who want a ready money supply for their religious or church work. The truth is, these religious men and women are often aware of what the bible really says but in the zeal to raise money for their ministries, they have found the tithe a juicy way of fund raising, that they con their unsuspecting congregation of their income. They use time-tested tactics of producing guilt in people's minds through their sermons in order to extract the tithe. Some use the fear tactics of threatening God's withdrawal of his blessings, or a plague of misfortune descending on the finances of those who don't promptly pay their tithe in full.

Now, don't get me wrong. It is perfectly proper to give funds to religious organisations (even generously if the person so desires) in order for them to perform the works God has given them to do. People who are members of a church or a religious group should endeavour to support it. It is wrong for you to get spiritual benefits from an organization and not contribute to its upkeep. Funds are an essential part of running a religious organisation. The Bible has a clear and easily understood manner in which the teaching of the Gospel ought to be supported (and adequately funded) We will go through most of them. In simple terms, the biblical tithe should not be the means that Christian organisations fund their functions.

Before we go into the Bible, let us pray that God will reveal the truth to us.
I always plead to people to study the Bible methodically, i.e. allow scripture to inteprete itself. By understanding the facts of the scriptures and the facts surrounding the scriptures (culture for example), we can better understand the scriptures in a way that was intended. Over the ages, people have added their own twists to what the bible really says in order to justify their actions. Slavery, racial discrimination, sex discrimination, and now fleecing innocent people of one tenth of their income have all been falsely justified using the bible.

What does the bible really say about tithing? We will go first through the old and then the new testaments.

THE OLD TESTAMENT BEFORE MOSES

Tithes and tithing were mentioned only two times before the time of Moses and the Exodus. They are favourite passages for the tithing teachers to prove that tithing was required by God before He gave the Law to Moses. Let's examine these passages of the scripture.

Genesis 14
"Then Melchizadek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of Heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything" (Genesis 14; 18-20).

"See," they say, "tithing was a necessary practice way back in the days of Abraham.". As these preachers always do, they take the portion out of context! But read the context, which in this case is the entire chapter. The first thing you find is that the "everything" in question did not belong to Abram. It was the property of other people, including Abram's nephew, Lot, who had been captured by the armies of several kings.

Abram and a small group of his servants had gone to battle against these great armies and, against all reasonable expectations, had won. Melchizadek recognised that God had granted this miraculous victory (v. 20)

Notice Abram's statements in verses 22-24. He owned none of the property in question before the battle and, although entitled to the spoils as the victor, he refused to take any of it: "I will accept nothing belonging to you" (v. 23). Abram gave away ten percent of other people's property, in a representative act of thanksgiving to God on behalf of some people who had been miraculously rescued from a life of slavery.

This was a once only event. It has nothing to do with the common teaching that you should give ten percent of your gross monthly income regularly to a group of professional religious leaders.

One thing we can be sure of is that the spoils of war were not items upon which God required tithes to be paid. Let's see what the Scriptures tell us of what God required regarding the spoils of war.
In Numbers 31:25-30, God commanded the Israelites to take vengeance on the Midianites. Israel attacked them, defeated them and took their children, livestock and everything else they owned as the spoils. Did God require a tithe, 10 percent? No! He required only 2 percent from the congregation for the Levites and 0.2 percent (one in 500) from the warriors for the priests, not a tithe. If there had been a universal tithing law, why was it not applied here?
It is even crazy to urge people to do something just because Abraham did it! I hope men will not be encouraged to marry their house helps if their wives are infertile.

Genesis 28
"Then Jacob made a vow, saying, '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 this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth'" (Genesis 28:20-22).
"See," they say again, "tithing was a necessary practice way back in the days of Jacob, long before the Law was given."
But read exactly what Jacob said.
1. He made a vow, a promise (and there is no record in the Bible that he ever kept that promise.)
2. It was a conditional promise. Notice the five conditions:
• IF God will be with me;
• IF God will watch over me;
• IF God will give me food to eat;
• IF God will give me clothes to wear; and
• IF I return safely to my father’s house (which didn’t happen until some twenty years later),
THEN, and only then, can God have 10% of whatever He gives me.
If that is "tithing", feel free to make a list of everything you want from God and, once you have received it all, start making your once-every-twenty-year payments.
In the meantime, on the basis of Genesis 28, you don’t owe your religious leaders a solitary kobo.

EGYPT
The first hint of a taxation system in the bible was established by Jacob’s son, Joseph in Egypt. We are all familiar with the story of how Joseph was inspired to interpret Pharaoh's dreams about seven full and seven lean years for harvests. As a result of Joseph's wisdom, and because the spirit of God was in him (Genesis 41: 38-39) Pharaoh made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. For seven years they gathered in the harvests and stored the grain. When the lean years came, the Egyptians used all their money to purchase some of the grain reserves (Genesis 47:14–15). They then sold Joseph all their cattle to buy the needed grain (verse 16). Finally, they even bartered their own bodies and all their land for food (verse 18–20).
This meant that Pharaoh, through the advice of the patriarch Joseph, came to possess all things found in Egypt. At this point notice what Joseph did,
"Then Joseph said unto the people, ‘Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.’" • Genesis 47:23–24
We see here that the taxation system established by Joseph in Egypt when the Israelites were there was twenty per cent. And this went to Pharaoh. There was no tithing system in operation when the Israelites left Egypt. This goes against the claims by tithing preachers that tithing was in practice before the time of Moses.

THE TIME OF MOSES AND THE EXODUS
About three months after leaving Egypt, at Mount Sinai, the Old Covenant with the Ten Commandments was first given to the Israelites (Exodus 20). It also embraced many other laws recorded in four chapters—unto the end of Exodus 23. These were laws of the Old Covenant which Israel promised to observe (Exodus 24:3–. These four chapters contained essentially the basic constitution which was intended to govern Israel. The Bible calls the contents of those four chapters the Book of the Covenant. Remarkably, there is not one hint of tithing as a requirement in this basic teaching of the Old Covenant.
It would have soon become apparent, that there was a need to raise funds to finance these new requirements of the Covenant. We notice here that the first method used by Moses was voluntary donations. When Moses petitioned Israel for money to build the Tabernacle, here is what happened:
"Men and women, as many as were willing hearted, brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold and , the children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord , They brought yet unto him [Moses] free offerings every morning , the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much." • Exodus 35:22, 29; 36:3, 7
Under God's inspiration, Moses finally came to the conclusion that a tithing system was necessary for the nation of Israel. This occurred at the beginning of the second year of the Exodus. He told the Israelites that they should henceforth give a tenth part of their seed crops and fruit trees plus every tenth animal to the treasury in the newly erected Tabernacle (Leviticus 27:30-33).
"All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord. If a man wishes to redeem any of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And all the tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the Lord. A man shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, neither shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it, then both it and that for which it is exchanged shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed."
One should notice four points about this initial law that are commonly overlooked today.
At first, Moses discouraged Israelites from giving tithe in money though he reluctantly allowed it. For example, if anyone insisted on retaining any increase of the crops for personal use, Moses demanded an extra fifth part premium (Leviticus 27:31). Moses did not mind them paying in money for crops, but they had to give the extra premium for the privilege. For livestock, redeeming is banned. It is strange, but Christian ministers today would rather have the money than the foodstuffs that Moses ordained.
Secondly, the tithe for animals must be random, not the best as some preachers claim. "A man shall not inquire whether it is good or bad" (Only after this are the Levites to choose the best tithe of this tithe to the priests. -the so-called second tithe. Please remember this, as it is useful in understanding Malachi)
Thirdly, since the tithe was only required on agricultural crops and herds, little produce would have been given to the treasury while Israel was in the desert of Sinai. Israel had little agricultural crops produced in that desolate wilderness to tithe (Deuteronomy 29:5–6).
Fourthly, Moses did not say in the Book of Leviticus how the tithe was to be spent or to whom it was to be given. He simply said that Israelites were required to pay the tithe. It was later that the Levites were appointed to collect it. Obviously, the goods were placed in the Tabernacle (the Temple) treasury and this limited amount of produce was placed in storage bins. Let us now examine the tithing system.
WHAT PRODUCTS WERE TITHED?
Many people have been hasty in assuming that all the income earned by Israelites was subject to the laws of tithing. This was not the case. Any Jewish rabbi can inform a person what items were to be tithed because the Bible makes the matter plain. This point should be noted very carefully.
There were only two types of income that were tithable: One was from agricultural production. "All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s" (Leviticus 27:30). This meant that a tenth of all agricultural produce of the land of Israel, whether fruits or vegetables, had to be tithed. The second type of tithable income was the increase of animals. "All the tithe of the herd or flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord" (verse 32). Only these two specific income producers were subject to the tithe.
There is only one exception to this rule. Leviticus 27:31 reads: "If a man will redeem ought of his tithe, he shall add unto it the fifth part thereof." In other words, if a man for various reasons did not wish to pay his tithe in kind (and he wished to give money as a substitute), he was penalized a fifth part. Such a law was obviously not intended to encourage payment of the tithe in money. Infact, monetary redemption, was not allowed for the tithe of animals. Moses declared: "It shall not be redeemed" (verse 33). Any money offered to redeem the tithe would be confiscated. A man shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, neither shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it, then both it and that for which it is exchanged shall be holy; This means that the tithing law of the Bible prohibited cattle ranchers from paying money at all. They were required to give the tenth animal no matter if they wanted to keep it for some reason to themselves. I believe Moses designed it this way because it guaranteed a steady supply of animals in the temple for sacrifices. Imagine the crisis that would be created if all the cattle ranchers opted to redeem their tithes! There would be no animals for sacrifice in the temple! It is easy now to understand the sense of this regulation.
WHO DID NOT TITHE?
Since farmers and ranchers were responsible for paying the tithe, we now come to an equally important question: Who was not required to tithe? It is often surprising to people to find that a large segment of people in Israel did not tithe!
The owner of a farm had to tithe, but his hired hands were exempt. Was a hired hand required to tithe on his salary? Not at all! There was no law that required a tenth of one’s salary to be tithed (which was earned for services rendered). Only the crops and animals of those who owned them were subject to the tithe. After all, the crops and the animals did not belong to the hired hand and only the increase from one’s land or animals was subject to the tithe. And note this. Fishermen did not tithe, though this industry is mentioned in the law (Leviticus 11:9–12). Likewise, the mining industry is referred to (Deuteronomy 8:9), but the tithe of minerals extracted from the earth was never called for. The lumber business is mentioned (1 Kings 5:7–12) and construction work on buildings (1 Kings 5:13–18) but tithes were not extracted from people who worked in those trades. The same held true for those earning an income from weaving, handicrafts, or from any form of manufacturing or merchandising. They all were immune from tithing including all those in the military and government workers. And though the Levites were commanded to pay a tenth of the tithe they received from the farmers and ranchers to the Priests, those Priests themselves were totally exempt from paying any tithe.
To make it plain and simple, only the owners of farms and flocks were required to tithe. Indeed, the Israelite who had fewer than ten cattle did not have to tithe on nine of them because the requirement stated that only the tenth animal that passed under the rod was to be tithed (Leviticus 27:32). Looking at this matter of the tenth animal being tithed from our present monetary point of view, a rancher could have many thousands of Naira invested in nine cattle, but unless he had a tenth he was not required to tithe one kobo of his assets.
[Some Christian ministers commonly teach that the tithe is God’s and that he must get his money first. But the Bible says it is the tenth animal (the last one) that passes under the rod that is God’s, not the first.]
These clear biblical teachings present some real dilemmas for Christian ministers today who want to use the tithe for their church activities. If a minister wanted his members of his church to abide by the tithing laws, why doesn’t he teach them to perform them the way the Bible instructs? If church members who live in a city wanted to tithe according to biblical law, they would be paying a tenth of their garden produce (if they had gardens) or a tenth of their chickens (if they had chickens). Even if they earned N200, 000 a month in other income, only the garden produce and chicken would be tithed. This would hardly be enough to support normal church activities today. Yet this is the precise law of tithing which was ordained for Israel by God. There is however hardly a Christian minister (who demands tithing today) who would feel inclined to abide by these laws of the Bible regarding tithing. They want more money than a tenth of what comes from gardens and chicken!

A common argument of professional tithing preachers is that food substances were tithed because Israel was a mainly agricultural society and that collecting money would not have been practicable! How far from the truth!!! There was a very sound monetary system in place even before the exodus. Exodus 30:11-16 discusses an offering of money to be brought by each person to the tabernacle.
" And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make atonement for your souls. And thou salt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation;
See! This was how the running of the temple was to be financed. Like the annual dues in some churches!
This was what became the "temple tax" that Jesus Christ paid. (Matthew 17: 24-27)
The Bible here teaches us how religious activities should be financed. --- The atonement money appointed "for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation". Nowhere in the Bible is the tithe specifically appointed to be used like this.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE TITHE
Obviously, many people would have heard of references to the "first tithe", "second", "third", and even a "fourth" tithe. A methodical study of the Old Testament in context will show that it was the same one and only tithe that God, through Moses modified over time depending on the circumstances of the Israelites.
While the Israelites were living a nomadic life in the wilderness, they would have camped near the tabernacle and found it easy to just drop their tithe with the Levites without much stress. On getting to Canaan the Promised Land however, the situation became different. That land was well over one hundred miles long and some fifty miles wide. The various Israelite tribes were going to be scattered over an expansive area and even the Levites and Priests were to live in forty-eight cities located throughout the land (Joshua 21).
This dispersal of the people made it difficult to pay the tithe at one central location. This prompted Moses to authorize the forty-eight priestly cities scattered over the land as official sites where tithes could be stored or to be paid in certain tithing years. The first 11 chapters of Deuteronomy contain a lot of the other modifications to the original laws.
Moses commanded that Israelites were no longer to perform their tithing obligations in the manner they had observed them in the wilderness. "Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here [within the wilderness] this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes" (Deuteronomy 12:. Moses began to regulate the religious activities of the Israelites with more precision. He made the laws more strict and with greater detail for Israel’s observance in the Land of Canaan.
Notice the context of the last quote. It is important. He said the Israelite did "whatsoever is right in his own eyes" (Deuteronomy 12:. Moses was talking about the payment of tithe, burnt offerings, sacrifices, heave offerings, vows, free will offerings, firstlings of the herds and flocks (Deuteronomy 12:6). There were no laws regulating these matters.
Note that the law of the firstlings (that is, the firstborn of herds and flocks or the first fruit of harvest from farms) is a very different set of laws than those of tithing. They must not be confused as is sometimes done by preachers and priests who want to be the first paid from one’s income, so they erroneously apply the word "first" regarding animals and produce in this regard. But the law of firstlings is not for Christians. For firstlings see Numbers 3:12–13, 40–45; 8:16–18 and for first fruits see Leviticus 23:10–14; Numbers 18:12–28; Deuteronomy 18:4. One must distinguish these laws of the firstborn and first fruits from the law of tithing.

The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering to Aaron the priest. Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every offering due to the Lord, from the best of them, giving the hallowed part from them"(Numbers 18:25-31).
This was the so-called "second tithe” There is nowhere in the bible where it is called a second tithe. It provided financial security for the priests. They were to get the 'best' parts of the tithe. (This is very important as we will find later). However, the original tithe was random as mentioned earlier.

"At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do" (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).

This is what some people call the "third" tithe. But again they read it out of context! A study of the earlier verses (22-26) will shed more light on the issue.
"Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice" …, And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. (Deuteronomy 14:22-26; 29).

The Israelites were obliged make an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem with their tithes. But with population now spread over a wide area, an allowance was made for people to give their tithes to the Levites in the forty eight designated towns every three years. However, in years 1 and 2, the pilgrimage to Jerusalem was compulsory. To make this less stressful however, Israelites were allowed to sell the foodstuff and just bring the money "to the place the Lord your God appointed". They were however not to pay the cash to the Levites (as some professional tithe takers would tell you), they were to use the cash to buy whatever they wanted, and celebrate with everybody, especially the less fortunate in the society, and the Levites. We see here the evolution of a social security system designed to take care of the weak.

THE PLACE OF LEVITES IN THE SOCIETY
What God, through Moses gave to Israel in regard to the tithe was reasonable, and very beneficial to the whole nation. Let us now look at the sensibleness of the Mosaic law of tithing. When it is fully understood, it will be seen that it was intended to benefit the whole of society within Israel. The Levites were central to it all.
Though the tribe of Levi in ancient Israel was empowered to receive tithe of the people (except that part of the tithe needed by the people for festival requirements and that for the destitute), the Levites also had other ways of earning money. Not all of them were supported by the tithe.
The Levites were not given territorial lands like other Israelites. They (along with the Priests) were allotted forty eight cities in which they could earn a living. This means the Levites received a reasonable amount of acreage to cultivate besides the fact that many of those cities were located in some of the best parts of the Land of Canaan.
"And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho saying: Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and open land round about the cities shall ye give unto the Levites. And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and their open land shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts." • Numbers 35:1–3
Many people have not realized that Moses gave the Levites the means by which to earn a living without having a dependence upon tithe alone. Other than the tithe of the third and sixth years of a sabbatical cycle, the only Levites that received tithe were those who attended the service of the Tabernacle (and even then it was only that part left over from the festival use by ordinary Israelites). At other times they had to earn their own living within the cities and lands allotted them. The Levites were expected to work for their livelihood like any other normal citizen within the community of Israel.
This is why the Levites were provided with open lands surrounding the cities. The suburb of each Levitical city had 1,000 cubits (about 1,600 feet) on each side for grazing their cattle (Numbers 35:4). There was a further 2,000 cubits beyond the first measure surrounding each city that they were to use as fields and vineyards (verse 5). The two zones represented 3,000 cubits of open land extending outward from each side of the city walls. At least four square miles of land belonged to each Levitical city. With 48 cities being represented, the cumulative amount of land equalled almost 200 square miles for pasturing and cultivation.
Since some of the cities that the Levites inherited were the most prosperous in the nation, their combined property value would almost equal that of the lesser Israelite tribes. These facts ought to put to rest the belief of some church leaders who imagine that the Levites lived solely off the tithe of the other tribes. In no way was this true. The Levites had to work for their living as anyone else. Only when Levites attended the service of the Tabernacle (whether on a full-time or part-time basis) was the tithe expected to support them (Deuteronomy 18:6–.
Moreover, God was quite concerned that the Levitical lands remain within the tribe of Levi perpetually: "But the fields of the open land about their cities may not be sold; for that is their perpetual possession" (Leviticus 25:34).
Though the Levites were scattered throughout the land of Israel, there was only one place in the land where they could assist in the service of the Tabernacle (and later, the Temple). When Israel got the possession of the Land of Canaan, they set up the Tabernacle first at Shiloh, and later in the time of Solomon it was finally moved to Jerusalem where the portable structure was abandoned for the permanent Temple. But the greatest percentage of the Levites did not perform services in the Temple. That building was simply too small for all of them to work there. Most Levites performed duties in other employments within the nation of Israel.
The occupation of the Levites was in what we call professional fields today. Moses expected this to be the case. They were ordained to be teachers of the nation (Deuteronomy 24L8; 33:10; 2 Chronicles 35:3; Nehemiah 8:7); they also represented many of the judges of the land, and in the time of Ezra they were the sole members of the Sanhedrin—the Supreme Court of the nation (Deuteronomy 17:8–9; 21:5; 1 Chronicles 23:3-5; 2 Chronicles 19:8; Ezekiel 13:2; 14:2; Luke 17:14); they were professional singers and musicians (1 Chronicles 25:1–31; 2 Chronicles 5:12; 34:12) producers of books and librarians were almost exclusively Levites (2 Chronicles 34:13). It may appear strange to some but even law enforcement was in their care (1 Chronicles 23:4). Many of the Levites were architects and builders (2 Chronicles 34:8–13).
As stated before, the Levites earned their living by becoming what we call "the professional people" of the community.
And while the ordinary Israelite gave his tithe every third year to the Levites (and the destitute), look at the services he got besides the management of the Temple. Israel got teachers for their children, physicians for their ills, scribes, musicians, singers, judges, and law enforcement officers. A part of their tithe even went to support a type of social security service every third and sixth year for the destitute.
This indicates that the one tithe, which was distributed differently over a seven year period, was not simply intended for religious purposes. It was something similar to our taxes that support our educational institutions, our government hospitals, our law enforcement agencies, our cultural societies, etc. When one sees the true picture of Israel’s tithing system, the early Israelites didn’t get too bad a deal in their payment of tithe. Today, however, the "tithe payer" gets nothing. He is told he is giving to God and would be paid back in "blessings". What a far cry from the ancient tithing system of Israel in which all benefited.
WHO IS A LEVITE?
Another point of note is the issue of who is a Levite. To be a Levite you have to be born by a Levite father. Inheritance in Israel was through the male lineage. You don't go to Bible College, and then rent a warehouse somewhere to start a ministry, and claim you have become, or now represent a Levite, telling people to pay their tithe to you or your ministry. Some claim they were now Levites in the "spirit". It is, to put it mildly, ridiculous! Even our Lord Jesus Christ, a most holy Jew, was not a Levite. He came, by adoption, from the tribe of Judah. He had no authority to collect tithe, and he did not. His works were funded by whatever donations he got. And he did not pay tithe either. He did not own farms or cattle. But he paid his temple tax! Paul, whose writings take up more than half of the New Testament did not collect tithe to fund his ministry! He could not because he was from the tribe of Benjamin. The closest disciple to Jesus, Peter, never collected tithe for his own ministry. He was from the tribe of Judah. But a pastor here in Nigeria, a Yoruba from, say, Ibadan, would claim he has authority to collect tithe. How absurd?

WILL A MAN ROB GOD?
Now let us come to the scripture, perhaps the most quoted and referred to on the subject of tithing, Malachi 3:8-10:
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say "wherein have we robbed thee"? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord 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.
This is the tithing pastor's most favourite passage in the whole bible. But again, they use it out of context. If you want to understand this passage, you have to read the whole of Malachi. I plead with you to read in detail.
Before we look at these verses in detail, let us look at the context, a cardinal rule in Bible study, and see specifically to whom this is written.
Malachi 1:6 …If I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name.
Verse 7: Ye [i.e. priests] offer polluted bread upon mine altar…
Verse 8: And if ye [i.e. priests] offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? (Remember the "tithe of the tithe” we discussed earlier, which was supposed to be the "best" parts --Numbers 18:25-31).
Verse 10: Who is there even among you [i.e. priests] that would shut the doors for nought? Neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. (the priests were refusing to do anything unless given gratification!) I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
Verses 11-13: …For my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye [i.e. priests] have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. Ye said also, Behold, What a weariness is it! And ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye
brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord. (again God scolding the priests for using sick and disabled animals for sacrifice and not the "best" parts as ordained.)
Malachi 2:1: And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
I could go on. You can read for yourself verses 2-13 of chapter two.
Now let us come to Malachi 3. Notice verse 3: …And he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
It is extremely clear the book of Malachi is written to the Levites and the priests of Aaron. It is an indictment for their improper practices including the way they sacrificed. The holy places were being badly run. Chapter 1 verse 10 even says the priests refuse to do anything in the temple unless they are given 'something'. Malachi wasn't addressing the Israelite nation or the tribe of Judah or you and me specifically. Since these words are in the Bible, there are lessons we can learn from them, but the truth is that Malachi was addressing the priests and Levites. Let us read verses 8-10 with the understanding now of whom they were specifically addressed.
Verses 8-9: "Will a man rob God? Yet ye [who? The priests] have robbed me. But ye [i.e. the priests] say, Wherein have we [priests] robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye [priests] are cursed with a curse, for ye [priests] have robbed me, even this whole nation". i.e. the priests have robbed God, and the whole nation. They have misled the people. Malachi 2: 7-8 will give an insight to Malachi's line of thought. "For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and men should seek instructions from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts."
And who was being cursed? Malachi 2: 1-2 already shows us
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
It seems so clear and obvious for anybody who cares to look. But how people's eyes have been covered for so long beats one's imagination!
It is very sad that this book, Malachi, has been used for a long time to con people of their money, especially chapter 3: 8-10. I think this will once and for all clear the eyes of innocent God-fearing people who have through fear, guilt, and a need to "give to God" surrender their hard-earned money to professional tithing preachers. It is a rape of the people of God.



THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE TITHE

No matter what we believe or conclude about tithing in the Old Testament, we need to see what the New Testament commands for us. What kind of bridge do we find from the Old to the New?
In all the New Testament, we find only a few verses that speak of tithing. We will look at them. We will see what the Book actually says. In addition, we will read a few verses often quoted or referred to that some feel give instruction or teach the "principle of tithing".
The first verse mentioning tithing is in Matthew 23. It is often cited as a proof that Jesus taught tithing. Let us look at verses 23-24:
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."
What is Christ doing? Is He giving instructions on tithing? It seems clear He is delivering a rather scathing indictment to the Pharisees for their omission of the weightier matters of the law. Yes, He mentions tithing. He is supporting the Levites' continuing service in the temple and acknowledges they were still receiving tithes. Note that He also mentioned specific agricultural products, not money, but we find no instructions here, directed to you or me, regarding what we should be doing. We must look further.
To educate our readers better, mint, anise and cummin are food substances.
These are the dictionary meanings:
mint (PLANT): a herb whose leaves have a strong fresh smell and taste and are used for giving flavour to food:
e.g. - mint-flavoured gum/toothpaste/sweets
anise: a Mediterranean plant with small yellowish white flowers and seeds that taste of liquorice, used for flavouring food and drink
Cummin: Hebrew: kammon; i.e., a "condiment"
the fruit or seed of an umbelliferous plant, the Cuminum sativum, still extensively cultivated in the East.
Jesus here was indicting the Pharisees for demanding tithes for even the smallest of food items! Like demanding tithes on maggi cubes and curry etc. They were stretching the laws to ridiculous extents, ignoring more important issues! But note that Jesus mentioned only food substances.
Luke 11:42 is a parallel account to the scriptures we just read in Matthew. We do not find any specific instructions pertaining to the subject here, either.
The next passage that mentions tithing is found in Luke 18. Christ is giving a parable, beginning in verse 9, about two men going up to the temple to pray. Notice what the point of the parable is.
"He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others". Jesus is here addressing a self-righteous attitude, and He specifically uses the Pharisee as an example.
"Two men went up into the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all I get.’ But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted" (Luke 18:10-14).
Which one was justified before God, the tither or the non-tither?
Verse 12: I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess. If this man were fasting two times a week, it was because he felt these actions made him righteous. Nowhere will we find a command to do this. Likewise, if he were giving tithes of all he possessed, he felt this was the way to be righteous.
Remember the law stated the tithe was on agricultural products. Why was he doing more than the law? Again, it was because he thought doing more made him more righteous. He "trusted in himself that he was righteous," but we see that he also despised others, which was the point Christ was making in this parable.
Jesus does not give us any command regarding tithing here. This contains absolutely no instruction about tithing. What we are given is a valuable lesson and warning regarding self-righteousness, of adding to what is commanded in an attempt to be more righteous.

Tithes Are ‘Corban’
"He was also saying to them, 'You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honour your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death’; but you say, ‘If a man says to his father, anything of mine you might have been helped by is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many such things as that'" (Mark 7:9-13).
If you have money your family needs, but you withhold it from them in order to pay it to the church as ‘tithes’, you are doing exactly what the Pharisees did. You are saying your money is "Corban" and Jesus taught that by doing so you were invalidating the Word of God.

Under A Curse
We do not live under the Law; we live under the grace provided in Jesus Christ. If you choose to submit yourself to even part of the Law of Moses, you have a problem.
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth,? 2This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 5Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?--
"For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them'" 11But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." 12Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them."
13Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), (Galatians 3: 1-5; 10-13)
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5: 2-6)
If you choose to place yourself under the works of the Law, you are under a curse for the simple reason that you cannot keep the Law of Moses. Your fallen, sinful nature will see to that. The lesson is clear. Christians who go back to the Mosaic law fall from grace.

The First Church Council
In the early church, there were those who tried to force the Gentile Christians to live under the Law. A dispute arose which quickly lead to the first ever church council.
"And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.' And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. And when they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them…. But certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, stood up, saying, 'It is necessary to circumcise them, and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses'…… And after they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, 'Brethren, listen to me. It is my judgment that we do not trouble these who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood'" (Acts 15:1-2, 4-5, 13, 19-20).
The question being answered by this council (v.5) is:
Do Christians have to observe the Law of Moses (which, of course, includes tithing)?
What was the answer? They were given four instructions.
Abstain from:
• things contaminated with idols,
• fornication,
• what is strangled, and
• blood.
Where does tithing come on the list?
Nowhere! The first ever Church Council decided that Christians are NOT required to tithe.
Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself never paid or demanded tithe either! But He paid the 'temple tax'! . (Matthew 17: 24-27)
When challenged why He didn't pay the 'temple tax', He initially claimed immunity as "staff" ( like military men do in public transport), but on second thoughts, He knew He had an obligation to support the running of the temple, and even though He was broke, He made efforts to raise the money for Himself and Peter. Notice that He paid the exact amount, no more, no less. This, as I have highlighted earlier, is how the Bible stipulates that the running of the temple should be financed. Church leaders should take a cue from this example from our Lord. They can calculate the equivalent of half a shekel today and levy their followers. That will pass the biblical litmus test. Some liberal denominations are already doing something similar in form of the 'annual church dues'!
Jesus and his disciples were supported by private funds from those who believed in his mission. Jesus was not a Levitical Priest and he could not legally receive tithe. The Book of Hebrews makes a major point of this. "It is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood" (Hebrews 7:14). Christ had to use personal monies for his work—not tithe.
Indeed, the matter of using free will offerings was insisted upon by our Lord. When Christ sent out the seventy, they were told:
"Go your way: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes , and in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire , and into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you , he that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me."• Luke 10:3–16
Many modern preachers will feel very sad if they are told to follow these instructions of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At this early date in the ministry of Christ, the disciples were informed by Christ to take only that which was set before them. They were also instructed not to worry about operating some kind of major organization that depended on great quantities of money in doing the work. No large institution was then needed. The criterion that guided the mission of Christ in the matter of finances can be best summed up by Christ’s own words: "Freely have ye received, freely give" (Matthew 10:. To the materialistic mind, however, it would seem ludicrous to imagine that any kind of work could function under such a system of "free offerings." Yet the church that Christ established operated quite effectively in accordance with such a principle. True enough, no gigantic religious organization evolved among the apostles as a result of this procedure, but strange as it may seem, the whole Roman world came to know what the Gospel was all about in a powerful way and (comparatively) it took so little time to do it. The work was done on faith, supported by the free will contributions of God’s people.
Tithing: The Curse Of The ‘Kings’
"And [Samuel] said, 'This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. And he will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants. He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys, and use them for his work. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourself will become his servants. Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day'" (1 Samuel 8:11-18).
When you submit yourself to the spiritual authority of a man (no matter whether he is called the King, the General Overseer, Archbishop, or the National Superintendent), instead of to God, you will end up:
• Paying him tithes,
• Being a virtual slave to him, his family and his organisation, and
• Having God ignore your prayers.
[God cannot answer you, for you have placed your faith in a man. If He answered your prayers, He would be reinforcing your confidence in the flesh. ]

GIVING TO GOD!! What does it really mean?
Let us see what the Bible says. Infact our Lord Jesus Christ has told us.
This is a sure way that no one who is a Christian and loves the New Testament teaching can argue with. The teaching comes from Jesus Christ himself. Christ told people this certain way to give things DIRECTLY to Him,
"When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats , then shall the King say unto them on the right hand, Come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and ye gave me food: I was thirsty and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked and ye clothed me: I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and ye came unto me."• Matthew 25:31–40
Christ went on to say that the righteous might be puzzled over this, because none of them ever gave Christ these things personally. But Christ went on to say: If you have "done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, YE HAVE DONE IT UNTO ME" (Matthew 25:40).
There we have it! This is the assured manner to give something directly to Christ. If you help out the unfortunate brother or sister in Christ, you have given something directly to Christ. "Ye have done it unto me."
So, if a minister says that one is robbing God by not tithing (and one still feels constrained to believe him), then the person can simply give a tenth of his income to any brother or sister in need and he will know it has gone directly to Christ. One would not be "robbing" God any longer. A person does not have to give money (even tithe) to a minister or a church organization in order to give something to Christ. That’s what Christ said and it seems reasonable for Christians to believe it. If you have "done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, YE HAVE DONE IT UNTO ME"
If we are practicing what Christ said and are giving and sharing of that we have been given stewardship, then we are giving to Christ, our Lord. We need to search the Scriptures. We should study what Christ and the apostles had to say about finances, wealth, abundance, money, "filthy riches", treasures, covetousness and the love of money. Tithing has nothing to do with being a Christian. Spiritual abusers have used tithing as a method of squeezing God's people dry. Don't be fooled again!
And now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be all glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

kunle oshob and akered , are you guys from the word circle ?

@akered
Couldn't have summed it up better but tithing is largely "fear-driven" so,

rmx:

kunle oshob and akered , are you guys from the word circle ?

What is word circle i am not from from word circle or any other christian group or movement. All my submissions are base on my personally studies of the bible and spirit led revelations of the true gospel of our lord Jesus christ which has been terribly bastardized by our so called christian leaders of today.

akered , that was one of the best break downs ive seen for the tithing debate, thx for posting!!

Both are mutually exclusive and do have their place

Unrighteous judges, how is d affairs in churches ur business? If u are a give give and dont border others, hw many ppl hv u been able 2impact on even ur immdiate family. The politicians who embezzled u what hv u said 2them?

Tithing when, how much and to who.
Deuteronomy 14:22-27New American Standard Bible (NASB)
22 “You shall surely tithe all the produce from [a]what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. 23 You shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 If the [b]distance is so great for you that you are not able to [c]bring the tithe, since the place where the Lord your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the Lord your God blesses you, 25 then you shall [d]exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 You may spend the money for whatever your [e]heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your [f]heart [g]desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your [h]town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.
OK, Scholars give your best interpretation of this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5pohoxXcV0





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycWX105K1rU