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Introduction
Prerequisite #1
Prerequisite #2
Prerequisite #3
Genesis - Abraham
Genesis - Jacob
Levitical Tithe - Background
The Levitical Tithe
The Levites
Malachi - Robbing God
The Other Tithes
Church History of Tithing
Summary
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THE LEVITICAL TITHE (THE LORD'S TITHE)
It is in the Book of Leviticus that we find where the church has patterned their teaching of tithing today.
Leviticus 27:30-34 (KJV)
30And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.
31And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.
32And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
33He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
34These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Now let's take one verse at a time and determine whether the tithe was on income or assets.
30And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.
The grain from the soil or fruit from the trees would be, by definition, classified as assets. The sale or exchange of these items would result in income.
32And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
The animals tithed are also, by definition, classifed as assets. The sale or exchange of the animals would result in income.
Therefore, it is plain to see, by definition, not interpretation, God's command to tithe was on assets, not income. I have already shown that they had money, income, and markets to buy and sell.
Notice also that the tithe was a tenth of the crops, not the first tenth, and that it was on every tenth animal that passed under the shepherd's rod, not the first. Nowhere in the scriptures did God ever command tithing to be on the first ten percent.
My research reveals that in the nineteenth century, church leaders were saying that the crops and animals was the income of the Israelites. That was a false premise that led to the false conclusion that Israelites tithed on their income. There is no example in the scriptures where God required anyone to tithe on income.
To make matters worse, the assets that God required to be tithed came from God, not man. The crops and animals were miracles of God, not from the labor of man. God wasn't commanding to pay back to Him a tenth of what man created or earned. The false conclusion that tithing was on income resulted in a complete misunderstanding of what God's tithe was all about.
Church leaders have essentially diluted the tithe from God's miracles to man's achievements. In other words, in the tithing formula, man has replaced God with himself!
In the Book of Numbers, chapter 18, that we find the ordinance of tithing. To learn more, study the entire chapter.
Numbers 18:23-28 (KJV)
23But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.
24But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
25And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
26Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.
27And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.
28Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD'S heave offering to Aaron the priest.
So the tithes were paid to The Lord, and The Lord gave the tithes to the Levites, who in turn, would have no inheritance; they could not own any land.
Nehemiah 10:37-38 (KJV)
37And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.
38And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.
In Nehemiah 10:37 we learn that the firstfruits were taken to the temple for the priests, and the tithes were taken to the Levites who lived in the Levitical cities. Therefore, it has been established that firstfruits have nothing to do with the tithe.
In Nehemiah 10:38 we learn that the Levites would take a tithe of the tithe to the temple. It is this tithe, the tithe from the Levites, that went to the storehouse, not the tithe from the people. This is important to remember when we study Malachi 3:10.
Now let's continue to The Levites by clicking here.
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