tithes

Tithes & Offerings
by R.L.Sabine

Old Testament Scripture on Titheing
Genesis 14:18-24
Leviticus 27:30-34
Deuteronomy 12:11,14:22-29, 26:1-15
Malachi 3:6-10

Genesis 14:17-20
17After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,19and he blessed Abram, saying,

"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20And blessed be God Most High, who
delivered your enemies into your hand."

Then Abram gave him a tenth of every- thing .

Abram's giving a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek, the king of Salem is the first reference to titheing found in the Scriptures. We have no previous reference as to practice or instruction from God or man.

It is interesting that when Melchizedek came out to bless Abram, he came with bread and wine. I suggest that there is a tie between the bread and wine and the tithe that Abram made. This may have to wait until we address New Testament scripture to properly make this connection.

God establishes the tithe by commandment with hard and fast rules or instructions.

Leviticus 27:30-34
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. 31If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it.
32The entire tithe of the herd and flock- every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod-will be holy to the Lord. 33He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.'"

Deuteronomy 12:11
11Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name-there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord.

Deuteronomy 14:22-29
22Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23Eat 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. 24But 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), 25then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the your God will choose. 26Use 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. 27And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
28At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, 29so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows sho live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Malachi 3:6-10
6"I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty.
"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
8"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me. 10Bring 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 heaver and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION(R). Copyright(C) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the written permission of International Bible Society.