Vivid Christianity
Teaching Christians how to live a "vivid" Christian life.


Christians Are Not Required to Pay Tithes


by Dave Root, VividChristianity.com, last modified on 07/06/2024.


Introduction

Tithing (giving 10% of the increase of one's fields and flocks) was required for the Jews under the Old Covenant.

The Greek and Hebrew words for "tithe" literally mean "tenth" (Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary), so the basic meaning of tithing involves giving 10% of something. Therefore, if I choose to give 10% of my paycheck to my church then I have given a "tithe" according to the definition of that word.

However, many churches teach that Christians are commanded to tithe 10% of our paychecks to our local church, and if we don't pay our tithes then we're robbing God.

In order to determine whether or not Christians are commanded or required to pay tithes, we'll study everything that the Bible says about tithing, trying to be thorough, objective, and unbiased so that we see the full picture (for the reasons why, see my article called How to Study the Bible).

What we're going to see is that the modern form of tithing taught in churches is a complete fiction that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible.

If everything at my website (VividChristianity.com), including this article, says what God wants it to say then He will confirm that for you by doing a miracle. See my home page for the details.


God's Covenants

A covenant is essentially a contract between two parties, such as between God and humans. For example, when I lived in an apartment in Seattle, I had a contract with the apartment management there. No one else in the world was required to obey that contract, and no one else in the world could violate that contract. Before I moved back to Houston, I fulfilled the obligations of my old contract in Seattle, and that contract was canceled. Neither I nor the management in Seattle are required to obey the terms of that old contract anymore, and we can't break or violate the terms of that old contract. I now have a new contract with my apartment management in Houston. The analogy is that the Old Covenant has been completely canceled (see my series below), and Christians are under the New Covenant.

It's very important to understand how God's covenants (contracts) work because throughout human history, God has made a total of nine different covenants with people, some of which are still in force to this day and affect every person on earth. All nine covenants are explained in detail in my series called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments.

When God gives commands to people under a particular covenant, those commands do not apply to people who are not under that covenant. Remember, my apartment contract only applies to me and the apartment management. It would be completely wrong to assume that my apartment contract applies to anyone else. This is a very important issue to understand because many Christians have formed wrong conclusions by assuming that the commands in a particular covenant apply to people who were not under that covenant. For example, the Old Covenant was specifically between God and the Jews (Exodus 19:3-6). All of the non-Jews (Gentiles) during that time were not under the Old Covenant and therefore they were not required to obey the Ten Commandments or any of the other commands in that covenant unless they converted to Judaism or were servants of Jews (Exodus 12:43-49, 20:10).

Recall that shortly after Moses led the Jews out of bondage in Egypt, God made a contract with them, which we refer to as the Old Covenant. This covenant contained 613 commands that are collectively referred to in the Bible as the Law of Moses (Judaism 101 - A List of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments) Offsite Link). When Jesus died on the cross, He had fulfilled the old contract (the Old Covenant) and completely canceled it, and He initiated a new contract (the New Covenant). This is essentially the same as when my old apartment contract in Seattle was fulfilled and canceled, and my new apartment contract in Houston began. The Old Covenant and the Law of Moses were completely canceled when Jesus died, so after the cross, no one is required to obey any of the 613 commands in the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses, and no one is able to sin by breaking or violating any of those 613 commands (such as the Ten Commandments, the tithing laws, the kosher dietary laws, or the Sabbath laws). This is explained in detail in my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three.

When we read any passages in the Bible before the cross, it's extremely important to discern which contract (covenant) applies to those passages, otherwise we're in danger of misunderstanding and misapplying those passages.


Why Do Pastors Teach Tithing?

For the past few weeks (in late 2022), God has been sending me (see my article called How to Discern God's Guidance) to specific church services in different denominations. At each of these services in different churches, the pastors made a big issue of tithing, trying to encourage their members to bring the first 10% of every paycheck to their church. In every case, every passage that they used in support of tithing was from the Old Covenant (or related to Abraham), which shows that pastors in different denominations don't seem to understand that the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses were fulfilled and completely canceled at the cross. As we've seen, no one today is required to obey any of the 613 commands in the Old Covenant (such as the Ten Commandments, the tithing laws, the kosher dietary laws, or the Sabbath laws). What we're going to see is that there are no commands in the New Testament for Christians to pay tithes, and there are no examples in the New Testament of any Christians paying tithes, and there are no examples in the New Testament of any Christians being chastised for not paying tithes. The modern form of tithing taught in churches is a complete fiction that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible as we'll see.

It's likely that your church takes up tithes and offerings, which means that they believe Christians should be tithing. Here are some of the arguments for tithing that you'll probably hear:

  • Pastors often say that the tithe belongs to the Lord, and therefore we need to be paying our 10% tithe from every paycheck to our church. This comes from Leviticus 27:30, which was in the Old Covenant and therefore does not apply to anyone today:

    "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." (Leviticus 27:30)
    Remember, when we read any passages in the Bible before the cross, it's extremely important to discern which contract (covenant) applies to those passages, otherwise we're in danger of misunderstanding and misapplying those passages. This is explained in detail in my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three, so you might want to read that article before this one in order to have a solid understanding that the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses were fulfilled and completely canceled at the cross.

  • Pastors often say that if we don't bring our 10% tithe from every paycheck into "the storehouse" (which they say is our church) then we're robbing God, and they say that if we properly bring our whole tithe to our church then God will greatly bless us. This comes from Malachi 3:8-10, which was in the Old Covenant and therefore does not apply to anyone today:

    ""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."" (Malachi 3:8-10)
    As we'll see later in this article, people who believe in tithing have completely misunderstood what the above passage says.

  • Sometimes pastors say that tithing is not just an Old Testament requirement, it's also a New Testament requirement because Jesus told some people that they were doing the right thing by giving their 10% tithes:

    [Jesus is speaking:] "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." (Matthew 23:23)

    [Jesus is speaking:] "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone." (Luke 11:42)
    Consider that in Acts 9:10-12, Jesus told a Christian named Ananias to lay hands on Saul of Tarsus to heal him. Since Jesus told a Christian to do that, does this automatically mean that all Christians must lay hands on Saul to heal him? In Acts 16:9-10, Jesus told the apostle Paul and his companions to go preach the Gospel in Macedonia. Since Jesus told Christians to do that, does this automatically mean that all Christians must go preach the Gospel in Macedonia? In Matthew 17:27, Jesus told the apostle Peter to catch a fish and take the coin from its mouth to pay their taxes. Since Jesus told an apostle to do that, does this automatically mean that all Christians must catch fish to get coins from their mouths for paying our taxes? The answer to these questions is clearly no, which shows that just because we see something in the Bible, or just because Jesus told people to do something, this does not automatically mean that those are commands for all Christians to follow. As my article called How to Study the Bible shows, we need to do our best to see the full picture of each doctrine or topic in the New Testament in order to understand what God wants us to believe and to do.

    Jesus and all other Jews were required to obey all 613 commands in the Old Covenant up until it was canceled at the cross. This is why Jesus said in the above passages that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were doing the right thing by giving their tithes, because they were required to give tithes under the Old Covenant. Jesus' statements in the above passages do not apply to anyone today because the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses have been completely canceled.

  • Pastors often say that our tithes need to come from the best of what we receive, and that our tithes need to be given from the first of our paychecks (not from whatever is left over at the end of the month).

    The idea of giving from the best comes from this passage and any similar passages, all of which were in the Old Covenant and therefore do not apply to anyone today:

    "You must present as the LORD's portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you." (Numbers 18:29)
    The idea of tithing from the first of our paychecks (before we pay bills or buy anything with each paycheck) comes from passages about giving the firstfruits from the fields and the firstborn from the flocks, which were all in the Old Covenant and therefore do not apply to anyone today:
    "Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." (Proverbs 3:9-10)

    "And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. At that time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites." (Nehemiah 12:43-44)

    "But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks." (Deuteronomy 12:5-6)
    As we'll see, under the New Covenant there's no such thing as a principle of giving our firstfruits to God, or tithing from the first or best of everything we receive.

  • Pastors sometimes say that Abraham (our spiritual father - Galatians 3:7) paid a tithe to a priest-king named Melchizedek (who was a "type" or "foreshadowing" of Jesus), and therefore Christians need to follow Abraham's example by paying our tithes to our church.

    We'll examine those passages about Abraham in a moment and we'll see that they do not support the idea that Christians need to pay tithes.

  • Pastors often give emotional testimonials of people who tithe and received great blessings from God. However, these pastors are just assuming that the blessings those people received were directly the result of their obedience in tithing. Since there are no commands whatsoever for Christians to tithe as we'll see, there's no such thing as being obedient in tithing. Later in this article we'll see that giving generously is a big issue under the New Covenant, so if Christians give 10% of their paychecks to their church then they're giving generously. God blesses people for giving generously as we'll see, but the problem is that pastors are teaching that God blesses people for paying their required tithes, which is completely wrong.


Again, the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses were completely fulfilled and canceled at the cross, but pastors in different denominations don't seem to understand this (even though the apostle Paul repeatedly said it in different ways - see my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three). What we're going to see is that there are no commands in the New Testament for Christians to pay tithes, and there are no examples in the New Testament of any Christians paying tithes, and there are no examples in the New Testament of any Christians being chastised for not paying tithes. The modern form of tithing taught in churches is a complete fiction that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible.


Tithing Passages outside of the Law of Moses

Here's every passage that mentions tithing before the Law of Moses began and after it ended at the cross:
"After 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). Then Melchizedek 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. The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself." But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me - to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share."" (Genesis 14:17-24)

"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)

"where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people - that is, their brothers - even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor. If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come - one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law." (Hebrews 6:20-7:12)
The above passages are the only places in the Bible where tithing is mentioned before the Law of Moses began or after it ended at the cross.

Genesis 28:20-22 (above) describes Jacob vowing to give God a tenth, and we'll examine this passage later in this article.

The other two passages describe a man named Abram tithing to a priest-king named Melchizedek (Abram's name was changed to Abraham in Genesis 17:5). Since Abraham is our spiritual father (Galatians 3:7), and since he paid a tithe to a priest-king, does this imply that Christians should pay tithes as well?

In order to answer this question, we need to find out why Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek.


Why Did Abraham Pay a Tithe to Melchizedek?

First, who was Melchizedek? Some people believe that he was Noah's son Shem (for example, see these Google search results Offsite Link). Some people believe that he was a pagan priest-king who did not worship the Lord (for a detailed discussion, see chapter 2 at Should the Church Teach Tithing? Offsite Link). Some people believe that he was a priest who did worship the Lord (for example, see these Google search results Offsite Link). Some people believe that he was an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ (for example, see these Google search results Offsite Link). Some people believe that he was an angel (for example, see these Google search results Offsite Link).

Christians have various reasons to support their views about who Melchizedek was, but there isn't much evidence in Scripture about him. However, even without knowing anything about Melchizedek, we'll see that Abraham's tithe does not justify the fictional doctrine of "Christian tithing."

Concerning Abraham, there are no Scripture passages which say that God told him to pay a tithe. There are no Scripture passages which say that anybody at that time had the custom of tithing to God (the tithing commands in the Law of Moses weren't given until four centuries later - Galatians 3:16-17). There are no Scripture passages which say that Abraham ever tithed before or after he tithed to Melchizedek. There are no Scripture passages which prove that Abraham was tithing to God through Melchizedek (there's a different reason why Abraham tithed as we'll see in a moment). Throughout the entire Bible, there's not a shred of scriptural evidence about Abraham that justifies a doctrine of "Christian tithing."

So why did Abraham pay a tithe to Melchizedek? It turns out that throughout history, people in many different cultures had the custom of paying a tithe from the spoils of war that they won in battle. Here are some examples:
"In the same manner the Greeks too, the Carthaginians, and the Romans devoted a tenth portion of the spoils of war to their deities." (On the Acquisition of Territory and Property by Right of Conquest Offsite Link, emphasis added)

"The Greek League against Persia, founded in 481 vows a tenth of the spoils of war to the shrine (7:132), and this happens, after Salamis and Plataea." (Herodotus on Greek Religion Offsite Link, emphasis added)

"During the twelfth century, evidence points clearly to the growing significance of warfare in the life of the towns, especially in Portugal, Leon, Castile and Aragon. Precise indications of this development are demonstrated in the increasing concern demonstrated by the makers of the municipal charters in three areas closely related to booty. The first is the royal demand to collect the one-fifth tax on the spoils of war, a tax the Christian rulers inherited from the Muslim practice of laying aside a portion of the gains of the jihad for Allah." (Spoils and Compensations Offsite Link, emphasis added)

"For his courageous role in helping to take the Volscian town of Corioli, Caius Marcius, declining to accept one-tenth of the spoils, was named Coriolanus" (Roman Expansion to 133 BC Offsite Link, emphasis added)

"In the days of Abu Bakr much wealth came to the state on account of the spoils of war. The movable property won as booty on the battlefield was known as "Ghanimah". Four-fifth of the spoils of war was immediately distributed among the soldiers who had taken part in the battle. The remaining one-fifth went to the State. The State's one-fifth share was further divided into three parts. One part went to the family of the Holy Prophet, one part went to the Caliph, and one part was spent for welfare purposes." (Political, Social, Economic and Military Organization Offsite Link, emphasis added)

"Tithes: a form of taxation, secular and ecclesiastical, usually, as the name implies, consisting of one-tenth of a man's property or produce. The tax probably originated in a tribute levied by a conqueror or ruler upon his subjects, and perhaps the custom of dedicating a tenth of the spoils of war to the gods led to the religious extension of the term, the original offerings to deity being "firstfruits." The custom was almost universal in antiquity; for Greece and Rome see Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopadie, iv. 2306, 2423; for Babylon, M. Jastrow, Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, p. 668; for China, J. Legge, Chinese Classics, i. 119; for Egypt, G. Maspero, Struggle of Nations, p. 312.1 The general notion of tax or tribute often prevailed over that of "the tenth" part, so that in Dion Halicarnassus (i. 23) and Philo (De mutat. nom. i. 607) airapxai and bErc circa are synonymous, and in Mahommedan law the "tithe" is sometimes only - 0 th or - T o th." (1911 Encyclopedia Britannica Offsite Link, emphasis added)

"To maintain a warband a lord needed a constant supply of commodities to support the warriors and gold and silver to give out as gifts. There were two ways in which these could be obtained. If the warband were strong enough they could raid neighbouring regions and either force them to yield tribute or just carry off valuables. Cattle were a particular target of this activity, because of the relative ease of driving them from one area to another. Since raids would often lead to battles, another type of booty would be the wargear of vanquished opponents. The pillaging of the dead is frequently mentioned in poetry; Ongentheow's body is stripped of his sword and helmet (Beowulf line 2986) and a Viking warrior attacks Byrhtnoth with the intention of taking his sword, armour and rings (Battle of Maldon line 160). It is not clear how these spoils of war would be divided, but it is likely that the majority would have been distributed among the participants in the raid with a proportion being retained by the lord." (The Social Context of Warfare in Anglo-Saxon England Offsite Link, emphasis added)

"The inscription on the base reads: "The Messenians and Naupactians dedicated this to Olympian Zeus, a tithe from the spoils of war. Paionios of Mende made this, and was victor [in the competition] to make the akroteria for the temple"." (The Nike of Paionios Offsite Link, emphasis added)

"Through the spoils of war, Edward was able to refill the bankrupt treasury. Heavily ransomed prisoners, brought fortunes in gold coin to their noble captors - who, in turn, paid a handsome tithe to the King." (Edward III: King of Illusions Offsite Link, emphasis added)

"It was traditional to give the Byzantine Government a set percentage of the spoils of war." (Chapter III: Eastern Expansion Offsite Link, emphasis added)
So throughout history, people in many different cultures had the custom of paying a tithe from the spoils of war that they won in battle (Numbers 31:25-30 shows a spoils of war tribute, for example). The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (above) says that tithing on the spoils of war was almost a universal custom.

With this in mind, go back and look at Genesis 14:17-24 and Hebrews 6:20-7:12 again. Notice that Abraham defeated Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, and therefore the spoils of war rightfully belonged to Abraham. Next we see Abraham paying a tithe to a local priest-king (Melchizedek) from the spoils of war. The Bible never says that Abraham had a custom of tithing to God because these are the only passages that show Abraham tithing. Instead, the Bible shows Abraham paying a one-time spoils of war tithe to a local priest-king, which was a common practice throughout history.

When I was a tither, I believed that Abraham had tithed on his increase (the spoils of war), just as Christians today are taught to tithe on our increase (our paychecks). But in Genesis 14:21-24 (above), notice that Abraham did not accept any spoils of war for himself. This means that Abraham didn't view the spoils of war as an increase to his personal wealth. So when Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek, Abraham was not following a principle of tithing on his increase.

Furthermore, we'll see that Abraham became a wealthy man, yet we can't show any place in Scripture which says that he ever tithed on the increase as his wealth grew.


Was Abraham Ever Influenced by the Customs of His Day?

Some people argue that Abraham was a man of great faith in God, and therefore he would not have been influenced by people who did not worship the one true God. According to this argument, it's unlikely that Abraham would have followed the secular customs of his day by paying tithes on the spoils of war. Rather, it's more likely that he was paying his tithe to God. Therefore, we should pay our tithes to God as well, according to this argument.

Certainly it's true that Abraham had great faith in God, but this argument is based on an assumption about what Abraham would or would not have done. To see why this is a false assumption, let's look at what Abraham actually did.

First, notice that Abraham (originally known as "Abram") was a devout believer in God:
"The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD." (Genesis 12:1-8)
Abraham and his wife Sarah (originally known as "Sarai") traveled to Egypt:
"Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe." (Genesis 12:10)
At this point, Abraham was already a devout believer in God (Genesis 12:1-8, above), but notice what he did when they arrived in Egypt:
"As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!"" (Genesis 12:11-19)
Notice that Abraham was afraid for his life in Egypt because Sarah was so beautiful. Rather than trusting in God, Abraham deceived Pharaoh by saying that Sarah was his sister, which resulted in Sarah being taken to become Pharaoh's wife (Sarah actually was Abraham's step-sister (Genesis 20:12), but this doesn't change the fact that he deceived Pharaoh). In this incident, Abraham was swayed by concerns for his personal safety (instead of trusting his life in God's hands) based on his knowledge of the local customs in Egypt where the will of Pharaoh was law. As the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary puts it, Abraham's deception "showed a reliance on worldly policy more than a trust in the promise" (Genesis 12:11-13, emphasis added). This commentary also says that "Eastern kings have for ages claimed the privilege of taking to their harem an unmarried woman whom they like. The father or brother may deplore the removal as a calamity, but the royal right is never resisted nor questioned" (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Genesis 12:15, emphasis added). Abraham is not shown resisting this secular royal custom, and Sarah was taken to become Pharaoh's wife. Fortunately, God intervened.

Notice in Genesis 12:16 (above) that Abraham's wealth increased, yet we don't see Abraham paying any tithes. In every case where Abraham's personal wealth increased in the Bible, Abraham is never shown tithing on his increase. There's not a shred of scriptural evidence that Abraham ever followed a principle of tithing on his increase.

Here's another example of Abraham being swayed by the customs of his day. God had promised Abraham that he would have a son, but Abraham assumed that one of his servants would become his heir according to the customs of the time:
"After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."" (Genesis 15:1-3)
As the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary puts it, "According to the usage of nomadic tribes, his chief confidential servant, would be heir to his possessions and honors" (Genesis 15:3, emphasis added). We can see that Abraham intended to follow the local customs concerning an heir, and therefore it's wrong to argue that Abraham would not have been influenced by the secular customs of his day.

Instead of trusting God, Abraham was persuaded by Sarah to take Hagar (Sarah's slave girl) as his wife according to the customs of the time:
"Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress." (Genesis 16:1-4)
As the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary puts it, ""Wife" is here used to describe an inferior, though not degrading, relation, in countries where polygamy prevails" (Genesis 16:3, emphasis added). Abraham followed the local custom of polygamy, and therefore it's wrong to argue that Abraham would not have been influenced by the secular customs of his day.

When Sarah died, Abraham followed the common practice concerning mourning:
"Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites." (Genesis 23:1-3)
As the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary puts it, "He came from his own tent to take his station at the door of Sarah's. The "mourning" describes his conformity to the customary usage of sitting on the ground for a time" (Genesis 23:2, emphasis added). Abraham followed the local mourning customs, and therefore it's wrong to argue that Abraham would not have been influenced by the secular customs of his day.

We've seen that tithing on the spoils of war was practically a universal custom, and we've seen that Abraham followed various secular customs of his time. All of the evidence is consistent with Abraham paying a one-time spoils of war tithe, and there's no evidence that Abraham ever tithed on his increase (as Christians today are taught to do in many churches). Abraham's spoils of war tithe does not justify any form of tithing by Christians.


Hebrews 6:20-7:12

In the New Testament, the author of the letter to the Hebrews confirms for us that Abraham tithed from the plunder, not from his personal wealth:
"Just think how great he [Melchizedek] was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!" (Hebrews 7:4)
So Abraham specifically gave a plunder tithe or a spoils of war tithe to a local priest-king named Melchizedek. If Christians win some plunder by defeating an enemy in battle, then perhaps it might be acceptable for them to follow Abraham's example by tithing 10% from their spoils of war. But beyond that unlikely scenario, Abraham's one-time spoils of war tithe has no similarity to the way that Christians are taught to tithe today.

People who believe in tithing will usually teach (as I did before I began this study) that we should tithe one-tenth of our personal income to our church, based in large part on the example of Abraham's tithe to Melchizedek. But Abraham is never recorded as tithing any of his personal property or his personal possessions or his personal money or anything that he owned. Therefore, comparing ongoing Christian tithing of our personal income with Abraham's one-time tithe of the spoils of war is not comparing apples to apples. Abraham's tithe does not justify "Christian tithing."

Now let's look at what the author of Hebrews wrote concerning Abraham's tithe:
"where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people - that is, their brothers - even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor. If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest [Jesus] to come - one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law." (Hebrews 6:20-7:12)
In the entire New Testament, this is the only passage after the cross that says anything about tithing, so let's look carefully at what this passage says and what it doesn't say. There are no commands here for Christians to pay any kind of tithes, and there are no examples here of any Christians paying tithes. In fact, this is not even a passage on tithing, but instead it describes the high priestly office of Christ using Melchizedek as a "type" or a "foreshadowing" of Jesus.

Sometimes people argue that all of Abraham's descendants (including Christians in a spiritual sense) should pay tithes since Levi is mentioned as paying a tenth through his ancestor Abraham (Hebrews 7:9-10, above). But what they're missing is that the author of Hebrews was not referring to all of Abraham's descendants, he was specifically referring to Levi the priest and his descendants (Hebrews 7:5, above). His point was that the Levitical priesthood came to an end through Jesus (Hebrews 7:11-12, above).

This passage is not trying to teach anything about "Christian tithing," nor does it command anyone to pay tithes, nor does it give any examples of Christians paying any tithes. It doesn't justify "Christian tithing." As we'll see throughout this article, the concept of "Christian tithing" is a complete fiction that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible.


Jacob's Bargain with God

We've now looked at two of the three passages that mention tithing outside of the Law of Moses, and we've seen that they have no bearing on "Christian tithing." The only other passage is Genesis 28:20-22:
"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)
Here we see Jacob promising to give a tenth of his increase to God, but this promise is conditional. Jacob tried to bargain with God by setting certain conditions in which God must first bless Jacob, which is hardly a good example for Christians to follow. There's not a shred of scriptural evidence that God ever required or commanded Jacob to pay a tithe, and there's not a shred of scriptural evidence that God commanded anyone to pay any tithes before the Law of Moses began or after it ended. There are no Scripture passages which say that anybody in Jacob's time had the custom of tithing to God (remember, the Law of Moses had not yet been initiated). There are no Scripture passages which say that Jacob ever tithed at any time before or after he made this vow. There are no Scripture passages in the New Testament that use Jacob's vow as an example for Christian tithing. In other words, there's not a shred of scriptural evidence concerning Jacob's vow that supports the fictional doctrine of "Christian tithing."


The Jerusalem Council

After the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), many Jews put their faith in Jesus as the Messiah, but it wasn't until Acts 10:1-11:18 that the first Gentiles (non-Jews) converted to Christianity. There was a certain amount of friction when the Gentiles started coming into the church because some of the Jews felt that the Gentiles needed to follow the Law of Moses. In Acts 15, the apostles and elders in Jerusalem met to consider this issue, and they wrote a letter to the Gentiles:
"Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul - men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell." (Acts 15:22-29)
The Jews were familiar with tithing to God because before the cross they had grown up under the Law of Moses, which commanded them to pay tithes (in a moment we'll look at all of the tithing passages in the Law of Moses). The Gentiles, on the other hand, were not familiar with tithing to God because they were never required to follow the Law of Moses (see my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three). So if the Gentile Christians needed to pay tithes then this letter to the Gentiles from the Jewish apostles and elders would have been a perfect time to urge the Gentiles to pay tithes. Yet the apostles and the elders of the church did not say anything at all to the Gentiles about tithing. In fact, none of the books of the New Testament say that Christians need to pay any tithes.

The weight of scriptural evidence shows that tithing is not a New Testament requirement for Christians. The concept of "Christian tithing" is a complete fiction. It's nothing more than a human invention that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible.


Did the Israelites Use Money?

We've now looked at all of the passages that mention tithing outside of the Law of Moses, and we've seen that they have no bearing on "Christian tithing."

Before we look at all of the tithing passages in the Law of Moses, let's first determine whether or not the Israelites ever used money. It's easy to assume that the ancient Israelites were an agricultural people who were not very familiar with using money, but it turns out that money was in common use hundreds of years before the time of Moses.

According to Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary, the Hebrew word keseph means:
"silver (from its pale color); by implication money: - money, price, silver (-ling)" (emphasis added)
The first place where tithing is commanded in the Bible is in Leviticus 27:30-32 (under the Law of Moses). Abraham lived centuries before the Law began (Galatians 3:16-17), and there are numerous passages that refer to the use of money from the time of Abraham up until the first tithing commandment was given by God, as in these examples:
"For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money [keseph] from a foreigner - those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money [keseph], they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant." (Genesis 17:12-13)

"To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver [keseph]. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated."" (Genesis 20:16)

"and he said to Ephron in their hearing, "Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price [keseph] of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there." Ephron answered Abraham, "Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver [keseph], but what is that between me and you? Bury your dead." Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price [keseph] he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver [keseph], according to the weight current among the merchants." (Genesis 23:13-16)

"As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver [keseph]! When they and their father saw the money pouches [keseph], they were frightened." (Genesis 42:35)

"But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver [keseph] - the exact weight - in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. We have also brought additional silver [keseph] with us to buy food. We don't know who put our silver [keseph] in our sacks." "It's all right," he said. "Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver [keseph]." Then he brought Simeon out to them." (Genesis 43:21-23)

"Joseph collected all the money [keseph] that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment [keseph] for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh's palace. When the money [keseph] of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, "Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money [keseph] is used up." "Then bring your livestock," said Joseph. "I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money [keseph] is gone." So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock. When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, "We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money [keseph] is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land."" (Genesis 47:14-18)

"If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money [keseph]." (Exodus 21:11)

"If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay [keseph] the bride-price for virgins." (Exodus 22:17)

"When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay [keseph] the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives. Receive the atonement money [keseph] from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives." (Exodus 30:12-16)

"Those presenting an offering of silver [keseph] or bronze brought it as an offering to the LORD, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it." (Exodus 35:24)

"The silver [keseph] obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel - one beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men. The 100 talents of silver [keseph] were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain - 100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base." (Exodus 38:25-27)

"You must not lend him money [keseph] at interest or sell him food at a profit." (Leviticus 25:37)

"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate persons to the LORD by giving equivalent values, set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels of silver [keseph], according to the sanctuary shekel; and if it is a female, set her value at thirty shekels. If it is a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels. If it is a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels of silver [keseph] and that of a female at three shekels of silver [keseph]. If it is a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels and of a female at ten shekels.'" (Leviticus 27:2-7)
These are just a few examples of the many passages in which money was used for buying, lending, etc., from the time of Abraham until centuries later when the first tithing command was given in the Bible (Leviticus 27:30-32). In addition, while the Law of Moses was in force there was a tax imposed by Moses (2 Chronicles 24:6), and there were offerings of money that were brought to the Jewish Temple (2 Kings 12:4), and there was money collected in the census (2 Kings 12:4), and there was money that was brought voluntarily to the Temple (2 Kings 12:4), and there was money that was used for repairing the Temple (2 Kings 12:5-15), and there was money that was used for guilt offerings and sin offerings (2 Kings 12:16), and so on.

We've seen that the ancient Jews were very familiar with using money, yet nowhere in the Law of Moses did God ever command or even allow them to use money for their tithes as we'll see in the next section.


All of the Tithing Passages in the Law of Moses

Many pastors and Bible teachers are sincerely trying to teach the body of Christ how to receive God's blessings through tithing, and the main passage that they use is Malachi 3:8-10:
""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."" (Malachi 3:8-10)
Based on this passage, many Christians teach that we're robbing God when we don't pay our tithes, and that we're placing ourselves under a curse when we don't tithe, and that we're commanded to bring all of our tithes into "the storehouse of God" (in other words, all of our tithes must be paid to our local church), and that God tells us to "test" Him in the matter of tithing, and that God will open up the windows of heaven and pour out abundant blessings on us because we're tithers. This is what's being taught in many churches concerning "Christian tithing," based on the above passage, and it's what I used to teach until God told me to study the full picture on tithing throughout the entire Bible.

Notice that the above passage says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse" (Malachi 3:10, above). As we'll see, this command has been misinterpreted by many Christians, and God was not saying what tithers believe He was saying.

Malachi 3:10 (above) was written to the Jews, who were all living under the Law of Moses (i.e., the Old Covenant). Therefore, in order to understand what God was really saying through the prophet Malachi we need to learn about all of the tithing commandments in the Law of Moses.

This is the first tithing commandment in the Law of Moses:
"'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. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. The entire tithe of the herd and flock - every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod - will be holy to the LORD.'" (Leviticus 27:30-32)
In the above passage, the Jews were specifically commanded to tithe from the land and from the flock. What we're going to see is that the Jews' tithes were always meant to be edible. They were never allowed to tithe in the form of money. The above passage also says that after they obeyed God by giving their edible tithes, they were then allowed to redeem it (buy it back) at 20% interest.

The above passage says that this tithe belonged to the Lord, and therefore Bible scholars sometimes refer to this as the "Lord's Tithe." There were other tithes as well, which Bible scholars sometimes refer to as the "Festival Tithe" and the "Poor Tithe." For example:
"In the OT, the Lord's tithe (Lev. 27:30), the festival tithe (Deut. 12:10, 11), and the tithe for the poor (Deut. 14:28, 29), were all compulsory." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, dekate, emphasis added)
The Law of Moses was still in force while Jesus was alive (before the cross), which is why He said to the Pharisees:
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." (Matthew 23:23)

"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone." (Luke 11:42)
Jesus commended the teachers of the law and the Pharisees for paying their tithes because all of the Jews were still under the Law of Moses at that point since Jesus had not yet died on the cross. This has no bearing on Christians paying any tithes because the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses were completely canceled at the cross when the New Covenant was initiated (see my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three). As we'll see throughout this article, there's no such thing as "Christian tithing."

In the above two passages, Jesus described spices and garden herbs as an example of the Pharisees' tithes because under the Law of Moses, tithes were never allowed to be paid in the form of money. The tithes were always meant to be eaten as we will see.

This is the next tithing passage in the Law of Moses:
"The LORD said to Aaron, "You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites. I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. From now on the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die. It is the Levites who are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for offenses against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the LORD. That is why I said concerning them: 'They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.'" 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. Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. In this way you also will present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord's portion to Aaron the priest. You must present as the Lord's portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.' Say to the Levites: 'When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress. You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the Tent of Meeting. By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not die.'"" (Numbers 18:20-32)
The purpose of this tithe was to support the Israelite tribe of Levi (the Levites) with food because the tithes from the other Israelite tribes were the Levites' inheritance in return for the work that they did while serving at the Tent of Meeting (verses 21-24). When the Levites received the tithes from the rest of Israel, the Levites had to give "a tithe of the tithes" (a tenth of the Israelites' tithes) to Aaron the priest (verses 26-28). The tithe that was given to Aaron the priest was reckoned as if the Levites had tithed from the land (verses 27 and 30). In this way, the Levites were able to tithe something edible and avoid being guilty of disobeying God (verse 32). After the Levites received the tithes from all of Israel and then presented the best 10% of those tithes to Aaron the priest, the Levites and their families ate the remaining 90% as their wages (verse 31). Tithes were never allowed to be paid in the form of money; they were always meant to be eaten.

This is another passage that describes the tithing laws under the Law of Moses:
"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. Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land." (Deuteronomy 12:17-19)
Once again we see that the tithes were meant to be eaten, and in this case it was the Jews themselves who ate their own tithes (while not neglecting the Levites). They all brought their edible tithes to a certain place in order to have a big feast and rejoice, so Bible scholars refer to this as the "Festival Tithe."

The "Festival Tithe" is also described in the next passage, along with an interesting commandment:
"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 [keseph], and take the silver [keseph] with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. Use the silver [keseph] 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 do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own." (Deuteronomy 14:22-27)
In Deuteronomy 14:22-23 (above) we see once again that the tithes were commanded to be from the land and from the flock (because the tithes were always meant to be eaten), and again the Jews were commanded to bring these tithes to a certain place to have a big feast and rejoice (verse 26). This is the "Festival Tithe." But notice the commandment in Deuteronomy 14:24-25 (above). If the place where God chose to dwell was too far for a family to carry their edible tithes, then the family was allowed to convert their edible tithes into money. Does this justify the modern Christian practice of paying tithes in the form of money? No, because verse 26 specifically says that when the Jews reached the place where the Lord dwelt then they must convert their money back into an edible form by buying food and drink, and then they must eat their tithes.

The tithes were always meant to be eaten, and in this case the Jews ate their own tithes (they didn't put these tithes into "the storehouse of God"). This is completely different from the way that tithing is done today, even though modern tithers often say that the Old Testament tithes were carried over into the New Testament.

This is another form of tithing that the Jews were commanded to follow:
"At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who 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." (Deuteronomy 14:28-29)
This passage says that every three years the Jews must take the edible tithes from that year's produce and store it in their towns so that the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows could eat and be satisfied. This is the "Poor Tithe." Again, the tithes were always meant to be eaten, and notice in this passage that the aliens, the fatherless, and the widows did not need to pay any tithes because they ate the other Jews' tithes. We can see that not everyone tithed in the Old Testament, yet modern tithers say that every Christian, rich or poor, needs to be tithing. The modern form of tithing taught in churches is a complete fiction that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible.

Recall that in the previous passage (Deuteronomy 14:22-27, above), the tithes needed to be eaten in the place where the Lord dwelt, not stored somewhere. In the above passage (Deuteronomy 14:28-29), the tithes needed to be eaten in the towns where the food was grown, not stored somewhere. These passages create a problem with the usual interpretation of Malachi 3:10 because most modern tithers claim that 10% of our income must be paid to our local church (which they believe is "the storehouse of God"), based on Malachi 3:10. But this is a wrong interpretation of Malachi 3:10 because the "Festival Tithe" was eaten by the Jews (not placed into the storehouse), and the "Poor Tithe" was eaten in the towns where the food was grown (not placed into the storehouse), and 90% of the "Lord's Tithe" was eaten by the Levites wherever they wanted to eat it (not placed into the storehouse).

God meant something different in Malachi 3:10 than what modern tithers think that He meant, and we'll see exactly what He was talking about in a moment.

The next passage repeats the same commands as the previous passage:
"When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. Then say to the LORD your God: "I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them."" (Deuteronomy 26:12-13)
Again, every third year the Levites and the less fortunate were able to eat the Jews' tithes (the "Poor Tithe"), and this was done in the towns where the food was grown. Tithes were always meant to be eaten, and there was a special type of tithe every three years, and not everyone had to pay tithes. This is completely different from the way that tithing is taught today.

The next passage also shows that the Jews' tithes were always eaten:
"The king contributed from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moons and appointed feasts as written in the Law of the LORD. He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the LORD. As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. The men of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the LORD their God, and they piled them in heaps. They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month. When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the LORD and blessed his people Israel. Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok, answered, "Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the LORD has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over." Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the LORD, and this was done. Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts. Conaniah, a Levite, was in charge of these things, and his brother Shimei was next in rank." (2 Chronicles 31:3-12)
This passage says that the Jews brought their tithes (all of which were edible) and piled them up in great heaps. When Hezekiah asked about the heaps, the chief priest said, "we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare." Again, the tithes that were commanded under the Old Covenant were always meant to be eaten.

This passage describes the tithes that were brought to the storerooms of the treasury:
"Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work. A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury [owtsar]." (Nehemiah 10:37-38)
According to this passage, when the Jews returned to Israel after being in captivity in Babylon, they made a vow to begin tithing again in accordance with God's commandments. They said that they would bring a tithe of their crops to the Levites, who would collect the tithes in the towns where the crops were grown. As we saw earlier in Numbers 18:31, God had said that the "Lord's Tithe" must go to the Levites, and He told the Levites, "You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the Tent of Meeting." The Levites in each town collected the tithes from that town, and they and their families ate 90% of the tithes wherever they wanted to eat it. God had also said to the Levites, "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" (Numbers 18:26). This is why Nehemiah 10:38 (above) says that when the Levites collected the tithes in the towns, they needed to take a tenth of those tithes to "the storerooms of the treasury [owtsar]" in the house of God. The Hebrew word owtsar in the above passage is the same Hebrew word used in Malachi 3:10: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse [owtsar], that there may be food in my house."


So we're now in a position to determine what Malachi 3:8-10 actually means. Recall that Nehemiah 10:38 (above) says that the Levites must bring a tenth of the tithes up to "the storerooms of the treasury [owtsar]." With this in mind, let's look again at that passage in Malachi, starting in verse 6:
""I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever 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?' 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 [owtsar], 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."" (Malachi 3:6-10)
The above passage says that God told the priests and the nation of Israel to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse so that there will be food. In other words, the proper tithes were not being placed into the storehouse, God said, and therefore He was being robbed (verses 8-10). Notice that God told them to bring the "whole" tithe into the storehouse, which means that the whole portion for the high priest (from the "Lord's Tithe") must be brought into the storehouse. Remember, we saw that 90% of the "Lord's Tithe" did not go into the storehouse because the Levites were meant to eat it, and the "Festival Tithe" did not go into the storehouse, and the "Poor Tithe" did not go into the storehouse. Only the high priest's portion, meaning the best 10% from the "Lord's Tithe," was intended to go into the storehouse.

The "whole tithe" that belonged in the storehouse (Malachi 3:10) was the best one-tenth from the "Lord's Tithe."

Based on Malachi 3:8-10 (above), modern tithers tend to say that every Christian (rich or poor) is required to tithe 10% of every paycheck by giving money to their local church, otherwise they're robbing God. But this is not what Malachi 3:8-10 means, and there's not a single person in the entire Bible who ever tithed in the way that modern Christians are being taught to tithe. The concept of "Christian tithing" is unscriptural. It's a complete fiction that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible.

In order to be thorough, here are the remaining passages in the Bible that mention tithing (all of which are in the Law of Moses):
"But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks." (Deuteronomy 12:5-6)

"Then 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. And there rejoice before the LORD your God, you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns, who have no allotment or inheritance of their own." (Deuteronomy 12:11-12)

"And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. At that time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites." (Nehemiah 12:43-44)

"Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests. But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense. I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. So I rebuked the officials and asked them, "Why is the house of God neglected?" Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts. All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and oil into the storerooms." (Nehemiah 13:4-12)

"Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three years." (Amos 4:4)

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'" (Luke 18:10-12)
We've now looked at every passage in the entire Bible that mentions tithing.

We've seen that poor people were never meant to tithe, and we've seen that the vast majority of the Jews' tithes were never meant to go into "the storehouse of God," and we've seen that God never allowed anyone to pay tithes in the form of money, and we've seen that the tithes under the Law of Moses were always meant to be eaten.

What it boils down to is that God never commanded Christians to tithe. "Christian tithing" is a human invention that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible.

In addition, there's no such thing in the New Testament as a principle of giving our "firstfruits" to God. To see why, here are all of the passages that contain the Greek word for "firstfruits" in the New Testament: Romans 8:23, 11:16, 16:5, 1 Corinthians 15:20, 15:23, 16:15, James 1:18, Revelation 14:4.

Instead of giving our "firstfruits" or our 10% tithes to God as they did under the Old Covenant (in the passages in this section), Christians are under the New Covenant which requires us to give everything to God (see my article called Cheat Sheet #04).


Giving in the New Testament

Now let's take a close look at what the New Testament teaches on how we should be giving our offerings as Christians under the New Covenant.

Jesus made it clear that our attitude toward money demonstrates which master we're serving:
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Luke 16:13)
This means that we should be careful that we have our priorities right. Most of us would like a better standard of living, and we have bills to pay, and we have debts to pay off, and so on. But remember, our job does not supply our needs, and people do not supply our needs. It's God who supplies our needs, and the above passage tells us that we're meant to focus on Him, not focus on money. God is not against us being wealthy because the more money we have, the more we can help pay for His work to be done on earth, but wealth should never be our focus or our priority (e.g., 1 Timothy 6:9-11, Hebrews 13:5).

Instead of worrying about how to receive more money, we should change our priorities and enjoy giving more money:
"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:35)
In the above verse Jesus said that it's more blessed to give than to receive, but where should we give our money?
"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." (Romans 12:13)
In this passage and in other passages that we'll see, our priority should be to share with other Christians who are in need. This can be done through giving to our church, and giving to ministries, and giving to Christians who are in need.

Similarly, we should share our material blessings with people who sow "spiritual seed" into our lives, such as churches and teaching ministries:
"If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?" (1 Corinthians 9:11)
Once again the apostle Paul said that Christians should support those who preach the Gospel:
"Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:13-14)
Tithers sometimes argue that Paul was using this illustration to show that pastors should make their living off of Christians' tithes. But in the above passage, notice that Paul said that "the Lord has commanded" that those who preach the Gospel should receive their living from the Gospel. What exactly did the Lord command concerning those who preach the Gospel? Apart from the Great Commission there are only two times before the cross when the Lord commissioned people to go out and preach the Gospel (Matthew 10:5-10, Luke 10:1-9), and both times He commanded them to receive their support from the Gospel. He never commanded Christians to tithe, and Paul was not teaching anything about tithing in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 (above). Instead, he was teaching that we should financially support those who preach the Gospel, such as our church and other ministries. If a congregation does not financially support their own church then who will?

We have a responsibility to help support our local church, and if possible any ministries that have spiritually blessed us. However, we also have a responsibility to make sure that we're sowing our seed into good soil, just as farmers must ensure that their seed is going into good soil. Are you absolutely certain that God wants you to be in your current church or denomination (see my article called Cheat Sheet #21), and that He wants you to be learning from the ministries that you listen to? To help you be certain, see my article called How to Discern God's Guidance.

Paul also told us to help the poor and to help provide for our family and relatives:
"James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." (Galatians 2:9-10)

"Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Timothy 5:3-8)
In the following passages we can see that Paul used principles of psychology to encourage Christians to give generously:
"And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part." (2 Corinthians 8:1-6)

"There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we - not to say anything about you - would be ashamed of having been so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given. Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." (2 Corinthians 9:1-13)

"Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Philippians 4:15-20)
Here we see the principle that if we sow generously then we will reap generously (2 Corinthians 9:6, above). Not all churches and ministries are teaching scriptural truth, so we need to make sure that we're sowing our money into good soil (as every farmer knows). We also need to make sure that we're giving cheerfully, not grudgingly or reluctantly or under compulsion (2 Corinthians 9:5, 7, above). The fact that Paul used principles of psychology to encourage Christians to give generously shows that there's no set amount or percentage of our income that we're required to give. God supplies seed to the sower (2 Corinthians 9:10, above), so if you're a person who cheerfully sows generously into good ministries then God will keep supplying you with more money to sow with. God is willing to make us rich, but notice the purpose for wealth. Wealth is meant to enable us to do good works (2 Corinthians 9:8, above) by being generous in supplying the needs of God's people (2 Corinthians 9:11-13, above).

The apostle Paul wrote approximately half of the New Testament (see my article called Who Wrote the New Testament?). We never see Paul reminding Christians of any tithing commandments, and we never see Paul chastising any Christians for not tithing, and we never see Paul telling Christians to give offerings beyond their tithes, and we never see Paul telling Christians to use 10% as a starting point for their giving, and we never see Paul telling Christians to give the "firstfruits" of their earnings, and so on. We never see any of these concepts anywhere in the New Testament after the cross, yet these concepts are taught in many churches today.

God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7, above), and it's more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35, above). So don't look for excuses not to give, but instead ask God to show you more places to give!


For the glory of the Lord Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, who came in the flesh, was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification.

Dave Root
home page and email: https://www.vividchristianity.com

"Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:3)

"Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist - denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." (1 John 2:22-23)

"If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God." (1 John 4:15)

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:1-3)

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist." (2 John 1:6-7)

"He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." (Romans 4:25)
 
 
Modification History

  • 07/06/2024 - Added an update in the Introduction section.

  • 04/23/2024 - Added a paragraph in the Introduction section. Modified my comments under Leviticus 27:30.

  • 01/13/2024 - Modified the section called "Why Do Pastors Teach Tithing?" Slightly modified the section called "Was Abraham Ever Influenced by the Customs of His Day?"

  • 10/12/2023 - Updated the capitalization of "church" throughout the article for consistency, as explained in my article called The Rapture of the Church - Part One. Modified the Introduction section.

  • 03/25/2023 - Added a link to my article called "Cheat Sheet" in the section called "Giving in the New Testament."

  • 12/06/2022 - Modified the section called "Why Do Pastors Teach Tithing?"

  • 11/25/2022 - Added a section called "God's Covenants." Added a section called "Why Do Pastors Teach Tithing?"

  • 07/23/2022 - Modified my closing statement.

  • 03/13/2022 - Added a link to my series called "Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments" in the section called "All of the Tithing Passages in the Law of Moses."

  • 11/29/2021 - Made minor modifications in the section called "Did the Israelites Use Money?" Renamed one of the sections from "What Does Malachi 3:8-10 Really Mean?" to "All of the Tithing Passages in the Law of Moses."

  • 11/03/2021 - Made the font size a bit bigger and added a fish symbol as a favicon (which is displayed in the browser tab).

  • 02/14/2019 - Modified some of the wording.

  • 08/17/2008 - Added a section called "New Testament Giving."

  • 08/04/2007 - Added a section called "Did the Israelites Use Money?"

  • 02/20/2005 - Added some links to Google search results concerning various theories about who Melchizedek was.

  • 11/10/2002 - Added a section called "What Does Malachi 3:8-10 Really Mean?"