You might be wondering, what is a tithe?  The word “tithe” simply means tenth.  The practice of tithing is found in the Bible.  This paper discusses if God commands us to tithe today.

The first mention of tithing is when Abraham rescued his nephew Lot.  Abraham gave a tithe of the spoils the battle to Melchizedek, the priest of God Most High.

Gen 14:18  Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
Gen 14:19  And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
Gen 14:20  And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.

Tithing is mentioned again in Genesis when Jacob bargained with God.  Jacob vowed to worship God and tithe to Him, if God looked after him.

Gen 28:20  Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,
Gen 28:21  so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.
Gen 28:22  And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

It is not until Leviticus and Deuteronomy that instruction on tithing given.  God instructed ancient Israel to tithe on the agricultural produce of the land.  Tithing on animals was calculated on every tenth one.  So, a tithe on nine animals is nothing, a tithe on ten animals is one, and a tithe on eleven animals is also one.

Lev 27:30  And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD.
Lev 27:31  If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it.
Lev 27:32  And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD.

When the Jews living in Babylon returned to Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah, they promised to keep God’s laws which included tithing.

Neh 10:37  to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities.

Notice in Nehemiah that the people promised to give their tithes to the Levites.  The tithes were given to the Levites for the work they performed.

Num 18:21  “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.

Num 18:24  For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ “

When Joshua entered the promised land and divided it among the tribes, the Levites were not given any land.

Jos 18:7  But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance. …

Ancient Israel survived by farming the land and living off it.  The exception was the tribe of Levi, which had no land and survived by receiving the tithes of the other tribes in return for their priestly work.  The next verse explains that the Levites were not exempt from tithing.  They were instructed to give a tithe of the tithe they received. 

Num 18:26  “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, a tenth of the tithe.

This tithe of a tithe, (the tithe the Levites gave), was given to the high priest.

Num 18:28  Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the LORD from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the LORD’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest.

The tithe of a tithe would be a substantial sum, far more than the high priest would need.  Nehemiah tells us that it went into the storerooms of the temple.

Neh 10:38  And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse.

The next mention of tithing is in Deuteronomy, where God instructed ancient Israel to destroy the pagan places of worship and instead worship Him in the place He chose, and take, along with sacrifices and offerings, their tithe to that place.

Deu 12:5  “But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.
Deu 12:6  There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
Deu 12:7  “And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

Deu 12:10  “But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety,
Deu 12:11  “then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD.
Deu 12:12  “And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you.

The sacrifices and offerings where clearly to be offered to God, but the tithe was to be eaten in the place the Lord chooses – or at home if that place is too far away.

Deu 12:17  “You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand.
Deu 12:18  “But you must eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all to which you put your hands.

Deu 12:21  “If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires.

This is clearly a different tithe.  The tithe described earlier, the first one, was given to the Levites.  This tithe, the second one, was eaten at the place God chose for the people to worship Him.  Deuteronomy 14 explains further that the people could exchange this second tithe for money, and take the money with them to worship God, and enjoy spending it on food and drink.

Deu 14:22  “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
Deu 14:23  “And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
Deu 14:24  “But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you,
Deu 14:25  “then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses.
Deu 14:26  “And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.

We now come to a couple of difficult passages regarding an additional tithe (a third tithe), or an additional use of the first or second tithes.  This is clearly difficult to understand, as commentaries differ in their explanation. 

Deu 14:27  “You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
Deu 14:28  “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates.
Deu 14:29  “And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

Deu 26:12  “When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year; the year of tithing; and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled,
Deu 26:13  “then you shall say before the LORD your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.

This additional tithe was given every 3^rd year.  This could mean, 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th, 12^th, etc.  Or possibly, as some argue, it could mean the 3^rd and 6^th years of a seven-year period.  Why seven years?  Because it ties in with the land sabbath every seven years, Leviticus 25:1-7.  On the 7^th year, no pruning, sowing, or harvesting was performed; people ate what the land produced of its own accord.  Thus on the year of the land sabbath there would not have been much produce on which to tithe.

So there is ambiguity in when the third tithe was given.  There is also ambiguity in whether this was an additional tithe (that is a third tithe in the third year) or an additional use of the first or second tithes in the third year.  The Bible doesn’t provide enough information to resolve these ambiguities.  However, its purpose was to help the poor and needy (the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow).

The last passage in the Old Testament which mentions tithing is Malachi 3.  The context is God coming to judge Judah, the sons of Jacob (that is the whole of Israel), and by implication all nations of the world.

Mal 3:1  “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts.

This was partially fulfilled by John the Baptist.

Mat 11:9  But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
Mat 11:10  For this is he of whom it is written: ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’

But it is also a prophecy about Jesus Christ’s second coming, when He will judge the nations.

Mal 3:2  “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap.
Mal 3:3  He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
Mal 3:4  “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the LORD, As in the days of old, As in former years.
Mal 3:5  And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien— Because they do not fear Me,” Says the LORD of hosts.
Mal 3:6  “For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

The context is clearly end time.  This is a message for people living in the modern era, just before Jesus Christ’s second coming.

Mal 3:7  Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the LORD of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’
Mal 3:8  “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9  You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.

God is serious about the obligation to tithe, equating not tithing to robbing God.  God also promises physical blessings and abundance for giving tithes to Him.

Mal 3:10  Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
Mal 3:11  “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts;
Mal 3:12  And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the LORD of hosts.

Tithing is also mentioned in the New Testament, firstly by Jesus and secondly in the book of Hebrews.

Mat 23:23  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Luk 11:42  “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

A tithe on a herb would have a very modest monetary value, yet Jesus commended this. 

The final passage which mentions tithing is Hebrews chapter 7.  The main topic is how the Levitical priesthood has been superseded by the Melchizedek priesthood.  Tithing is involved in the explanation of this.  We look at the details now.

Heb 7:1  For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
Heb 7:2  to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”
Heb 7:3  without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

Melchizedek was in fact Jesus Christ (before He became flesh, being born of Mary).  For more information see “Who is Melchizedek?”. 

Heb 7:4  Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
Heb 7:5  And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham;
Heb 7:6  but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
Heb 7:7  Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
Heb 7:8  Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
Heb 7:9  Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,
Heb 7:10  for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

The author of Hebrews explains that the priesthood of Melchizedek is greater than the priesthood of Levi because Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek through the act of his great grandfather Abraham paying tithes to Melchizedek.

Heb 7:11  Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?
Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.

The priesthood changed, and so there is a change of the law concerning the priesthood.  (There was also a change in the covenant.  The old covenant promised physical blessings for obedience.  The new covenant, under the high priest Jesus Christ, promises eternal life for obedience.)  The author of Hebrews is not addressing whether we should tithe, but rather using Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek to explain that the Levitical priesthood has been superseded by the Melchizedek priesthood.

Summary

Let’s try and summarize what we’ve covered. 

Abraham tithed to Melchizedek.  (The Bible only mentions one occurrence of this.)

When God formed the nation of ancient Israel, He instituted the Levitical priesthood whose purpose was to teach the people about God and guide them in their worship of Him.  The Levites had no inheritance (no land to farm), so God commanded the Israelites to tithe to the Levites to support them.  God also instructed ancient Israel to set aside a second tithe to be spent in worshipping God at His feasts.  There is also a tithe of the third year with its ambiguity of when it is and whether it is an additional tithe or an additional use of the first and second tithes.

Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection ended the Levitical priesthood and has now been replaced with the priesthood of Melchizedek (that is Jesus Christ) with Jesus Christ as our High Priest. 

Jesus Christ commended tithing when addressing the Pharisees.

It is clear from Malachi 3 that tithing is something that God expects us to do in this modern era, equating failure to tithe with robbing God.

Conclusion

So, should you tithe?  The answer is, yes. 

The first tithe should be paid to the priesthood of Melchizedek, that is Jesus Christ.  But how?  Jesus gave two important commissions to His disciples: preach the gospel and feed my sheep (looking after the brethren).

Mar 16:15  And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Joh 21:17  He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

These commissions require money.  The first tithe should go to those who are fulfilling these two commissions.

The second tithe and the tithe of the third year are only mentioned in the context of the Levitical priesthood.  Do they have a place under the priesthood of Melchizedek?  When considering their purpose the answer is almost certainly, yes.  The second tithe can be used to pay for accommodation, food, and travel expenses when keeping the Feasts of God.  The principle of the third tithe remains, that of helping the poor and needy.  In some countries the government does this through handouts.  In other countries, the third tithe may be the only means of help for the poor and needy.