BIBLICAL TITHING


     This study will deal with all the passages in the scriptures which deal with tithing. Each
passage will be looked at not only for what it says but also for what it doesn't say. The concluding
paragraph will attempt to outline what the biblical principals are and what a christians obligations
are under those principals. It will be up to the reader to also weight the scriptures for themselves
and see wether the author has been able to give a proper scriptural treatment of the texts. It is my
prayer that the Lord will richly bless you in this study.


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

     I see two main points here. First that Melchizedek was recognized as a priest of the Most
High, and second that there is no mention of any further tithes, it was a one time offering (to
Melchizedek).


GENESIS 28:22 NKJV
     "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."

     A very clear covenant between Jacob and God (made by Jacob, not God). Some might argue
that it shows that you only have to tithe off of what God actually gives you, this is true, but one
must realize that there is nothing that you have that God did not allow you to have, and there is
nothing which he cannot take away. This passage would seem to support the standard principal of
tithing with the one exception that it was a personal covenant between Jacob and God, instituted
by Jacob, so it will require more information from God's perspective (law) to see what He
'requires'.


LEVITICUS 27:30-33 NKJV
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.
31   'If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it.
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.
33   'He shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it; and if he exchanges it
at all, then both it and the one exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.'"

     It seems that it was possible borrow against (redeem) his tithe, with the interest rate being
20%. Also this tithe of the herd or flock, was obviously not the first fruits but was "every tenth
one" "of whatever passes under the rod". The final interesting point is that he could not substitute
a bad animal (or visa versa) for a good one. If he did then they both were the Lords.


DEUTERONOMY 12:6-7 NKJV
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 firstlings of your herds and
flocks.
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.

DEUTERONOMY 12:11-12 NKJV
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.
12   "And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters,
your menservants and your maidservants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no
portion nor inheritance with you.


DEUTERONOMY 12:17-18 NKJV
17   "You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your now wine or your oil, of
the firstlings 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.
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 manservant and your maidservant, 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.


DEUTERONOMY 12:21 NKJV
     "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.


DEUTERONOMY 14:22-29 NKJV
22   "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
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 firstlings of your herds
and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
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,
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.
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.
27   "You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance
with you.
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.
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.


NEHEMIAH 13:5,10-13 NKJV
5    And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain
offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were
commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the
priests.
10   I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the
Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field.
11   So I contended with the rulers, and said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I
gathered them together and set them in their place.
12   Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.
13   And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe,
and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah;
for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.


MALACHI 3:8-10 NKJV
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.
9    You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
10   Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And prove 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.


MATTHEW 23:23 NKJV
     "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.


LUKE 11:42 NKJV
     "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.


MATTHEW 6:1-4 NKJV
1    "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them.
Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2    "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly,
I say to you, they have their reward.
3    "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing,
4    "that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself
reward you openly.


1 CORINTHIANS 16:1-2 NKJV
1    Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of
Galatia, so you must do also:
2    On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may
prosper, that there be no collections when I come.


1 CHRONICLES 29:9 NKJV
     Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had
offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.

2 CORINTHIANS 9:5-15 NKJV
5    Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and
prepare your bountiful gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready
as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.
6    But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully
will also reap bountifully.
7    So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves
a cheerful giver.
8    And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency
in all things, have an abundance for every good work.
9    As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness
remains forever."
10   Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the
seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
11   while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us
to God.
12   For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is
abounding through many thanksgivings to God,
13   while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your
confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men,
14   and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.
15   Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!


EXODUS 35:21-29; 36:1-7 NKJV
21   Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and
they brought the Lord's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and
for the holy garments.
22   They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earings and
nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who offered an offering of
gold to the Lord.
23-28 ...blue and purple and scarlet, fine linen, goats hair, red skins of rams, and badger skins,
...an offering of silver or bronze... acacia wood... spun yarn... of blue and purple and scarlet, and
fine linen... spun yarn of goats hair... onyx stones... spices and oil for the light, for the anointing
oil, and for the sweet incense.
29   The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose
hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, by the hand of Moses,
had commanded to be done.
3    And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the
work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings
every morning.
4    Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the
work he was doing,
5    and they spoke to Moses, saying, "The people bring much more than enough for the service of
the work which the Lord commanded us to do."
6    So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp,
saying, "Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary." And the
people were restrained from bringing,
7    for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done- indeed too much.


NUMBERS 7:2-28 NKJV


LUKE 21:1-4 NKJV
1    Then He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,
2    and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.
3    So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;
4    "for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty
has put in all the livelihood that she had."


MARK 12:41-44 NKJV


2 CORINTHIANS 8:1-5 NKJV
1    Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of
Macedonia:
2    that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in
the riches of their liberality.
3    For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely
willing,
4    imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the
ministering to the saints.
5    And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by
the will of God.





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KentWilken@aol.com              RachWilken@aol.com

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