Moses is the only biblical author to write any commands about the tithe. Yes, that is right. There are no commands written by any other author in all of Scripture about giving a tenth of your income. However, some pastors argue that although Moses is the only biblical author to write commands about tithing, his instructions were not for a mere 10%, but were closer to 30% of a person’s annual income.
The 30% Tithe?
The argument for this 30% tithe is based on several passages from the Books of Moses. The argument is that there was a tithe to support the Levites (Lev 27:30-33), a tithe to fund an annual festival (Deut 14:22-29), several smaller tithes to help the poor (Lev 19:9-10) and give rest to the land (Exod 23:10-11), and on top of all of this, there were numerous annual sacrifices of bulls and goats, which also cost money (Lev 1–7). None of this counted the freewill offerings a person might make, but even without these offerings, it is estimated that a person’s annual required “donation” to the temple was around 30% of their annual income.
People who argue this, however, fail to recognize that when Moses wrote these laws, they were operating as a Theocracy, and the vast majority of these “tithes” were the modern equivalent of taxes. When the people brought in the required tithes of their crops and produce, it was so the rulers of the country could perform their God-given functions. And who were the rulers of the country in the Israelite theocracy? The Levitical priests!
Paying Tithes and Paying Taxes
So while it is true that the Israelites gave somewhere in the vicinity of 30% of their crops and herds to support the work of the Levites, this is not at all equivalent to tithing to support the church today. Instead, since their “tithe” was supporting their theocratic government, the modern equivalent is how we pay taxes to support the functions of our own government.
And when we realize that the average person today is paying the federal government around 25% of their income, and then paying another 10% (or more) for state, county, and city taxes, we are paying a little more in taxes today than what was prescribed by the Mosaic Law for the people of Israel to pay their government. To ask people to “tithe” and additional 10% to the church because “this is what the Law says” reveals a misunderstanding of the Mosaic Law, how this tithe was collected, and what this income was used for.
We will look in greater detail tomorrow at the instructions from Moses about the tithe. Be prepared to be surprised!
😀 I am looking forward to what you see in this.
I am excited for tomorrow’s post!
Aren’t we glad we’re not Jewish if they understand this to still apply to them! Do you know if even the ultra orthodox Jews see it that way today?
I don’t believe they do because there is no longer a Levitical priesthood to tithe to. There is no temple or High Priest….
Another note – just to add to the discussion…
The Jews, Orthodox or not, will tell you that the Gentiles have never been subject to the Law – never were, never will be…. interesting. 😀
So if we can’t use this or the Malachi passage, just how do you propose to use the Bible to convince people to give their 10%? God needs big buildings!
(Jeannette, we’re on the same side. Remember that in my future comments. My comments here are tongue-in-cheek, written to elicit a response. You gave the response I was looking for.)
😀
Biting tongue & smiling. 😉
Very true. They say that God holds us to the Noahite laws, those given to Noah after the flood. Interestingly, these are nearly identical to the laws which the early church gave to the Gentile converts in Acts 15.
I will try to remember to ask.
That would have been an extreme amount to pay for tithing and taxes, but i kind of feel that it was just one, 10% tithe the Israelites had to pay for their theocracy. I have written an article here http://churchtithesandofferings.com/blog/how-many-tithes-were-in-the-bible/
By the way, i like your photo of the tithing tax return 🙂
– jared
Jared,
Sorry for not giving you credit for that photo! I pulled it from Google and didn’t know where it came from. It is now linked to your site.
Thanks also for the link about tithes. I’ll come check it out.
And it’s wrong to say the tithe was meant to support the temple and a full-time priest hood. Even OT priests were farmers and tradesmen and such. There were no “full-time” clergy, unless it was the High Priest. The tithe supported them when they were serving at the temple. And one third of the tithe — every third year — went to help the poor. That’s the way Moses meant it anyway, not necessarily how it worked out. You probably are going to get into this but just felt like sharing. And in the New Testament absolutely no provision is made for clergy or buildings other than to cover the traveling expenses of apostles. That’s how it reads to me and what the history tells me.
Right! So very true. It is dangerous to take a passage like this and apply it to today when there are so many cultural differences.
100%. All I am and have is his. Less accounting and maths to do! Hooray!!