Attention is given to this incident of tithe paying in Hebrews, chapter seven. The writer, discussing the incident, states that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham because Abraham paid tithes to him. The fact that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek denotes that Abraham was blessed of Melchizedek.

With regard to the spoils of battle, Abraham, although he was requested to do so by the king of Sodom, would not take any of the goods for himself. he seemed, nevertheless, to realize that he had no jurisdiction over God’s tenth. Even though he refused to accept the spoils for himself, he felt his obligation to God. For this reason, it appears that, with Abraham, tithing was not something optional but an actual obligation.

The fact that tithing was a custom among the ancient Israelites is reflected in the vow of Jacob 153 years before the giving of the Law: “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee” (Genesis 28:20-22).

Jacob was Abraham’s grandson, and it was most fitting that Jacob should practice the religious observances of his grandfather. Since he took the God of Abraham as his God too, it is only reasonable that he would follow the worship practices of Abraham as well.

If we are Abraham’s children, we will do the works of Abraham (John 8:39). And although we have only one record of Abraham’s paying tithes, in Jacob’s vow we see tithing as a continuous act. His vow was not made for his one single journey but for the rest of his life. For this reason, it is only right and logical to believe that Abraham was a faithful tither.

Offerings are divine institutions of God; and, if God requires the, is it not logical that He would signify the amount? The very fact that so many peoples of the earth pay a tenth unto God as the stipulated amount lends credence to its divine origin.

It may be noticed that in this tithing, according to Leviticus 27:32, the giver had no voice in its disposal. No part of it was to be received back. To withhold such tithe was regarded as dishonesty (Malachi 3:8). A tenth of this tithe was to be paid by the Levites to Aaron, the priest (Numbers 18:26-28).

Under the Jewish order, there were a second and a third tithe which were given. We learn, concerning this second tithe, in Deuteronomy 14:22-27, that, first, it was to be eaten by the offerer, his household, and the Levite. There was one restriction, and that was that it was to be eaten at the appointed place of worship. The tithe-payer was to eat and praise God for his increase.

If the tithe payer lived some distance away from that appointed place, he could convert his produce into money and spend it for sacrifices and feasting when he arrived at the appointed place of worship. This second tithe is often called a festival tithe and was paid three times a year. All of the men of Israel were to assemble at the sanctuary at least three times a year to worship God: “And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee” (Deuteronomy 12:6, 7).

The purpose, then, of this festival tithe was to foster religious principles and to furnish a time for social observances. Some people do not understand the proper use of tithe because they do not understand the different divisions of tithing in the Old Testament. Most people conclude that there is only one tithe; and, for that reason, every scripture in the Old Testament concerning tithing is, in their opinion, brought under one heading. Unless we recognize the various tithes of the Old Testament, we cannot reconcile the Scriptures.

The Scripture suggests that a third tithe was offered by the Israelites: “At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: And the Levite, (Because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest” (Deuteronomy 14:28, 29). We know that this is not the tithe given to the Levites, because that tithe was for his inheritance. We understand that it is not the second tithe, because such a tithe was to be taken to an appointed place of worship. This tithe, which is called the third tithe, was to be laid up at home. This tenth was to be shared with the Levites, strangers, fatherless, and widows.

According to the Scripture, the Israelite was to set apart from one-fourth to one third of his income for tithe and offerings. A sincere Israelite would possibly set apart a tenth of his income for the Levite. The firstborn and firstlings of his cattle would be given to God. For three years the fruit of the young trees was not to be eaten, and in the fourth year the fruit was to be for God. Every seventh year he would not claim any money from his debtors. He would leave the corners of his field, the fallen fruit, his gleanings, and the overlooked olives and grapes for the poor. He would give a second tenth for a festival tithe to be spent at the appointed place of worship. He would possibly give a freewill offering for the Feast of Weeks, animals for the payment of vows, or thank offerings. He would also bring a basket of firstfruits to present unto the priest.

In the days of Elijah and Elisha devout men and women respected those in the ministry and gave them the portion that belonged to them and, in many cases, even beyond that portion. This spirit is exemplified in the action of the widow of Zarephath who had but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in her cruse, but who made the first cake for the Lord’s prophet. It is also exemplified in the action of the Shunammite woman who prepared a room in her house for the itinerant preacher, Elisha, again showing kind hospitality toward the ministry.

The first time that the actual word “tithe” is mentioned after we leave the book of Deuteronomy is in the ironical words of Amos when he rebuked the people for not paying their tithes.

Under the reform of Hezekiah, “he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 31:4). The Levites could have worked in the field and could have done other work, but it was their specific work to minister. Ministers to today are not too good to work with their hands, but they cannot do justice to the ministry of the Word of God when they have to work at secular labor.

Ministers are not to be regarded as objects of charity. When the people brought in their tithe, the reply of the priest was, “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great sore” (2 Chronicles 31:10).

When Hezekiah came to his throne, he opened the house of God and restored the priests and Levites to their services. They had suffered because the people had not shared God’s portion. Ministers suffer today through the laxity of non-tithers. This is God’s financial system, and we must recognize it.

In the days of Nehemiah, the Levites and singers were driven to the fields to work because the portion had not been given them: “And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place” (Nehemiah 13:10, 11).

Even the last prophet of the Old Testament, Malachi, sharply rebukes the people and eve calls them robbers for withholding their tithe from God. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:8-10). Malachi passed a severe sentence upon those who failed to keep the ordinance of tithing. When the people lapsed into a state of spiritual declension, they always failed to pay their tithe; but, when revival came to Israel, or in times of humiliation, they would always return to the paying of tithe as recorded in the law of Moses.

Tithe-paying was a general practice in the days of our Lord. The sect which was strictest concerning tithing was the Pharisees. In order to be admitted into the fellowship of the Pharisees, one was obligated to pay his tithe. He was obligated to tithe what he bought, what he sold, and what he ate. But what was the attitude of our Lord concerning the paying of tithes? Our Lord could not ignore the matter of paying tithes because He was brought face to face with it every day of His life. Even to buy a pennyworth involved the consideration of whether the penny had been tithed. If a woman set before her husband untithed food, it was an offense grave enough to permit divorce. Jesus had to face the question of tithing day after day. He taught the people as one having authority, and we can be sure that they were not silent in their questions on this point. If Jesus Christ had not been a tither, this would have been one of the first complaints of the Pharisees; for, even when our Master dined with sinners, they murmured, “Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?” (Matthew 9:11). But not once is Christ questioned concerning His obligation to tithe. The Pharisees were continually watching every word and action, seeking to find fault with Him; but they never found it on this point. The very fact that Jesus Christ was admitted into the homes of the Pharisees for meals is evidence that He was a tither: “And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat” (Luke 11:37). This was definitely against the vow of a Pharisee to be the host of an outsider–that is, one who did not adhere to the Pharisaical vow.

Jesus Christ did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it. If one examines closely the teaching of Christ in the gospels, he will discover that Christ enjoined an almost lavish system of giving. He said to one man, “Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven” (Luke 18:22). When Jesus urged men to follow Him, He expected them to surrender all. Man must deny self, take up the cross, and follow Jesus Christ. He must hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and his own life also, or he cannot be Christ’s disciple (Luke 14:26).

If Jesus Christ required such a rigid surrender on the part of His followers of some of the things that are most valued by all men–family relationships and their very lives–it is conclusive that man’s money was not excepted.

There are those who feel that Christ denounced the Pharisees for their tithe paying. Christ did not offer disapproval to the Pharisee who said, “I give tithes of all that I possess” (Luke 18:12). His fault was not in his tithe paying but in his self-righteousness and egotism. Neither is there disapproval in Matthew 23:23: “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin…these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” The Lord id not disapprove of tithing but, on the contrary, expressed His approval by saying, “These ought ye to have done.” This scripture most certainly expressed the attitude of the Lord concerning tithe paying.

Since tithing was generally accepted among religionists in the day of Jesus Christ, it was not necessary for Christ to issue a new commandment concerning tithing. He merely summed up the matter of giving with these words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

The Apostle Paul also encouraged the Galatian converts to support the ministry: “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:6, 7). Seldom do individuals think of this scripture as having a monetary connotation; however, Paul is giving instruction concerning support of the ministry.