Some people argue that tithing was part of the law of Moses, and now that we are living under a new covenant we are not subject to the “old tithing requirement.”
That is not true.
Tithing pre-dates the law of Moses. It is a non-negotiable, non-optional law of life. The law that was given to Moses helped to clarify details about tithing, but tithing had been around for generations before the law was given through Moses. The first mention of tithing is found in Genesis, hundreds of years before Moses. In this passage, Abram gave a tenth of all of his increase to Melchizedek, who was God’s priest.
“Melchizedek king of Salem (ancient Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine [for them]; he was the priest of God Most High. And Melchizedek blessed Abram and said,
‘Blessed (joyful, favored) be Abram by God Most High, Creator and Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High, Who has given your enemies into your hand.’
And Abram gave him a tenth of all [the treasure he had taken in battle].”—Genesis 14:18-20 (AMP)
Jacob also made a commitment to give a tenth of all of his income to God many, many years before the law was given.
“… and of all [the increase of possessions] that You give me I will give the tenth to You.”—Genesis 28:22 (AMPC)
When Moses gave direction on tithing, He was not instituting a new law. He was simply explaining in more detail the guidelines for this universal, non-optional rule of life to be carried out within the confines of the Jewish experience.
“‘One-tenth of all crops belongs to the Lord. This includes the crops from fields and the fruit from trees. That one-tenth belongs to the Lord. A person might want to get back his tenth. If he does, he must add one-fifth to its price and buy it back.
“‘The priest will take every tenth animal from a person’s cattle or sheep. It will belong to the Lord. The owner should not pick out the good animals from the bad. He should not exchange one animal for another. If he does exchange it, both animals will become holy. They cannot be bought back.’”
These are the commands the Lord commanded at Mount Sinai. They are for the people of Israel.”—Leviticus 27:30-34 (ICB)
Yes, tithing was included in the law, just as the commandment to love God with all of our heart, soul, and strength was included the law (Deuteronomy 6:5), and just as it was included in the law to love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18,34). Jesus made it very clear that He did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it. If that was His function and purpose on the Earth, why do we think the standards for us should be lower?
“Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo but to complete and fulfill them.
“For truly I tell you, until the sky and earth pass away and perish, not one smallest letter nor one little hook [identifying certain Hebrew letters] will pass from the Law until all things [it foreshadows] are accomplished.
“Whoever then breaks or does away with or relaxes one of the least [important] of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least [important] in the kingdom of heaven, but he who practices them and teaches others to do so shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew 5:17-19 (AMPC)
The Apostle Paul certainly didn’t seem to think that the Old Testament commandments were irrelevant. He reminded the Ephesians to obey the fifth commandment, which was one of the Ten Commandments given in Exodus 20:
“Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”—Ephesians 6:2-3 (KJV)
“Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”—Romans 3:31 (NKJV)
Far from doing away with tithing, Jesus re-emphasized the importance of tithing during his ministry:
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”—Matthew 23:23 (NLT)
“You Pharisees are in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your gardens, such as mint and rue. But you cheat people, and you don’t love God. You should be fair and kind to others and still give a tenth to God.”—Luke 11:42 (CEV)
In truth, if you want to go by Jesus’ standards, He commanded us to give much more than just ten percent. “Sell what you have and give the money to the poor” (Luke 12:33 CEV). If you think that Jesus only gave that command to the rich, young ruler, look again. The only time Jesus praised someone for giving money was when He praised the widow who gave all she had (Luke 21:1-4). With Jesus, the bar is raised. He commands that we give all (Luke 14:33).
This morning, just minutes after I wrote this, as I was preparing to wash some clothes, I was listening to a recording of Paul Cain’s message from the Prophecy II Conference at the Vineyard in Anaheim from the late 1980’s. In part of this message, Paul spoke about the problem with the common teaching about “seed money.”
As I was listening to this message, as if to confirm what I had just written, Paul Cain said, “God’s true disciples are those who forsake everything out of love for the master that they serve. Luke 14:26… You cannot be His disciple unless all you have, and all you are, and all you ever hope to be is laid before Him that He might do with you and through you all that He wants to do. Luke 9:23: If any man would come after me, If any man would be my successor, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. That’s what true discipleship is all about. It’s not what Paul’s version of it is, or what anybody else’s version of it is. It’s what the Lord’s version of it is. That’s true discipleship, and it’s a sacrificial life.”
“In the same way, none of you who are unwilling to give up all of your possessions can be my disciple.”—Luke 14:33 (CEB)
And in Psalm 110:4, we are told that Jesus has been made a high priest *for ever, *not after the order of Aaron and the law, *but after the order of Melchizedek. *We don’t know much about Melchizedek, except that he was a priest who received tithes.
“The Lord has sworn [an oath] and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.’”—Psalm 110:4 (AMP)
This is confirmed in Hebrews chapters 5, 6, and 7. Here is the passage from Hebrews 5:
“So too Christ did not glorify Himself so as to be made a high priest, but He [was exalted and appointed by the One] who said to Him,
‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten (fathered) You [declared Your authority and rule over the nations]’;
“just as He also says in another place,
“You are a priest [appointed] forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
“In the days of His earthly life, Jesus offered up both [specific] petitions and [urgent] supplications [for that which He needed] with fervent crying and tears to the One who was [always] able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission toward God [His sinlessness and His unfailing determination to do the Father’s will]. Although He was a Son [who had never been disobedient to the Father], He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered. And having been made perfect [uniquely equipped and prepared as Savior and retaining His integrity amid opposition], He became the source of eternal salvation [an eternal inheritance] to all those who obey Him,*** being designated by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.***”—Hebrews 5:5-10 (AMP)
Jesus has been designated by God as our High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek, who received tithes.
Some people try to explain away the relevance of Malachi 3 in which God says,“You people are robbing me, your God. And, here you are, asking, ‘How are we robbing you?’ You are robbing me of the offerings and of the ten percent that belongs to me. That’s why your whole nation is under a curse” (Malachi 3:8-9 CEV). Some people say that it is not relevant to us today because it is part of the Old Testament. These people completely overlook the context of the chapter. Malachi 3 has just as much relevance for the Church of the last days as it had for Israel under the Old Covenant. This chapter begins by prophesying the ministry of John the Baptist and quickly switches to speaking of the day of the Lord’s coming to Earth!
“On the day the Lord comes, he will be like a furnace that purifies silver or like strong soap in a washbasin. No one will be able to stand up to him.”—Malachi 3:2 (CEV)
The message of Malachi 3 is written for believers in New Testament times! And if that is not enough, God says for emphasis, “I am the Lord, I change not” in verse 6, and of course, just a few verses later, God speaks clearly of the last days when He says, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.” (Malachi 4:5 CEV).
To say that Malachi’s writings are not relevant for us in our day is to blindly deny the content of the book.
What is really scary about the writings of Malachi is that he was the last prophet who spoke to Israel in Old Testament times. When God’s people did not respond to the message of Malachi, God stopped speaking to them. The book of Malachi was a call to correct the wrongs in the tithes, offerings, and other things that were dishonoring to God. When God’s people did not respond with needed correction, God left them to themselves. It would be 400 years before God spoke to His people again through the ministry of John the Baptist. God warned them about this consequence in Malachi 1:11, saying that He would no longer receive their offerings. Instead, He would go to the Gentiles, who would offer pure offerings to Him. Of course that is exactly what happened.
Can we really afford to dismiss God’s call to tithing in Malachi after seeing what happened to Israel when they chose not to respond?