Abram’s story in Genesis 14 is valuable because it teaches us who we should give our tithes to. In this chapter, Abram gave tithes to Melchizedek, who was the priest of the Most High God. Tithes should be given to someone doing God’s work, usually through the local church that you attend—the church where you are fed spiritually.
God reinforced this principle in Numbers 18:21 (NRSV) when He said, *“To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for a possession in return for the service that they perform, the service in the tent of meeting.” *
The Bible gives us clear guidance that tithes are to be paid to those who do the work of the ministry. It is through giving to people who are doing God’s work that we give our tithes to God. It is clear that even if you are giving your tithes and offerings to a man in a physical building, you are actually giving to the Lord.
“The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.”—Exodus 35:29 (KJV)
In the very first offering that was taken in the wilderness to finance the building of the tabernacle, the children of Israel brought their tithes and offerings to the place where the work of God’s ministry was being done.
“And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.”—Exodus 35:21 (KJV)
In the wisdom of God, He has chosen to fund ministry work through the giving of tithes to those who are doing the work of the ministry. So, if we do not pay our tithes, we actually can hinder, or even prevent, the work of God from going forward in the Earth. This is another reason why refusing to pay tithes is so grievous to God and carries such great consequences that it can spell disaster for us financially.
When Hezekiah restored the work of the temple, he also gave a command that tithes and offerings should resume so that those who performed the work of God could be free to focus on that without distraction.
“He also told (ordered) the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion that was due to the priests and Levites, so that they might [be free to] devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.”—2 Chronicles 31:4 (AMP)
Years later, when God’s people returned from captivity, they restored the temple worship and the services in the house of God. To support this, they also restored the tithes and offerings. These were collected by those who did the work of the Lord in the house of God.
*“And [we obligate ourselves] to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the first of all the fruit of all trees year by year *to the house of the Lord,
“As well as the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as is written in the Law, and the firstlings of our herds and flocks, to bring*** to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in [His] house.***
*“And we shall bring the first and best of our coarse meal, our contributions, the fruit of all kinds of trees, of new wine, and of oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God. And we shall bring the tithes from our ground to the Levites, for they, *the Levites, collect the tithes in all our rural towns.
“And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when [they] receive tithes, and [they] shall bring one-tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers, into the storehouse.
“For the Israelites and the sons of Levi shall bring the offering of grain, new wine, and oil to the chambers where the vessels of the sanctuary are, along with the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and singers. We will not forsake or neglect the house of our God.”—Nehemiah 10:35-39 (AMPC)
Once the tithes and offerings are given to those who oversee God’s work, then they are responsible for distributing those resources wisely so that the work of God may continue and flourish.
“Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded.
“And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:
“And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning.”—Exodus 36:1-3 (KJV)
“On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the offerings, the first part of the harvest, and the tithes. They were responsible to collect from the fields outside the towns the portions required by the Law for the priests and Levites. For all the people of Judah took joy in the priests and Levites and their work. They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as commanded by David and his son Solomon, and so did the singers and the gatekeepers. The custom of having choir directors to lead the choirs in hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God began long ago in the days of David and Asaph. So now, in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel brought a daily supply of food for the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Levites. The Levites, in turn, gave a portion of what they received to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.”—Nehemiah 12:44-47 (NLT)
Accountability
When proper oversight exits in the church, there is accountability throughout the organization to ensure that all tithes and offerings are distributed and used appropriately so that the work of God receives the maximum benefit and support.
“One day, Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money that has been given to the Lord’s temple, whether from taxes or gifts, and use it to repair the temple. You priests can contribute your own money too.”
But the priests never started repairing the temple. So in the twenty-third year of his rule, Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and said, “Why aren’t you using the money to repair the temple? Don’t take any more money for yourselves. It is only to be used to pay for the repairs.” The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money or be in charge of the temple repairs.
Jehoiada found a wooden box; he cut a hole in the top of it and set it on the right side of the altar where people went into the temple. Whenever someone gave money to the temple, the priests guarding the entrance would put it into this box. When the box was full of money, the king’s secretary and the chief priest would count the money and put it in bags. Then they would give it to the men supervising the repairs to the temple. Some of the money was used to pay the builders, the woodworkers, the stonecutters, and the men who built the walls. And some was used to buy wood and stone and to pay any other costs for repairing the temple.”—2 Kings 12:4-12 King James Version (CEV)
Your local church is the first choice for where you should give your tithes, but if you discover that your local church is grossly misusing the money it receives, then you should not feel bound to continue giving your tithes there. Pray for your church and ask God for guidance. You should feel free to give your tithes to someone else (another ministry) who you have confirmed is truly in service to the Most High God. I have had two occasions in which I discovered that the churches I was attending were not consistently using the funds in the service of God.
Depending on your circumstances, there may be no other options but your local church, even if you know they are involved in corrupt activities. This was the situation in Israel when Samuel was born. It was so bad when Eli’s sons were priests that people began to despise the offering of the Lord! (1 Samuel 2:17)
But remember, you are giving to the Lord, not to men. The Lord will reward you for your faithfulness to follow His commands.
When Nehemiah discovered that the people in charge of the temple had misused the collection and had not used it for God’s purposes, he made immediate corrections. The work of God had actually ceased, and those in the ministry had gone back to secular jobs to make a living for themselves and their families. After the corrections were made, the people resumed giving their tithes to the temple collection.
“Before this had happened, Eliashib the priest, who had been appointed as supervisor of the storerooms of the Temple of our God and who was also a relative of Tobiah, had converted a large storage room and placed it at Tobiah’s disposal. The room had previously been used for storing the grain offerings, the frankincense, various articles for the Temple, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil (which were prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers), as well as the offerings for the priests.
I was not in Jerusalem at that time, for I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign, though I later asked his permission to return. When I arrived back in Jerusalem, I learned about Eliashib’s evil deed in providing Tobiah with a room in the courtyards of the Temple of God. I became very upset and threw all of Tobiah’s belongings out of the room. Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back the articles for God’s Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense.
*I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields. I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. *And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms.
I assigned supervisors for the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites. And I appointed Hanan son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites.”—Nehemiah 13:4-13 (NLT)
Giving to the Poor
Some have asked if it is acceptable to give directly to people who are in need, and count it as the tithe? Scripture directs us to give our tithes to God. To do that here on Earth, we give our tithes to someone who is doing the work of God in the Church. Neither Jesus, nor any of his disciples in the Bible *ever *gave money to beggars.
However, God specified to Israel that one third of their tithes should be stored up to meet the needs of the widows, orphans and foreigners, as well as the Levites (ministers), who had no way of making a living on their own. So one-third of the tithes was designated to supply the needs of those who did not have the means to supply their own needs:
“Every third year,* instead of using the ten percent of your harvest for a big celebration, bring it into town and put it in a community storehouse. The Levites have no land of their own, so you must give them food from the storehouse. You must also give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the Lord your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do.”—Deuteronomy 14:28-29 (CEV)*
The third of the tithes that was eventually given to the poor was not just thrown out into the street for beggars or anyone to indiscriminately grab, but it was brought to the city, to a specified collection point, and then systematically distributed in an organized fashion.
“You will set apart a tenth of everything you produce in the third year. That’s the year for giving the tenth to people who have greater needs. You will give it to the Levites, outsiders and widows. You will also give it to children whose fathers have died. Then all of them will have plenty to eat in your towns. Speak to the Lord your God. Say to him, “I have taken your sacred share from my house. I have given it to the Levites, outsiders and widows. I have also given it to children whose fathers have died. I’ve done everything you commanded me to do. I haven’t stopped obeying your commands. I haven’t forgotten any of them. I haven’t eaten any part of your sacred share while I mourned over someone who had died. I haven’t taken any of it from my house while I was ‘unclean.’ And I haven’t offered any of it to the dead. Lord my God, I’ve obeyed you. I’ve done everything you commanded me to do. Look down from the holy place where you live in heaven. Bless your people Israel. Bless the land you have given us. It’s the land you promised to give to our people of long ago. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey.”—Deuteronomy 26:12-15 (NIRV)
In all of the time of His ministry on Earth, it is never recorded that Jesus handed money to a beggar. God specified that offerings for the poor be brought to a central collection point in the Church or in the city. That collection point would then have a system for distributing to the poor. This is a safeguard to make sure that there is a vetting process to prevent you from being cheated. This also ensures that giving is not done in a way that perpetuates poverty. If money is just handed to a beggar on the street, it reinforces the lifestyle of begging. It does not improve the circumstances of the beggar, but instead it perpetuates poverty. When giving is done through an organization that regularly deals with the poor, giving can be done in such a way that contributes to long-term goals of improving the lives of the poor.
*“The first of all the first fruits of every kind, and every contribution and offering of every kind, from all your contributions and offerings, ****shall belong to the priests. ***You shall also give to the priest the first of your coarse meal and bread dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house.”—Ezekiel 44:30 (AMP)
The same process was instituted in the New Testament. People contributed to the Church. Then the Church leadership distributed the money according to the needs of the people.
“Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.”—Acts 4:34-35 (KJV)
When God’s people were faithful to give tithes and offerings regularly, they experienced the abundant blessings of God.
“Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.”—2 Chronicles 31:10 (AMP)