Who should we pay tithes to?

While Christians should certainly support their church - or find a church they think worthy of their support, the Tithe has nothing to do with this, despite bad expository preaching and eisegesis to the contrary.

The Tithe instituted by God through Moses in the Old Testament had a specific ceremonial function. It was first and foremost a symbolic act with ritual rather than economic significance. What is more, it was never the means by which the Israelites were to finance the Temple and the priesthood. (Lev 27:30-33, Num 18:21-32, Deu 12:1-19, 14:22-29, 26:1-15) The Tithe is part and parcel with the sacrificial system, the Sabbath, and the Kosher laws; it is as relevant to us today as the Tabernacle cult, Levites, and the hereditary Aaronic priesthood; as significant and obligatory as circumcision. But most importantly, the Tithe was inextricably bound to each Israelite’s inheritance in the Promised Land. At risk of giving away the ending, all of these have been fulfilled in Christ.

This is how the Biblical Tithe actually worked:

Once they had settled in the Promised Land, Israelites were to remind themselves of the days Israel spent wandering in the wilderness, and more importantly how God had given them the Promised Land as their inheritance. This memorial celebration was to be conducted at the annual harvest festival, the Feast of Tabernacles.

The essential preliminary to the feast was this: during the autumn harvest, Israelites would mark and consecrate every tenth yearling kid, calf, and lamb to come in from the field, and every tenth basket from their crop, and every tenth jar of wine, oil, and honey. These and these alone constituted their tithe, which would be used to supply the Feast of Tabernacles with the actual feast.

It should be noted – contra most modern preachers – the Tithe was never paid “Off The Top”. It was not paid with the first tenth or with the best tenth. The Tithe was paid by sortition: every tenth basket (ephah) of crops, every tenth jar (bath) of wine and olive oil, and every tenth lamb, kid, and calf, as follows, 1-2-3-4-5-7-8-9 for me, 1 for God; 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9 for me, 1 for God … and so on, until the baskets or cattle ran out, and if they ran out somewhere before 10, God didn’t get the last one. (It was a sin though to contrive to fix the lot, stacking the deck, so to speak, so that the Tither, rather than God, determined which baskets, jars or animals went to God, and which were kept. It should be noted that it was just as much a sin to fix the results so that God received the best as it was to fix it so that He received the worst goods and animals. Simply, every tenth bushel or animal to “pass under the rod” belonged to God.) If an animal or item the owner did not wish to part with was among those so consecrated, he could redeem it with cash for its full value plus 20% - but the cash was NOT paid to the local Levites or to the Tabernacle, or to the Priests. It was used to buy other acceptable animals and produce.

Two years in a row, Israelites would take those consecrated animals, baskets, and jars to the Tabernacle with their whole family to join all Israel for the Feast of Tabernacles. If the journey was too far, they were to sell their consecrated animals and produce for cash, and take the cash with them to the Tabernacle.

When they reached the Tabernacle, Israelites pitched a tent or built a hut in which they’d camp out for the full week of the festival. If they were redeeming any of their animals or produce from the Tithe, or had converted their Tithe to cash, they would now use all that money to purchase kids, calves, lambs and produce from the locals, so they could bring these as their offering at the feast.


On each of the seven days of the festival, they would go to the Tabernacle and join the rest of Israel in the day’s feast. On one day of the festival, they would take all their Tithe to the Tabernacle where the priests would slaughter the animals and offer up God’s portion (the blubber, the blood, and the organs) on the altar. The rest would then be shared out among all of Israel, the choice portions of every animal going to the High Priest and the priest who slaughtered it. Anything that was not eaten that day was taken outside the camp and burned – no leftovers! At the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, the people returned home, much fatter.

Every third year, however, rather than take their Tithe to the Tabernacle, they would take it to the nearest town, and store it there for the Levites and the poor. The Levites and the poor would then take the best tenth of this and take it as their Tithe for the Feast of Tabernacles that year.

At no time was any of the Tithe used to finance the Tabernacle or the Temple after it. Apart from the animal hides that went to the priests who slaughtered the animals at the feast, the priesthood recieved no other payments from the tithes at all ... except that they were to join in the feast with everyone. So, of all the Tithes, only the hides went to the exclusive use and benifit of the Priests. All else – ALL ELSE! – was either eaten communally by all Israel at the Feast, or it was burned.

Ultimately, it seems modern expositors have missed the entire point of the Tithe. In its context in the Pentateuch, the Tithe was not about financing the Temple or the Priesthood or even the Levites. It was the economic analog of the Sabbath.

We must remember that the Israelites of the Exodus and the Conquest did not need to be told to work; they needed to be told to rest. Likewise they did not need to be told to save (i.e. hoard), they needed to be taught to splurge and share. Their existence had for generations been a desperate one, with famine always crouching at the door, having to work until they dropped from exhaustion, hoarding every crumb as a hedge against future starvation. They needed to be taught to live in celebration, not desperation. They needed to be taught to share, not hoard. Most of all, they needed to be taught to trust that God would still be there tomorrow.

Also, the Tithe had certain particulars that seem always to be missed if not deliberately ignored by modern preachers and expositors:

NOT 10% of Income! The Tithe was never paid on “Gross Income”. It was never even paid on “Net Income”. It was paid only on “the fruit and the flock” – agricultural produce at the harvest including honey, wine and olive oil, (but not milk) and the increase (the yearlings, not the breeding stock) in sheep, cattle, and goats (but not chickens, geese, horses, donkeys, camels, game, fish, etc.). Neither wages nor profits from trade and investment were ever subject to the Tithe, nor were windfalls, gifts, or inheritances.

No Cash! / Food Only! The Tithe could not be paid in cash; it could only be paid with the actual crops, sheep, cattle and goats, though a man could buy the goods or animals back at 20% above their value, the same penalty assessed in the Guilt Offering. (The Guilt Offering required full restitution plus a 20% penalty.) Many preachers and expositors attempt to justify the current preference for cash, stating that people were to pay the tithe in agricultural products because theirs was a barter system with no cash money; but this baseless assertion is clearly rendered ridiculous by everything the Bible has to say on the subject: if there was no “cash” why then the commandments NOT to pay in cash, and how to redeem your offering with cash plus 20% of the offering’s value?

The Tithe Offering Only Made Annually! The Tithe was not paid on a weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly basis. It was paid once each year at the Autumn harvest during the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Tithe was completely distinct from the two other harvest festival offerings commanded by God – the first at the dual festival of Passover & the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the second at the Feast of First Fruits (a.k.a. Pentecost) that followed fifty days later. These two festivals, however, just required a token offering, not a tenth of income or produce, and this offering was not part of the Tithe. (The token offerings were these: the Sunday after Passover the first sheave of wheat from ones fields was to be presented as a Wave Offering; fifty days later, on Pentecost, two loaves of bread were also to be presented as a Wave Offering. The latter, the “first fruits” of the wheat harvest, had to be made from two-tenths of an ephah – about two quarts – of the most finely ground pure white flour, made exclusively from the semolina, the choice grains at the heart of the wheat kernel.)

The Tithe was also totally independent of and separate from the offering of all other firstfruits and firstlings. By Divine Decree, the firstborn male of every female, human as well as animal, belonged to the Lord. Also, the first ephah (“basket”) of any and all crops, and the first bath (“daughter-sized jar”, i.e., a filled jar not too heavy for a daughter to carry) of wine and olive oil, also belonged to the Lord.

Wages, profits from trade, not to mention game, fish, poultry and dairy products were not tithable, and in fact are specifically declared to be unacceptable sacrifices to the Lord. (The sole exception here are turtle doves, which the poor could bring as a substitute in the Burnt Offering and Sin Offering – but these could never be given as part of the Tithe.)

The Tithe was never paid “Off The Top”: As stated, the Tithe was paid by sortition: every tenth bushel or animal to “pass under the rod” belonged to God.

The Tithe was paid on the gain (i.e., the net increase) only: seed and breeding stock (the investment roll-over and operating capital) were exempt.

The Tithe was NOT paid TO the Priests, nor to the Tabernacle or, in later times, the Temple. Two years in three, Tithes were “paid” by essentially wasting them in a great celebrate God’s bounty in the Promised Land and it was to be celebrated in community. Essentially, the Israelite farmer, rancher, and vintner was to dedicate a 10th of his annual produce to one massive Thanksgiving Day feast, to be held sometime during the seven day celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles – and they were to enjoy it while camping out in tents or thatch cabanas set-up in the vicinity of the Tabernacle/Temple, along with the rest of Israel – one vast Jewish Jamboree!

Every third year the Tithes were set aside in toto for the local Levites and the local poor, aliens, widows and orphans for their sustenance, administered out of a community chest. On an annualized basis, that works out to 3⅓% of the harvest. From that 3⅓%, the best tenth of that (⅓% of the harvest) was to be handed over by the Levites to the priests for their sustenance, who in turn were to give the best tenth of their portion to the Altar.

I don’t know of many Protestant churches where the payroll for the sextant, secretary, organist, deacons, et al. along with the budget for aid to the needy, is nine times that of the pay for the pastoral staff, nor where the combined pay for the associate pastors is nine times that of the Senior Pastor. I don’t know of any churches where the congregation tithes (or really “thirtieths”) to the sextant, the organist, the choir master, the Sunday School teachers, et al., who then tithe on that amount to the associate pastors who in turn tithe on that to the Senior Pastor. You can bet that in every church in this country the moneys are collected at the top and doled out from the top down as the those at the top see fit. While this may be a necessary or at least reasonable way to run an organization in these times, this is clearly not a model based on the Old Testament Tithe.


It was the Levites and the Priests – not the people – who were to Tithe with the best 10% of what they had received (but only on their portion of the tri-annual Harvest Tithe, not on all their “income”). The people were never required, or even asked, to give “the first tenth” or “the best tenth”; as was pointed out earlier, they were only to give every tenth bushel, jar, or animal, as these came in. (The misunderstanding that they were to bring the best and/or the first tenth comes from the confusion of the Tithe with the Law of First Fruits: the Tithe was on every tenth bushel or animal, whereas the First Fruits were quite literally the firstborn male of every female, the first basket of ones crop, and the first jar of ones vintage.)

Finally, and most tellingly, the Tithe was specifically and inexorably bound to an Israelite’s Inheritance In The LAND, not his labor.

This is the significance of “the tenth”. Virtually every expositor knows the significance of 7s and 10s in the Pentateuch, but in this matter they seem to be entirely blind to the symbolism. As Seven, or “the seventh”, signifies a spiritual, emotional, and existential fullness, so ten or “the tenth” signifies a terrestrial and physical completeness; the former stresses the vertical, the latter stresses the horizontal. Both have the sense of plenitude, fullness, and perfection, that “nothing is lacking”, that all that belongs is present in abundance. Just as an Israelite was to consecrate every 7th day as a celebration to the Lord in community, so was he to consecrate every 10th lamb, kid, calf, jar of wine, and bushel of the fruit of The Land FOR a celebration to the Lord in community. And, like the Sabbath itself, man was not made for the Tithe, but the Tithe for man.

There was also significance to “the year of the Tithe”, the command to set aside the Tithes every third year for the Levites and the poor. The significance of the third year is like that of the third day. As the seventh day and the seventh year signify a time of fullness and rest, “Shabbat Shalom”, so the third day and the third year both signify a day of salvation, a Divine act of deliverance from raging, chaotic and desperate circumstances.

Finally, it is ESSENTIAL that we understand that the Tithe was completely bound up with The Promised Land itself – both the land part and the promised part. What was tithable was the fruit of THAT Land (crops grown there, animals bred and grazed there) – it was the Land God had promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; it was the Land that God had given to them, a Land flowing with milk and honey; a Land filled with houses and cities they did not build, and vineyards and orchards they did not plant, a Land with stocked granaries and larders they did not fill, a land which God would and did deliver into their hands, He Himself taking it from the inhabitants, against whom the Israelites had no hope of defeating in their own strength. The Land had been distributed by Divine Decree among the children of Israel (except the Levites) as their inheritance, and even if one sold it, it was to be returned to that individual or his heirs every Jubilee year. The Harvest Tithe every third year had been, likewise, allotted to the Levites as their inheritance in the Land, not as compensation for services rendered. Virtually all Levites, most of whom worked at the Temple only two weeks each year, supported themselves primarily by working as craftsmen and shopkeepers in their towns, or farming the town commons. By the time of Ezra, the same was true of the priests. Most tellingly, no Tithe was “paid” until after the Conquest, forty years after Moses had set down the instructions for it.

What is especially important about the Tithe is that everything that was tithable had to have been 1) buried, and then reaped and threshed, 2) pruned and then pressed and crushed, or 3) birthed, raised and then butchered in its prime. I trust I do not have to spell out the significance here to the Christian.

If the Tithe were still in effect for Christians (which it cannot be, as there is no Tabernacle to bring it to, no Levites to pay it to, and no inheritance in the Land of Israel to pay it from) then the offering of the Firstfruits would also be in effect. Yet I know of no Church that asks, let alone requires, its members to donate a weeks wages for the birth of their first son, and another weeks wages for the first pup of their dog and the first kitten of their cat.

It must, however, be re-emphasized that Christian clergy are not the New Covenant equivalent of the Levites or the Priests, your church is not a Christian version of the Temple or even the Synagogue, and likewise neither the Tithe nor Firstfruits have been carried over into the New Covenant as a financial duty to ones church. The New Covenant fulfillment of the Levites and Priests is Christ, just as He is the New Covenant fulfillment of the sacrifices, the High Priest, the Tabernacle, and the Ark of the Covenant … and all who are in Christ are, with Him, the New Covenant fulfillment of all of these.

Again, the Old Testament Tithe was calculated – EXCLUSIVELY! - as every tenth ephah, bath and yearling lamb, kid and calf, yielded from an Israelite’s inheritance in the Land, and all of it was consecrated to and for a festival of celebration to the Lord, a shared communal feast of that inheritance’s bounty.

But, for the Christian, Christ is our inheritance. How then should we tithe? And to whom?

The fecundity of our inheritance is not measured by wages, windfalls, and profits, but by an outpouring of supernatural Love and Grace! What is required is an Agape Feast in its fullest and most spiritual sense. He who is forgiven much, loves much! And also, To him who much is given, much is expected! This is the mystery of the Kingdom of heaven, the Talents of the parable of the Talents, the Minae of the parable of the Minae, it is the pearl of great price, it is the bread that comes down from heaven: it is the Love and Grace of God, in word, in flesh, in deed, and in truth. This is true Eucharist, in which the true disciple reproduces his Master by laying down his own life for the lost sheep, shedding his blood that many might find redemption. The Master said, “This is My body which is broken for you – do THIS in remembrance of Me.” … and the disciple does, not in the breaking of bread but in the breaking of his own body for others, that he may declare with Paul, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” This is the fruit that Christians are suppose to produce, and it is a fruit that is fruitless if it is not first buried and then shared, shared with God’s servants and with the destitute, shared in celebration and community, so that its seed may take root and flourish all the more. It is about the bounty of reproductive Grace.

The TRULY needy.

That is a very good question. Many pastors, preachers, mininisters, priestes or
whatever any other title they go by, including my own father, say that tithing is
still obligatory; but they--knowingly or unknowingly--fail to mention that it was a
practice strictly kept under "Levitical Law" and not [mandatory] under the "New
Covenant." Then they use Malachi--either of not knowing any better or otherwise--
as supporting text for tithing. But Malachi was refering to a purported "cursed"
people (this is all biblical stuff) who failed to practice their obligation under Levitical
Law. See Mal. 1:7-8, Mal. 2:8, Mal. 3:9 for reference. Now, for those people who
want to give their money to the pastors.......I mean to the church, I'm posting a
couple of links on here for their consideration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgm8VW-__ow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciI_VOyRTis

The following scripture clarifies what God meant when He mentioned tithing. He said amongst other things,

1. Tithe.
2. Have a feast in my name with this tithe to honour me always.
3. Buy whatever you fancy with that money to celebrate.
4. Enjoy what you've been blessed with (tithes).
5. Invite the priests, strangers, fatherless and widows to celebrate with you.

Deu 14:22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed .. Deu 14:23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God .. that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always .. when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee .. Deu 14:26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household .. Deu 14:27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him .. Deu 14:28 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:
Deu 14:29 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.

Contrary to popular belief, the 'tithe' money was not given to priests (church) but the priests themselves were invited to the feast alongside the stranger, widow and fatherless to enjoy the blessings bestowed upon hardworking God-abiding citizens.

God tells us to buy whatever our heart desires with the tithes and to share our blessings (wealth) with the priest, strangers, fatherless and widows.

Also Deuteronomy 16:11-14, Deuteronomy 26:11-13 and Malachi 3:10.

To the Pastor

You should pay it to your church but sometimes God leads me to give to other ministries also And you should always give to Him first not after you pay all the bills and see what is left If you will give to Him first He will make sure you have everything you need

well like someone had said before paying 10% of your income. your paying your tithes to the Lord all though He don't need our money He want's us to obey this command. when tithes are paid at the church you attend or one of your choice you are supporting the church and the pastor. pastors don't make a lot money so our thithes help him and his family and also keep the church afloat. so in reality God allows the preacher to be the accountant if you will and lets him keep the money and distribute it as the Lord would want and lead.... let me know if this helped

10% to savings to do his work with.
The book "The richest man in Babylon" describes how that 10% builds wealth. That is the Lord's money in my opinion. To do his work while building more. discipline.

Me, of course

isreal

Your tithe should go to whoever God lays upon your heart to give to sometimes I'll give to my church other times I will give to Son Life Broadcasting or Samaritian Purse wherever I feel God wants me to give it. The money should go to help spread the Gospel to others.

At no time were first-century Christians commanded to pay tithes. The primary purpose of the tithing arrangement under the Law had been to support Israel’s temple and priesthood; consequently the obligation to pay tithes would cease when that Mosaic Law covenant came to an end as fulfilled, through Christ’s death on the torture stake. (Eph 2:15; Col 2:13, 14) It is true that Levitical priests continued serving at the temple in Jerusalem until it was destroyed in 70 C.E., but Christians from and after 33 C.E. became part of a new spiritual priesthood that was not supported by tithes.—Ro 6:14; Heb 7:12; 1Pe 2:9.
As Christians, they were encouraged to give support to the Christian ministry both by their own ministerial activity and by material contributions. Instead of giving fixed, specified amounts to defray congregational expenses, they were to contribute “according to what a person has,” giving “as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2Co 8:12; 9:7) They were encouraged to follow the principle: “Let the older men who preside in a fine way be reckoned worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching. For the scripture says: ‘You must not muzzle a bull when it threshes out the grain’; also: ‘The workman is worthy of his wages.’” (1Ti 5:17, 18) However, the apostle Paul set an example in seeking to avoid bringing an undue financial burden on the congregation.—Ac 18:3; 1Th 2:9.

the tithes should be to god. He uses humans to do his work