Under the Law of Moses, the Jews were required to pay a tithe (a tenth). In this Law, Israelites were required to give to God one tenth of all their produce and animals. This could be either an actual tenth of the possessions or a sum of money equaling the value of one tenth of the possessions plus a fifth. The things and money that were given as tithes were given to the Levites as a source of income. The Levites were also required to pay tithes, which were given to the high priest. Since Christians are not under the law of Moses (see When the Law was ended ), we are not required to pay a tithe. Although, we do have new testament examples of free will offerings to help needy saints.
| Leviticus 27:30-34 |
And all the tithe of the land,
whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree,
is the LORD's. It is holy to the LORD. If
a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add
one-fifth to it. And concerning the tithe of the
herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the
tenth one shall be holy to the LORD. He shall
not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange
it; and if he exchanges it at all, then both it and the one
exchanged for it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
These are the commandments which the LORD commanded
Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai. |
| Numbers 18:24 |
"For the tithes of the children
of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering
to the LORD, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance;
therefore I have said to them, 'Among the children of Israel
they shall have no inheritance.'" |
| Numbers 18:25-29 |
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak
thus to the Levites, and say to them: 'When
you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have
given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall
offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, a tenth of the
tithe. And your heave offering shall be reckoned
to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and
as the fullness of the winepress. Thus you shall also offer
a heave offering to the LORD from all your tithes which you
receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the
LORD's heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. Of all
your gifts you shall offer up every heave offering due to the
LORD, from all the best of them, the consecrated part of them.'" |
| Deuteronomy 12:5-7 |
But you shall seek the place where
the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His
name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. There
you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices,
your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand,
your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn
of your herds and flocks. And there you shall eat before
the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you
have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD
your God has blessed you. |
| Deuteronomy 14:22-23 |
You shall truly tithe all the increase
of your grain that the field produces year by year.
And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where
He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and
your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and
your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. |
| Deuteronomy 26:10-13 |
"'And now, behold, I have brought the
firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.' Then
you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before
the LORD your God. So you shall rejoice in every good thing
which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you
and the Levite and the stranger who is among you. When
you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase
in the third year -- the year of tithing -- and have given it
to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow,
so that they may eat within your gates and be filled
, then you shall say before the LORD your God: 'I have
removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them
to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow,
according to all Your commandments which You have commanded
me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten
them.'" |
| 1 Corinthians 16:1,2 |
Now concerning the collection for the
saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia,
so you must do also: On the first day of the week
let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may
prosper, that there be no collections when I come. |
| 2 Corinthians 9:7 |
2 Corinthians 9:7 [So let] each one [give] as he purposes
in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God
loves a cheerful giver. |
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