Important Questions Need to be Asked
by Ronald W. Robey


Why do people expect God to honor a promised blessing attached to His tithe command, when they are not tithing as He instructed?


What? When? Where? To Whom?

These are all key questions that need to be addressed when discussing the issue of God’s commanded tithes.

What?
The first thing we must ask is what does tithe mean? It simply means “a tenth,” or “a tenth part.”

A tenth of what?
God’s commanded tithes can be found in Leviticus 27:30-33. According to that passage, His commanded tithes are agricultural produce and livestock. A tenth of the crops were holy unto the Lord. Every tenth animal was holy unto the Lord.

Where?
Where were God’s tithes supposed to be given? Deuteronomy 6:1-3 & 12:10-11 tell us that the tithes were not to be observed UNTIL the children of Israel crossed over Jordan and entered the Land promised to their father Jacob. This means that at this point in history, God did not want tithes from other lands than the land of Canaan. (which later became known as Israel)

The Scripture in Malachi 3 tells us that God had a storehouse that His holy tithes were to be taken to. These people were still under the Mosaic Law, and therefore the tithes would have still been as decreed in Leviticus 27:30-33; i.e., agricultural produce and livestock.

To Whom?
Who was told to tithe? Who were they to tithe to?
According to Leviticus 27:30-*34, the command to tithe was given to Moses for the children of Israel to obey. Psalm 147:19-20 tells us that God did not give the Mosaic Law to any other nation than the nation of Israel. So it was Israel, and Israel alone who were required to honor God with tithes. He did not expect tithes of people living outside of Canaan.

Numbers 18:21-28 & Nehemiah 10:37-38 tell us that the children of Israel were to take their tithes to the Levites, who were ministers of the Temple of God. The Levites, in turn would take a tithe of the tithe to the Temple. The children of Israel did not tithe directly to the House of God at any time. That was the responsibility of only one of the twelve tribes of Israel… the sons of Levi.

In Matthew 23:23 & Luke 11:42, Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for neglecting the important parts of the Mosaic Law, yet commended them for their careful observance to the tithe command. Yet, if one reads carefully, one will notice that the Pharisees were tithing items grown in a garden, not money. Money was not a titheable item under the Mosaic Law. God said His tithe was to be agricultural. Man could not do what seemed right in his own eyes and tithe money. God said it had to be agricultural produce.

The last place tithing is commanded in the Word of God, Hebrews 7:5-8, it is still to be observed, “according to the Law” and still to be given to the “sons of Levi".

There is not one command, nor instruction in the entire Bible for Christians to tithe their money to the New Testament Church… not one!

Pastors have deceived millions into believing they are to keep the Mosaic Law of tithing by running to Leviticus 27:30 as their proof-text that “the tithe is the LORD’s”. They then take that tithe command and run to Malachi 3 in an attempt to prove you are robbing God if you don’t tithe your money.

In other words, they handle the Word of God deceitfully, taking a command of God, turning it into a man-made command, and demanding you keep it or be cursed.

Jesus said of the Pharisees in Matthew 15:9, “But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” If He were physically walking among us today, I am sure He would be saying much the same thing about these tithe-twisting pastors and teachers. They are teaching a man-made commandment as if it is decreed by God.

May God open the eyes of all who are hungry and thirsty for the truth.