Tithes and Offerings Part Three
In parts one and two of this article, we discussed whether Christians living under grace should pay tithes, and what the purposes of tithing are. Now, let’s back up a bit and see just how hard we really have it today, compared to those who lived under Mosaic law.
For a Christian living under Grace, 10% is not a cast-in-stone amount to pay in tithes; it is an absolute MINIMUM. Sadly, only about 30% of church-goers tithe. And in the aged-twenty-something group of church-goers, the percentage of tithers is only half that.
Under Mosaic law, a person paid not one, but THREE tithes, plus various offerings, and the total amount paid to the temple through these tithes and offerings was about 25%. 25% is one-fourth, or two and one-half dollars out of every ten. 10% is only one dollar out of every ten.
The three tithes that the Jewish people paid were these:
The priests and Levites were excluded from owning hereditary land, so the Levites were to be given a tithe (10%) of all produce. (See Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18:21; 2 Chronicles 31:4-11; Nehemiah 10:37.)
The second tithe was to be consumed by the worshipper in his pilgrimages to Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 14:22-27; 12:17). The Old Testament worshipper was required to go to the temple three times a year and so this tithe provided funds for travel, sacrifices, and lost wages.
The third tithe was a tithe for the poor. It replaced the second tithe in the third and sixth year of the seven-year cycle, in which the land was allowed to lie fallow. (See Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 26:12.)
Remember, the Jewish nation, under Mosaic law, was supposed to be on a seven-year agricultural cycle. For six years, they were to work the land, raising crops. In the seventh year, the land was to lie fallow. So for six years out of seven, they had an increase on which to pay tithes. The first tithe of 10% was paid for each of the six years of increase. (No crops planted in year seven means no increase that year; thus, no tithe.) The second tithe, 10% of what was left after the first tithe (equal to 9% of the total increase: 10% of the 90% left after first tithe = 9%), was paid in four of the six years, and the third tithe, same amount as the second, was paid in two of the six years.
So calculating the equivalent amounts paid, averaged out over the seven-year cycle, the first tithe was 10% of the total increase, the second was 6% of the total increase, and the third, 3% of the total increase, making a total of 19% of the total increase. We do not operate on a seven-year cycle, so we should use the 10%, 6%, and 3% figures for any period of time in which we have an increase.
But – do the second and third tithes apply to us at all? We don’t make pilgrimages to Jerusalem. We have a government that gives our hard-earned tax dollars to the poor. So what should the second and third tithes be used for, if indeed we should pay them?
It is the opinion of Pastor Marv that we MUST “pay” the first tithe, and we should “pay” the second and third tithes. (”Pay” is in quotes, because technically, we don’t actually pay tithes – they belong to God, we are just stewards of what we normally think of as “our stuff.” So we are returning the tithes and offerings to Him.)
When I preached about tithes and offerings a few years ago, I called the second tithe the “party tithe.” Most churches have social events – picnics, pot-luck meals, an endless list of such gatherings. These social events would roughly correspond in their purpose to the festivals that the Isrealites under Mosaic law celebrated on their Jerusalem pilgrimages. Also, many of us attend Bible schools, discipleship classes, or participate in various other types of Christian education. We all should be building up our libraries with good books – commentaries, Bible dictionaries, books about Bible study, books about Bible prophecy, books about Christian living, etc. The “party tithe” should be used for things like that. In short, anything that will help us to better serve God or enhance our fellowship with other Christians should be considered “fair game” for where to use the second tithe. You see, during their three pilgrimages, the people fellowshipped (”partied,” thus my calling it a “party tithe!”), worshipped, and learned as the priests and Levites taught the Word of God. (So we should use some second-tithe money to further our Christian education in various ways.)
Even though our government may have a welfare program, we still need to help those less fortunate than ourselves. It might be buying a meal for a homeless person, donating to your church’s food pantry, buying gas to drive a hundred miles to visit someone in the hospital several counties away, or anything that is for someone ELSE. This is where the third tithe should be used.
Here on the Navajo reservation, we frequently have groups from churches – mostly from Southern and Southeastern states – that come here on mission trips. They do everything from building new churches to holding Vacation Bible Schools, and their help is greatly appreciated by us. The money they spend for their mission trips and the various projects they work on should be considered as second tithe, third tithe, and offerings. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell where second tithe ends and third tithe begins – or where the tithes end and offerings begin.
What about the remaining 6% (out of the 25% required under Mosaic law) that is considered offering? That’s what you give to other ministries. Just be wise about which ones you donate to, as we discussed in part two of this article.
In the humble opinion of Pastor Marv, the only tithe that is required of all believers is the first tithe, for the reasons discussed in part one. To recap the primary reason: God is my King, God owns everything, and God is my Protector. Therefore, 10% of the increase which He entrusts to my stewardship is returned to Him in acknowledgement of those three facts and in obedience to what He tells us to do. I practice paying the second tithe, third tithe, and offerings because I love God. Remember, the first tithe is to demonstrate obedience to God, the second tithe is primarily to help the tither as he worships God and fellowships with other Christians, and the third tithe is for the benefit of others. And for the first tithe, 10% is the absolute minimum. For second tithes, third tithes, and offerings, 6%, 3%, and 6% (respectively) should be considered as guidelines, not absolutes, minimums, or maximums.
Hopefully, this series of articles didn’t step on your toes. Or, if it did, we hope it wasn’t too painful. Too many Christians neglect giving to God what is His. Then they wonder why He doesn’t bless them. If you are not a tither, become one. The rewards are out of this world! “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
in His service,
Pastor Marv
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