“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord…
“Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord” Leviticus 27v30 and 32
After doing much research on the matter at hand, I have noted that those who teach Christian tithing loosely put together words from commands from the Law of Moses to come up with the a definition of the tithe that they want. They then use texts or verses from the Law to enforce this tithe or assert that this is what God said or commanded. So it is only proper that we first understand what a tithe is according to the Law of Moses and how it was applied. Since most teachers use texts from the Law to define and enforce the Christian Tithe. Therefore, it’s befitting that we all understand the true meaning of the word tithe or tithes as it was understood and applied under Israelite Society!
We need to take cognizance of the fact that words don't have a static meaning or definition. All words are given meaning by their context or the way they are applied within a certain context. If one were to affix a certain static definition of a word into every context the word appears, that would inevitably distort the meaning of those contexts. That’s called misreading the text, because we must always understand words according to the given context. The meaning of a word is a bit dynamic hence it’s always derived from the given context!
More often than isn’t the case, when most people define the tithe, they tend to place so much emphasis on the technical definition of the term Tithe. However, the term tithe as per God’s given command didn’t just imply the technical ten percent. It was rather a compound term, signifying three things; the percentage(ten percent), designated items(crops, fruits, and livestock), and the source(from the land) that constituted The Tithe. As is evident from the scriptures, the tithe was defined by how it was applied and not just the technical implication of the term.
From the foregoing facts, I postulate that these three are the definitional elements of the Biblical Tithe that God required when he gave the command to tithe. These three elements defined the Biblical Mosaic Law Tithe, the one that is mentioned and referenced throughout the Bible;
I) Percentage
II) Designated items
III) Source [the Land(of Canaan)]
It is the combination of all these three elements that constituted The TITHE, that God required from the Israelites. The one wasn't complete without the other! In other words, merely applying the percentage i.e. ten percent to something didn’t automatically imply that something is now sacred or the Tithe that belonged to God because one had applied the ten percent principle! This would be just like dedicating the tenth pig to the Lord as a tithe. Simply because one had satisfied the percentage part of the requirement didn’t imply that the “pig" automatically becomes acceptable or holy before God or belonged to the Lord!
Furthermore, since the law did not mention or prohibit the Israelites from dedicating a tenth pig to the Lord, didn’t infer that they could freely choose to do so! However, in harmony with all the scriptures, it is beyond doubt that no sane Israelite would ever dare to go that far. Simply because the Law did not expressly forbid them to dedicate the tenth pig to the Lord as a tithe. This did not at all infer that this was acceptable. As God had expressly communicated his mind on what was acceptable, it was vital that they followed what God had required.
Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine, and olive oil… But if that place is too distant …you cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish..” Deuteronomy 14:22-27
While going through biblical texts so that I could better understand the true meaning of the tithe, the above-captioned text in Deuteronomy 14 caught my attention. It is the wording of the given text that piqued my ever-inquisitive mind. The words tithe, silver, and carry are all used in this text. I wish to draw your attention to these particular phrases '…cannot carry your tithe...' and '…exchange your tithe for silver…' I'm hoping that we can all agree that tithe here was not money or that money was not a genus of the tithe. The distinction is very much pronounced. Silver(money) was not and was never a tithe or a form of tithe in Israel!
Then secondly, the phrase “cannot carry your tithe” reveals that the tithe was indeed agricultural produce only. If they could not carry the “ten percent” of all that their fields would have produced including livestock to the designated places of worship to feast with their families. It was only under this exceptional circumstance that they were allowed to exchange the tithe for silver(money). Please note that this option was only applicable to the festival tithe. Interestingly, most preachers completely ignore the context of this text and claim that this text shows that tithes were also paid in money! This is also after claiming that God required a tithe of agricultural produce because money was not in circulation!
The text in question evidently reveals that silver was neither a tithe nor that the Israelites were required to give this silver that they got in exchange for the tithe to the Levites. But they were to spend the money on whatever their hearts desired at the designated places of worship. They were even given the option to buy wine with the money! Shall we drink wine or any kind of alcoholic beverage and merry in the presence of the Lord because this text said so? Why then just uproot the money part and completely ignore the circumstance that necessitated such an exchange and what the money was for?
Furthermore, Matthew 23:23 also confirms that tithes or the tithing Laws were only applicable to food or the direct produce from the land. The Pharisees in their zealous quest for upholding the Law had apparently started tithing produce from backyard gardens or everything that came out of the land. This resulted in them tithing herbs and spices. Even though this could be construed as taking the Law to the extreme. That was the furthest the Pharisees could ever go in stretching the tithing Laws because tithes were strictly from the direct produce of the Land.
Are Tithes and firstfruits offering the same thing?
“This is the share due to the priests from the people… You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,” Deuteronomy 18v3-4
Lastly, it is quite disturbing to note that most preachers conflate the Mosaic Law Tithe with Firstfruit offerings. These were two distinctly separate things that were regulated by two different commands. Firstfruits were freewill offerings from the first crops from their fields or vineyards and were for priests only and not the whole tribe of Levi. The Law never required Israel to give a tenth of the firstfruits.
“Take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name" Deuteronomy 26:2
Deuteronomy 26:1-10 gave specific instructions on how the Israelites were to go about dedicating their firstfruits offering from the produce of the land, to the Lord. Israel was instructed to give a basketful of crops to the priests. On the other hand, verses 12-15 then gave specific instructions on how to dedicate the third-year tithe to the Lord. These two are distinctly separate from the other. Surprisingly, this is what renowned and popular prosperity gospel televangelist Kenneth Copeland had to say in his book, “The Laws of Prosperity"
“…It (tithe) was a commandment of God to Israel and 10 percent of their Firstfruits belonged to God" ³
After making such a bold assertion he went on to cite Deuteronomy 26:1-10 and had this to say;
“Can you see where we have been missing it? We quickly drop our tithe money into the offering plate as it passes by or stuff it into an envelope without a thought. Instead, we are to present it to Jesus, who in turn will set it before the altar of God. Deuteronomy 26v10 says that the High Priest will set the tithes before God and worship him with them. Can you grasp Jesus worshipping God with your money! Wow.” ³
He isn’t alone in sharing this position, many preachers believe and teach that we should honor God with ten percent of our firstfruits! They are of the mistaken belief that Tithes are the same as Firstfruits. Does the fact that this is what most renowned preachers believe make this in any way biblical? Does the mere fact that great church leaders and popular televangelists share and propagate this view make this a biblical fact? The biblical fact is, firstfruits offering is not the same as Tithes.
Without doubt Deuteronomy 26:1-10 does not address or speak of tithes but rather firstfruits offering yet somehow we believe everything that the Man of God says over what the Bible actually says! This confusion is caused by what they teach regarding the tithe. Believers are taught that the only way to show that God comes first in their lives, is by paying tithes to God first before everything else. In trying to accentuate this point, that’s when “firstfruits” are thrown into the mix. After all, isn't this a biblical if not spiritual terminology from the Bible as well? So, why not!
In a nutshell, tithe according to the whole biblical context of Israeli society implied the direct produce from the land of Canaan; tithes were never given to God in the form of money or from every source of financial increase. Then secondly, tithes are not the same as firstfruits offering. Israel was never commanded to give a tenth of firstfruits from their fields or to apply the tithe when giving firstfruits offering to the Lord.
³ Kenneth Copeland: The Laws of Prosperity. pp.68, 69-71