Father Abram gave a Voluntary tithe?
“And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Genesis 14:20”
One very fundamental question that we ought to constantly ask ourselves is this: Why is it that we need to understand that Abram's tithe to Melchisedech was voluntary? Was Abram ever commanded by God to offer burnt sacrifices? What of Abel, shall we voluntarily choose to burn animal sacrifices because the Bible said this about Abel?
“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings...” Hebrews 11:4
Why do people need to only inject voluntary into the Genesis 14:20 text? Oh, yes, that’s because the Apostles taught on voluntary giving! As Christians we were instructed by the Apostles to give to God voluntarily, without compulsion. That’s why voluntary is now being injected into this text. To what end? The end goal is to condition us to accept or believe that the doctrine on Christian tithing is compatible with the Apostolic teachings. This appears to be a deliberate maneuver to circumvent the Apostolic teachings. Injecting voluntary is only the first and most important part to this travesty.
Does this infer that if we want Gentile Christians to believe in something we simply have to point to Father Abram and then inject voluntary into whatever Abram did and all Christians will believe you? Genesis is awash with many examples of things that are mentioned and some of them were even practiced but we can’t do or practice such things as Gentile Christians. Does that mean that if we feel like observing a requirement of the Law we can just go to Genesis and then simply inject voluntary then you are good to go?
According to those who teach and collect tithes, they assert that since Father Abram ‘voluntarily' gave a tenth from the spoils to Melchizedek before the Law was given this implies that Christians must also now voluntarily give ten percent of ‘everything' to God! As mentioned above, voluntary is the first part, the second part now asserts that this was before the Law was given. We now have two things, voluntary and before the Law was given.
Again, we ask ourselves, why is the understanding that the tithe Abram gave to Melchisedech was voluntary and before the Law was given by Moses? It is because of what the Apostles taught the Gentile Christians. Gentile Christians are not allowed by God to observe the Law of Moses in their worship so as to please him. It is this teaching from the Apostles that they seek to circumvent. The whole basis of this doctrine on Christian tithing is hinged on the conception that Abram's action in giving the tithe was voluntary. Now in everyone’s head the above text reads as “…Then Abram VOLUNTARILY gave him a tithe of everything”
It is quite obvious that those who came up with or developed the doctrine eisegetically interpreted this text by introducing or injecting their own ideas into the text thereby altering its meaning completely. The whole doctrine is woven on this interpretation which can’t even be substantiated by both the biblical and historical context of this text. It completely befuddles the mind how most people accept this interpretation as an infallible biblical fact, yet it isn't. It isn't a biblical and historical certainty that Abram's tithe was voluntary.
Most of us are very much aware of the fact that the tithe isn’t the only thing that was mentioned in Genesis that Abram did voluntarily before the Law was given. However, we have all been led to believe and accept that Tithing is the exception because Father Abraham was commanded by God to do all those other things but he wasn't commanded to tithe. He instead voluntarily gave a tithe of everything to Melchizedek! Nevertheless, does the text in Genesis 14 state in any way that “Abram, voluntarily gave him tithes of all”? This is nothing but an opinion or idea that was injected into this text that can not be accepted religiously as scripture! The Bible doesn’t say all this. If one does a careful exegetical analysis of the given text, these are the given facts.
From the foregoing facts and opinions it seems very much improbable that the tithe that Abram gave to Melchizedek was voluntary. As pointed out above, the text mentions two things; first, that Melchisedech was the King of Salem and then secondly, that he was also priest of God Most High. This is what the Scriptures say, and I am not in the habit of fighting with the scriptures. If the Scriptures say that he was priest of God Most High, then indeed he was! After news of Abram's victory reached Melchisedech, he went out to meet him on his way back from the battle front. Here is what others had to say about the historical context of Genesis 14.
“History reveals that tithing existed in ancient Babylon, Persia, Egypt, and China but only for political or societal purposes and not given to God in order to be blessed. It was a taxation system paid to the King or ruler over the people" Bertie Brits 1
“Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek was in obedience to this old Arab war custom and was not a command from Yahweh. Evidently, the Arab war custom specified that ten percent of the spoils of war be given to the local priest-king, while the ninety percent belonged to the victor. Abraham was OBLIGATED to pay a special one-time tithe-tax of the spoils of war.” Dr. R. E Kelly 2
“Tithes were an ancient tradition in the bible (and more broadly in the ancient near East)” Iain M. Duguid 2
“It is very important for us to understand that Abraham was living and following a Babylonian – Chaldean tax system of honoring the greater called the Tithe tax… It was something that was not given voluntarily but by compulsion to pay respect to the King" Bertie Brits 1
All these authors, shed more light into the historical context of the Genesis 14 account. According to the above, Abram gave the tithe in honoring an ancient Arab war custom as such it was not voluntary. The sequence of events and the context of the text confirms this position. The mere fact that Melchizedek was a King and that the tithe was from the plunder all but confirms that the tithe Abram gave was not voluntary. According to Ancient Arab war custom, Kings received a tithe of the spoils from the victor to show their fealty.
Samuel the Prophet, hinted this to Israel when they demanded for a King. 1 Samuel 8:15 “He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.” Samuel indicated that a King shall demand tithes from them. He didn’t say that God would obligate them to give tithes to the King! Here Samuel reveals that Kings also collected tithes from their subjects, as was the case with King Melchizedek, only that his tithe came from the plunder!
According to the foregoing facts, it is not a biblical certainty that Abram voluntarily gave a tithe of everything to Melchisedech. The context of Genesis doesn’t say why Abram gave Melchisedech tithes of all. Those who assert that it was voluntary and those that assert that he did so in honoring a local Arab war custom, is all pure conjecture. The scriptures do not say all this, but they do reveal that Abram said something to the King of Sodom. His utterance might best help guide us into understanding why he gave the Tithe to Melchisedech.
“But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord , God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ Genesis 14:22-23
Abram informed the King of Sodom that he had already made a vow to God that he wasn’t going to accept anything from him. Abram had already renounced whatever claim that he had on the spoils before God. He wanted absolutely nothing, not even a strap of sandals! Why would he then voluntarily choose to honor God with a tithe from the goods he had already renounced? The very goods that he couldn’t accept even a thread or strap to tie his sandals? This then reveals that Abram was obligated to give a tenth of the spoils to Melchisedech to honor a local war custom since he was the victor.
Since Abram was a wealthy man, he would most probably not have chosen to honor God with tithes from goods that he didn’t want. He made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with the goods. All this came from his own mouth through a vow he had made to God. I remember what David once said to Araunah when the latter had offered the threshing floor to King David for free, so that he could build an altar for the Lord.
"But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. 2 Samuel 24:24
If King David once refused to offer a burnt sacrifice to God that didn’t cost him anything, why would Father Abram choose to honor God with tithes of goods that he didn’t want? That tithe did not cost him anything, because it came from things that he had refused! Food for thought…
1 Bertie Brits: Jesus is the tithe pp.197;198;200
2 Dr. Russell Earl Kelly: Should the Church Teach Tithing pp.23
3 Iain M. Duguid: Should Christians Tithe. pp.12