high priest

Should We Tithe Since Jesus is the High Priest?

As we continue our ‘Tithing on Trial’ series, we will evaluate the most common tithing arguments used to defend its practice.

Argument: Jesus is the High Priest and Should Receive a Tithe

If the Church wants to continue tithing as it happened in the Old Testament, there is an enormous obstacle to overcome with the absence of crucial elements including the Levites, the Mosaic law, the temple; and the Israelites. Tithing was used to support the infrastructure of Old Testament worship, but with that infrastructure replaced, supporters today try to find the missing link that connects the whole tithing system in the Old Testament with the infrastructure of the New Testament.

The priesthood of Jesus is used as a missing link that somehow transforms the practice of “tithing under the law” – To – “tithing under Grace”. Tithing had been contingent upon the Mosaic law, the temple, the Levites, & Israelite soil, but these links have been cut off; so we would need another type of bond to help graft tithing back into the chain of requirements. Unnaturally, Jesus’ priesthood gets linked in between the Law and Grace and creates a defective union between the old and the new so that tithing can be grafted in with the Church. This is what the bible calls putting new wine into old wineskins. (Matthew 9:17)

Most of the confusion about Jesus Priesthood and what it has to do with tithing is found in Hebrews 6:19-Hebrews 8:6 It would be good for you to read the passage before reading the rest of this post because there is a lot of information, but if not, i’ll do my best to fill you in.

Let’s get some context

Hebrews is written to a group of people who had trouble transitioning from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. Hence the name of the book is ‘Hebrews’. It is not called, ‘Greeks’, or ‘Gentiles’ since it was the Jews who had this problem. Although, i think it would serve well to rename the book – “Gentiles” today, since 2000 years later it seems the Gentile Church has a huge problem with this Law issue.

In a brief paraphrase, this passage in Hebrews uses Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20) to illustrate how the priesthood of Christ is greater than the Levitical priesthood.

Other Offerings Given to Priests

I think one of the major problems is that everyone focuses on tithing and overlooks all the other offerings for the priests. Here are some details on the overlooked offerings received by the priests.

Twice a Year (Numbers 28)
– Two lambs, a tenth of an ephah of grain, a quarter-hin of wine
Once a month (Numbers 28)
– Two bulls, three-tenths ephah of flour, half-hin of wine
– One ram, two-tenths ephah of flour, third-hin of wine
– Seven lambs, tenth ephah of flour, quarter-hin of wine
Once Each Harvest (Nehemiah 10:38)
– One-tenth of Israel’s tithe from crops and animals (1%)
Once a Year (Numbers 28)
– Two bulls, Three-tenths of an ephah of flour
– One ram, two-tenths of flour
– Seven lambs, one-tenth of flour

Question 1: If Jesus is the High Priest and deserves at least the same offerings that the earthly Priests were offered, then why do we stop at tithing?

Question 2: Why would Jesus Priesthood get 10% of our increase, when the Priests only received 1% of Israel’s increase? (Nehemiah 10:38)

Another thing most people do not understand is that the Israelites never tithed to the priests. They only tithed to the Levites and then the Levites were responsible for then tithing to the priests. So, not only did Israel not give to the priests, but the priests only received 1% of Israel’s increase.

Other symbolic Titles of Jesus

Regardless of my previous points, let’s say that Jesus’ position as a high priest is what compels us to keep the tradition of tithing going. In this case, you would have some explaining to do if we were to honor His offices found both in the Old and New Testaments. Let’s address a few other positions . . .

Jesus was named the . . .

Lamb of God
Are we compelled to kill any lambs? (1 Peter 1:19)
First Fruits of the Dead
Are we compelled to offer our first born, first paycheck, first car? (Colossians 1:15)
Passover Lamb
Are you spreading blood on your door posts? (1 Corinthians 5:7)
High Priest
Are you giving your tithe?

All the rituals found in the Old Testament that were meant to symbolize who Jesus was or what Jesus would do, have all been fulfilled. For some reason, people feel the need to resurrect a few of these ceremonies and continue to practice them.

I don’t know what reasons you may have for practicing tithing, but to practice it for the sake of honoring the Priesthood, would be comparable to raising an altar and sacrifice an animal in honor of the Lamb of God. I know it sounds ridiculous to compare tithing with slaying a lamb on an altar, but honoring any one of these rituals has no less severity over any of the others.

Looking forward, there is one task that Jesus asked us to perform in honor of him.

As Often as You Eat This Bread & Drink This Cup

Jesus didn’t ask us to commemorate anything except for his death.
Luke 22:19 states, “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.“

Between the meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, there were two things offered – A tithe and also bread & wine. The ironic thing is that before Christ’s death He initiates a Church practice with his disciples, but specifically mentions one of the offerings and not the other. It was the Lord’s Supper that Christ asked us to perform in remembrance of him under the New Covenant. He did not say tithe, sacrifice a lamb, shed some blood, or offer your firstborn. Since the meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek is not what launched the Lord’s Supper into church practices, then why would tithing be added to Church practices?

Some people treat tithing as if we are to obey it in commemoration of Jesus’ priesthood just as we obey the Lord’s Supper in commemoration of his death. I’m not sure how the Lord’s Supper can be placed at the same table as tithing? Tithing was being practiced looking forward to the fulfillment of our final Priest, and the Lord’s Supper is being practiced while looking back at the fulfillment of his work on the cross.

There are so many symbolic practices of Christ found in the Old Testament. Just to name a few: Noah’s Ark, Manna, the Tabernacle, the Bronze Altar, the Mercy Seat, the Bronze snake, the Passover, Scapegoat, etc. All of these are just as symbolic of Christ as the tithe would be to Christ’s priesthood. . . yet, do you practice them?

As The High Priest, Jesus Set The Precedent

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

What other example do you need? The High Priest of High Priests set up his ministry on earth through the freewill offerings of his followers. Pastors talk from the pulpit about the “order of Melchizedek” and continuation of tithing to our living high priest. We are quick to exemplify Abraham’s tithe to an earthly priest and yet overlook Mary, Joanna, & Chuza’s literal example of giving to Jesus. The ultimate question is why is Abraham giving to Melchizedek more significant than these women actually giving to Jesus?

If the argument here is about Jesus’ priesthood supporting the tithe then don’t use Moses, the Law, Abraham, or Melchizedek to illustrate when you have a clear example right in front of you. All this, if Jesus is actually the one we are trying to honor, unless we know it’s really not about Jesus but admittedly we know it’s about the money. In that case, I respect you for your honesty at least.

Conclusion

Our giving should be cheerful, free, liberal, and sacrificial and should look nothing like tithing to the priests. It should resemble how God gave to us when he gave his only Son. The Priesthood of Jesus is not the missing link that that enables tithing to be grated between the old and the new. This union is defective and can be illustrated in the example of new wine put into the old wineskins.

Luke 5:36-39 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.”

You Be the Judge

Now that the evidence has been given in this court of law, it is your turn to decide

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What Does the Bible Say About Giving Less than 10%?

02/06/12 by Jared Brian 21 Comments

We are starting our series of posts called “Tithing on Trial” and begin with this argument defending tithing.

ARGUMENT #1
There is no place in the Bible where it says to give less than a tithe.

There are plenty of examples in scripture where the Israelites gave an offering or a sacrifice that was less than 10% of their increase. To say that there is no place in the bible where it says to give less than 10% is a closed-minded and ignorant statement.

If we want to get technical about giving, we should remind ourselves that there is no place in the bible where it encourages us to offer less than 100%. If you want to dissect this even further, God doesn’t require us to give back 100%, he requires us to give back 100% plus interest. We can see this concept in the parable of the bags of Gold in Matthew 25:14-30. “…Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest…”

In this parable a master leaves three servants entrusted with his riches while he’s away on a journey. When he comes back, the master finds that two of the servants give back even more than what was given to them, but finds the third servant returning only 100% what he was given. Although this parable is ultimately about lost souls, we can reflect on the implications this has on stewardship in general. This parable shines new light into my heart and brings conviction about how i should truly view stewardship and giving.

9 Occurrences Where Giving Was Less than 10% in the Old Testament

Abraham – Gave from the spoils of war and not a tenth from his own wealth. (Hebrews 7:4)
Israel – They were only required to offer 1/500 of the spoils of war. (Numbers 31:9, 27-29)
The poor – They received but never gave from their gifts. (Nehemiah 10:38)
Occupational income (Not including farming and herding) – Doctors, Lawyers, Carpenters, etc didn’t tithe from their increase. (Leviticus 27)
First fruit offerings – This included a small portion of first of the crop. This was the first offering of the crops as well as the best and was less than a tithe. (Exodus 23:16)
High Priests – The Levites tithed to the house of Aaron, but what did the house of Aaron give from the tithe they received? As far as I know, it wasn’t a tithe. (Numbers 18:8-20)
Temple Tax – Only a half Shekel was used for the maintenance of the Temple. The Bible states, “The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less” (Exodus 30:13-16)
Herdsmen – Every tenth animal was given as a tithe, this means if a farmer had 9 cows, he was commanded to give 0%. If he had 19 cows, he gave 5.3% etc. (Leviticus 27:30-33)
Promised Land – The Israelites gave no tithes from animals or agriculture they raised outside the promised land of Israel (Deuteronomy 12:5)

A misconception about tithing is the belief that everyone was required to give tithes off everything. The Bible repeatedly clarifies that the tithe was only given from the crops or animals, which means that tithes were not given off of wages earned from other occupational incomes. Bankers, lawyers, doctors, blacksmiths and carpenters did not give a single cent from their occupational income. On the other hand if they garnished an increase from their herds or from their personal crops, they were to give the tenth one to God. One can only conclude that some carpenters may not have tithed at all if they never had crops or animals.

If you read every single bible verse about tithing from the time it was commanded to the end of scripture, you will see that neither money nor other goods were involved in tithing. Even when Jesus spoke to the Pharisees in the New Testament about tithing (Matthew 23), he confirmed that herbs and spices from the garden were to be tithed upon.

Many people also forget that the poor received the tithe; they didn’t give it (Deuteronomy 14:28,29). There is no scripture stating that the poor must give back 10% of what was donated to themselves. As you can see, this is another group of people that not only gave less than 10% of their increase but in reality were benefactors without even being a contributor.

I’m sure there are some of you who think I am looking at tithing legalistically, and I’m focusing on the legalities of the Mosaic law instead of tithing under grace. There is a pre-mosaic example of Abraham’s tithe which didn’t include animals or crops that we can look at. But let’s compare scripture with scripture and really understand whether or not Abraham’s example prior to the law sets the tone for tithing throughout scripture. Let’s read Numbers 31:25-30, “Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Count up the plunder that was taken–of man and beast–you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; and divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. And levy a tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; take [it] from their half, and give [it] to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the LORD. And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.'”

I know it is kind of a lengthy passage, but in summary, God just told Israel to divide the spoils of war in half, take 1/500 of the first half and give it to the family of the high priest, and then take 1/50 of the second-half and give it to the Levites. For those of us who are bad at math, I had a genius figure this out for me, and it seems the Israelites gave 2.005% of the spoils of war to God. So, in other words, this is a clear example where Israel was commanded to give less than 10% of their increase.

Now that the evidence has been given in this court of law, it is your turn to decide; Does the Bible allow less than 10% of your increase- Guilty or not guilty?

YOU BE THE JUDGE

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Tithing on Trial Series

02/02/12 by Jared Brian 5 Comments

I’m going to start writing a series of posts to address common arguments and questions used to promote tithing. These arguments have been listed on the 60+ tithing arguments debunked page, but it is not in a format where I can really go into detail. This series of posts are going to be called the “Tithing on Trial” series. As I hear arguments used to promote tithing in the Church, I will address them in this series. On the side menu, you can see a link under the categories for ‘Questions About Tithing’. If you click it in the future, you will see a comprehensive list of posts that address each and every argument to promote tithing.

Here are a few of the pro-tithing questions that are used to argue for the practice of tithing: