-
Step 1
Acknowledge that the concept of the tithe originated as early as the Book of Genesis. In Genesis 14:20 it states that Abram gave God a tenth of all that he had.
-
Step 2
Know that tithing is mentioned throughout the Old Testament in the books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Leviticus 27:30 says that a tithe of everything one owns belongs to the Lord. Number 18 mentions that the tithe is the Lord's portion; that one must give the tithe as an offering to the Lord. The Book of Deuteronomy reiterates the importance of giving a tithe to the Lord.
-
Step 3
Understand that biblically, a tithe should be set aside for God before any other expenditures. In the Old and New Testaments, people gave to God first and then used the money, harvest or animals that were left for themselves.
-
Step 4
Explore the New Testament of the Bible. It does not mention a specific amount to tithe, but because the people of that time followed the Law of Moses, it is assumed they gave 10 percent of their worth. Jesus followed the law of the time too; he added that giving should be done joyfully and not to boast. He rebuked the Pharisees in the Book of Matthew for tithing for show.
Comments
Stormarm said
on 5/10/2008 [POSTS IN REVERSE ORDER, START AT BOTTOM](cont'd)
shedding his blood that many might find redemption. The Master said, “This is My body which is broken for you – do THIS in remembrance of Me.” … and the disciple does, not in the breaking of bread but in the breaking of his own body for others, that he may declare with Paul, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” This is the fruit that Christians are suppose to produce, and it is a fruit that is fruitless if it is not first buried and then shared, shared with God’s servants and with the destitute, shared in celebration and community, so that its seed may take root and flourish all the more. It is about the bounty of reproductive Grace. And THAT is how you tithe biblically.
Stormarm said
on 5/10/2008 (cont'd) it was to be returned to that individual or his heirs every Jubilee year.
But, for the Christian, Christ is our inheritance. How then should we tithe? And to whom?
The fecundity of our inheritance is not measured by wages, windfalls, and profits, but by an outpouring of supernatural Love and Grace! What is required is an Agape Feast in its fullest and most spiritual sense. He who is forgiven much, loves much! And also, To him who much is given, much is expected! This is the mystery of the Kingdom of heaven, the Talents of the parable of the Talents, the Minae of the parable of the Minae, it is the pearl of great price, it is the bread that comes down from heaven: it is the Love and Grace of God, in word, in flesh, in deed, and in truth. This is true Eucharist, in which the true disciple reproduces his Master by laying down his own life for the lost sheep, shedding his blo
Stormarm said
on 5/10/2008 (cont'd) What is especially important about the Tithe is that it was completely bound up with The Promised Land itself – both the land part and the promised part. What was tithable was the fruit of THAT Land (crops grown there, animals bred and grazed there) – it was the Land God had promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; it was the Land that God had given to them, a Land flowing with milk and honey; a Land filled with houses and cities they did not build, and vineyards and orchards they did not plant, a Land with stocked granaries and larders they did not fill, a land which God would and did deliver into their hands, He Himself taking it from the inhabitants, against whom the Israelites had no hope of defeating in their own strength. The Land had been distributed by Divine Decree among the children of Israel (except the Levites) as their inheritance, and even if one sold it, it w
Stormarm said
on 5/10/2008 (cont'd) What is especially important about the Tithe is that it was completely bound up with The Promised Land itself – both the land part and the promised part. What was tithable was the fruit of THAT Land (crops grown there, animals bred and grazed there) – it was the Land God had promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; it was the Land that God had given to them, a Land flowing with milk and honey; a Land filled with houses and cities they did not build, and vineyards and orchards they did not plant, a Land with stocked granaries and larders they did not fill, a land which God would and did deliver into their hands, He Himself taking it from the inhabitants, against whom the Israelites had no hope of defeating in their own strength. The Land had been distributed by Divine Decree among the children of Israel (except the Levites) as their inheritance, and even if one sold it, it w
Stormarm said
on 5/10/2008 (cont'd) celebration, not desperation. They needed to be taught to share, not hoard. Most of all, they needed to be taught to trust that God would still be there tomorrow.
Just as an Israelite was to consecrate every 7th day as a celebration to the Lord in community, so was he to consecrate every 10th lamb, kid, calf, jar of wine, and bushel of the fruit of The Land FOR a celebration to the Lord in community. And, like the Sabbath itself, man was not made for the Tithe, but the Tithe for man.
Most striking, is the fact that everything that was tithable had to have been 1) buried, and then reaped and threshed, 2) pruned and then pressed and crushed, or 3) birthed, raised and then butchered in its prime. I trust I do not have to spell out the significance here to the Christian.