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Deuteronomy
14:22-29
22. Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.
24. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:
25. Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:
26. And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
27. And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
28. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29. And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
I read these
verses in Deuteronomy this morning during my daily
Bible reading. If I am taking them out of
context, please let me know, but it seems apparent
to me that the tithes referred to in these verses
are to be used to feed the hungry, specifically the
Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow,
as well as your own household. I know that isn't the
only use of tithes, but it is an often overlooked
one.
Elwell's
Evangelical Dictionary states "At
different times in Israel's history, varying
regulations governed the tithe. Before the time of
the Deuteronomic code, tithes were used to celebrate
a festival at the local holy place, as when Amos
mentions the tithes brought to Bethel (4:4),
probably because of the vow made by Jacob (Gen.
28:22). The firstborn of flocks and a tithe of the
fruits of the field provided for the festive meal.
The priest of the holy place, strangers, widows, and
orphans shared in the meal with those who brought
the provisions. The remainders from the meal were
given to the priests and their assistants as well as
to the needy (Deut. 14:22ff.).
In
the book of Deuteronomy, the firstborn of the flocks
and the tithes are to be brought to the central holy
place in Jerusalem ("the place which he will
choose, to make his name dwell there," 14:23).
Families and the Levites of the towns were to travel
to Jerusalem for the festive meal. If the journey
was too long and carrying the tithe too difficult,
one could sell the tithe and buy what was needed in
Jerusalem (vss. 24ff.). Yet this system did not
adequately provide for the needs of the poor, so the
code stipulated that every third year the tithe
should be kept in the local town (vss.
28-29;26:12-15). It would be distributed to Levites,
sojourners, the fatherless, and widows who could not
produce food for themselves."
Eaton's
Bible Dictionary states "Every Jew was required by the Levitical law to pay three tithes of his property
(1.) one tithe for the Levites;
(2.) one for the use of the temple and the great feasts; and
(3.) one for the poor of the land. "
It
is the most common practice to just give tithe's to
the church nowadays, and if that church is using
those monies for these types of things, then that
would seem to me to be appropriate. It seems
to me that a correct use of tithe money would be to
maintain the church property, provide support for
the full time minister as needed, AND to distribute
to the Levites (church workers), sojourners, the
fatherless, and widows who cannot produce food for
themselves. If your church is not doing that,
you need to ask why not? I have found that
churches that are very active in aiding the poor and
downtrodden with a portion of the tithe money, often
have much less disagreement or problems with
Christians tithing, than churches that do very
little. The problem often rears its head when
Christians are tithing, yet don't see much of that
money being used to help the needy, or missions, or
other Christian works. Agree/Disagree?
Send me your comments - if I'm out in left field
somewhere, let me know. I just read these
verses again this morning and felt compelled to
comment on them. God Bless my Brothers and
Sisters in Christ.
I
will end with the commentary Matthew Henry wrote
about these verses
22-29 A second portion from the produce of their land was required. The whole appointment evidently was against the covetousness, distrust, and selfishness of the human heart. It promoted friendliness, liberality, and cheerfulness, and raised a fund for the relief of the poor. They were taught that their worldly portion was most comfortably enjoyed, when shared with their brethren who were in want. If we thus serve God, and do good with what we have, it is promised that the Lord our God will bless us in all the works of our land. The blessing of God is all to our outward prosperity; and without that blessing, the work of our hands will bring nothing to pass. The blessing descends upon the working hand. Expect not that God should bless thee in thy idleness and love of ease. And it descends upon the giving hand. He who thus scatters, certainly increases; and to be free and generous in the support of religion, and any good work, is the surest and safest way of thriving.
I
could not agree more.
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