There have been many discussions about how many tithes existed in Israel and whether they eat their tithe. Today, many congregants are told they cannot eat their tithe. In one of my videos, I discussed the Festival tithe or what some call the second tithe. To my amazement, I found out that God instructed Israel to eat their tithe. The tithe in Israel is fascinating and enlightening. I know that most people do not know that the Bible speaks of three tithes in Israel. But I also know that some theologians and Bible scholars disagree that Israel had three tithes, but only one tithe that was used three different ways. One tithe vs three tithes is not the subject of the video or the slides I’m going to post, but I had to figure out a way to explain the small nuances of the tithe verses. No matter which side you happen to subscribe to, the tithe is still eatable items from the land. The shocking truth is that there are no curses for not tithing money. The curse was about not tithing crops and animals and not bringing the mandatory offerings in Malachi. The tithe in Malachi speaks of the levitical tithe, the first tithe. The offerings in Malachi were mandatory offerings.
I really don’t have a dog in the fight of whether there was one, two or three tithes in Israel, however, it is my responsibility as a theologian to give you what the views are so you will know what to follow-up on concerning how many tithes Isreal actually paid. We know God directed the first tithe to the Levites as a perpetual inheritance as long as the temple stood. Since the levitical priesthood no longer exists and was superseded by the priesthood of Christ, which required a change in the law, no tithes can be paid anymore because the temple was destroyed in AD 70, and their aren’t any Levites to tithe to anymore. When churches redirect the God ordained levitical tithe to the church without scriptural authority by changing it to money, that violates the tithing laws of the Bible. It is believed by some theologians that one
It is believed by some theologians that one tithe existed in Isreal and the second and third tithe comes from a theological perspective that Josephus put forth to respect the law by excessive respect for the law. In other words, putting a fence around the law by creating additional laws to protect the law. Jesus spoke of this practice when he said to the Pharisees about elevating the traditions of men to the status of commandments of God. The argument is that one tithe was used differently during the various years of the sabbatical cycle and the reason the second and third tithes came into the picture happened when Jews were captured and taken to Babylon, resulting in much previous knowledge of the Bible being lost. Over time, Jewish interpreters became so strict, they invented a second and third tithe to show excessive righteousness for the law. By the time of Josephus, the second and third tithe became a traditional concept they devised, but it was not based on the biblical commands of Moses and the first five books of the Bible, rather the second and third tithe was a tradition added to the law. The author who makes this point is Earnest L. Martin. His book was a part of my research for my book. And as I always do, I will post the book cover below. Throughout this blog, I will share all of my research information that went into writing the Book, KLEPTOMANIAC: Who’s Really Robbing God Anyway?
The following power point slides give a short analysis concerning how many tithes existed in Israel. Follow the train of thought in the slides, do research and know the truth for yourself. One thing I know from immersing myself in studying the tithe practices of Israel is that it is very easy for people to fall prey to misleading biblical information if they don’t independent study.
Study these slides with detail and if find something I missed, post a comment on the blog with support documentation. The next post will be Tithing Study Part 10, which is a continuation of the discussion about the number of tithes and the festival tithes. You might ask why I am doing this blog? Or you may ask, what purpose am I trying to achieve. The answer is simple, biblical accuracy. And here is another reason, tithing abuses are ruining many lives. For example, one woman who died could not get a proper funeral in her long-time church because she didn’t tithe enough. You can’t make this stuff up. No tithing, no funeral for a 93-year-old woman in a coma .
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