This is a concept that is totally misunderstood by many today. The Scriptures tell us that there are several ways to give, and the two main areas are Biblical Giving and Tithing. Tithing (Hebrew “Terumat ha Maaser”) is not required right now for several reasons. First, tithing was agricultural and was only done if you made your living off the land God gave Israel, which means they lived in the land. It is not money and you did not give ten percent of your income in money. The laws of tithing only applied to those who lived in the land of Israel and they made their living agriculturally off of it. If you lived outside the land you did not tithe. Secondly, you tithed to the Levites, who then gave ten percent of that to the priests.
Third, you gave your tithe at the festivals of Shavuot and Sukkot. Years were divided into “sevens” called a “Shemittah.” One would tithe for six years and on the seventh year of the Shemittah there would be no tithing at all because the land rested and there was no agriculture or crops grown (Lev 25.1-3). Seven Shemittahs was forty-nine years, and on the fiftieth year, there was no tithing because it was the Yovel year, and there were no crops. So, there were no crops in the forty-ninth and the fiftieth year, but God promised to give an abundance in the forty-eighth year that would cover the two years (a triple crop) when there were no crops (Lev 25.18-22). So tithing was broken down like this during the first six years of a Shemittah
In the first year of the Shemittah, at the festival of Shavuot, the first tithe called the “Maaser Rishon” was taken to a levitical city storehouse and deposited. The second tithe called the “Maaser Sheni” was deposited at the Temple at Sukkot with a massive banquet (Deut 14,22-29). During the second year of the Shemittah the first tithe was taken to a levitical city storehouse at Shavuot, and the second tithe was taken to the Temple at Sukkot. In the third year, the first tithe was taken to a levitical city storehouse, and the second tithe at Sukkot was also taken to a levitical city storehouse. In the fourth year, the first tithe was taken to a levitical city storehouse at Shavuot, and the second tithe at Sukkot was taken to the Temple. In the fifth year, the first tithe was taken to a levitical city storehouse at Shavuot, and the second tithe was taken to the Temple at Sukkot. In the sixth year, the first tithe was taken to a levitical city storehouse at Shavuot, and the second tithe at Sukkot was taken to a levitical city storehouse. In the seventh year of the Shemittah there was no tithing because there are no crops.
So, if you made your living off the land as a farmer, or you had vineyards and were involved in agriculture, you would tithe. If you were a carpenter, potter, lawyer, mine worker, etc, you did not tithe. Today there is no Temple, priesthood, Levites, or Levitical city storehouses, and that was required to fulfill this commandment. What many teachers say today is not true and it is designed to put fear and guilt on people so that people give their “tithes” to support the work of that particular organization. Ever wonder why many teachers tell their people that they are “not under the law” when it comes to the commandments in the Torah (like the Sabbath, eating biblically allowed foods, idolatry, and graven images, etc), but then turn around and say that tithing is required? Tithing is part of the Torah, yet they pick and choose what they want people to obey. But tithing cannot be done today because most people do not live in the land and do not make their living off of it, and there is no Temple, priesthood, Levites, or levitical city storehouses. Even if you lived in the land you cannot tithe according to the Torah.
If a teacher wants you to tithe like an Israelite to support the assembly or congregation, why don’t they live like a Levite with no inheritance? Tithes were to be given to the Levites, and then they gave a tithe to the priests, who also did not have an inheritance. Yeshua never collected tithes for his support and he would have been wrong to do so. It is inconsistent for a congregational leader who teaches that the Torah has been done away with on the one hand, to require his congregation to tithe, quoting the Torah, on the other hand. This sounds like they are twisting the Scriptures for money and personal gain.
Now, if you want to give your money to support the needy, widows, orphans, or any good work where finances are needed, that is called Biblical Giving and there are no limitations on what percentage to give. But don’t call it tithing because that is not what it is. Don’t let these false teachers quote Mal 3.8-9 to you and say if you don’t tithe to them you will be cursed. That is not what those verses are saying. The context of these verses is about the people who were not tithing and they were making their living off the land that God gave them. Mal 3.10-12 goes on to say that if the people began giving their tithe as required in the Torah, and the tithe is brought into the levitical storehouses (and the storehouses mentioned there are not “churches” or their particular organizations), then the land and the people will be blessed.
As a Torah-based believer in Yeshua, we should always keep the commandments that apply to us, and tithing does not apply today as given in the Scriptures. For a more detailed look into this concept, see our ten-part series on this website called, “Tithing and Biblical Giving.”
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