What is the Correct Biblical Injunction on the Tithe for the New Testament Church?—Part 3
From the Old Covenant to the New Covenant
Observations on tithes and tithing under the Old Covenant
1. The mandatory nature of tithing
Unlike voluntary giving, a New Testament practice, tithing under the Old Covenant was commanded by Law, signifying a compulsory obligation. Non-compliance had consequences, making those who faithfully tithed a testament to their commitment to God and His covenant.
2. The purpose of tithing
The tithe primarily supported the Levites, including the priests, who lacked inheritance in Israel. This sustenance allowed them to dedicate themselves to their Levitical and priestly duties. Tithes also catered to widows, orphans, and strangers.
3. Distinguishing among the tithes
In the third year, a unique practice was to be done, where all tithes were to be brought to a designated place without consumption by the giver. This tithing was distinct from the tithes of the first and second years, in which the person tithing consumed the tithe while sharing it with the Levites and people in need. However, dereliction was prevalent, necessitating a review and modification of the biblical injunction on tithe. Thus, all the tithes were to be brought to the house of God regardless of whether it was not the year of tithing.
Transiting from year of tithing to all the tithes
The first and second-year tithes were for the tithers' consumption and distribution—they decided how to allocate the tithes. Naturally, God expected them to share their tithes with the Levites, the needy, and strangers. However, in the third year—the year of tithing—all the tithes were to be given to the Levites, who were to share them with the less privileged and strangers. Sadly, the people conveniently forgot and neglected the Levites in the third year, the year of tithing, and this continued unchecked. So, in later years, God modified and simplified the requirement for tithing. All the tithes—not just the third-year tithes, but also the first and second-year tithes—were to be given to the Levites. Thus, in Malachi 3:10, it is written,
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house …" (NKJV)
This divine amendment was prefaced by King Hezekiah's revival, during which the people brought their tithes and gave them to the Levites without differentiating whether it was the tithes of the first, second, or third years. Similarly, after the exile, Nehemiah also asked the people to give their tithes to the Levites, regardless of which year it was for. Thus, the Old Testament Bible ended on this note concerning the tithes—
"bring all the tithes"
Transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant
God's command to "bring all the tithes" was exclusive to Israel, and the promise of physical and material blessings was tied to their obedience. Jesus' critique in Matthew 23:23 of the Scribes and Pharisees' tithing of the minutest grain and herb, while neglecting weightier matters of the Law, was within the context of the Old Covenant.
Jesus' message can be construed as follows:
It is hypocritical for you, Pharisees and Scribes (religious leaders), to pay tithes but overlook the weightier matters of the Law.
If you must live by the Law, you must fulfil every aspect of the Law. For it is written in Galatians 3:10,
"Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law." (MSG)
And in James 2:10,
You might follow all of God's Law. But if you fail to obey only one command, you are guilty of breaking all the commands in that Law. (ERV)
If you are not hypocritical, fulfil the payment of the tithe and every other aspect of the Law, especially and more particularly,
"the more important matters of the Law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness." (Matthew 23:23, CEV)
It must be emphasised that when Jesus spoke these words, the New Covenant had not yet been initiated. Hence, Jesus' statement applied principally to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were regarded as the custodians of the Old Covenant at the time (Matthew 23:1-2). It is written in Micah 6:8,
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (NKJV)
Jesus' statement in Matthew 23:23, which many hold as His approval of the tithe for Christians, was neither to His apostles nor Christians.
The New Covenant, initiated by Jesus, does not impose Old Covenant practices like circumcision, sin offerings, the tithe, etc., on Christians. Christians, who are recipients of grace, are not bound by Old Covenant requirements; otherwise, they could be said to be returning to the bondage of the Law and ordinances from which Jesus came to free them. Thus, moving from the Old Covenant to the New was not a transition but a complete break from the Old!
Adopting tithing under the New Covenant, going by Jesus' admonition of the Pharisees and Scribes, necessitates adherence to every other aspect of the Old Testament law, a stance inconsistent with the essence of grace. How can we trample underfoot the sacrifices, vilifications, and martyrdom of the apostles and Early Christians because we want money for sustenance?
Conclusion
The transition from the Old Covenant, marked by fearful obedience to the Law, to the New Covenant, marked by the grace of God and the freedom from bondage to the Law, speaks volumes of the liberty into which Christians have been brought. It can be likened to the metamorphosis of a butterfly, where the cantankerous caterpillar does not have the likeness or similitude of the beautiful butterfly it eventually becomes. The New Covenant's profound message of salvation and freedom from the Law requires that we understand the necessary and complete departure of the New Testament Church from Old Testament practices, including tithing and annual feasts. How then can we, who have been saved with so great a salvation through the sacrifice of Christ that freed us from the shackles of sin and ordinances, engage therein again? As Paul, the apostle, states in Galatians 2:18-21 (MSG),
"If I was "trying to be good," I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan. What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily."
We must not take the grace of God in vain or, put in today's language, rubbish it by engaging in the things from which we were delivered—things which could not save us—including the mandatory payment of tithes. Sadly, some preachers have equated non-payment of tithes with an eternity in hell. If that were the case, then Christ died unnecessarily! But we know Christ's death on the cross brought us salvation, not payment of tithes or any Old Testament ordinance or observance!
Shalom.