Page 94 - Pastoral Ministries -Student Textbook
P. 94
Many pastors today burden their congregations under the Law of the Tithe from the Old Testament. It is a
quandary, as they preach grace from the pulpit, yet maintain that their congregation is under the Law of the
Tithe. It is the only command of the Old Testament Law that they carry forward from the Old Testament and lay
on their parishioners. If you are a pastor and want to demand the Old Testament tithe from your church
members, then you might want to raise the actual percentage from 10% to 23.3%, which was the actual amount.
You will make a lot more money but it would not be New Testament giving!
Here is a complete list of every verse in the Bible which references tithing:
Genesis 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he
gave him tithes of all. In this bible verse, Melchizedek comes out to meet Abraham, and Abraham gives him
a tithe of the spoils of his victory.
Genesis 28:20-22 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this
journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21so that I return safely to my father’s
household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and
of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” After the vision of God’s renewed covenant, Jacob initiates a
conditional covenant with God vowing to give him a tithe of what he receives from the promised land.
Leviticus 27:30-32 ‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees,
belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. The specifications of tithing are introduced into the law of Moses.
Numbers 18:20-32 “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they
do while serving at the tent of meeting. The tithe is dedicated for the Levites for the work in the tabernacle.
Deuteronomy 12:5-11 …there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what
you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. God gives
instructions for what to do with the tithe once Israel crosses the Jordan.
Deuteronomy 14:22-29 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23Eat the tithe of
your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God
at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God
always. 24But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your
tithe (because the place where the LORDwill choose to put his Name is so far away), 25then exchange your tithe
for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. 26Use the silver to buy
whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your
household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. 27And do not neglect the Levites
living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own. 28At the end of every three years,
bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29so that the Levites (who have no allotment
or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come
and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
God gives instructions on how to disperse and exchange the tithe.
Deuteronomy 26:12-15 When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year,
the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they
may eat in your towns and be satisfied. God gives instructions on how Israel should sanctify the tithe before
they can ask for a blessing.
2 Chronicles 31:5-12 As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their
grain, new wine, olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of
93