Bible Truth

Tithing Part 5

The 7 and 50 year break

In the 7th year no tithe was taken. Every 50 years was the year of Jubilee in which no tithes were taken either

Exo 23:10 - 11 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

Lev 25:11 -12 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.

I am often confused why I never see tithing doctrine that teaches a complete break from tithing in the seventh and fiftieth year.

What is the Firstfruits offering?

This was a feast that was a time of thanksgiving for Gods provision and required that a sheaf of barley from the harvest was brought to the priest who would wave it before the Lord on the day after the Sabbath. At the same time he would sacrifice a male lamb, a grain offering of 22 litres of fine flour and a drink offering of 3.5 litres of wine. No one was allowed to eat anything from the harvest until this offering had been given.
There is no command or example of this being applied to Christian giving in the new testament although some churches see it as another opportunity for fundraising.

Didn't Jesus mention tithing in the new testament?

There are two records of Jesus talking to Pharisees about tithing found in Matt 23:23 and Luke 11:42 (which are two accounts of the same event) where he was reprimanding Pharisees for sticking to the letter of the law on tithing while neglecting other more important aspects, and then the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican found in Luke 18:10 in which Jesus points out the pitfalls of pride.
Jesus was born under the law of Moses & as these texts were prior to his death & resurrection, the law was still in force & so was tithing at that point.

What about Abraham Melchizidek and Jesus?

Heb 7:8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

It is sometimes suggested that this scripture means that as Jesus is the High Priest of the new covenant that he should now receive the tithe, using the premise that Abram tithed to Melchizidek.

If the argument is that we should use Abram as an example and therefore tithe the problem would be that the tithe Abram gave to melchizidek does not match up to the Mosaic tithe taught by today's tithing teachers.
1. Abrams tithe was of spoils of war that were not his. He never tithed of his own vast wealth
2. Abram was tithing through choice not from obligation or command.
3. Abrams tithe was not an ongoing commitment and this was the only time he tithed that we know of.
4. The remainder of the spoils got returned to their original owner.

The modern tithe teaching revolves around Malachi 3:10 and many other scriptures from the Mosaic Law but the context of much of the book of Hebrews and certainly chapter 7 is that Jesus is now our eternal high priest and that priesthood has replaced the Levitical priesthood of the law.

Because of the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus atoning perpetually for our sins, there is no longer a need for the sacrifice of animals, no longer the need for a Levitical priesthood and more importantly no longer a need for a tithe to support them.

Heb 7:18-19: The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. (NIV)