i have been a part of many christian discussions on the malachi tithe.......
i have heard all sides.... i see some christians get REALLY condemned about trying to DO the malachi tithe.... it DEEPLY affects their relationship with the L_ORD..
Feeling that, as it is rather amazing to see how intense of a topic the malachi tithe subject can be, be it with others that are for it or others against it or others that are indifferent. Growing up and seeing the Lord provide for my mother and I as she was faithful in giving 10% (as she was for the Malachi tithe concept) and always saw the miraculous in comparision to when she didn't---and by no means were we rich---she always took it seriously and so did I.
The main scripture that we were raised with on the issue was one where Christ noted to the people how they needed to do as the Pharisees said (as they sat in Moses's seat and in as much as it lined up with God's commands, they were to obey) but not do as they acted since they were hypocrites...and it seemed plain to us that Christ alluded to the continuance of tithing in
Matthew 23:23, as a Jewish man living under the Law and yet disliking those who abused it:
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spicesmint, dill and cumin.But you have neglected the more important matters of the lawjustice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides!
For us, it seemed rather plain that Yeshua according to Matthew 23 commanded the religious leaders of his day to tithe since he said that they should have done so in accordance with the themes of justice/mercy and love....
Of course, when later running into people who didn't tithe/were very angry at those who do, it was a continual battle in showing why the scriptures say as they do and wondering who was or wasn't right. One of the main arguments was "Well, Yeshua was under the Old Testament Law so his endorsement of tithing doesn't mean anything for believers!!!!"...which often seemed inconsistent since Christ noted many other things in the OT law (i.e. Thou shall not murder, Thou shall not commit adultery, as seen in Luke 19 etc) and yet not one opposing Christ on the issue of tithing would say dare say the same about the other parts of the Law they were always advocating for people to keep.
To me, it was always interesting whenever others said "Tithing doesn't do ANYTHING for a person!!!" even though I know 100% that the Lord came through for those on my side of the street and others who did tithe....and for people who said alot of things (i.e. "It was only about taxes!!!" or "It was oppressive!!!"), it never seemed to be the case that they addressed all aspects of what the Torah said about the requirements of the Law/God's heart in the matter. On the same token, for people that were "pro-tithe"/against others who didn't do so, it always seemed odd how alot of questions I had never seemed to get addressed plainly....at times appearing to be inconsistent when saying the apostles commanded tithting and yet I never saw any evidence for such....and in seeing the lives of others who didn't tithe and yet they were living prosperous lives/known for contributting much financially in the Body, I couldn't be of the mindset that the Lord only blessed "tithers" or others who were for 10% only.
In time, my viewpoint tended to change to seeing how the Lord was about providing for those who are cheerful givers and who give in faith, especially when it may be difficult times for them.
.. i studied the TORAH the best i could.... prayed diligently.... and was STILL not properly understanding G_D's WORD on the subject....
i saw some posts by MJ's in the TORAH forum on how christians misunderstand the tithe.... so i felt strongly to find out what the TORAH TRULY says about the tithe....
Cool to know. Praying you'd find what it is that you're looking for as it concerns getting information on the history of the tithe. Thankfully, it is not the case that all Christians may misunderstand the tithe (or numerous other things discussed within the Torah), as a good number of them are accurate and have an excellent understanding of how the system of Mosaic Law operated...and, for that matter, knowing what it means to have Biblical Financial stewardship in
light of what the OT teaches. Although I'm thankful for MJism in the many ways they've sought to give accuracy on the Law, I'm also glad for the many camps within it that've noted how it often does not make sense to assume all within Christianity don't have the same mindset (in light of the many who often
accuse all Christians throughout history of being lawless heathen, who have constantly derided and ignored the instruction of the Law of Moses when many have been in line with God's instruction, depending on where you look).
One Messianic leader, known as John McKee of TNN, did an excellent job of addressing that once before (seen here ).
On the tithing issue, as another wonderful minister in the Lord noted when sharing on
what NT believers went through in regards to financial stewardship:
People who know that they can't be disciples of Christ unless they give up all their possessions (see Luke 14:33), who know that their Lord forbids them to lay up earthly treasures (Matt. 6:19), and who know that He expects them to love one another as He has loved them (see John 13:34), don't see the point of arguing about tithing. They aren't trying to find out how little they can give without feeling guilty. This is precisely why there is no endorsement of tithing in the New Testament epistles. It is a mute point. Christ's true disciple's are not like the Pharisees who scrupulously tithed their garden herbs while neglecting "the love of God" (Luke 11:42) and the love of neighbor (see Matt. 23:23). Christ's true disciples live to please the One who redeemed them from sin.
love... blessings... prayers.
Blessings to you as well, sis. Shalom