I don't (and wont) specifically teach for or against the tithe except in very general terms. It is much more an issue of readiness in the heart, than a particular percentage.
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Understanding the purpose behind the Law can, IMHO, put alot of things deemed to be issues with tithing to rest.
If understanding the concept of how the Law functions like a Constitution and goes through changes--with certain parts applying for a time and then becoming void when a new part of the Law becomes accessed, it helps greatly in understanding how it flows. When God said "Thou Shall Not Murder", that is something that never changed. However, the legal system for dealing with that law did transform in the NT...as well as the means by which one could fulfill that command since the LAW in the OT could never give any kind of hope to others in actually being able to keep it fully without the power of the Holy Spirit.
Another example of where the Law has transformed is within the area of the Temple. One must keep the concept of transformation in view if discussing the Temple in the OT and what the NEW Covenant describes for us...as well as all of the activities occuring in the old temple that occur for us as well differently in the new.
In example, when it comes to what God said with Moses when it came to his commanding the Israelities to give sacrifices to Him..animal ones as well as grain ones, it should be understood that the sacrifices have changed, of course, in the NT (Romans 12:1-3, Hebrews 13:15)--just as it has been with the temple changing in its format.....though of course, some say that the temple will come back according to Ezekiel 39-44 and Zechariah 6....and that's worth considering.
In Hebrews 13:8, for example, the sacrifices were considered to be "praise" we give to the Lord---in remembrance of Leviticus 7:12 and Psalm 50:14 and what the scriptures say in I Peter 2:5 about us now being priests/God's new design (temple included)...and in context with the Book, the Jews following Christ were being persecuted at one point due to their faith and distancing from aspects in Judaism. If these Jewish Christians, because of their witness to the Messiah, could no longer worship with other Jews, they could consider praise their sacrifice----one they could offer anywhere and anytime.
This must have reminded them of the prophet Hosea's words, "Take away all of their inquity and recieve us graciously so we will render the calvesof our lips" (Hosea 14:2). A sacrifice of praise today would include thanking CHrist for His sacrifice on the Cross and telling others about it....and as Paul mentioned in Romans 12:1-3, our lives are now to be a living sacrifice. These Christians could now be encouraged in their Jewishness, despite how Hebrews 10:32-39 describes the massive persecution that the Hebraic Christians were facing ...
I think the subject was said best by David H.Stern, the author of
The Jewish New Testament Commentary: A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament . As said best in his commentary on Hebrews 10:
Notice that God does not take away the Torah; rathe, he takes away the first system of sacrifices and priesthood in order to set up the second within the framework of the one eternal Torah.
Moreover, it is not neccessary to suppose that this "taking away" prohibts all animal sacrifices by the Levitical priesthood. The author's point relates only to the sin offerings: "an offering of sins is no longer needed" because the second sin offering system is effectual in a way the first never was..and the other animal sacrifices and the Levitical priesthood could be continued without eclipsing the preeminent role of Yeshua's once-for-all sacrifice and eternal high-priesthood..
Even the sin-offering ritual could be continued, but only if it were regarded as a memorial and not as effective in itself. Just as it was never more than a "shadow", so now, if it should be resumed (which would presuppose the rebuilding of the Temple at some future time), it could not be more than a reminder of the great deliverance provided in Yeshua's death as our final and permanently effective sin offering and his resurrection as our chohen gadol.
Having God's Torah written on one's heart and mind necessarily implies that God has forgiven one's sins, so that an offering for sins is no longer needed. Therefore, readers of this sermon should free themselves from their compulsion to offer animal sacrifices as sin offerings and instead be fully assured of the sufficiency of Yeshua's sacrifice of himself on their behalf. We moderns have no such compulsion, but we too should be convinced of the necessity of blood sacrifice for sin while having assurance that Yeshuas blood sacrifice fulfills the requirement. With this, the author's major argument is completed.
But the authort is very specific in limiting what he says. An offering for sins is no longer needed and ruled out. But the other sacrificial offerings remain part of God's order even after Yeshua's death, as proven by Sha'ul's activity in the temple at Acts 21:25-27/ Acts 21 and his own offering of sacrifices which he himself speaks of at Acts 24:16-18 /Acts 24.
With the destruction of the temple, sacrifical offerings became impossible; but if the temple is rebuilt, thank offerings, meal offerings, and praise offerings may be offered once again. The author of this letter does not proclaim the end of the sacrifical system in its entirety, only the end of animal sacrifices for sin.
Also, as said by David.H Stern,
Some branches of Christianity teach that the ethical Law remains, while the civil/ceremonial statutes have been done away with. For Gentiles, this may seem a satisfactory solution to the problem of Torah...but for Jewish believers it isn't so simple as that....all supposed abrogations can be otherwise explained within the Jewish framework for understanding Torah. Some rules were transformed by their fulfillment...a process already found in the Tanak, for example, when the Tabernacle was superceded by the Temple. In the New Testament, Yeshua's own sacrifical death fulfilled the function of temple sacrifice foe sin and either superceded it or changed it into a memorial...as explained in Hebrews 7:11-13 Hebrews 7 . Other rules were not abrogated but were re-priortized----the obvious instance in the book of Galatians on kashrut. The Biblical Holidays were not abolished but were given new significance for those already ( Matthew 26:28 /John 7:38)....
Of course, some again say "Well, if things change, what about Ezekiel in their reference to sacrifices/temple??"---and I would agree that there is something worth noting on that. As noted in Ezekiel 45:21, Ezekiel 45:22 and Ezekiel 45:24, THE TEMPLE and sacrifices seem to continue---but having that is in no way akin to one having to make sacrifices as if one has to go back/atone all over again as it was in the time before Christ...the original way in which sacrifices occurred.
Just as the BIBLICAL Festivals and Holidays take on a new signficance, as well as grain offerings and other things that were even done by believers in the NT, so it is with the sin offerings. In the millennial kingdom, the Levitical priesthood will be restored, with the unfaithful line of priests (Ezekiel 44:10-14) replaced by the faithful sons of Zadok (Ezekiel 44:15-27). Worship will be centered around the magnificent temple described by Ezekiel (chapters 40-43). The five Levitical offerings will be reinstituted (Ezekiel 40:39; 42:13; 43:18-27; 45:13-20; 46:12); however, the Prince will offer these sacrifices for the nation (Ezekiel 45:17). These sacrifices will serve as a memorial, much like the Lord’s Table does for Christians today.
Some of the feast days will also be observed (Ezekiel 45:21-25). Worship will not be restricted to the nation Israel, but will include all nations (Zechariah 14:16). In short, worship in the Millennium will be somewhat of a restoration of the worship under the Law, except that Israel’s Prince will be present and the observances will no longer be anticipatory, but rather, memorials. Jerusalem and the Temple will be the center of worship, with Christ reigning as King and Priest, the object of worship.
Praying that what I stated made sense. I think the same concept of transformation in application also applies to the subject of the tithe as it concerns the Levitical system it was set up in and how it was for supporting those in leadership (priests), the destitute and the poor. Though the legal system can no longer be continued, the SPIRIT of the tithe is still very much present as it concerns looking out for others. The word “tithe” comes from an Old English root meaning “one tenth.”
But even in Old Testament times, 10 percent was never the “basic standard” or “starting point” for faithful giving. The law actually called for three different tithes, adding up to 23.3 percent of a family’s income. In addition, the law anticipated an array of other obligatory sacrifices and freewill offerings (e.g., Leviticus 1-7). This should bring us pause. If the Israelites—who had not been given the gift of the Holy Spirit—were called to give such a significant portion of their incomes in grateful obedience to the God who saved them, what can we say of our commitment to Christ today when we, as Christians in an age of unprecedented prosperity, aim for 10 percent? Regardless of whether we are rich or poor, gainfully employed or buried in debt, the command to love God without reservation is the ultimate standard that should gauge our giving. And our model is God himself: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32).
Concerning those who did tithe, apparently, it was only those who owned property in the promised land would have tithed. Since Old Testament Israel was an agricultural economy, the tithe applied only to crops and livestock (Leviticus 27:30-32; Deuteronomy 14:22; 26:1-2), not to all Judeo-Christian income in any time and place. People who did not own land in Israel could not produce their own crops and livestock from which to tithe and, therefore, were not expected to give in the form of a tithe. They were, however, called to give in other ways (see Leviticus 1-7). Other passages to investigate on the issue would be Leviticus 1-7, Numbers 18:8-32, Deuteronomy 14:26-29 amd Deuteronomy 26:9-13.
Concerning the usage of the three tithes, the three tithes in the Old Testament were used in three ways: (1) To support the full-time religious workers. This tithe was given to the Levites, who had no inheritance in the land (Numbers 18:8-32). In turn, the Levites were commanded to give a tenth of this tithe to the priests who had no other means of income (Numbers 18:26-28). (2) To provide a community meal for fellowship and celebration of God’s goodness. This tithe of crops and livestock was to be shared in joy with family and community including the poor and especially the Levites (Deuteronomy 14:22-29). (3) To help the poor. This tithe, given every third year, went to the local storehouses to be distributed not just to the Levites but also to the poor and marginalized: the aliens, fatherless and widows (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
Though the legal dynamics have changed due to a transformation of the Levitical Priesthood/its relevance as well as the OT System, these giving priorities teach us that it is impossible to love God wholeheartedly unless we consider the needs of others to be as important as our own....and know of how to practically take care of them in a consistent manner. Tithing may be a helpful guideline as we strive to develop a lifestyle of greater giving, but it was and still is possible to tithe faithfully yet fail to give generously (Matthew 23:23). For the New Testament praises people who voluntarily express love for God and neighbor by giving at great cost to themselves (Mark 12:33-44; 2 Corinthians 8:1-7). “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sakes became poor so that we by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
And witthin the early church, the system of tithing (under the theocracy) was excedded by those who were generous givers...and as Jews, they would not have forgotten the strict commands by the Lord to give. For a good source of info on the issue, one can
go online here and
The Ancient Rise and Recent Fall of Tithing | Christian History. To my knowledge, the early Jewish believers had no problem with tithing since they had done it under the Law and gave it to the priests...but with all of the changes that had gone down over the centuries with Judaism and the concept of the rabbi taking over that of the priest concept in many ways, the emphasis of tithing shifted. What occurred was that they simply gave their tithe to the elders of the church and did by love---and excelled in the NEW Covenant when the boundaries were expanded further. The Eastern Church began tithing out of obligation because they believed Jesus' conversation with the rich young man demanded sacrificial generosity. Clement of Alexandria and Irenaeus pleaded with the church to surpass even the Old Testament tithe since Christ had freed them from the Law. Later church fathers—John Chrysostom, Cyprian, Origen, and Augustine among them—complained from time to time that their followers lacked Christian charity. Chrysostom even shamed his stingy church for marveling at those who tithed. He
contrasted their
amazement with the dutiful giving of Old Testament Jews.
Many other things besides that...but those are just some extra thoughts. Shalom
