Wednesday, May 9, 2007
To give or not to give
Many Christians suggest that Abram's encounter with Melchizidek is not only the first known example of offering a tithe of 10% to God (represented by the church as an intermediary recipient), it is the very precedent that all Christians are intended to follow. What are your thoughts as to what God has to say about offering and/or tithing in this and in other passages of the Bible?
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None of the 'tithing' that occurs now has any connection to the definition of tithing contained in the Bible. (other than to mention 10%)
In a nutshell, the were four tithes. 1)The Levitical tithe required those who raised crops (not everyone and not all professions - just those who raised crops) to give 10% of that to the Levites. This tithe only occurred 6 years out of the 7 year cycle. It also required those that raised 10 or more animals to give each tenth animal that passed under the rod to the Levites. If a person raised less than 10 animals, they were NOT required to tithe. 2) From what was given to them, the Levites in turn had to give the very best to the priests. 3) The festival tithe required that those who raised crops or animals to set aside 10% for the annual festivals. It was for the people to have a party and consume the food joyfully and alcoholic beverages (strong drink) if they wanted. 4) The Poor tithe occurred only in the 3rd and 6th years of the seven year cycle. This was set aside for the poor.
All tithes were always food and NEVER money.
I go into more detail on my website www.inyourbible.com, where, if you have a high speed internet connection, you can view or download my FREE series of 10 - 30 minute lessons titled "The Truth About Tithing".
I take two of the lessons to explain the 'Truth About Abrams Tithe'. It clearly is NOT the precedent setting example that we have been told. For starters, Abram did not give his own money.
We should be generous but the poor widow is NOT our example. She was being plundered by church leaders.
There is no single formula for Christians to be able to judge for themselves whether they are generous or not. Each person needs to hear from God for themselves.
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