The Bible and Tithing

The sadness is that much contemporary discussion of tithing does not reflect the gracious generosity of the Scripture over which it argues. The OT witness is unequivocal. The Law required tithing (Lev 27, Num18, Dt 12, 14) and it is interesting that two occasions of spiritual renewal were both accompanied by a renewal of tithing (2 Chron 31, Neh 10).

The tithe law in Dt14:22ff is enacted remembrance that God is the giver of this rich and prosperous land (Dt 8:7-14; Leviticus 25:23). The tithe reminded Israel in worship and celebration at the sanctuary that all they had was owned and gifted by God. Moreover this gift is to the whole people and the communal nature of the tithe is underlined every three years when the tithe is stored to provide for the priests and the most vulnerable in society. It is a distortion of scripture to individualise the tithe or to spiritualise it so as to isolate it from the social laws such as the cancellation of debts and the release of economic slaves (Dt 15:1ff.)

This helps us understand the most difficult tithing passage, Malachi 3:8-12. For some this passage teaches that personal tithing unlocks the door of blessing and conversely closes it. But the context is judgement on a sinful nation, including those who defraud employees and oppress the poor. The language recalls Deut 28:12 where continued possession of the land is dependant on obedience. 2 Chronicles 31:1-10 indicates that generosity is always a mark of repentance (cf Luke 3:10-14) .

On tithing the NT is almost silent. Pharisee practice is acknowledged in Luke 18:12 and indirectly affirmed in Mt 23:23, while Heb 7 uses Abraham's tithe to Melchizedek in a complex argument. But the NT never teaches tithing, not even in two full chapters on giving (2 Cor 8-9). Some teach that the more radical demands of the NT mean that the tithe is a starting point. The difficulty here is firstly that the NT does not assert this and secondly that we cannot extract from the agrarian economy of the OT a 10% figure to act as the starting point of giving.

Scripture does not allow us to make 10% a fixed and binding mandate for giving that opens or closes the door on blessing. Giving is an expression of gratitude and a reminder that all we have is a gift entrusted to us. Giving that is not meaningful, challenging, proportional to income and correlated with lifestyle cannot carry this theological weight. The underlying principles of tithing stress these elements.