Leviticus 27
The book of Leviticus ends just as interestingly as it began (not very). Here we get the low-down on tithing- and it's no joke. They don't really do IOU's- or approximate, or round down- if they don't have the cash, God still gets what's His.
First, apparently they could vow on behalf of people. It's a bit vague, but the best I can tell, if they didn't have the money for their tithe, they could pledge people to God; maybe slaves, family members, unruly children. I'm not sure how your life changes if you've been pledged to God by someone else, but the chapter spells out the monetary values of these pledges. The best rate comes for a 20-60 year old male- you get much less for a one month- five year old female.
I'm not sure if it's more troubling that people could be pledged by someone else, or that there's a sliding scale based on your age and gender. If the person paying for the vow can't make the payment, they can present the person and work out a price with the priest. This is really confusing to me- I'm not sure what purpose the money and the vowed people serve- but I think I'm pretty glad to not be dealing with it on a regular basis.
If the vow is paid for with an animal, it becomes holy. Once it's submitted, it's submitted- you can't switch out a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one. If you try to, both animals become holy. If the animal is an unclean animal- it's presented to the priest to work out a fair price. Whatever the priest determines, is the price. If you want to buy it back, add 20%.
Same deal with your house. If you dedicate it, the priest sets the value. If you want to buy it back, add 20%.
If you dedicate land, the value is determined by how many seeds it takes to plant the land. The price will also vary depending on how close to Jubilee it is. The land can be bought back for 20% beyond what was credited. If the field is not redeemed or is sold, it can never redeemed- at Jubilee, it becomes the property of the priests. If the land was not from the seller's family, at Jubilee it returns to the original family.
Firstborn cannot be offered (Hooray for firstborns), because the LORD already owns them.
Now it seems there is another level of dedication- a "devotion" of something to God. Anything devoted cannot ever be redeemed. If a person is "devoted", they cannot be ransomed, they are to be put to death.
Everything is tithed. No keeping the best. One tenth of everything goes to God.
This is a pretty hard core system. I tend to be much looser with what I "devote" to God. I don't often think of it in percentages, and when I do, I think about post tax, in my wallet, after the insurance came out and I've already gotten a couple of Route 44 diet vanilla cokes at Sonic. This system doesn't really allow for such approximation. One tenth of the vanilla syrup isn't mine.
All frivolity aside (or at least most, all is awfully hard with me), this idea of tithing, or dedicating in our context is fuzzy at best. What constitutes a gift to God? Is it strictly what goes into a collection plate, or is the five bucks you give the homeless man part of the math problem? How about the big tip you leave at a restaurant, the money you send to help with the latest natural disaster?
I certainly don't have all the answers, but I do like to think of our context being much less about the legalistic ten percent dogmatism, and more about having a giving spirit. However, it may all just be wishful thinking.
I don't think what I spend at Itunes goes toward it, unfortunately.
3 comments:
I don't know what Bible you are looking at, but what you say about the tithe is NOT correct.
According to Leviticus 27:30-33, the tithe is the increase of the seed (crops) and every tenth animal. NO MONEY. The crops can be redeemed for a 20% fine. The animals canNOT be redeemed.
Neither money nor income is tithable. ONLY crops and animals.
God gave His definition as a tenth of crops and animals which came from God's hand, not man's income. God NEVER commanded anyone to tithe on anything that man made or earned. Leviticus 27:30-33.
The ordinances (instructions, or laws) for The Lord's Tithe are in Numbers 18. God gave strict orders to take His tithe to the Levites. God NEVER changed that command. Anyone who takes God's tithe to anyone other than the Levites is being disobedient to God's Word.
There are others tithes in the Bible such as the Festival Tithe and the Tithe for the Poor. It is The Lord's Tithe that churches pattern their teaching after.
Church leaders ignore God's definition of His tithe, and ignore God's ordinances for His tithe. They change the words to fit their pocketbook. This is nothing but manipulation of God's Word. They are false teachers.
The Bible CLEARLY SHOWS that the tithe ENDED at the cross in the Book of Hebrews. In the first nine verses of Hebrews 7 the words tenth or tithes appears SEVEN TIMES. The ONLY place in the Bible, after Calvary, that tithing appears is in Hebrews 7.
In Hebrews 7:5 we are told that Levi (the Levites) took the tithes under the law. In Hebrews 7:12 we are told that when the priesthood changes, the law will change. Hebrews 7:18 is telling us that Numbers 18 was disannulled. Numbers 18 established the Levitical priesthood, and part of that establishing included tithing. When the Levitical priesthood ended (at Calvary, or at least in the year 70AD when the temple was destroyed), all laws that established that priesthood were canceled. If Numbers 18 wasn't canceled, we would still be under the Levitical priesthood.
Those who argue they didn't have money or income then really need to study the scriptures. They had money and wages, even in Genesis. The farmers had income from barter exchanges, and they had markets to buy and sell as proven in Deuteronomy 14:24-26.
Those who argue Malachi 3:8, robbing God, need to start with verse 7. God is talking about His ordinances in Numbers 18 which we learned were disannulled according to Hebrews 7:18. Also, if you start with Malachi 1, you will see that God is speaking to the priests, not the people. The priests robbed God of the tithe (Nehemiah 13) and the priests robbed God of the offerings (Malachi 1).
Hey Gary,
Thanks for reading and for writing. I seem to have touched a nerve- sorry- not my intention.
I'm having a hard time really figuring out where we disagree.
There are monetary values spelled out at the beginning of the chapter. Is this what you're referring to?
Whether tithes themselves are strictly required or not- I think the issue of giving and struggling with generosity and materialism is something many believers struggle with.
Thanks for the insight- I don't claim to have any answers...just trying to make it down the path.
Hope you keep reading.
Chip
Chip,
I totally believe in generous, sacrificial giving, from the heart, according to our means.
Just a little more info on the Biblical tithe:
Are you aware that the tithe was paid to THE LEVITES, not the priests? The Levites were the ushers, singers, musicians, janitors, etc. - the servants of the priests. The Levites were then commanded to give a tenth of that tithe to the priests.
Are you aware that the priests and Levites only worked at the Temple about two weeks per year, on a rotational basis? NOT FULL TIME. The priests and Levites were divided into 24 "courses". See First Chronicles 24 for the priests and chapters 25 and 26 for the Levites. Each course only ministered in the Temple one week out of twenty four (1 in 24), and, depending on how many families were in each course, each family only ministered in the Temple two or three days during its courses’ week of ministry.
The Biblical tithe was PAID, not given, and could NOT be from income or money.
My whole ministry is to educate Christians on the truth about tithing and giving.
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