“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
-Malachi 3:10, KJV.
Why Return Tithes?
In addition to the Sabbath, tithes and offerings remind us that only God is proprietor in the absolute sense. Of this the first pair were reminded by the tree whose fruit they were not to eat (Gen. 2:17). This ownership truth was reinforced after sin and expulsion from the garden in the tithing principle.
In Genesis tithe-paying appears as an already-known practice. Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek, king of Salem and a priest of God Most High (Gen. 14:18–20). The same is recorded of Jacob, who promised Yahweh, “Of all that thou givest me I will give the tenth to thee” (Gen. 28:22).
The tithe was to be regarded as God’s tenth. “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord” (Lev. 27:30). The sacred tenth was an acknowledgment of Yahweh’s ownership. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1 ; cf. 50:10–12 ; Haggai 2:8).
Accordingly, the Israelites were commanded to tithe all the yield of their seed, “which comes forth from the field year by year” (Deut. 14:22). In this way the covenant people showed love and respect for their God. In all things He was to be first. “Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce” (Prov. 3:9).
“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me.
But you say, ‘How are we robbing thee?’
In your tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts”
(Malachi. 3:8–12).
Failure to return the tithe is viewed as a breach of the covenant.
Is the practice of tithing relevant today?
The record indicates that the practice of tithing continued after the exile. “Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses” (Neh. 13:12 ).
Furthermore, the tithe was for religious purposes, including the support of priests and Levites: “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, their service in the tent of meeting” (Num. 18:21).
In post-exilic times, “men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered” (Neh. 12:44 ). This was to be done with joy and gratitude to the Provider who had given them “power to get wealth” (Deut. 8:18).
Moreover, the tithe is tangible, reminding us that the physical creation has been pronounced good. Therefore, the command is to “honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce” ( Prov. 3:9 ). The returning of the tithe saves us from a false dichotomy between the spiritual and the material.
Israel’s God is the Giver of every good gift. In addition, He makes no radical differentiation between the so-called spiritual and the so-called natural. “He has made everything beautiful in its time” ( Eccl. 3:11 ). Later, Jesus would acknowledge tithing as something that “you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” ( Matt. 23:23 ).
Therefore, the returning of the tithe makes the worshiper a partner with God in concrete ways. There is an identification with the care-giving God, whose spirit of sacrificial love is taken on. God’s interests and concerns become the believer’s interests and concern. The covenant relationship is deepened.
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