THE TRUTH ABOUT TITHE : 

Appendices    

Appendix 1 - Tithing throughout the Bible 

Here you will find every passage in the Bible which directly speaks of the tithe. They are arranged in the order in which they appear in the Bible. Some of these passages refer to the second tithe, which is discussed in Appendix 3.

And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all." - Genesis 14:20.

And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord. And if a man will at all redeem aught of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord."- Leviticus 27:30-32.

"But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. . Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe. . Thus ye also shall offer a heave offering unto the Lord of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the Lord's heave offering to Aaron the priest." -Numbers 18:24, 26, 28.

And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks. . Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord .. Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand. "- Deuteronomy 12:6, 11, 17.

"Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year." Deuteronomy 14:22.

"And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks, that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. . At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates." Deuteronomy 14:23,28.

"When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and has given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled . ." Deuteronomy 26:12.

And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of an the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, and laid them by heaps. . And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Livite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next." - 2 Chronicles 31:5, 6, 12.

And that we should bring the first fruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of God; and the tithe of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in the cities of our tillage, And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of God, to the chambers, into the treasury house."- Nehemiah 10:37-38.

And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited." - Nehemiah 12:44.

And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the strangers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests,"-Nehemiah 13:5.

"Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years." Amos 4:4.

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me, But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings, , Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if l will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, and there shall not be room to receive it," - Malachi 3:8, 10.

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weighter matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." - Matthew 23:23.

"But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not left the other undone." Luke 11:42.

"I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess." - Luke 18:12.

And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham. But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. . And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. " - Hebrews 7:5-6, 9.

And here men that die receive tithes; but there He receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham," - Hebrews 7:8-9..

"And here men that die receive tithes; but there He receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. " Hebrews 7:8-9

Appendix 2 - Our Contract With God

This is based on a sermon which I have delivered in the past. How good it is to be able to feed together on the precious Word of God!

Long before this world was made, Christ made a contract with the Father that they would save man at whatever cost, if he should fall. It is called the "Covenant of Redemption." It is actually a contract.

"In the intercessory prayer of Jesus with His Father [John 17], He claimed that He had fulfilled the conditions which made it obligatory upon the Father to fulfill His part of the contract made in heaven, with regard to fallen man." -Sons and Daughters of God, 296.

A few days later, Christ spoke with the Father in heaven. The angels want to worship Him and sing His praises, but He says, "No, not yet. Something must first be done."

"He approaches the Father, with whom there is joy over one sinner that repents, who rejoices over one with singing. Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Father and the Son had united in a covenant to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge that Christ should become the surety for the human race. This pledge Christ has fulfilled. When upon the cross He cried out, 'It is finished,' He addressed the Father. The compact had been fully carried out." Desire of Ages, 834.

The Covenant of Redemption, between the Father and the Son, provided for Christ to die on the cross and, from the Sanctuary in heaven as our High Priest, to enable us to obey His law. The redemption contract resulted in Christ's making a blood contract with us: the Covenant of Salvation. In a sense, they are one immense contract, by which mankind is brought back to its God. In Christ, we enter into an agreement with God.

"The whole world is embraced in the contract of the great plan of redemption." -4 Bible Commentary, 1180.

There is an interesting passage, in the first part of Hebrews 11, which Bible translators had a difficult time understanding.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. . Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. . But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:1, 3, 6.

What is the key word there? Oh, 'faith' you will say.' That is true, and it surely is the subject of the passage. But there is a foundational word which underlies it.

It is the word "substance."

"Now faith is the - something - of things being hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. .. Since the New Testament was written in Greek, the scholars tried to find the word in the Classical Greek writings. Those were the writings of Aristotle and men who lived two, three, and four hundred years before the time of Christ. The Greek word, translated "substance" in the King James, was hupostasis. But what did it mean?

They found that, in the Attic (Classical) Greek, the word meant something under-girding something else, a foundation.

As explained in Liddell and Scott's Greek English Lexicon (p. 1895), the word meant an us overcome all sin, and live with Him forever. Yet, down here, as part of our preparation for this wonderful future, He wants us to return to Him a tithe of all our income!

Oh, how light such duties become: indeed, how precious, when we consider what the contract is soon to bring us: the title deed, in Christ, to the Earth made new!

"Duty is duty, and should be performed for its own sake. But the Lord has compassion upon us in our fallen condition, and accompanies His commands with promises. He calls upon His people to prove Him, declaring that He will reward obedience with the richest blessings. . He encourages us to give to Him, declaring that the returns He makes to us will be proportionate to our gifts to Him . .

"How tender, how true God is with us! He has given us in Christ the richest blessings. Through Him He has put His signature upon the contract He has made with us," -Counsels on Stewardship, 91.

"In the great work of warning the world, those who have the truth in the heart, and are sanctified through the truth, will act their assigned part, They will be faithful in the payment of tithes and offerings. Every church member is bound by covenant relation with God."-Counsels on Stewardship, 74.

"Every soul converted is to have the light in regard to the Lord's requirement for tithes and offerings. All that men enjoy they receive from the Lord's great farm, and He is pleased to have His heritage enjoy His goods: but He has made a special contract with all who stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Immanuel. that they may show their dependence and accountability to God," Evangelism, 249-250.

"God's plan regarding tithes and offerings is definitely stated in the third chapter of Malachi. God calls upon His human agents to be true to the contract He has made with them. 'Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,' He says, 'that there may be meat in Mine house,' "-Counsels on Stewardship, 75.

"Jesus refused to receive the homage of His people until He knew that His sacrifice had been accepted by the Father, and until He had received the assurance from God Himself that His atonement for the sins of His people had been full and ample, that through His blood they might gain eternal life. .

"He also had a request to prefer [proffer] concerning His chosen ones upon earth, He wished to have the relation clearly defined that His redeemed should hereafter sustain to heaven. . He declared it to be His will that where He was, there His church should be; if He was to have glory, His people must share it with Him. They who suffer with Him on earth must finally reign with Him in His kingdom. .

"The request of Christ is granted. . Here the Father ratifies the contract with His Son, that He will be reconciled to repentant and obedient men, and take them into divine favor through the merits of Christ, Christ guarantees that He will make a man 'more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.' "-5 Bible Commentary, 1150.

"Selfishness is a deadly evil, Self-love and careless indifference to the specific terms of agreement between God and man, the refusal to act as His faithful stewards, have brought upon them His curse, just as He declared would be the case. These souls have separated themselves from God: by precept and example they have led others to disregard God's plain commandments, and He could not bestow His blessing upon them. The Lord has specified: The tenth of all your possessions is Mine, " -Messages to Young People, 308.

In the wilderness of temptation, Satan offered to make a contract with Christ (lSM 286:1), and he offers to make it with us, But we choose a better contract, made with the God of heaven, And, if faithful, we will soon be there together!

"He has given us in Christ the richest blessings. Through Him He has put His signature upon the contract He has made with us." -Counsels on Stewardship, 91

CONTINUE