Lutheran Ambassador October 2021

hough there is no command in the New Testament to tithe, there is support in the New Testament for tithing. In Scripture, tithing began with Abraham. Abraham gave Melchizedek 10 percent of everything in Genesis 14:14-20. Abraham passed the concept on to his descendants. When Jacob was fleeing his brother, Esau (Genesis 28), he saw the Lord in heaven and angels ascending and descending a stairway to the throne. Jacob was so overwhelmed, he vowed that if God fulfilled the vision, he would take the Lord as his God and would give Him 10 percent of everything he possessed.

In the Law of Moses, we see that God regarded 10 percent of the Israelites’ possessions as belonging to Him (Leviticus 27:30-33), the Lord expected Israel to support the Levites and those in need with their tithes (Numbers 18:21-24), tithes were not the only offering they gave (Deuteronomy 12:6-7), and the Levites and priests were also to tithe (Numbers 18:26).

The passages in the Pentateuch establish God’s ownership of all things, including the tithe. We also see that tithes are not the upper limit of what the Lord’s people could give back to Him. When the people were not faithful, their giving fell off.

As one result, the Levites would leave the Lord’s service (Nehemiah 13:10). Amos also pointed out that tithes, in themselves, were not always accurate indicators of a pure heart (Amos 4:4). Part of Jewish renewal 10 THE LUTHERAN AMBASSADOR