REINTERPRETING TITHES AND OFFERINGS SCRIPTURES
Many Christians like to think that they are being Biblical by paying regular paying tithes of their income to God. If they receive a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly paycheck they will take ten percent (more or less) of it and give it to the religious organization of their choice and perhaps some ministries they find worthy. This practice is encouraged by religious organizations who benefit from regular income. And it is an easy sell to people who want to feel righteous about their obedience to what they interpret as God’s laws about tithing.
It is instructive to consider how the typical practice of paying tithes contrasts with what the Bible actually says. When we bother to look at scripture, we see that the Bible does not instruct paying of tithes in cash on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or annual basis. Scriptures do command three kinds of tithes (e.g. first, second, poor), but these tithes is given at different frequencies (annually, first, second, fourth and fifth years, three years).
Scriptures about the form and frequency of tithing are never quoted in teachings about tithing. Religious organizations make it a point to encourage obedience to Biblical commands, but do not pursue Biblical correctness when it is impossible to obey the literal commands. Religious organizations that require a regular, reliable inflow of money to keep the lights on and pay salaries find it convenient to overlook these scriptures.
Religious teachings about tithing also skirt Biblical correctness regarding the form of tithes. When we bother to look, we see that Bible references to tithes are of agricultural produce such as grain, wine, oil and animals. In contrast to common practice, the Bible contains no commandments to tithe cash/money. It is relatively easy for people who live in agricultural economies to apply the Biblical prescriptions for agricultural tithes because they deal with agricultural produce every day. But is harder for people who are not farmers and do not have grain or other kinds of harvests that they can tithe.
Using worldly logic, non-farmers have adjusted the literal Biblical prescriptions regarding tithes to mean money instead of crops and animals. But people who are farmers have also adopted money as the medium for tithing. These practices are logical for religious people, but they not come close to what God really has in mind for tithes. Religious people do their best to be Biblical, but they fall way short on the details.
STUDY TIP: See Jesus and the Money Changers in the Temple for the history of bringing cash money to religious buildings.
We might criticize religious people for failing to obey the literal commands regarding tithing found in the Bible. But, God is not disappointed because he never intended that his people would obey the literal commands in the Bible. He is disappointed, however, that people do not obey the spiritual meanings behind the literal commands.
The purpose of the written laws about tithing was to teach people how to discern good from evil — not to be obeyed. God knows that it is physically impossible to obey the literal, written commandments of the Bible. People, however, can’t admit that obedience to the literal law is impossible. So they do their best to obey in ways that seem reasonable and call whatever they do righteous.
People make an effort to obey the literal commands because they do not understand the “first the natural and then the spiritual” principle. And so they work hard at obeying religious laws based on literal laws they read in the Bible, and miss God’s spiritual laws which are the ones that God really wants them to obey. This is what disappoints God.
God says that it is impossible to please him without faith. He also said that faith is the substance of things not seen. These two facts must be considered and reconciled in the matter of tithes where it must be said that money cannot be the substance of tithes. Money can be seen and touched. This fact contrasts with faith cannot be seen. Money and faith do not mix and are not interchangeable because money is natural and faith is spiritual. Tithes of money satisfy man’s religious laws/teachings about tithes but do not satisfy the spiritual meaning of tithes.
Scriptures discussed below show that what God values, recognizes and wants must be expressions of faith which cannot be seen. Accordingly, tithes that God values and wants cannot be expressions of anything like money which can be seen. Tangible, material tithes are totally abhorrent to God. It would totally inconsistent for God to put the highest value on faith that cannot be seen and then demand material tithes which can be seen.
This interpretation clashes with religious teachings about tithes and faith. Religion teaches that people who give money to religious organizations show that they have faith that God provides the money they give. They also teach that the more money people give, the more God will provide. This teaching is deceptive manipulation of scripture with the purpose of using it to acquire money for personal gain. This teaching perverts what God says about faith being unseen by converting spiritual tithes to material money. Furthermore, the practice of giving money in full view of others violates what Jesus said about the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.
By substituting natural money for spiritual tithes, religious people have effectively added to and subtracted from scripture. They have added money as a substitute for crops, and have subtracted by ignoring the symbolic, spiritual meaning of tithes.
Coming to an understanding of what God means by tithes is difficult if we use only our intellect for understanding. When we listen to God’s voice, however, the spiritual meaning of tithes and offerings come into view. We begin, as usual, by looking at what the Bible says about tithes where we see that conventional, religious interpretations of tithes miss the mark of what God means by tithes:
In some scriptures, tithes of agricultural produce (e.g. grain, fruit, new wine, olive oil etc) are brought into a storehouse/storeroom.
Understanding of this scripture is possible only when we understand the symbolism of agricultural produce and storehouses/storerooms.
STUDY TIP: See Bread, Food and Wine for an overview of the symbolism of agricultural produce.
Religious people who do not live in agricultural economies and try to obey the literal meaning of scriptures about tithing agricultural produce will be totally frustrated in their attempts at Biblical correctness. That is why money has been accepted as a convenient substitute for agricultural produce in most religions. Furthermore, money suits the personal, greedy interests of religious leaders more than tithes of agricultural produce. Instead of trying to understand the symbolism, religion has altered the Bible for convenience and self-interest. Religion claims to be faithful to the Bible but is not.
Understanding of the spiritual nature of tithes only make senses when we understand that storerooms and storehouses are symbolic representations of clean, pure hearts where God’s treasures (i.e. his laws, his character) are housed. Storehouses are not churches or synagogues or ministries as religions teach. Saying that religious organizations are storehouses and storerooms is a convenient way of deceiving religious people with money to give that money to religious leaders.
God’s command to bring tithes into the storehouses are essentially God’s way of restating his commands to seek him with all you heart, to listen to his voice and to take his words into the heart. Seeking God yields the reward of knowing him in your heart. When you have heard his voice you have brought the tithe into the storehouse.
Knowing God in the heart is a spiritual treasure unlike any material treasure. Hearing God’s spoken voice is a spiritual experience unlike any physical, intellectual or emotional experience. Religious people are not able to enjoy this experience because they listen to false prophets who serve them evil, soulish food. Only after they quit practicing religion and listen to true prophets who serve good, spiritual food, will they be able to hear God’s voice.
Because the storehouse/heart spiritual place, it is impossible to bring material things like agricultural produce or money into it. The Bible tells us that only two spiritual things can be brought into a heart: 1) God’s spoken word is brought into clean, pure hearts. 2) Idols can be brought into evil, impure hearts.
People must be careful, therefore, to bring only clean, pure things into clean, pure hearts. They must know how to discern between good and evil. If they don’t know the difference, they will bring evil soulish food into their hearts.
In natural terms, the only thing that goes into the heart is blood. Anything else that goes into the heart causes death. In spiritual terms, the only good, safe, spiritual thing that goes into the heart is God’s spoken word. Since God’s word is symbolically represented as blood, taking God’s word into the spiritual heart makes perfect sense. Spiritual blood (i.e. God’s spoken word) gives life to the spiritual heart just like natural blood gives life to the natural heart.
In natural terms, storehouses are places where people keep agricultural produce for future use. The grain kept there keeps people alive. In spiritual terms, the heart is the place where God writes his laws (i.e. God’s spoken word). God’s word in clean, pure hearts keeps people spiritually alive.
Grain is one of many terms that the Bible uses to symbolize God’s word. God, therefore, commands his people to put his word (i.e. grain) in their heart to keep them spiritually alive. A tithe of grain (i.e. agricultural produce), therefore, is God’s spoken word — also called his laws — are brought into the hearts of people to keep them alive. Therefore, only people who know how to hear God’s spoken voice are spiritually alive — not spiritually dead.
This interpretation is made perfectly clear when we consider that natural bread symbolizes God’s spoken voice. This interpretation is discussed in detail in Bread, Food and Wine. Grain and other kinds of natural produce brought into the storehouse are all variations on good, spiritual food that comes from God’s mouth. Grain and tithes of grain, therefore, symbolize God’s voice.
Grain (i.e. God’s voice) is brought into the heart (i.e. storehouse) when we listen to God’s voice. And when God’s voice is heard in the heart, it gives life to the heart. Putting this in the context of tithes, we conclude that God’s commands to bring grain into the storehouse are just another way of saying “listen to my voice.”
God is an invisible, spiritual being who resides in a spiritual place that is his kingdom. The spiritual place where God places his name is the heart of New Covenant disciples.
Religion teaches that the place where God places his name is a church or synagogue building. That is why so many churches use the name of God, Jesus and saints in the names of their religious organizations. This makes sense from a worldly, marketing perspective, but it does not make sense in a spiritual sense.
Since God’s name is his character, buildings cannot possibly represent God’s character. Actually, it is offensive to God to suggest that buildings can represent his character. Anyone who takes a moment to think about it would be forced to conclude that it is a silly notion to suggest that something physical can represent something spiritual. How can you give physical form to something that you cannot see? Since the place where God chooses to place his name is the heart of New Covenant disciples, clean, pure hearts — not physical buildings and not people — are the places to which tithes are to be brought. Anyone who stops to think about it will quickly conclude that tithes of natural money cannot be brought into the heart. They will also conclude that religious leaders who teach that bringing money into physical buildings are false prophets who deceive religious people about such matters do so for selfish reasons.
Religious leaders support their teaching about tithes with literal interpretations of bringing tithes into physical storehouses which they argue is the church. Their efforts to be Biblical break down, however, with respect to God’s command that tithes are to be eaten in the place where he places his name. So they say, bring your tithe of money to church, but they never say eat your tithe when you get here. They teach obedience to some parts of scripture but are silent about other scriptures that do not support their selfish motives. If religious people really wanted to be obedient to what the Bible says, they would eat their tithes, but people do not eat money. Bringing money to a building and giving it to a religious leader instead of eating it does not satisfy God’s commands about what to do with tithes. This inconsistency does not bother those who tithe any more than it bothers those who teach tithing. It is a broken system that exists because beliefs about tithes are part of stronghold of wrong thinking. No wonder Jesus displayed his anger with money-changers in the temple!
Here is what people need to know:
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- Material tithes of money are fake/false tithes.
- Because material tithes of money can be seen, they are religious — not a matter of faith.
- True tithes are good, spiritual food.
- True tithes are eaten (i.e. heard) and meditated on in clean, pure hearts. We eat good spiritual food when we study the Bible and when we listen to the words of true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, witnesses, and warriors whom God sends to speak for him.
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Malachi 3 is the scripture most often quoted by religious leaders when they try to guilt their followers into giving more money to them.
Malachi 3:1-5 puts the tithing in the context of judgment.
The messengers God sends are true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, witnesses, and warriors. Their essential message is to call people out of religion and tell of the consequences of remaining religious.
Malachi 3:6-7 puts tithing in the context of turning away from God and returning to God.
These verses about “returning” are typically interpreted as returning money to God because we have not given to him his share of the money he has given to us. This is a very useful interpretation for religious leaders and religious institutions that present themselves as the embodiment of Levites and storehouses mentioned in other scriptures about tithes.
This literal interpretation has sustained religion for two thousand years. But God is not talking about money here. His command to “return” to him is a command to return to listening to his voice which is the essence of the New Covenant. People who return to God, therefore, humble themselves and repent for practicing the sin of listening to false prophets and come back (i.e. return) to listening to God’s spoken voice.
Malachi 3:8-9 says that we rob God if we do not bring tithes.
In the natural world robbery occurs when someone robs (i.e. steals) material things such as money and personal property from its rightful owner. In other words, robbery occurs when people act to take something that they do not have. In Malachi 3:8-9, however, robbery occurs when people do not act to give something that they do have. This is another example of God’s ways not being like man’s ways.
When religious people think of tithes, therefore, they think in terms of God being the rightful owner of money. They get this idea from scripture about God’s ownership of cattle on a thousand hills and everything in the world.
With this thinking in mind, it is no wonder that religious people explain tithing as giving back to God one-tenth of what he owns but has given to them to spend. This sounds reasonable. God gets his one-tenth and people get to keep and spend nine-tenths.
This thinking is based on these assumptions:
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- The assumption that when God says he gives to man the ability to gain wealth, he means material wealth. This is a wrong interpretation of wealth. References to wealth are to spiritual wealth — not money. Thus people are either wealthy with pride, or they are spiritually wealthy with spiritual treasures contained in the storehouse of a clean pure heart.
- The assumption that God approves of and fully endorses religion and that he wants people to use one-tenth of his money to pay the expense of operating his religious enterprises. This makes logical sense in the natural world of religion, but this way of thinking is not God’s way of thinking.
- This way of thinking assumes that money is what God needs to conduct his business. This too is wrong thinking because God’s spirit is the power at work in God’s kingdom. Religion needs money to do its work, but God does not need money. The only thing that God needs to do his miraculous work is his life-giving word spoken directly from his mouth or through true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, witnesses, and warriors whom he sends to speak for him.
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Rather than approving of religion and supporting it with money, God actually hates religion and is calling people out of religion. We see how God feels about money and religion in the story of Jesus and the money-changers in the temple. Using money to support religion would be inconsistent with his commands to tear down idols and high places.
STUDY TIP: See these links for better understanding of how God feels about money:
We should conclude from these articles that references to robbing God has nothing to do with money. God is spirit and his concern is always for spiritual matters (i.e. his spoken word and hearts). There is nothing more important to God than his spoken word. In fact, God’s essence, his presence, his power and his glory exists in his spoken word. God and his spoken word are inseparable.
References to robbing God, therefore, are to his spoken word — not to money. But this knowledge does not explain how we can rob God of his spoken word. Here is the explanation:
We begin by acknowledging God’s commands to bring the tithe (i.e. his spoken word) into the storehouse (i.e.heart). This is first a command for us to receive God’s spoken word in our own hearts. It is also a command to speak God’s word into the hearts of others. If we obey the first command, we will obey the second command. Jesus restated these commands as “go make disciples and baptize them.”
We rob God through three kinds of inaction:
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- If we do not study to know him, we rob him of a home in our hearts.
- If we claim to hear God’s voice but do not speak for God as true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, witnesses, and warriors, we are robbing him of opportunities for his word to be shared with others.
- When we do not speak for God we also rob others from hearing God’s voice. And if they do not hear his voice they do not provide a home in their hearts for God. This robs God from opportunities to expand his kingdom to more clean, pure hearts.
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Malachi 3:10 says that he will pour out blessings if the whole tithe is brought into the storehouse.
Because religious people always think in material terms, they think of tithes as material tithes (i.e. money) and of blessings in material terms (i.e. money). This thinking is reinforced by wrong interpretations of other verses that wrongly interpret money as seed and promise thirty, sixty and hundredfold increases of money to people who sow money into religious activity. This is a very enticing argument for people who are inclined to give monetary tithes.
The thinking about blessings looks like this: The more money they sow into religious enterprises (e.g. church, synagogues, ministries, missions, etc.), the more money they will get back somehow as a blessing from God. People who think this way satisfy the command to tithe with money and get a return on their investment to the degree that God will bless them with more money in the future. In effect, these people try to manipulate God by excess tithing so they can have more money. The only people who benefit from this attitude are religious leaders.
STUDY TIP: See this link for the correct understanding of blessings.
In some scriptures the tithe is only given every three years.
Why God would say to bring in the tithe (i.e. his voice) on an irregular schedule is a mystery. But we know for sure that he is not talking about literal years.
STUDY TIP: See Time: Hours, Days, Weeks and Ages for understanding of how God uses references to time.
Lacking understanding of what God means by “three years”, it is still worth recognizing this command because religious leaders who preach the requirement to tithe conveniently omit these verses of the Bible. If they would preach these scriptures about tithes as money, their religious organization would go broke and they would not receive income for their ministry. Thus it can be said that they subtract from scripture to preserve their personal, financial lives.
In some scriptures the tithe is given to priests/Levites.
Religious leaders and their followers conveniently use these scriptures to justify giving tithes of money to religious leaders. But they just as conveniently ignore other scriptures that say that Levites are to eat the tithes. Religious teachers selectively choose scriptures that suit their selfish interests and ignore other scriptures that do not suit their interests.
Another scripture says that the tithe is given to foreigners, the fatherless and widows (i.e. poor).
Many religious people like to make cash donations to missions and social service ministries. They do not, however, give tithes of grain as the literal scripture commands. These commands to give to the poor always interpret the poor in terms of material wealth and health.
Bible references to wealth and health are to spiritual wealth and health. Restoration to spiritual wealth and wellness is accomplished only by hearing God’s spoken voice. Therefore, tithing to the poor is accomplished by speaking for God to people who are poor in spirit (i.e. they do not have God’s spirit in their hearts).
In another scripture the tithe is the Lord’s and is holy to the Lord.
God is holy, his word is holy, his name is holy and his spirit are holy. Thus it can be said that everything we know about God is holy. These are the only things that are holy.
STUDY TIP: See this link for an in depth discussion of holiness.
If the tithe is holy and if the tithe is the Lord’s, it follows that the tithe is inseparable from God’s word, his name and his spirit. These are all the holy things that are brought as offerings to God.
It is impossible to give anything material, agricultural produce or money, to God. Being spirit, he has no need for material things. All that he wants for himself is that his people make a home for him in their hearts and do justice. A tithe to the Lord, therefore, is keeping a personal clean, pure heart and redeeming/saving others who are enslaved in religion by speaking for God to them. ***
God’s word is the only thing that is really holy/sacred. Money is not holy.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/kjv/passage/?q=2-chronicles+31:6;+leviticus+27:30-32
In some scriptures the tithe may be eaten anywhere.
This seems to imply that tithes are agricultural products. But, when tithes are considered to be money, it is impossible to obey the literal commands. When we consider tithes to be good, clean, spiritual food received in a clean, pure heart, however, we see that the tithe of God’s spoken word can be eaten in any physical location at any time.
STUDY TIP: See Bread, Food, Wine for understanding of spiritual food.
The Hebrew word “asar” which is translated as “tithe” in English can mean either “pay a tithe” or “receive a tithe.”
Religion teaches that leaders receive what others pay. This is a very convenient translation for the leaders who always receive. It is financially burdensome, however, for the people in the pews who always pay. This paradigm violates commands about favoritism and partiality and does not agree with the New Covenant ideal of oneness.
The Bible says that it is better to give than receive. When we think of tithes as God’s word, we pay a tithe when we share his word with others. And, we receive a tithe when we hear God’s voice from him directly or from a true prophets, angel, messiah, high priest or witness.
In some scriptures the tithe is referred to as an offering of first fruits.
First fruits are the fruits (i.e.words) of Trees of Life. This is good spiritual food that comes from the mouth of God through people sent by God to speak for him: true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, witnesses, and warriors. These spokespersons submit the offerings of their words to God when they speak for God to people who cannot hear God’s spoken voice. Their words are received in the hearts of people who have ears to hear God’s voice.
God’s word is the only thing that is really holy/sacred. Money is not holy.
STUDY TIP: See this link for an in depth discussion of holiness.
Abram (i.e. Abraham) paid a tithe to an enigmatic character called Melchizedek.
This event occurred after a battle with several foreign kings — not after an agricultural harvest. This suggests that the tithe Abraham gave is related to people and not to an agricultural product.
This hypothesis is confirmed in the exchange between Abraham and the King of Sodom in which Abraham refuses to give people to the King of Sodom. This seems to suggest that the people were the substance of the tithe to Melchizedek.
This interpretation appears to be confirmed in the exchange between Abraham and Melchizedek in which Melchizedek refers to enemies being delivered into Abraham’s hand, after which Abraham gave Melchizadek a tenth (i.e. tithe) of all.
It is also confirmed in the context of the story which is Abraham rescuing his nephew Lot and others from captivity to those pagan kings.
As a rescuer, Abraham functions as a warrior/ messiah. He is a type of Jesus who rescues people who are enslaved to religion.
Putting this all together it appears that the tithe is people who have been rescued from captivity by religion. This interpretation breaks down, however, when we consider that it is impossible to tithe people. People are not commodities over which we have control. When we think of the tithe as being God’s spoken voice, however, the symbolism of this story becomes clear.
Abraham functioned as a warrior/messiah by speaking for God to people who were held in captivity by religious leaders (i.e. Kings). It was God’s word spoken through Abraham that delivered them from captivity. When he spoke (i.e. brought God’s words) to the hearts of religious people, Abraham paid the tithe. In other words, the tithe (i.e. God’s word) is paid when it is spoken.
What Abraham did was bring justice to people who were enslaved to religion. Like Jesus, he did this by speaking God’s words. These are the deeds of Abraham of which Jesus spoke: When he spoke for God, he administered justice and righteousness, and people were delivered from captivity to religion. This explains why God puts so much emphasis on paying tithes. When tithes are paid (i.e. when true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, witnesses, and warriors speak for God to people who are captive to religion, they come out of religion and are receive new life.