A CLOSER LOOK AT TITHING
EXPOSING THE ERRORS
By: Victor T. Stephens
"People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up."
~ George R.R. Martin
Abram's Tithe to Melchizedek
We previously learned that the Bible presents no accounts of Adam and Eve and their sons, Abel and Cain, as having paid tithes. We discovered that neither the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” nor “fat portions” of livestock are legitimate paradigms for a biblical tithe. The actual first account of tithing in the Bible is in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis, where Abram, later known as Abraham, gave ten percent of war pillage to Melchizedek.
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all.
(Gen. 14:18-20)
Upon returning from his victory over the enemy kings with the spoils and his rescued nephew Lot, Abram meets the reclaiming king of Sodom followed by the enigmatic Canaanite king-priest Melchizedek at the Valley of Shaveh, near Salem. Melchizedek presented Abram with bread and wine to invigorate and reward him and his fellow-men, and bestowed a blessing on Abram in the name of “God Most High.” In reciprocation, Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth of the recovered spoils that had been from Sodom and Gomorrah.
Since Abram predated Moses by about 400 years, proponents of tithing regularly use this passage as key biblical evidence to bolster their position that Abram obeyed a perpetual law of tithing. Allegedly, this law was “codified” at the establishment of Israel. Genesis 14:18-20 is then associated with the following verse:
They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham."
(John 8:39)
Many professing pastors routinely deduce that since Abram was obedient to God’s laws and gave a tithe to Melchizedek, then tithing is still a continuing obligation for new covenant believers. While that may seem like an attractive conclusion, it is fraught with terrible exegesis and unbiblical assumptions. That further indicates that most churches today are ignorant or confused about the history of tithing.
One element of correct biblical exegesis entails understanding the distinctions between God’s commandments and the traditions of men. A close and careful examination of Scripture will confirm that tithing before the Mosaic Law has its origins exclusively rooted in traditional pagan practice.
Let's take a closer look at Pre-Mosaic tithing by firstly defining the word "Tradition."
"The passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication." (The American Heritage Dictionary, p. 1829)
Not all traditions are inherently evil. However, there are unhealthy prejudicial traditions within Christianity that leaders in the church are passing off as the Word of God. These traditions tend to produce legalistic repression and disobedience to the Word of God. We should not elevate the rules of men over scriptural truth. God requires us to only adhere to that which is biblical, not customs and traditions of men that supersede the application of Scripture. Failing to grasp these distinctions leads to a faulty interpretation of God’s Word. The development of man-made rules passed off as the Word of God were typical acts among the Pharisees of times past.
Such is the case with pre-law tithing. If we investigate the history of tithing, we will discover that giving tithes was not an unspoken sacred law. Factually, tithing began as a man-made custom practiced by many ancient pagan societies throughout the Middle East.
During biblical times the majority of people counted in tens. Giving tithes was customarily connected with a sacrificial system that gave tribute to pagan deities and higher authorities such as kings (1 Sam. 8:15-17).
"He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants." (1 Sam. 8:15)
The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Douglas, Hillyer, Bruce [Editors]) states:
"The custom of tithing did not originate with the Mosaic Law, nor was it peculiar to the Hebrews. It was practiced among other ancient peoples." (Tithes, p. 1572)
The Baker Theological Dictionary of The Bible (Walter A. Elwell [editor]) states:
"Giving a portion of one's profits or the spoils of war was known in the ancient world from Greece to China. Gifts were made as religious offerings, or given to a political authority as tribute or tax. Donation of a tenth portion, or tithe, was common apparently because most people counted in tens, based on ten fingers.”
(Tithe, Tithing, p.779)
Regarding Abram's tithe to Melchizedek, Henry Sayce states:
"This offering of tithes was no new thing. In his Babylonian home Abram must have been familiar with the practice. The cuneiform inscriptions of Babylonia contain frequent references to it." (Henry Sayce, "Patriarchal Religion", Page 175)
Gaston Maspero (1846-1916) states:
"The gods of the side which was victorious shared with it in the triumph, and received a tithe of the spoil, as the price of their help." ("The Struggle of the Nations," page 91)
The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Vol. 4 E points out several accounts of pagan tithing:
1) "... (the sun-god) Shamash demands the tithe..."
2) "...why do you not pay the tithe to the Lady-of-Uruk?"
3) "…four minas of silver, the tithe of [the gods] Bel, Nabu, and Nergal..."
4) "...the tithe of the chief accountant, he has delivered it to [the sun-god] Shamash."
5) "...he has paid, in addition to the tithe for Ninurta, the tax of the gardiner."
As history has shown, many people who tithed believed in pagan gods. It was their custom during that period. Since Melchizedek was a Canaanite King-Priest, Abram responded to ancient tradition by giving a reciprocal gratuity of thanksgiving to show appreciation to the one true God for leading him to a miraculous victory over his enemies; and thus, rescuing his nephew Lot. In addition, because Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe, he acknowledged the superiority of his priesthood.
For further proof that Abram was not following an eternal law, let's take a look at Numbers 31:25-31.
Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Count up the plunder that was taken -- of man and beast --- you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; and divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. And levy a tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the LORD. And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD." So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. (Num. 31:25-31)
Here we have another account of confiscated spoils from war given to a priest. A close examination will show key distinctions between Abram’s tithe to Melchizedek in comparison to the amount of war pillage that God has commanded in this passage.
Following the Israelite's victory over the Midianites, God arranges the precise distribution of the spoils. If we do the math, we see that God required the soldiers to give point two percent (.2%) of the pillage to Eleazar, the priest. The Israelites who did not participate in battle were required to present two percent (2%) to the Levites. If Abram followed a universal law when he gave a tithe of spoils to Melchizedek, then God would have commanded tithing in this account. Although it is worth noting that the Levites received ten times as many spoils as Eleazar, the priest, their portion was not a tithe of the war spoilage.
The computational dissimilarities between Abram’s tithe to Melchizedek and in Numbers 31:25-31 confirms that tithing is not a universal law. It also demonstrates that tithing was by no means a minimum or blanket standard of giving. Moreover, this further confirms that Abram was following ancient custom when he gave a tithe to Melchizedek.
I find it fascinating that tithing advocates will continually address Abram’s tithe to Melchizedek but conveniently evade Numbers 31:25-31. If the mathematical calculations equaled ten percent of the spoils for Eleazar, the priest, proponents of tithing would cite this account regularly.
Since we have proven that Abram was following an ancient customary practice, let’s now take a closer look at John 8:39. Did the "works of Abraham" include tithing? Before addressing that question, let us first consider Galatians 3:6-9.
…just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. (Gal. 3:6-9)
Here, we see that those who "believe" or have the "faith" of Abraham are considered Abraham's children. Let's now observe Hebrews 11:8.
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going." (Heb. 11:8)
Hebrews 11:8 says it was the obedience of faith that motivated Abraham to leave his home and seek out a new destination under the guidance of God. Therefore, in the proper context of Galatians 3:6-9, John 8:39-40, and Hebrews 11:8, we can conclude that those who have the faith and obedience of Abraham are considered Abraham’s children. Notice there is no mention of tithing in the Genesis account as a condition for obedience to God.
In light of these overwhelming biblical facts, we should be able to understand that the narrative of Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek is not a legitimate argument to represent an eternal spiritual tithing law in today’s church age.
