The Truth About Tithing

“But the Israelites will give one-tenth of everything they have to the Lord, and I will give that one-tenth to the Levites. That is why I said these words about the Levites: They will not get the land that I promised the Israelites.”

“Speak to the Levites and tell them: The Israelites will give one-tenth of everything they own to the Lord. That one-tenth will belong to the Levites. But you must give one-tenth of that to the Lord as your offering.
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭18:24, 26 ERV‬‬

This verse helps us understand why tithing one-tenth of all our income(not just after tax part) to the local church exists. It is not just a long ago thing that people did. The Israelites were commanded to give one-tenth of all they received to the Levites. The Levites were like our church ministers. They used this to live on and take care of the temple.

Sometimes we read things in the Bible and "claim" promises for ourselves and say that verse applies to me. We would all agree that these verses apply to us.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him. He is good to those who look for him.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:25‬ ‭ERV‬‬

““Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Yep, these verses are for me.

But with other verses, we decide that this principal does not apply to me. It is for other people. This verse about tithing is definitely one of those verses that people pick and chose if they want to do this. They figure it applies to rich people or people that don't care about money for some reason. They put it in the category of spiritual gifts. They decided that they do not have the spiritual gift of tithing. Here is some big news. There is not such thing as the "spiritual gift of tithing." Tithing is a command that we obey. By the way, rich people would be the most likely to NOT follow this verse.

God had something to say about this then and He still has something to say about it now.

““People should not steal things from God, but you stole things from me. “You say, ‘What did we steal from you?’ “You should have given me one-tenth of your things. You should have given me special gifts.

Special gifts are like feeding the poor or supporting missionaries or buying backpacks for school children. They are marvelous. But they are not part of your tithe.

The most incredible thing about this verse is that it comes with an amazing promise! You should tithe just so you can claim this promise.

The Lord All-Powerful says, “Try this test. Bring one-tenth of your things to me. Put them in the treasury. Bring food to my house. Test me! If you do these things, I will surely bless you. Good things will come to you like rain falling from the sky. You will have more than enough of everything.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭3:8, 10‬ ‭ERV

Take it from a girl that tithes. This promise is true. I have more than enough of everything.