Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Tithing Principles
22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
This reminder is about giving a tenth of our lives to the Lord. This meant primarily only possessions used as we do money today, but still carried the overarching principle of all we possess like the fruit of the labor of those to whom this was originally written. Interestingly, they were permitted to convert their possessions into money for a long journey to avoid lugging everything they were to offer to God over a distance and then buy offerings to tithe as well as to enjoy for themselves to eat. At the end of every three years, they were then to offer it to others in need as well as the priests who serve God in the temple, similarly to both hospitality ministries and supporting church pastors and staff who maintain the churches today. We therefore follow this example to support the ministry and feed the needy among us as our tithes, whether an exact ten percent or other as well are able and willing (2 Corinthians 8:3, 8, 12, 9:6-7, Titus 3:14) to do. God blesses those who love Him and others as living sacrifices who meet needs of those in need and those who minister the word (1 Corinthians 9:13-14) to us. When we tithe in any way or amount, we are giving to God what He has entrusted to us as good stewards of His grace.
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