HEBREW WORD STUDY – TITHE – ‘ESER  עשר   Ayin Sine Resh 

Numbers 18:24: “For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.”

Numbers 18:26: “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, a tenth of the tithe.”

Deuteronomy 26:12: “When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;”

They say there are two things you should never talk about, politics and religion. In religion there are two things you should never talk about, politics and tithing.

Tithing is a very emotional word for preachers.  Some hate to mention it, so just live with it and others seem to relish in it. Some preachers even encourage their congregation to applaud and praise God for he chance to tithe, some struggle and break out into a cold sweat just to mention that word. 

There are many different attitudes toward tithing.  Some preach doom and financial ruin if you fail to tithe, some teach that God will reward you with prosperity if you tithe. Some teach that you are robbing God if you hold back your tithe quoting Malachi 3:8.  There are Christians who are so afraid that God will punish them in some horrible financial way if they don’t tithe that they will use their rent or mortgage money to pay their tithe.  They even call it paying their tithe like it is some sort of financial transaction or paying a bill.  There is even considerable debate whether the 10% is before or after taxes. 

I will not enter the fray over the questions surrounding tithing in the church, I will only present the Biblical context surrounding tithing.  For one thing tithing in a church situation is not a Biblical command, it is a principle. The command to tithe in the Bible are in three areas.  The first is found in Numbers 18:24 where the children of Israel were to give one tenth of their produce to the Levites The Levites were members of the same tribe as the descendants of Aaron but were not in the direct line of Aaron. They served as aides to the priests who were direct descendants of Aaron, doing things like helping to prepare the sacrifices. They took care of the temple, making repairs when needed, and served as musicians, singers and doorkeepers.

In Numbers 18:26 we learn that the Levites were to tithe a tenth of what they were given to the priest or descendants of Aaron.  Then in Deuteronomy 26:12 we learn that there was a third tithe which was given during the third year of the seven year cycle to aid the poor. When the temple was destroyed the command of the tithe could only be fulfilled in respect to aiding the poor during the third year of the seventh year cycle and that was carried out by the temple so even that command was no longer relevant with the destruction of the temple.  

Most churches today have a benevolent fund to help the poor which is separate from the tithe. Hence the command for the tithe would not apply to the church today as the church is not the temple of God. The command to tithe was meant only for the temple.  I remember one rabbi saying that it would be a sin if his congregation tithed to the synagogue. They give offerings for the poor and they collect membership dues to pay for the maintenance of the synagogue and support for the rabbi. But they do not tithe for the rabbi is not a priest and the synagogue is not a temple.  Just as the pastor is not a priest nor is the church a temple.  So we are not commanded to tithe but there is nothing to say that we cannot use the principle of the tithe as a guide to help defray the cost of maintaining a church building and paying salaries. 

We see this word tithe appear again in I Samuel 8:14-15 in reference to Israel’s demand for a king where they are warned that a king will demand a tithe or ‘eser as it is known in Hebrew. ‘Eser merely means ten or a tenth. Most kings followed a principle of charging a tax of 10% of one’s earnings. In fact, that is where the dispute in the New Testament over paying taxes to the Roman government started because the Pharisees called the ‘eser a tithe or tenth and when the Roman government demanded a 10th of one’s earnings they called this tax a tithe and you were not to tithe to anyone but God. 

By this time the whole principle of a tithe had lost its meaning. The tithe was meant to be given out of love for God.  The tax was given out of duty  and obligation.  The purpose of tithing was to be given a chance to show generosity to care for the needy and for those whose service to the temple prevented them from cultivating land of their own to feed themselves and their families. 

For many of us today, the tithe suffers from the first century problem with the tax. Tithing has become a duty, a law that would result in punishment if not paid. It stands to lose the element of love and generosity that was the foundation of instituting the tithe in the first place.  The problem does not center on how you calculate your 10%, before or after taxes, before or after your essential bills are paid or even if it should be 10% at all. It focuses on your motive.  R. G. LeTourneau who invented the giant earth moving machines and later founded LeTourneau University said the if God can live on 10% he would live on 10%.  He was a millionaire many times over before he even owned his first home.  Taxes are a duty and a law. If not for the consequences for failure to pay, most would not pay them. Tithing is not a matter of duty or law, it is a matter of the heart and an opportunity to express your love for God. 

Hi there! Thank you for reading this Daily Word Study. Can I ask a favor? Share this Daily Word Study with your friends on Facebook and Twitter by clicking one of the icons below.

Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!