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The law of tithing was given to Israel in Leviticus chapter 27.   Moses was passing on to the Israelites, the commands that God had given him on Mt. Sinai.  

 

Lev27:30-34 ‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord, it is holy to the Lord......every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod will be holy to the Lord.......These are the commands the Lord gave to Moses on Mt Sinai for the Israelites’

It is important to be clear about what God was asking for, and then to establish it’s purpose. 

 

The tithe was a tenth of all the produce from the land, whether it was crops, livestock or other products made from the harvest, such as wine or oil.  God had given allotments of land to eleven of the tribes of Israel and commanded them to give back a tenth of everything which that land produced.

 

What was it for?  Firstly, it was to feed the Levites, who had no land to produce their own living.  They served God on behalf of the nation of Israel and did not receive an inheritance of land as the other tribes did.  This concept is similar to the way public servants are now paid by taxes.

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Num. 18:20-30.  “The Lord said to Aaron, ‘You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.  From now on, the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and they will die.  It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for offences against it.  This is a lasting ordinance for generations to come.  They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.  Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithe that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord.  That is why I said concerning them; ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.'

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Levites and say to them; when you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering.  Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the wine press.  In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites.  From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest.  You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you’.

‘Say to the Levites; When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the wine press.  You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting.  By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites and you will not die.’”

 

Initially, the tithe was an offering to God from all of Israel’s land-holders. They were commanded to offer livestock, fruit, grain and new wine, so that the Levites had a share of the bounty that God provided for his people.

The tithe was given to the Levites as wages for their service to God and Israel.  The Levites then gave the best tenth of this to God, as offerings through the priest.  The Levites did not give in the initial tithe because they had no land to grow crops or raise livestock.  Their time was to be dedicated to serving.  

    

The tithe was also a way in which the Israelites could thank God for his blessings and to share with others who had no means of supporting themselves, - “the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied.”

 

Deut.14:22-29  “Be sure to set aside a tenth of everything that your fields produce each year.  Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil and the first born of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. ............ At the end of every three years, bring all of the tithes of that years produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites, (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”

 

For two years out of three, people were told to eat their tithe, to share it and rejoice before God while doing so, as an act of worship and thanksgiving to the one who provided it all.  God said, - vs.23 “Eat the tithe.... in the presence of the Lord your God.....so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.” and then,  vs.26 “You and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.” 

The eleven tribes of Israel were also told not to neglect the Levites, because the tithe was initially for them.   Vs. 27 “And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns; for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.”   

Then in the third year, they are told to store it in their towns, so that it can be distributed to those in Israel who do not have any means of supporting themselves.  Vs. 29 “so that the Levites,.. and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied,”  

 

This is repeated in Deut.26:12, “When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.” 

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Israel was God’s nation, and the tithe was Israel’s ‘social security system’.  Firstly for the Levites, who were God’s servants.  And then for the others in Israel, who had no means of supporting themselves. 

The aliens did not tithe, the fatherless did not tithe, the widows did not tithe.   The land holders tithed, so that others could share in the produce that God had provided.