Did you know that there is more than 1 tithe in the Bible????

There are actually THREE! Yes I said Three (3)!

Most people are familiar with the first tithe. These tithes are distinguished by their specified use.

The first tithe is recorded in Leviticus 27:30-33 and Numbers 18:21-24. In ancient Israel, this tithe was given to the Levites for their duties. In the New Covenant, the first tithe is to be used for getting the gospel out. The second tithe is found in Deuteronomy 14:22-27 and Deuteronomy 12. God commanded the Israelites to spend this tithe in the presence of God where the Lord had placed His name. This would have been Jerusalem because the Temple and presence of God was located there at that time. The Body of Christ is His Spiritual Temple. The presence of God is poured out when we gather for these days. This second tithe is to be saved and used at the three Holy Day seasons: Passover and Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the Fall Feasts. We are commanded to spend this tithe on items that bring us happiness so that we can celebrate the Holy Day with joy. Imagine that! God asks us to save up a tenth of our income so that we can spend it on ourselves! Now, the way of this world (with Christmas especially) is to go into debt to buy someone something they do not even like. People get mad about this kind of giving. The Lord’s way is for us to buy what makes us happy. We can certainly use this money to buy other people items for the Feasts, but we must first buy the things that make us happy.

The third tithe, found in Deuteronomy 14:28-29, was to be collected in the third and sixth year in a seven-year cycle. It was to be used for the widow, orphan, fatherless, and poor. As a matter of practice at Hungry Hearts Ministries, we teach that Christians in America should keep the first two tithes. We do not practice the third tithe in America because the federal government of the United States already takes more than 10% a year for federal programs including, but not limited to, social security, welfare, unemployment, food stamps, widows benefits, section eight housing, and so forth. These government programs are aimed toward the same purpose as third tithe. This being the case, Americans technically already pay this third tithe through these programs, and they pay it far more often than the third and sixth year.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, and ye have left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith: these ye ought to have done and not have left those aside” (Matthew 23:23, DBT). In Luke 18:12, “I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” The Greek word in this verse for tithing is plural. In the first century, the Jewish people kept these three tithes. Josephus even records this. Thus, Christ affirms in this verse that there is more than one tithe to be observed!

We will finish this post next time!!