Monday 2 February 2015

Is It True That Abraham Did Not Tithe?

By Ines Flores


The percentage of sacrifice required from Israelites was to the tune of twenty two percent of what a person owned. This was given to priests who were required to sacrifice ten percent of that. Could this be the biblical verses that are skewed by preachers in an attempt to get the faithful to give more? With no mention of a tithing percentage by Jesus or his disciples, the demand by present day pastors and ministers raises pertinent questions.

Sacrifices can be traced back to Cain and Abel who learnt from their father. Isaac and Jacob also sacrificed on different occasions. It the assertion that Abraham did not tithe true based on such and other cases? Is it possible that present day church has confused sacrifices for tithing?

Evangelical churches are insisting on planting seeds in order to get blessings or be shielded from affliction. Job would have been the beneficiary of such schemes considering what he went through. It is Abram who made tithing to gain the prominence it has today.

The offering made by Abram in Genesis fourteen was based on what the armies had captured in battle. It also included what his brother Lot had as well as the people around him. This is an indication of sacrifice and not tithing. The tithe that Abram gave after rescuing Lot came from what the armies plundered.

All the sacrifices made by Abram were voluntary. When asked to keep what he had captured in war, Genesis chapter twenty records that he declined. The reason given is that he did not want to be considered rich through war plundering. He allows the army to share what they had captured after giving a portion of it to the high priest.

The church today has made tithing part of daily service unlike what the bible suggests. Abraham was a very wealthy man yet he only gave up what was gotten from war. From the traditions of the Israelites, tithing was a form of worship and was to be based on individual preference. There is no mention that people were required to give their best as is advocated in the church today.

A new system is said to have been established through the New Testament. While so many other things changed, tithing remained as it was in the Old Testament. The other irony is an instance where pastors and church ministers own big cars and the best properties yet they do not feature during tithing. The fact that they expect their followers to tithe is suspect.

Tithing a tenth of your earnings was introduced by Moses when he wanted to make Israel a theocracy. Leviticus 27 says that the first proceeds from the land in form of seeds and animals belonged to the Lord. This was aimed at ensuring that priests had something to eat. Even the priests offered part of what they got.

Malachi 3 is where tithing seems to be founded. God would punish Israelites if they failed to sacrifice. They would face drought and famine for failing to give to God. Jesus flips the coin by condemning those who tithe at the expense of feeding the poor. This is recorded in Mathew 23.




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