Brothers and sisters, as men and women who live in the wealthiest society that has ever been, the Church in America is in the position of being able to do more for the Kingdom than any other generation. Yet, I fear we will go down as one of the stingiest generations in all of church history. The average American lives more lavishly than all the Caesars of Rome and all the Pharaohs of Egypt. Yet the average church in America can barely afford to underpay a single minister. What are we doing?

11 then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord. – Deuteronomy. 12:11

As the awful stench of hellish Canaanite sin wafted its way up to the heavens from the land, God was preparing His people on the edge of those borders and teaching them how to live for Him once they occupied it. Of course, they would need good weapons to fight the giants like Og, king of Bashan. They would need armor to withstand the urban warfare in all the various cities. And when they finished taking over and putting to death all those whom God commanded, they would need tools to farm and sew, seeds to plant, wells dug to retrieve water, and all sorts of other things that were essential for them to live. 

Yet, one of the more peculiar things God mentions to them, as being absolutely essential to their life and survival in the land, is tithing. In case we forget where the word “tithe” comes from, it comes from the offering Abraham made to Melchizedek, who was a priest of the LORD, King of Salem, and a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. After routing four particularly nasty Canaanite kings, Abraham took the spoils of the victory. He acknowledged that a tenth part of it belonged to God. Then, believing He was standing in the presence of God, he handed the gift over to Melchizedek, who received the offering and blessed him. In doing this, Abraham acknowledges that His victory over the pagans was not due to his military prowess, intelligence in strategy, or the sizable force he mustered… He was announcing that his victory was entirely due to the grace of God, which is why God deserved the spoils. 

Here in Deuteronomy 12, God is reminding His people of the same thing. Like Abraham, they were about to go in and route the Canaanites. And before the swords were drawn, God took a moment to remind them to behave like Abraham and remember the tithe. He told them, when you go in and fight the pagans, do not forget that 10% of what you recover belongs to Me. And not just during the fighting but as a perpetual statute for that generation and their children forever. 

This ongoing commitment to giving 10% to the LORD was a gift to God, acknowledging that man cannot prosper on his own and that Yahweh alone protects us, sustains us, and keeps us. This 10% was an act of obedience from the people to their covenant Suzerain. It was a humble acknowledgment that everything they owned was because Almighty God provided it and graciously allowed them to steward the other 90%. A point we would do well to remember. 

Now, as far as where the contributions were applied, they went to the upkeep of the temple, to fund the ministers who served there (such as the Levites and the Zadokian High Priest), and to make sure that the knowledge of Yahweh would extend throughout all the world (Isaiah 11:9). To say that differently, as the people of Israel conquered one godless nation, God was collecting resources to reach all the godless nations. 

With that, the tithe was a monetary value representing everything the people in the land produced. That means if you were to add up all of the produce, the new livestock, the metal coins procured, and everything else, 1/10th of that yearly income would go directly to God. For example, if they made 100,000 dollars a year, they would set aside 10,000 to the Lord. No questions asked. 

The reason was simple. The Lord Himself commanded that way of living. This was not for His benefit but for their own! When we tithe, we acknowledge that God is sovereign over every facet of reality. There are no hidden parts we get to squirrel away for a rainy day. When we tithe, we take our life into our own hands and commit to trusting God no matter what. We acknowledge that under the administration of God, He can sustain us better with 90% than we could on our own with 100%. 

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