TITHING 101: THE DUE ORDER

THE DUE ORDER

The tithe is defined in Leviticus 27:30-33:

30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S:  it is holy unto the LORD.   31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.   32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.   33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it:  and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy;  it shall not be redeemed.

The tithe was defined to be "Seed of the Land", "Fruit of the Tree" and the "Tenth of the Herd".

The recipient of the tithe were also given in Numbers 18:

20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them:  I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.   21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

The tithe was to be given to the levites and the priest because the Lord was their inheritance.

It is neccesary to state this definition because, the tithe Abram gave in  Genesis were simply of war spoil. We could not categorically state what it consist of. Also, the tithe Abram gave and the one Jacob vowed were never commanded by God. They could very well be called free will offerings. It was only until under the law did we find God speaking of a tithe and giving a definition to it and telling us who to give it to.

How the tithes has been converted from seed of the land, fruit of the tree and tenth of the herd to hard core currency is a mystery of the modern babylonian church. How the recipient of the tithe went from Levites to Pastors and church leaders is another mystery unsolved.

But lest this be scorned and made fun of as another mantra of anti-tithers, let me relay a biblical story that tells us that God is intent on who should have the tithes and how it should be given.

In 2 Samuel 6 David thought it good to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. In his wisdom, and rather than following God's blue print, he chose choice men to go along with him to bring the ark. Then he got a brand new cart to carry it. With two guys to ferry it along. Along the way one of them puts out his hand to support the ark and God struck him dead.

In 2 Chronicles 15, David had learnt his lesson. Still intent on bringing the ark to Jerusalem, hear him:

1 And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.   2 Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites:  for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.  3 And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had prepared for it.   4 And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites... 11 And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites:  sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.   13 For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.   14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.   15 And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD.

Notice verse 13, there was a due order according to Moses' law on how the ark was to be ferried. David found the due order, excecutetd it according to God's word and God blessed them.

The question we should ask all these people preaching a gospel of monetary tithes is this: where is this found in scripture? What is the due order God ordained for collecting tithes according to scripture? When did tithe become money from agricultural products? When did Pastors become Levites? What is the due order?

In all of scriptures, there have been called ones; there have been prophets of God: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Joshua, Jesus, Paul, Peter, etc. Non of these people as great as they were, were given a tithe because the due order God laid down was for tithes to be given to Levites.

Are we in the time and age when God's wrath shall break forth upon tithe collecting men, who have refused to follow the due order. Yes we are. If you are one of them, be warned!!

In conclusion, God is a God of order. The same God who instituted the law through Moses; brought grace and truth through Jesus and brought an end to the law. The due order or the new order today is that God has brought an end to the whole order of the Levitical priesthood. There is no Levite to give a tithe to; there is no tithe to give to a Levite. The new order commands giving out of a free will, out of love to God and in the leading of God's Spirit in our hearts.

Do not be deceived!

See other titles on this Tithing Course:

Tithing 102: http://yesufu.blogspot.com/2014/03/tithing-102-tithing-as-doctrine-of-men.html

Tithing 103: http://yesufu.blogspot.com/2014/03/tithing-103-tithing-as-abraham-did.html