Where Does Tithing Come From?
God instituted tithing as a way to worship Him, to protect our hearts from greed, and to support the work of the church.
One of the first examples of a tithe happens when Abram gives a tenth of his gain to Melchizedek, a priest of God (Genesis 14:17-20). Sharing a tenth of the spoils of war was a common way to pay tribute to the gods after a victory. By giving Melchizedek a tenth, Abraham was giving God credit for his success.
Later, as God was establishing Abraham’s descendants as His people, God told Moses and the Israelites that, “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” (Leviticus 27:30).
The tithes the people brought to the Lord supported the work of the church, cared for the poor, and helped the Gospel spread to communities around the world.
Isn't Tithing an Old Testament Command?
Tithing is an Old Testament and New Testament principle. The first tithe between Abram and Melchizedek happened before God gave His people the law. Tithing was then outlined specifically in the laws God gave His people and affirmed by Jesus during His time on Earth.
When Jesus taught on tithing, He always challenged people to take their obedience one step further and consider whether they were doing the right thing with the right heart.
For example, Jesus affirms the religious leaders for tithing, but criticizes them for neglecting their responsibility to act justly, mercifully, and faithfully (Matthew 23:23).
Another time, while at the temple with the disciples, Jesus watches everyone giving their tithes and calls special attention to a widow because her offering, while small, was given sacrificially instead of thoughtlessly (Luke 21:1-4).
What Happens When We Obey God and Commit to Tithing?
1. We demonstrate obedience, and God always blesses obedience.
God wants our obedience more than our loving words, and Jesus said obeying God’s commands is how we show God that we love Him (John 14:15). God specifically promises to reward our obedience in tithing.
In Malachi 3, God rebukes his people for neglecting the tithe. Then, He issues this challenge:
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10).
When we’re obedient with what we have, we show God that we love Him and that He can trust us with more (Luke 16:10).
2. We get to partner with God in ministry.
God does not need our money. He owns everything and can do anything.
In Psalm 50:7, 9–12, God reminds us, “I am God, your God... I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.”
When God commands us to bring the tithe to the local church, He is engaging us in His work on Earth. God doesn’t have to work through us, but He chooses to (1 Corinthians 16:2).
3. We put money in its place.
Bringing the tithe is a tangible reminder that everything we have is on loan from God. He is our provider and our protector (Hebrews 13:5).
We all have a choice: we can put our hope in money, or we can put our hope in the Lord. But we cannot pursue greed and God at the same time. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24).
Having money isn’t wrong, and being wealthy doesn’t make someone greedy. It’s what we do with our money that matters. When we bring the tithe to the church, we are telling God, “My hope, my trust, and my security are in you and you alone.”
Jesus taught that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Tithing is a way to allow our treasure to train our hearts.
Tithing is an act of the will, not a response to a feeling or emotion. We must decide to be generous before we feel generous. When we commit to tithing, God allows us to fully experience the connection between our obedience and His blessing. Then, the joy that comes from being obedient motivates us to do it again and again and again.
If we wait until we feel like obeying God to obey God, we’ll never follow through. But when we begin to take God at His word and do what He commands us to do, we see our faith grow.
