Scripture-Study List: Tithing
Anciently, Abraham paid tithing to Melchizedek, the priest of God.
Genesis 14:18-20:
- And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
- And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
- And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
The Old-Testament prophet Jacob described how he paid tithing–ten percent of his income–as a way of expressing gratitude for all God had given him.
Genesis 28:20-22:
- And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
- So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:
- And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
Moses taught the law of tithing to the ancient Israelites.
Leviticus 27:30-34:
- 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.
- And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.
- 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.
- 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.
- These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Moses again taught the importance of tithing:
Deuteronomy 14:22, 28:
- Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
- At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
The Old Testament indicates that the ancient Israelites did in fact keep the law of tithing.
2 Chronicles 31:5:
- And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.
The Old-Testament prophet Malachi taught that the Lord will bless those who keep the law of tithing.
Malachi 3:8-11:
- Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
- Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
- Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
- And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
In New-Testament times, members of the Church “had all things in common.” Mormons also employed a communal economic system in the early 19th century called the United Order. Unfortunately, some members of the modern-day Church lacked the faith to accept the United Order. God commanded us to switch over to capitalism and, instead of the United Order, instituted the Old-Testament law of tithing.
Acts 2:44-45:
- And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
- And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Again, Luke describes the New-Testament version of the United Order.
Acts 4:32:
- And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
The apostle Paul described the United-Order philosophy when he asked the members of the Church in Macedonia to give of their resources to help poor Christians in Jerusalem.
2 Corinthians 8:12-15:
- For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
- For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
- But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
- As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.