Valerie wrote:
Tithing was 'pre' temple, 'pre' Mosaic law- tithe literally means 10% by definition but of course it is not limited to 10%- but it was given by Abram centuries before the law was given to Moses.
Who told Abraham to give Melchizadek, the High Priest of God (fulfilled in Christ) a tithe? this took place before God established Israel & the Mosaic Laws-
Genesis 14:
17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And Abram gave him atithe of all.
There are 'tithes' and 'offerings' - but tithes were pre "law" and carried into the New Covenant Church as well as offerings so there really is no limitation-
Interesting to me how 'tithing' is not thought of by some as a tenth. In our MB church I have heard a sermon that the tenth idea is no longer a NT practise but recently our teaching pastor, from a Pentecostal background, preached that it is. When I looked up an article in the MB Herald it says this 'God is more interested in the heart than in the amount'. 'Tithing' is spoken more of setting aside an amount and the word 'tithe' and 'giving' seem to be used interchangeably.
http://mbherald.com/10-tips-tithing/
Valerie, here is some 'push back' on tithes being pre law. Questions arise such as - Just because Abraham tithed to Mel was it a command of God before the law ? Did God require Abraham to tithe ? Why did Abraham tithe ? What did Abraham actually tithe ? To whom did Abraham give this tithe to ? Some have suggested answers to these questions but are they obvious in what we read ? We are warned not to add to scripture. In the what did Abraham tithe it reads as though Abraham tithed the spoils of the war he just won. Taking people's goods and kid napping people. I do think history supports the idea that tithing was a practise prior to the law by some kingdoms like the Babylonians but can we build a doctrine on this one statement that Abraham tithed as God required him to do and this supports tithing as a pre law practise ? Could Abraham be following the practise of his culture in how kings were treated ? He tithed but not of his own property. And we don't read that he ever tithed again. Jacob promised to give a tenth but there is no recording he ever did.
I think if tithing was to continue as a NT practise in the New Covenant period, this verse would read much differently than it does. Are we to take for granted that the early church tithed beyond this instruction on giving ?
1 Corinthians 16:2: “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.”
After Pentecost there just isn't any reference to giving a tithed, a tenth so it would seem this was an Old Covenant practise. Actually, for those blessed with much, a tenth is too little to give considering what one is left to live with.