Tithing - How is it Calculated? Do Gentiles have to Tithe?

Limited Scope of Tithe

The tithe was 10% of one's agricultural produce, the herd and flock.

30 “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord.31 If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it.32 And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the Lord. (Leviticus 27:30-32 ESV.)

It was not a tithe on income, but only on one's produce from the land - whether from seed in the ground, fruits from trees or animals born on the land See also Deut 26 below.

In fact, it was illegal to sell the produce, and bring money instead (Lev. 27:28) unless it was a long journey to Jerusalem, and then you could sell it, and bring money instead. (Deut 14:24-26.) Hence, the second reason to know the tithe was never on money earned was because it was illegal generally to convert it into money. Hence, it was solely on agricultural produce or farm animals.

As a result, the tithe never fell upon anyone who had no land or farm animals, whether Israelite or Gentile. It was in a sense a tax on the farm produce of better off citizens...like our modern progressive income tax.

3. Was The Command On Israelites Only? Or Upon Gentiles Too?

Did it fall on the Gentile who had land or a farm animal? No, the duty was exclusively upon Israelites.

It begins in Deuteronomy 26, and as it progresses it is decisively only upon Israelites:

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it,2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. (Deut 26:1-2 ESV.)

Verses 5-11 make it quite clear that we are only talking about Israelites who were "brought out of Egypt" who are subject to this command:

5 “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor.7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.8 And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror,[a] with signs and wonders.9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’

Furthermore, one of the objects of the tithe were Gentiles, whether poor or not. Hence, this makes it nonsensical to put the tithe as an obligation upon Gentiles. This was known as the triennial tithe.

This is the tithe that was spoken about in Malachi -- the preachers (Levites) were robbing God of His tithe that went to the fatherless, the widow, the sojourner (Gentile), and the poor. See Malachi 3:5 quoted above.

Every third year, the tithe went to widows / orphans / the poor / gentiles (called 'sojourners') and Levites (who as a tribe no longer exist today). Scholars sometimes call it the poor tithe, but that is not its Biblical name.

This aspect of the tithe rule is in Deuteronomy 26:11-13:

11 And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.

12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.

[David_Brinkerhoff]

You should make a video about the prosperity gospels, Doug. I'm familiar with the passages where Paul justifies taking wages (because something about an ox being not being muzzled in deut.) and about how he robbed other churches. I'm sure Paul provides more justification for this behavior/doctrine, I'm just not aware of it.
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In the LDS Church, when the Sunday topic is tithing, you will hear a million testimonials along the lines of: 'I was destitute and in poverty, and I didn't know how I was going to pay for food, but I had faith and so I paid my tithing anyway. Everything was alright...a miracle happened....and now I'm wealthy or doing well for myself and my family.' I'm sure this isn't unique to the lds church and I know any other church goers have heard similar things from the pulpit.

We've also got people who abuse the story of the rich young man. Thankfully, the Hebrew reconstructions of the passage clarify that owning wealth isn't the moral failing but rather failing to ever distribute any of the wealth to the poor. I think you made a video on this.


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[michelemoneywell]

Thank you for this teaching on tithes. What the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W Armstrong taught is that 1st tithe (every year) was for the ministry, 2nd tithe (every year) was to spend at the feasts, especially the Feast of Tabernacles, and 3rd tithe (every 3rd year) was to go to orphans and widows. Tithe was only on income earned by working, not Social Security or disability income, for instance, and on gross, not net. 1st and 3rd tithes were collected; the sender designated the type of tithe so that they were kept separate. There were also gift offerings requested, usually for a special project, but these were freewill offerings. I know now how they taught incorrectly.

[lindasc]

Strange, Mormons and JWs do NOT pay the leaders JW also do not tithe but make offerings . So off base in some areas then This.