Tithetext

The early Church and its network of ministers took over the daily ministration of national charity and service that had been provided by the Levites who were the Church in the wilderness.

Tithe

A Hebrew word translated tithe is maser^[1] is from the root words ‘eser^[2] or ‘asar ^[3] having the letters AyinShemReish and meaning ten. The word is even translated tenth, but also tithe or even riches^[4] sometimes.

Most of the time, the word tithe is composed of the Hebrew letters MemAyinShemReish, which is the word for ten, with the letter Mem added to the front. Understanding the meaning of the Hebrew letters MemAyinShemReish, it literally could mean the "flow of the tens".

The tithe is what came from the Tens and the tens were how the congregations gathered - ten families. All government support came to the Levites from the congregations of Tens in the form of Freewill offerings, what the Old Testament called Tithing or what the New Testament called charity.

The government or Kingdom of God was from generation to generation, being composed of Free Assemblies of families in a voluntary network forming an intentional community with No Kings or rulers.

The Levites could not exercise authority and force the offerings of the people. Forced offerings or taxation would not appear in Israel until the foolishness of Saul who did not become King until the people rejected God that he should not reign over them.^[5] These offerings in support of a national government had to be freely given. They were given to the Levites according to their service. ^[6]

Tithe, like taxes^[7], was used to support the services of government. The difference is that when the power or the right to choose is centralized into the hands of a few the resulting State may impose a tax upon the people relinquish that power.

A tithe was originally a share or portion produced by the people and voluntarily given of the people to individuals of a particular class of people to be used and for the people in service to the nation. Through such systems of charitable sacrifice and living altars, a hole nation may come together in socially constructed patterns of tens. The people gather as a living network of Free Assemblies of ten families each. These family groups of Tens, gathered in ranks of hundreds and thousands in many nations long before and after Israel. Jesus Christ is seen "commanding" his disciples to do the same in the Gospel.

Tithe or Tax

Some of the first recorded historical taxes were supposedly in ancient Egypt.^[8] Joseph imposed a 20% tax on the people, and the State provided welfare services in time of need. This was actually a Corvee system of statutory labor, and the amount owed would eventually be called Tribute.

The truth is that forced contributions by government goes back to at least Nimrod and probably Cain.

The Israelites were to be the kingdom of God. It was not like the governments of the world. The Levites were to be the ministers of the *tabernacle of the congregation* (tent of meeting) and received a tithe given as freewill offerings by the people "according to their service". What was that "service" to the nation?

When Moses left Egypt, the people still needed the services of government. They had to support government through a system of self-government. This would be done through a network of titular ministers who served the people, rather than rule over them. Governments usually increase their power by offering benefits to those who have an appetite for them, even though they are often provided at the expense of the people through taxation.

Since the people of Israel could not covet the goods of their neighbor, they could only expect to provide those benefits through freewill offerings in the form of charity through the perfect law of liberty. There has always been these two types of welfare in societies.

Because the families each voluntarily gave a share of what they produced, the amount of ten percent from each family was a form of voluntary self-imposed taxation or freewill offerings. In governments where the taxes or tithes were given regularly by the people, the power of the State remained with them. If judging crimes was also left to the people in the form of juries, and if the leaders were only titular, then the government might be considered a Republic in its purest form.

There are lots of different ideas about tithing, but once we understand Altars and their purpose, along with Temples and their function, it should become painfully obvious that the purpose of tithe was essential to bind a society together naturally.^[9]

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Footnotes

↑ 04643 ^רשׂעמ^ ma‘aser \@mah-as-ayr’\@ or ^רשׂעמ^ ma‘asar \@mah-as-ar’\@ and (in pl.) fem. ^הרשׂעמ^ ma‘asrah \@mah-as-raw’\@ from 06240; n m; AV-tithe 27, tenth part 2, tenth 2, tithing 1; 32
1) tithe, tenth part
1a) tenth part

1b) tithe, payment of a tenth part
↑ 06235 ^רשׂע^ ‘eser \@eh’ser\@ masc. of term ^הרשׂע^ ‘asarah \@as-aw-raw’\@ from 06237; n m/f; AV-ten 172, fifteen + 02568 1, seventeen + 07651 1, ten times 1; 175
1) ten
1a) ten

1b) with other numbers
↑ 06240 ^רשׂע^ ‘asar \@aw-sawr’\@ from 06235; n m/f; AV-eleven + 0259 9, eleven + 06249 6, eleventh + 06249 13, eleventh + 0259 4, twelve + 08147 106, twelfth + 08147 21, thirteen + 07969 13, thirteenth + 07969 11, etc to nineteen 152; 335 1) ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers) 1a) used only in combination to make the numbers 11-19
↑ 06238 ^רשׁע^ ‘ashar \@aw-shar’\@ a primitive root; v; AV-rich 14, even enrich 3, richer 1; 17 1) to be or become rich or wealthy, enrich, pretend to be rich
06239 ^רשׁע^ ‘osher \@o’- sher\@ from 06238; n m; AV-riches 36, far 1; 37 1) wealth, riches
↑ 1 Samuel 8
↑ "Take [it] of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service." Numbers 7:5
↑ "A tax (from the Latin taxo; "rate") is a financial charge or other levy imposed upon a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay, or evasion of or resistance to collection, is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many administrative divisions. Taxes consist of direct or indirect taxes and may be paid in money or as its labour equivalent." Tax
↑ : "The first known system of taxation was in Ancient Egypt around 3000–2800 BC, in the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. The earliest and most widespread form of taxation was the corvée and tithe. The corvée was forced labour provided to the State by peasants too poor to pay other forms of taxation (labour in ancient Egyptian is a synonym for taxes). Records from the time document that the pharaoh would conduct a biennial tour of the kingdom, collecting tithes from the people. Other records are granary receipts on limestone flakes and papyrus. Early taxation is also described in the Bible. In Genesis (chapter 47, verse 24" Tax
↑ : "A tithe (/ˈtaɪð/; from Old English: teogoþa "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to the government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...."Wikipedia Tithe "Required" by whom? Were tithes freewill offerings or contributions by force?

[1] 04643 ^רשׂעמ^ ma‘aser \@mah-as-ayr’\@ or ^רשׂעמ^ ma‘asar \@mah-as-ar’\@ and (in pl.) fem. ^הרשׂעמ^ ma‘asrah \@mah-as-raw’\@ from 06240; n m; AV-tithe 27, tenth part 2, tenth 2, tithing 1; 32
1) tithe, tenth part
1a) tenth part

1b) tithe, payment of a tenth part

[2] 06235 ^רשׂע^ ‘eser \@eh’ser\@ masc. of term ^הרשׂע^ ‘asarah \@as-aw-raw’\@ from 06237; n m/f; AV-ten 172, fifteen + 02568 1, seventeen + 07651 1, ten times 1; 175
1) ten
1a) ten

1b) with other numbers

[3] 06240 ^רשׂע^ ‘asar \@aw-sawr’\@ from 06235; n m/f; AV-eleven + 0259 9, eleven + 06249 6, eleventh + 06249 13, eleventh + 0259 4, twelve + 08147 106, twelfth + 08147 21, thirteen + 07969 13, thirteenth + 07969 11, etc to nineteen 152; 335 1) ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers) 1a) used only in combination to make the numbers 11-19

[4] 06238 ^רשׁע^ ‘ashar \@aw-shar’\@ a primitive root; v; AV-rich 14, even enrich 3, richer 1; 17 1) to be or become rich or wealthy, enrich, pretend to be rich
06239 ^רשׁע^ ‘osher \@o’- sher\@ from 06238; n m; AV-riches 36, far 1; 37 1) wealth, riches

[5] 1 Samuel 8

[6] "Take [it] of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service." Numbers 7:5

[7] "A tax (from the Latin taxo; "rate") is a financial charge or other levy imposed upon a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay, or evasion of or resistance to collection, is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many administrative divisions. Taxes consist of direct or indirect taxes and may be paid in money or as its labour equivalent." Tax

[8] : "The first known system of taxation was in Ancient Egypt around 3000–2800 BC, in the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. The earliest and most widespread form of taxation was the corvée and tithe. The corvée was forced labour provided to the State by peasants too poor to pay other forms of taxation (labour in ancient Egyptian is a synonym for taxes). Records from the time document that the pharaoh would conduct a biennial tour of the kingdom, collecting tithes from the people. Other records are granary receipts on limestone flakes and papyrus. Early taxation is also described in the Bible. In Genesis (chapter 47, verse 24" Tax

[9] : "A tithe (/ˈtaɪð/; from Old English: teogoþa "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to the government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...."Wikipedia Tithe "Required" by whom? Were tithes freewill offerings or contributions by force?

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Tithetext

Tithe

Tithe or Tax

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