Tithe

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 is from the root words ‘eser or ‘asar having the letters AyinShemReish and meaning ten. The word is even translated tenth, but also tithe or even riches 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. These offerings in support of a national government had to be freely given. They were given to the Levites according to their service.

Tithe, like taxes, 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. 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.

Treasury

Christians were accused of robbing the Temple of Diana in Ephesus. How could they rob this temple which had one of the most secure vaults in the Mediterranean?

The temples of ancient cultures often included the treasury of those governments. The "fat" or reserve fund of the people were often stored in the temples built by societies. Lands, livestock, and commodities like grain along with industries requiring major investment like mines and shipping were accumulated with the wealth deposited with these temples. The temples were not merely centers of commerce but could provide financial, social stability and a variety of valuable functions for society.

The most practical way to store wealth was in gold and without large vaults, the best way to store gold was in a block or statue where no one could steal a part of it without taking from the whole. A large statue could not be carted off easily but also it gave the people something visible and common to defend. Since it represented the wealth of the whole community it provided an incentive for the people to stay together and defend it and therefore each other. It also allowed the governing body of the temples to issue some sort of redeemable currency or money that could be traded within the community.

Even the golden calf of Israel was actually like a reserve fund of the treasury of a government being set up by Aaron. They were trying to create a central economic system like other nations to bind the people together. People fear the unknown, and nothing is more unknown than the future.

Israel was not to bind itself together with Contracts, Covenants and Constitutions like the governments of other nations, nor was the Church to bind the people like the governments of the Gentiles. But it functioned with No king, prime minister, or president without enforced taxation, nor a professional army. Yet, they were a government.

This is why the Church is defined as "one form of government". Centralized governments become governments that exercise the power of choice over the people. Once you create offices of power rather than titular offices of responsibility and service, people who seek power seek office. Power corrupts, and people of power seldom relinquish that power, but generally, they seek more and more power.

All the power of government comes to governments from the people by way of some form of consent. The more the people depend upon the government to use its power to provide the benefits of society, the weaker the people become as a community.

The first and most common form of government was voluntary systems of self-governance which depended upon the goodwill of the people. We see such free governments in Republics like early Israel, which was supported by a tithe which was freely given by ten families.

If more funds were needed, the individuals chose to freely give through the same network of ministers (and many congregations) to support local or even national projects, from emergency relief to military defense.

Governments formed, whereby that right to choose was vested in an elected leader that could exercise authority and rule over the people, was a rejection of God, according to 1 Samuel 8, where it also says they will take and take and take etc.. Such leaders almost always fall prey to what might be called the Saul Syndrome, and the people become victims of the leader's greed for power.

Real Money is power, which is why governments want that power in the hands of the State, rather than the people - from Lycurgus of Sparta to FDR, and Hitler, it has been assumed that "Gold in the hands of the people is an enemy of the state."

Moses believed the opposite, for he came to free the people, not give power to the Nimrods, Pharaohs and Caesars of the world.

Temples like the "Aerarium Stabulum" or treasure-house served as the public treasury in Rome, just as other Temples like Herod's temple were treasuries of the government.

Jesus watched how the people would put money in the treasury within the stone temple of Herod the Great.

Mark 12:41 ¶ And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

The same word for treasury is seen in Mark 12, Luke 21 and in John 8:20

“These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.”

Jesus had been hailed as King by the people, He gave instruction in the royal treasury, He issued orders in the government temple, and He fired personnel. In 78 BC, the Pharisees had an ordinance passed into law, requiring the temple tax be paid, or the matter was handed over to the appointed civil magistrates of Judea for enforcement. The Greek word for “moneychangers” was kollubistes, which was a word for a small coin or “clipped amount”. Kollubistes had to do with the commission charged by the holders of these lucrative offices of the government.

These commissioned moneychangers were likely to bring in an amount in excess of 7,600,000 denarii in that one month. They were allowed to charge a silver meah, or about one-fourth of a denar. Their cut on this one event could be 950,000 denarii, worth more than $9,000,000 today. “Thus the immense offerings … to the Temple passed through the hands of the moneychangers.”

Only the king could fire these gatekeepers of the temple treasury,, and that is exactly what Jesus was doing with His string whip, turning over those tables. Understanding who the money-changers were, as government officials - and what it meant to be fired from their lucrative commissioned position in the national treasury - brings the motivation of crucifying Jesus into a new and revealing light.

Luke 21:1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury <1049>. 2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.

3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: 4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. 5 ¶ And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, 6 As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

The early apostles were moving funds around and sending relief to the people; these were funds collected from the people in a network.

There is more than one word that is translated treasury in the New Testament. The most common is the word gazophulakion It is composed of two words γάζα gaza treasure, which was the "the royal treasury" and φυλακή phulake meaning guard, watch.

The other word translated treasury is κορβᾶν or korban. Corban was around in most all countries of the world and even in history. It was provided in two ways. Corban was a sacrifice or offering used to take care of the needs of the people. It was part of systems of welfare, of which there have always been two types.

What treasury

The Kingdom of God is from "generation to generation" and congregation to congregation. The treasury of the Kingdom is not found in vaults of dead stone nor a golden calf but God's treasury is stored in the hearts of a peculiar people who live by faith, hope, and charity through a perfect law of liberty. Each family is linked through free assemblies in patterns of Tens by ministers of charity and love. Those who "seek", "strive", and "persevere" through faith and in the name of Christ gather together forming an impenetrable body of righteousness in which the grace and miracles of God may abide.

If we are supposed to seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, where is the treasury of the kingdom?

If Religion is how you fulfill your duty to God and your fellow man, and since God said your duty was to love Him and your neighbor as yourself and even your enemy, then how does the Church appointed by Jesus help fulfill that duty as one form of government?

Jesus appointed a kingdom to His called out ministers, His little flock. They were a government that was to be the Benefactors of the people, but not exercise authority one over the other, but rather in its Charitable Practices of Pure Religion strengthen the poor and provide social welfare for the needy of society.

The flow of funds and supplies is important to take care of the Daily ministration of a nation. But the health of the body of Christ must exercise charity daily, and not just when there is great need, in order to be truly prepared for what the future will bring.

Jesus has expressed a strong opinion about the form of treasury of His people, which did not include central depositories and vaults:

Matthew 6:19 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:"

Central treasuries are often robbed by a thief breaking in to rob it, but also by those on the inside of the treasury that do not really love the people they were supposed to serve. Power corrupts and money is power. The ministers of Christ must not seek a position of power or personal wealth.

Israel and the early Church originally did not depend upon storehouses of treasures, but upon a network of volunteers which through Fervent Charity provided a constant flow of aid by The Way of a Network of ministers who gathered in Pure Religion through a system of charity rather than the force common in most governments. This was the system in the days of John the Baptist, when Herod had instituted a system of sacrifice or Corban that was making the word of God to none effect - a system of sharing through a socialist scheme. Rather than freewill offerings, socialist systems were rooted in covetousness which would bring the people into bondage and make them merchandise, both then and today. These systems filled storehouses, but rulers could (and did) spend it on projects to build vast empires.

These covetous practices would curse children with debt and enslave them to a life of Universal Service. The world's rulers who have no intention of halting their progress (empire building) offer no end to the slavery. The only salvation is to repent and seek the Kingdom of God as Jesus said, in a Network of love through the Perfect law of liberty according to The Blessed Strategy of Christ.

Because the Kingdom of God is from generation to generation, the treasury is in the pockets and purses of every man and his family. The "union and discipline" of the network which gathers in Free Assemblies can provide for one another, on a moment's notice, the funds and resources needed through its Network of ministers.

The constant flow of charity is the life and blood to the Body of Christ. When there is a greater need, the contributions begin to flow through the hearts of the people which control the purse strings of the treasury by The Way of the same Free Assemblies of the people, for the people and by the people, out of their love for one another.

This is what it meant to come in the name of Christ, to love one another as He loved us. All of this may happen while the world continues its quests for great empires, in the same way John the Baptist and those followers lived in a world ruled by Herod. But if, instead, the Modern Christians are biting one another in modern systems of Corban that make them merchandise and if they curse children under endless debt by supporting the covenant for the modern version of Roman's government, then they take His name in vain, and they are workers of iniquity.

• Join the network.
• Congregate with a Congregation of Record (CORE).
• Give and forgive so that you may be forgiven.

Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Mark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Stone upon a stone

Was the "stone upon another" really about ruling one over the other?

The idea of a stone upon a stone had a double meaning.

Christ prophesied the destruction of the temple, but also it was the end to the domination of an hierarchy that exercised authority one over the other.

There was an hierarchy within the Church, but it was not a system where men rule over one another, but it was a system of government where the "greatest among you" was great because he "doth serve".

The Bible is filled with Allegory and Metaphor, which can allow Sophistry to produce a Strong delusion in the minds of the people.

If the Altars of Clay and Stone were not just piles of dirt and rocks, why were they made of unhewn stones?

If a gathering of stones was a company of men, then what were the Stones that Jesus was tempted to turn into bread?

What was the Golden calf and the sacrifice of the Red Heifer, and why did the people have to sew the Breeches of the Levites?

And if the Lively stones were people, did Stoning originally mean a practice that did not include hitting people with rocks until they were physically dead?

Finding the answers to these questions may make it clear who Christ appointed and why and what they were to do and how they were to do it. The Minsters appointed by Christ were to be benefactors of the people, but they were to do so without exercising authority, forcing contributions or ruling over the people.

Early Church tithe

Corbanus was the name of the box the early church kept the offerings for the poor. The Corban of the Pharisees was making the word of God to none effect because it was no longer based on charitable practices. Those who repented an gathered in charity were appointed the kingdom by Jesus as His Church.

Some people try to teach that the precept of tithing did not transfer to the early Church when Jesus took the kingdom from the Pharisees and appointed it to the Apostles and other ministers of His Church.

Christ said He would take the kingdom from the Pharisees, which included many Levites. He said it was to be His pleasure to appoint it to His little flock. We see Him appoint that kingdom to the apostles, but we are evidently supposed to believe that Jesus took away the precept of contributing to the ministers to support them and their work.

• Where is the reference in the scriptural text where Jesus says the people seeking righteousness do not have to contribute to these newly appointed ministers of His kingdom?

• Where does Jesus say the people do not need to tithe any more?

• Why do these new called out ministers of Christ, called the ekklesia or Church, not need to be supported by the congregation's regular freewill offerings like the Levites who were the Church in the wilderness?

Jesus requires that his ministers come out of the world.

They are not to pray to the Fathers of the earth.

They are to have no personal inheritance or private estate, just like the Levites.

They owned all things in common as a bondservant of Christ, like the Levites who belonged to God.

They were to be separate from the people, like the Levites, and certainly they were to be separate from the world. But somehow people think you do not have to support these ministers who took the Levites place.

One of the problems is that people do not understand the Levites, nor the tithe or tithing, much less the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. . The apostles were working in the Temple in Jerusalem built by Herod, and they were daily distributing bread and meat into the homes of the needy. Where did they get the means to provide that bread but from the freewill offerings of the people in ranks of Tens.

• "But this [I say], He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:6

If there is no giving there can be no daily ministration. The freewill offerings made are your testimony received, and such cheerful giving allows the minister to testify of you as a doer of the word.

• "For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;" 2 Corinthians 9:12

Ministers must be given the means by which to actually perform the services of the Church, which is not to entertain the people or tickle their ears or puff them up with vain sermons but preach the kingdom of God at hand. The congregations of the people and the ministers of tens in tens in ranks of hundreds should all be of the same union and discipline of Christ and the early Church. After all, this is what James calls Pure Religion. How can we expect to receive love from God and His blessings if we will not give for the blessing of others? "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Hebrews 13:8

• "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”(ESV) Luke 6:38

Hebrews 13:7 Tells us to "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of [their] conversation." But the word in the text is not "rule" as someone who exercises authority but is actually the word hegeomai more consistently translated "count", "think" or "esteem". This again is a reference to those who serve the people in that network of "companies" or congregations of tens and hundreds commanded by Christ. The service provided by that network of tens freely giving and receiving is the righteous alternative to the welfare that snares, the free bread offered by the world which entangles the people in a yoke of bondage making them again merchandise and their children a surety for debt.

How can we expect to be free if we do not gather and give in the character of Christ, sacrificing for the sake of the life of others and their salvation? How can anyone testify of your faith before the world if you will not also be a faithful doer of the word?

This was the message of love for one another from the beginning and the consequences of such giving brought the blessings of God. The neglect of that giving brought the curses spoken of by Isaiah 1.

• "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." Proverbs 3:9-10

When they saw that this daily ministration was not reaching the Greeks, they needed to appoint Seven Men, like what was done in the Old Testament. They even chose Seven men in Acts 6 as the people were told in Ecclesiastes 11 because they knew evil was coming when the daily ministration of the Greeks was being neglected.

There are those who preach that tithing was not a part of the New Testament, but the same who promote that idea also send their congregations to the men who call themselves benefactors but exercises authority one over the other contrary to the instructions of Christ.

Tithing existed before the Levites and afterwards, and even in other cultures.

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Early Church authors talk about the mission of the Levites being transferred to the apostles.

• "Bishops, presbyters(Elder) and deacons occupy in the church the same positions as those which were occupied by Aaron, his sons, and the Levites in the temple." Jerome, Ep. 146

In Deuteronomy 12:19 we are told not to forsake the Levite ever. But is it the Levites or the position they hold in a free society.

" "Since, therefore, these things have been made manifest before unto us, and since we have looked into the depths of the divine knowledge, we ought to do everything in order, whatsoever the Lord hath commanded us to do at the appointed seasons, and to perform the offerings and liturgies.... 40:5 For to the High Priest were assigned special services, and to the priests a special place hath been appointed; and on the Levites special duties are imposed." CLEMENT OF ROME, First Epistle. This was composed between AD 80 and AD 140, and it ranked with Didache as one of the earliest — if not the earliest — of extant Christian documents outside the canonical New Testament.

"That people which was called of old the people of God was divided into twelve tribes, and over and above the other tribes it had the levitical order, which itself again carried on the service of God in various priestly and levitical suborders. In the same manner, it appears to me that the whole people of Christ, when we regard it in the aspect of the hidden man of the heart, that people which is called "Jew inwardly," and is circumcised in the spirit, has in a more mystic way the characteristics of the tribes. This may be more plainly gathered from John in his Apocalypse, though the other prophets also do not by any means conceal the state of matters from those who have the faculty of hearing them." Origen. Commentary on John, Book I,. HOW CHRISTIANS ARE THE SPIRITUAL ISRAEL.

We also see in the "Excerpts of Theodotus" preserved in the writings of Clement of Alexandria " And at all times, the God who loves humanity invests Himself with man for the salvation of men, -- in former tithes with the prophets, and now with the Church. For it is fitting that like should minister to like, in order to a like salvation." "

Paul the Apostle was clear about it; the ministers were to eat of the altar which was given to God. This, of course, would include only preachers who conformed to specifics of Christ's requirements for His ministers.

• "Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live [of the things] of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?" 1 Corinthians 9:13

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We do see the Greek word for tithing in the New Testament numerous times.

The word dekate meaning a tenth appears 4 times and dekatoo which appears twice, all in Hebrews 7. Nowhere does the text suggest that tithing is done away with, but that it was transferred from Aaron and the Levites to an order of Melchizedek, who was the Righteous King of Peace, and this represents Jesus and his appointed ministers of the kingdom.

We also see the word apodekatoo which also appears in Hebrews 7:5. It is a verb which had to do with both giving and receiving. It appears in Matthew 23 and Luke 11:42. None of these verses suggests that Jesus is discontinuing the practice of tithing, but that along with tithing, we should also attend to he "weightier matters".

In Luke 18:12, it does not even hint that there was a problem with tithing, but only bragging or exalting yourself in the process was the problem.

Seeds of Righteousness

We see in Leviticus 27:30 it talks about seeds and fruit, and Leviticus 27:32 talks about herds and flock. Some tries to tell people that tithing was only animals and crops, and not money, but in Deuteronomy 14:25, it tells us that for convenience we can "turn it into money".

Animal Vegetable or Mineral

Did God ever want people to burn up animals and produce on piles of stone called Altars? Or does God know that in our seeking to give and forgive, our hearts draw near Him to become fertile ground for His Spiritual seeds of righteousness?

In an agricultural economy of sheep and cattle - grain and produce - these were the money of the day, and turning these things into coin was perfectly acceptable according to the Torah. But some say they are a laborer, potter, carpenter or craftsman, and they produce no seeds or fruits or herbs or herds or flocks, and therefore they had no obligation to tithe.

It is poor Pharisaical thinking which produces nonsense like tithes were never money, but saying you owe no tithe because tithes were only that which was produced from the earth; it is hypocritical balderdash, beans and baloney. What craftsman or artisan or common laborer works to produce anything without eating seeds or fruits or herbs or herds or flocks?

In Leviticus 27:34 these terms for tithing were called commandments, but the word mitzvah also translated "precepts" is the word tsavah with a Mem added in front to express the idea of flow.

The Hebrew letters that compose tsavah ^הוצ^ TzadikVavHei. Tzadik means the "Faith of Righteousness" with the Vav connecting that righteousness to the Hei which represents your "Thought, Speech, Action". The addition of the Mem to produce mitzvah is merely telling us that our "Thought, Speech, Action" should express the flow of "Righteousness in Faith".

When Jesus told us to seek the "Kingdom of God" and His righteousness, His words were preaching nothing more than an expression of what God told Moses from the beginning, and it is what the prophets and Moses told us in the Torah.

The Levites were the government of the nation of Israel. The tithe was the tax given freely to the Levite you personally believed served the nation best, in service to the tents of the congregations. The Church in the wilderness and the early Church were the titular leaders of a government of the people, for the people and by the people that did not exercise authority one over the other. The people contributed in faith, by charitable tithes in hope that there would be benefits for them by the grace of God.

Tithing is a precept which has been around since the beginning of creation. It is built into nature by God, and it is found in His Kingdom among people who love their neighbor as much as they love themselves. If you deny the wisdom and righteousness of God, you deny God.

Tithing on living altars

Comments

Once we understand the Metaphor of Altars of Clay and stone we can look at the truth of the Levites and Priests without the Sophistry of the Pharisees. Jesus did not do away with the law but fulfilled it by showing His disciples what the law was really about before twisted into rules and regulations by an apostate Church occupying Judaism.

When you read about the four categories of tithes try to think of the description as filled with metaphor and symbols imparting the wisdom and principles of a practical God concerned with an intentional community of believers seeking liberty under a righteous and loving God and not superstitious rituals and mindless ceremonies.

Levitical tithe Numbers 18 :21-24 “tent of meeting” no inheritance but held All things common

Festival tithe is not set apart for you but you are to take tithe to the festival to share in order to make you a kingdom bound by charity. Deuteronomy 14:22-27 tithe Three festivals calling the people together Deuteronomy 16:10, 16-17

Poor tithe Deuteronomy 14:28-29 and Deuteronomy 26:12

Priest tithe Numbers 18:25-32 and Levites and priests were set apart Deuteronomy 18:1-2 and (no territorial homeland but all land in common) Numbers 35: 17. Leviticus 27:30- 34 1/5 of 10% =12% (priests sons of Aaron only which can be by adoption) Exodus 28:43 also headbands and sashes Exodus 29:9, consecrate Exodus 29:44, offerings on altars and consumed there with no refunds... Leviticus 6:9 and portions Leviticus 7:35.

A priest must not make yourself ceremonial unclean for those who are considered dead Leviticus 21:1.

The priests are a separate jurisdiction. Numbers 18:1

Hebrews 8:4-5 Are the descendants of Aaron still here? What about grafting in and adoption?

Was Jesus the "Messiahs of Aaron" through John the Baptist and rightful King of Israel as the highest son of David?

Numbers 18:2-7 Priest are not subject to the democracy that condemned Christ. Those who condemned he were as put to death and by their own mouth were judged. Numbers 16:8-11 When they fought against James like Korah and Others and Levites joined against the priests they would be consumed. Numbers 16:1-2

Levites were not really priests but their wages are consecrated within the living sanctuary. Numbers 18:21 “tent of meeting”

Some will say that this right to the tithe did not transfer to the Called out of Christ but that is false. He took the kingdom from the Priesthood and appointed it to his new called out.

2 Corinthian 9:6, 8:7 James 1:27 Pure Religion, Mathew 25:31-40 Goats and sheep

Malachi3:7-10, Matthew 23:23, Genesis 14:18-24, Genesis 28:20-22, Exodus 35:21, 29 36:6-7, Acts 4:34-37 20:25, Luke 14:12-14

Forgiveness is the birth of sacrifice just as charity is the root of all love. Together they remove scales from our eyes and cognitive dissonance from our minds in order to heal our soul.

Tithing in principle was always about the way of God, His kingdom and righteousness. It requires forgiveness and mercy to live and give righteously.

Tithing is not, and never has been, a mechanical regulation to be followed or enforced. It is and has always been the precept of love and righteousness built into creation, which brings the grace and blessings of God through His Holy Spirit.

There are always those who twist the inspired word of that Holy Spirit for their own purposes. Through great swelling words of vanity and deceive many.

When Jesus came the Pharisees and the Sadducees and many others had twisted the Torah so that you not only could not know Moses you could not recognize the Messiah. So, Jesus made it clear that he would take the kingdom from those who sat in the seat of Moses and give it to a "little flock".

He said what they were doing wrong and failing to do. Their Corban making the word of God to none effect and they were failing to attend to the weightier matters.

Eventually, he was able to appoint the kingdom to the apostles and prescribe conditions surprisingly similar to those of the Levites.

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"Bishops, presbyters(Elder) and deacons occupy in the church the same positions as those which were occupied by Aaron, his sons, and the Levites in the temple." Jerome, Ep. 146. Both the Levites, the Church in the wilderness, and the early Church appointed by Christ were "called out" to serve a peculiar people, those who would repent and seek the ways of God.

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As we see in the Old Testament, in books like Malachi 3, and all over the New Testament.

Malachi 3:10 "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]. 11 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. 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts."

2 Corinthians 9:6 "But this [I say], He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. 10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) 11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. {bountifulness: or, liberality: Gr. simplicity } 12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; 13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;"

According to Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 23:13-33 "The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ". The scribes because as accountants and employees of the Corban of the Pharisees their jobs were in danger.

The Pharisees because they would be again entirely dependent upon Freewill offerings and charity rather than force as preached by John's Baptism.

He goes on to say "They were very busy to turn souls to be of their party. Not for the glory of God and the good of souls, but that they might have the credit and advantage of making converts. Gain being their godliness, by a thousand devices they made religion give way to their worldly interests."

This is actually true of Modern Christian preachers. They claim the credit of bringing souls to God but not to His way. God's way and the directives of Christ told us to Love one another through the practice of Pure Religion and not the Covetous Practices of men who call themselves Benefactors but exercise authority.

Matthew Henry continued "They were very strict and precise in smaller matters of the law, but careless and loose in weightier matters."

"We sometimes think, if we had lived when Christ was upon earth, that we should not have despised and rejected him, as men then did; yet Christ in his Spirit, in his word, in his ministers, is still no better treated."

If the people are hungry, thirsty, need clothing or shelter the Modern Christians and their pastors send their people to men who call themselves Benefactors but exercise authority one over the other in direct opposition to Christ. The Christian conflict with Rome was because Christians would not join such system of public social Welfare and they were willing to die rather than join such covetous systems.

The Modern Christians would want to crucify any one who told them their Religion was one of sin and making the word of God to none effect

• "And it is just with God to give those up to their hearts' lusts, who obstinately persist in gratifying them. Christ gives men their true characters."

The Pulpit Commentary says that verses 23, 24. is dealing with the "Fifth woe - against scrupulosity in trifles and neglect of weighty duties" They suggest that "Practically, the law of tithe was enforced only in the case of the produce mentioned in Deuteronomy 14:23 - corn, wine, and oil - but the Pharisees, in their overstrained scrupulosity, applied the law of Leviticus 27:30 ("all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's") to the smallest pot herbs, even to their leaves and stalks."

These herbs had value and those who received them as a free offering or an imposed tax could sell them to dealers and exporters for a handsome some. When offerings that supported the government were Freewill offerings this was a way of the Levites obtaining the things they needed to serve the people but when they became taxes the ranks of the government employee grew and became fat with corruption.

The worst effect of this Socialist approach to the needs of society was that the people became weak and the Hue and cry that once guarded the safety of the community was no longer heard in the land.

Christ is merely repeating the principles of Micah 6:8, "What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (see also Hosea 12:6; Zechariah 7:9, 10).

The Pulpit Commentary go on to say:

"Worthless are all outward observances when the moral precepts are neglected. "Judgment" (τὴν κρίσιν) means acting equitably to one's neighbour, hurting nobody by word or deed; as in Jeremiah 5:1 a man is sought "that exerciseth justice.'" Such impartiality is specially enjoined in the Law (Deuteronomy 16:19, etc.). "Mercy," loving kindness in conduct, often taught in the Pentateuch, as in the case of the widow, the stranger, and the debtor, and very different from the feeling of those who "devour widows' houses." "Faith" may mean fidelity to promises: "He that sweareth unto his neighbour and disappointeth him not, though it were to his own hindrance" (Psalm 15:4); but it is more probably taken as that belief in God without which it is not possible to please him, and which should underlie and influence all moral action (Hebrews 11:6). These (ταῦτα)... the other (ἐκεῖνα). "These last" are judgment, mercy, and faith; these it was your duty to have done."

To truly be charitable requires wise and diligent choices marking not only the giving of a thing but doing it in a way that strengthens the poor, stewarding what God has given us with wise discretion and spiritual insight.

The gnat and the camel is a "proverbial expression to denote the inconsistency which would avoid the smallest ceremonial defilement, but would take no account of the gravest moral pollution." Today the Modern Christian is again entangled in the pollutions of the world

The Modern Christian is told about Jesus but not the whole truth of His teachings and what the Christian conflict consisted of. Subsequently the people are more dependent on their bruitish ministers who force the offerings of the people in the Socialist state. These rulers become like gods who strangle the life out of hard working people to provide the benefits of their World These Covetous practices makes the people Merchandise and curses their children with debt.

If the people will repent you will see them seeking to become the Benefactors who do not exercise authority. Their churches will become the center of all social welfare through the Perfect law of liberty by Fervent Charity according to The Way of Christ.

---

Versions

King James Bible
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

New International Version
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

New Living Translation
"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

English Standard Version
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Berean Study Bible
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cummin, but you have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Berean Literal Bible
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and you have neglected the weightier things of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. It behooved you to do these, and not to be leaving aside those.

New American Standard Bible
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.

International Standard Version
"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

NET Bible
"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law--justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, imposters! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin and you forsake the weighty things of the law: Justice, mercy and faith! It is necessary for you to do these things and you should not forsake them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"How horrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give [God] one-tenth of your mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the most important things in Moses' Teachings. You should have done these things without neglecting the others.

New American Standard 1977
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Jubilee Bible 2000
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin and have omitted that which is more important of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith; these were expedient for ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

King James 2000 Bible
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

American King James Version
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

American Standard Version
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you tithe mint, and anise, and cummin, and have left the weightier things of the law; judgment, and mercy, and faith. These things you ought to have done, and not to leave those undone.

Darby Bible Translation
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, and ye have left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith: these ye ought to have done and not have left those aside.

English Revised Version
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.

Webster's Bible Translation
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ye ought to have done, and not to leave the others undone.

Weymouth New Testament
"Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay the tithe on mint, dill, and cumin, while you have neglected the weightier requirements of the Law--just judgement, mercy, and faithful dealing. These things you ought to have done, and yet you ought not to have left the others undone.

World English Bible
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.

Young's Literal Translation
Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye give tithe of the mint, and the dill, and the cumin, and did neglect the weightier things of the Law -- the judgment, and the kindness, and the faith; these it behoved you to do, and those not to neglect.

Curses and Consequences

We explain the original significance of the tithe in the context of free forms of association like Israel and the early Church in the original article on tithes.

Download audio here

The tithing.com website written by Jared Brian stated, "We hope our tithing resources help inform and encourage Christian believers about following biblical giving that is not bound by tithing, but is sacrificial and cheerful. Our desire is to break all from the bondage legalism and encourage everyone to embrace sacrificial giving led by the Spirit of God."

There are many problems with this line of thinking. First of all Biblical giving included tithing but tithing remained an individual choice in not only the amount and way in which giving was done but to whom you gave.

There were interpretations of the Old Testament taught by some people that might fall under the description of legalism which is an "excessive adherence to law or formula." This was a problem with the Pharisitical interpretation of what was "law". Law is the English word consistently used to describe the term Torah. The word from which the word statute is translated is choq or chuqqah meaning an ordinance, enactment, or decree and may be translated in varying forms including custom, appointed, manners, rites...

The Pharisees may have been steeped in legalism but according to Jesus, they did not believe the testimony of Moses. They claimed Moses and God as their Father with their lips but they did not know his way.Moses like Jesus believed we should love our neighbor as ourselves. From the beginning it was not by legalism but by love that you were to fulfill the law. Peter, Paul, James, and John made it clear and warned us that if we were not keeping the Commandments that it is clear that your claim of faith is false.

All the laws, statutes, customs or rites of Moses were his written testimony of the nature of God the Father and The Way His creation works. In Deuteronomy 4:45 we can read "These [are] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt," and Deuteronomy 5:1 "And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them." The text is trying to teach you something about The Way the universe works, Moses was trying to teach the people how the law works. Even the Ten Commandments are actually trying to tell you how the Law of Nature works.

People like Cain, Nimrod and the Pharisees who in their pride will not let the Spirit of God come into their hearts often think they have to codify the law and force compliance from the top down which is legalism at its worse. This is why there are prohibitions in the policies of God and Jesus about making covenants, swearing oaths and even applying to the Father of the earth and men who call themselves benefactors but exercise authority one over the other.

An examination of the distinctions between terms like Natural Law, Law, legal, Common Law, and Consent can help us with our attempt to understand.

Larry Burkett from Crown Financial Ministries promoted tithing in his book “Giving & Tithing” asked, “Is Tithing Legalism”? stating, “Although the tithe is mentioned in the law, no punishment was indicated for not tithing. There is a consequence (the loss of blessings), but there is no punishment from God for not tithing.”

This idea of being blessed or cursed by your choices, actions and inactions is seen in many places in the testaments including Malachi 3:9 "Ye [are] cursed with a curse.

These two words translated cursed and curse actually have to do with built-in consequences established at the creation of a cause and effect universe according to the Law of Nature and Natures God.

Jared Brian did not "think there is any question about the curse for not tithing" mentioning Deuteronomy 26, Deuteronomy 27, and Deuteronomy 28. Unfortunately, people are often still falling prey to the spirit of legalism and applying to Moses the Pharisees' false interpretations, missing the metaphor and spirit of love. Those curses and blessings are consequences of following or not following the Spirit of God and His righteousness.

A false view of tithing certainly would be "out-of-place when we attempt to fit it into a Church" but the fulfillment of the law has always been love. Tithing has always been "user-friendly" because it has always been a matter of individual choice and policed by that Law of Nature and Natures God.

People and many in the Modern Church often use the term grace to neglect righteousness. We should still be seeking the righteousness of God and like the early Church we should be providing a daily ministration through Pure Religion unspotted by the world. We should not be dependent upon the Fathers of the earth nor the men who call themselves benefactors but who exercise authority one over the other.

Tithing was always about charitably participating in a governmental system of the care and welfare of others both locally and far off. The Levites were the firstborn of the nation who were to bear fruit for a nation through the freewill offerings of the people who tithed to them according to their service not some legalistic demand or statute.

The early Church would feed the flock of God by rightly dividing the bread from house to house. Christians did not apply for the free bread of Caesar. The early Christian ate of the righteous table of the Lord, not of the unrighteous mammon of the fathers of the earth.

Five Reasons

Jared Brian says there are Five Reasons Why You are Cursed for Tithing. He likes logic but lacks knowledge. If you are missing pieces of the true history of Abraham and the early Church you may misinterpret the text.

1. "Obeying the law has a curse upon it (Galatians 3:10)."

This is not true because obeying the law is fulfilling the law which is done by following The Way of love and charity, not the way of compacts and force which is going under the law of men who exercise authority. There was a point made by Paul about imposing Jewish customs on Gentiles. But Paul knew that "Religion" was about 'remembering the poor'. Caring for the welfare of the people had to be done by charity alone. This was at the core of the Christian conflict and the essence of Pure Religion.

See what (Galatians 3:10) is really saying.

2. "You are fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4-6)"

We fall from grace when we sell our liberty under God for the free bread, benefits and the wages of unrighteousness offered by Cain, Nimrod, Pharaoh, Herod, and Caesar.

See Galatians 5:4-6

3. "God doesn’t say anything about loving a dedicated giver (2 Corinthians 9:7)"

The Levites were always supposed to be tithed to according to their service which was a choice of the heart.

See 2 Corinthians 9 in context.

4. "Tithing makes you a slave (Galatians 5:1)"

There is no way that tithing makes you a slave. Sloth, covetous practices, Wantonness, the wages of unrighteousness, and the benefits of men who call themselves benefactors entangle you again in the yoke of bondage.

5. "Tithing makes you weak (Romans 8:3)"

The laws spoken of by Paul were the hand written ordinances nailed to the cross imposed by civil law. It is the laws that attempted to legislate morality. see Romans 8:3

According to Polybius and the prophets being accustomed to living at the expense of others makes you weak.

The truth is that Israel punished and cursed itself for disobeying the spirit of the law. That is still true for those who may only claim to be Christians but are not doers of the word.

It is true that "Christ has redeemed us" but are you a part of that "us"?

Brian also includes "Five Reasons Why You Are Blessed for NOT Tithing"

1. You are under grace (Romans 6:14)

But the question remains are you the "you" Paul is speaking about and to?

Don't let people try to use Romans 6 to make you think Christ did away with the Ten Commandments. Hit was the handwritten ordinances of men done away with by Nailing it to His cross.

Saying Jesus is Lord by denying him with your actions is evident in Keeping the Commandments and a lie if you are not.

2. God said he would supply all our needs without mentioning the tithe (Philippians 4:19)

Charity is not mentioned in the Old Testament and Tithing was just freewill offerings of the people gathered in tens as Moses and Jesus commanded.

Don't let the false religion of modern Christians and the Pharisees distort your view of Moses and Jesus.

3. Our gifts are sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God (Philippians 4:18)

If you are taking care of the needy through the forced taxation by the world then there is no sweet smell coming from your sacrifices. Your priests are the administrators of Nimrod and Rome and the Fathers of the earth and the men who call themselves benefactors but exercise authority which Christ forbade for his followers. Such covetous practices are the worst form of legalism and makes your religion contrary to Pure Religion.

4. God Loves a Cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Not those engaged in the covetous practices of socialism. Even though they may think they believe in Christ they remain workers of iniquity and are in need of repentance.

5. The Spirit gives life (Romans 8:5-10)

So do you live by the sword of the world who force the contributions of the people and borrow against the future of your children making yourself "merchandise" and them a surety for your debt or are you seeking the Kingdom of God and the righteousness of Christ.

Peter, Paul, James, and John warned us of strong delusions and Christ even warned us that many would think they are his followers but actually be workers of iniquity. Do you have ears to hear and eyes to see?

• "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:4

• Have you returned to the bondage of Egypt?
• Have you become merchandise and entangled again in the yoke of bondage?
• Have you become surety for debt?
• Have you and are you cursing your children with debt?
• Have you eaten at the table of rulers with great appetite?
• Have you been snared by what should have been for your welfare?
• Have you become subject to the Fathers of the earth and the Nimrods of Babylon?

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