Tithe
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.
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]
Treasury
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[10] like the governments of other nations, nor was the Church to bind the people like the governments of the Gentiles.[11] 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[12] to FDR, and Hitler[13], 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[14] is seen in Mark 12, Luke 21 and in John 8:20
- “These words spake Jesus in the treasury[14], 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,[15] and He fired personnel. In 78 BC, the Pharisees had an ordinance[16] 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[17], 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.”[18]
Only the king could fire these gatekeepers of the temple treasury,[19], and that is exactly what Jesus was doing with His string whip, turning over those tables.[20] 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. [21]
There is more than one word that is translated treasury in the New Testament. The most common is the word gazophulakion[22] 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.[23] 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
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[24] 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[25] 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.
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- 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.[26]
Early Church tithe
Some people try to teach that the precept of tithing did not transfer to the early Church[27] 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 [28] 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.[29] 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".[30] 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.
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 [31] 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." "[32]
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
We do see the Greek word for tithing in the New Testament numerous times.
The word dekate [33] meaning a tenth appears 4 times and dekatoo [34] 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 [35] 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.
Early Church tithe
Christ said he would take the kingdom from the Pharisees, which included many Levites, said it was his pleasure to appoint it to His little flock. We see him appoint that kingdom to the apostles but we are evidently suppose to believe that Jesus took away the precept of contributing to the minister to support them.
Where is the reference in the text where Jesus says the people seeking righteousness do not have to contribute to these new 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 not need to be supported by the congregation's regular freewill offerings like the Levites?
Jesus requires that his ministers to come out of the world. Like the Levites they are to have no personal inheritance or private estate. They owned all things in common as a bond servant of Christ like the Levites who belonged to God. They were to be separate from the people like the Levites and certainly from the world. But some how people think you do not have to support these ministers who took the Levites place.
The apostles were working in the Temple built by Herod and daily distributing bread and meat into the homes of the needy.[36] After all this is what James calls Pure Religion. When we see that this daily ministration was not reaching the Greeks they needed to appoint Seven Men like what was done in the Old Testament.
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 ultures.
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
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." "[37]
Paul the Apostle was clear about the ministers were to eat of the altar which was given to God. This of course would include only preachers who conformed to what Christ's requirements for His ministers was.
- "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
We do see the Greek word for tithing in the New Testament numerous times.
The word dekate [38] meaning a tenth appears 4 times and dekatoo [39] 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, Jesus and his appointed ministers of the kingdom.
We also see the word apodekatoo [40] 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 does not even hint that there was a problem with tithing but but only bragging or exalting yourself in the process.
Animal Vegetable or Mineral
We see in Leviticus 27:30[41] talks about seeds and fruit and Leviticus 27:32[42] 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 tells us that for convenience we an "turn it into money".[43]
In an agricultural economy sheep and cattle, grain and produce was 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, craftsman and produce no seeds or fruits or herbs or herds or flocks and therefor 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 is hypocritical balderdash, beans and baloney. What craftsman or artisan or common labor works to produce anything without eating seeds or fruits or herbs or herds or flocks?
In Leviticus 27:34 [44] these terms for tithing is called a commandments but the word mitzvah[45] also translated "precepts" is the word tsavah[46] with a Mem added in front to express the idea of flow.
The Hebrew letters that compose tsavah ^הוצ^ TzadikVavHei. Tzadik[47] means the "Faith of Righteousness" with the Vav[48] connecting that righteousness to the Hei[49] 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 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 i built into nature by God and 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.
- 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."
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[50] and righteousness built into creation that brings the grace and blessings of God.
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;
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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
- 1) tithe, 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
- 1) ten
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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?
- ↑ Exodus 23:32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
- Deuteronomy 7:2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
- Judges 2:2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
- ↑ Luke 22:25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. 28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. 29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
- ↑ Lycurgus banned gold or silver money and instead, replaced it with money made of iron and lead.
- ↑ "Think of it, the Romans were daring to confiscate the most sacred thing the Jews possessed, the gold piled up in their temples! At that time, as now, money was their god. On the road to Damascus, St. Paul discovered that he could succeed in ruining the Roman State by causing the principle to triumph of the equality of all men before a single God — and by putting beyond the reach of the laws his private notions, which he alleged to be divinely inspired. If, into the bargain, one succeeded in imposing one man as the representative on earth of the only God, that man would possess boundless power." Adolf Hitler. Midday 21 October 1941; pp. 76-77. Entry made by Martin Bormann personally, according to Werner Jochmann. Hitler's Table Talk (German: Tischgespräche im Führerhauptquartier) is the title given to a series of World War II monologues delivered by Adolf Hitler, which were transcribed from 1941 to 1944.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 The word treasury is gazofulakion or gazophulakion 1) “a repository of treasure, especially of public treasure, a treasury” or “guarded vault or chamber.” "It is used to describe the apartments constructed in the courts of the temple, in which the not only the sacred offerings and things needful for the service were kept, but in which the priests, etc, dwelt: #Ne 13:7; of the sacred treasury in which not only treasure but also public records were stored, and the property of widows and orphans was deposited. Josephus speaks of treasuries in the women’s court of Herod’s temple. In the N.T. near the treasury seems to used of that receptacle mentioned by the rabbis to which were fitted thirteen chests or boxes, i.e. trumpets, so called from their shape, and into which were put the contributions made voluntarily or paid yearly by the Jews for the service of the temple and the support of the poor."
- ↑ Mark 11:16 “And would not suffer that any man should carry [any] vessel through the temple.”
- ↑ Salome- Alexandra (about 78 BC), that the Pharisaical party, being then in power, had carried an enactment by which the Temple tribute was to be enforced at law. Alfred Edersheim’s book The Temple.
- ↑ "kollubistes, (i.q. a. a small coin, cf. Clipped; b. rate of exchange, premium), a money-changer, banker: Mt.xxi. 12; Mk. Xi. 15; Jn.ii. 15." Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, page 353.
- ↑ New Unger’s Bible Dictionary
- ↑ 1 Chr. 9:22 “All these [which were] chosen to be porters in the gates [were] two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office.”
- ↑ 5132 trapeza trapeza AV-table 13, bank 1, meat 1; 15 1) a table. Trapeza is the Greek word for bank and is translated bank in Luke 19:23.
- ↑ : Acts 11:29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
- Acts 6:1 ¶ And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
- 1 Corinthians 16:1 ¶ Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
- 2 Corinthians 9:12 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 9:13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration <1248> they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
- 2 Corinthians 11:8 I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do <1248> you service <1248>.
- Revelation 2:19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last [to be] more than the first.
- ↑ 1049 ~γαζοφυλάκιον~ gazophulakion \@gad-zof-oo-lak’-ee-on\@ from 1047 and 5438; ; n n AV-treasury 5; 5 1) a repository of treasure, especially of public treasure, a treasury.
- ↑ 2878 ~κορβᾶν~ korban \@kor-ban’\@ of Hebrew and Aramaic origin; n m AV-treasury 1, corban 1; 2 1) a gift offered (or to be offered) to God 2) the sacred treasury
- ↑ To be righteous is "acting in accord with divine or moral law" and in the Greek text it means "in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God" The word "ought" is the auxiliary verb "used to express duty or moral obligation."
- ↑ Leviticus 25:35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
- Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
- ↑ Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
- Luke 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
- ↑ : "In Christianity, some interpretations of Biblical teachings conclude that although tithing was practiced extensively in the Old Testament, it was never practiced or taught within the first-century Church. Instead, the New Testament scriptures are seen as teaching the concept of "freewill offerings" as a means of supporting the church: 1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 9:7. Also, some of the earliest groups sold everything they had and held the proceeds in common to be used for the furtherance of the Gospel: Acts 2:44-47, Acts 4:34-35. Further, Acts 5:1-20 contains the account of a man and wife (Ananias and Sapphira) who were living in one of these groups. They sold a piece of property and donated only part of the selling price to the church but claimed to have given the whole amount and immediately fell down and died when confronted by the apostle Peter over their dishonesty. "Tithe
- ↑ Acts 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
- 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.
- ↑ Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
- ↑ 2233 ~ἡγέομαι~ hegeomai \@hayg-eh’-om-ahee\@ middle voice of a (presumed) strengthened form of 71; TDNT-2:907,303; {See TDNT 289} v AV-count 10, think 4, esteem 3, have rule over 3, be governor 2, misc 6; 28
- 1) to lead
- 1a) to go before
- 1b) to be a leader
- 1b1) to rule, command
- 1b2) to have authority over
- 1b3) a prince, of regal power, governor, viceroy, chief, leading as respects influence, controlling in counsel, overseers or leaders of the churches
- The apostles were princes who were appointed a kingdom but as servant leaders. They were not rulers nor were they to be like the rulers of the gentiles. They were to account for the people as good shepherds care for the flock of God and "feed His sheep" as Christ commanded.
- 1b4) used of any kind of leader, chief, commander
- 1b5) the leader in speech, chief, spokesman
- 2) to consider, deem, account, think
- For Synonyms see entry 5837
- 1) to lead
- ↑ Deuteronomy 12:19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
- ↑ 23. "As through the body the Lord spake and healed, so also formerly by the prophets, and now by the apostles and teachers. For the Church is the minister of the Lord's power. Thence He then assumed humanity, that by it He might minister to the Father's will. 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." "Excerpts of Theodotus" preserved in the writings of Clement of Alexandria.
- ↑ 1181 ~δεκάτη~ dekate \@dek-at’-ay\@ feminine of 1182; ; adj AV-tithe 2, tenth part 1, tenth 1; 4 1) a tenth part of anything, a tithe 1a) the tenth party of booty taken from an enemy 1b) the tithes of fruits of the earth and of flocks, which by the law of Moses were presented to the Levites in the congregation of Israel
- ↑ 1183 ~δεκατόω~ dekatoo \@dek-at-o’-o\@ from 1181; ; v AV-receive tithes 1, pay tithes 1; 2 1) to exact or receive the tenth part 2) to pay tithes
- ↑ 586 ~ἀποδεκατόω~ apodekatoo \@ap-od-ek-at-o’-o\@ from 575 and 1183; ; v AV-pay tithe 1, tithe 1, give tithe 1, take tithe 1; 4 1) to give, pay a tithe of anything 2) to exact receive a tenth from anyone
- ↑ Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
- ↑ 23. "As through the body the Lord spake and healed, so also formerly by the prophets, and now by the apostles and teachers. For the Church is the minister of the Lord's power. Thence He then assumed humanity, that by it He might minister to the Father's will. 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." "Excerpts of Theodotus" preserved in the writings of Clement of Alexandria.
- ↑ 1181 ~δεκάτη~ dekate \@dek-at’-ay\@ feminine of 1182; ; adj AV-tithe 2, tenth part 1, tenth 1; 4 1) a tenth part of anything, a tithe 1a) the tenth party of booty taken from an enemy 1b) the tithes of fruits of the earth and of flocks, which by the law of Moses were presented to the Levites in the congregation of Israel
- ↑ 1183 ~δεκατόω~ dekatoo \@dek-at-o’-o\@ from 1181; ; v AV-receive tithes 1, pay tithes 1; 2 1) to exact or receive the tenth part 2) to pay tithes
- ↑ 586 ~ἀποδεκατόω~ apodekatoo \@ap-od-ek-at-o’-o\@ from 575 and 1183; ; v AV-pay tithe 1, tithe 1, give tithe 1, take tithe 1; 4 1) to give, pay a tithe of anything 2) to exact receive a tenth from anyone
- ↑ Leviticus 27:30 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.
- ↑ Leviticus 27:32 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.
- ↑ Deuteronomy 14:22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. 24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, 27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
- ↑ Leviticus 27:34 These [are] the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
- ↑ 04687 ^מִצְוָה^ mitsvah MemTzadikVavHey \@mits-vaw’\@ with the Hebrew letters MemTzadikVavHey from 06680; n f; AV-commandments 173, precept 4, commanded 2, law 1, ordinances 1; 181
- 1) commandment
- 1a) commandment (of man)
- 1b) the commandment (of God)
- 1c) commandment (of code of wisdom)
- מ ם Mem Fountain of water, a flow, a fountain of the Divine Wisdom [massive, overpower chaos] (Numeric value: 40)
- צ ץ Tzadik is always related to The Faith of the Righteous One, the foundation of the word "to hunt" or Harvest even eat or desire. [Harvest, pant, desire] (Numeric value: 90)
- ו Vav Connection, Connecting realms and worlds or the dividing veil between them. [nail... And, Add, secure, hook] (Numeric value: 6)
- ה Hey Expression--Thought, Speech, Action. Manifest seeds of thought and life. [Emphasize, jubilation, window, fence] (Numeric value: 5)
- 1) commandment
- ↑ 06680 ^הוצ^ tsavah \@tsaw-vaw’\@ a primitive root Hebrew letters TzadikVavHey; if you add a Mem 04687 ^הוצמ^ mitsvah v; AV-command 514, charge 39, commandment 9, appoint 5, bade 3, order 3, commander 1, misc 4; 494
- 1) to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order
- 1a) (Piel)
- 1a1) to lay charge upon
- 1a2) to give charge to, give command to
- 1a3) to give charge unto
- 1a4) to give charge over, appoint
- 1a5) to give charge, command
- 1a6) to charge, command
- 1a7) to charge, commission
- 1a8) to command, appoint, ordain (of divine act)
- 1b) (Pual) to be commanded
- 1a) (Piel)
- 1) to command, charge, give orders, lay charge, give charge to, order
- ↑ Hebrew: צ ץ : צ ץ TZADIK is always related to The Faith of the Righteous One, the foundation of the word "to hunt" or Harvest even eat or desire.[Harvest pant desire]90.
- ↑ Hebrew: ו VAV Connection Connecting realms and worlds. A veil [nail... And, Add, secure, hook] 6.
- ↑ הHebrew: HEI Expression--Thought, Speech, Action. Manifest seeds of thought and life. [Emphasize, jubilation, window, fence] 5.
- ↑ Luke 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.