Biblical Stewardship: Giving In Ancient Israel
By: Brian Seay, CFA
The concept of the “tithe,” or giving 10% of your income is so worn into Christian thought that you might think it’s a commandment to tithe. It is not. So where did it come from and why did the Israelites tithe?
Genesis 28 is the first time we learn about specific gifts to God or tithes. Jacob, one of Abraham’s grandchildren, has a dream while traveling. In the dream God reaffirms his promise to Abraham, that his descendants will inherit the promised land. As a result, Jacob makes a vow:
“If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
Jacob understands the “original contract” and that God is the source of his possessions. God provides resources to him, and he returns a tenth.
Subsequently, the Israelites go down to Egypt, a few generations pass, they end up in captivity and Moses leads their escape across the Red Sea. While the Israelites are in the Wilderness and moving towards the promised land, we see wisdom for society written down in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Prior to the 10 Commandments, In Exodus, we see the Israelites giving up their time, money and physical possessions to furnish the Temple. They wanted to participate in what God was doing.
It’s interesting to me that tithing is not included in the 10 Commandments. Giving is not one of the things we are explicitly commanded to do. God never said “you shall give.”
To understand giving and generosity, we need to understand the original contract god made with us as descendant of the people of Israel. In Deuteronomy 6, right after the commandments, Moses reminds the people of Israel that God brought them up out of Egypt and was taking them to a promised land full of “milk and honey.” He reminds them that they did not create the promised land, or tend it, or make it fruitful. God did all of that and he did want something from his people. The first commandment. He wanted them to love him first. For Israel, and us, to have no other idols, including money, before God.
Giving flowed as the Israelites made God the priority in their lives. God had provided for them over generations and thus the Israelites became active worshippers of God. They placed him first, above themselves, providing resources back to God.
Tithes and offerings in Ancient Israel had three purposes. The first was to atone for sin. Jesus had not come and so to make themselves able to interact with a Holy God, the Israelites needed to sacrifice items to pay for their sins. Those usually came in the form of animals but could be other items as well depending on the sin involved. Today, we live under the Grace afforded to us by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, so our sins are paid for, no animal sacrifices required.
In Deuteronomy 26, we see the second purpose of giving, which was for the Israelites to remember that the land and its harvest came from God. Our money and possessions come from God’s providence. In ancient Israel, when it was time for giving at the temple, the Israelites actually say “I have received my part of the land as an inheritance according to the Promise of God.” This is not just so that we give back to God, but also so that we remember that God has provided for us in the past when we question his faithfulness in future situations. As givers, the Israelites and us in modern times, see that God has been faithful to his word and we can rejoice knowing that we will be faithful again next time. So giving back to God is directly related to building our own faith in God.
In Deuteronomy 14, the Israelites are encouraged to consume part of their tithe as part of a big celebration. The audacity!
Verse 23: “And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.”
The point of the tithe and celebration was to remember and honor God. It all goes back to the first commandment.
The third reason for giving in Ancient Israel was practically to support the work of the priests and the less fortunate, often referred to as the sojourners, fatherless and widows. In Numbers 18, we see that the Levites, the tribe of Judah chosen to be the priests, were not given land as part of their inheritance. Thus they were truly reliant on the other tribes generosity to support their work in the temple and their families. But they aren’t simply receiver, they too tithe back to the temple the first, and best, 10% of the gifts they receive from the other Tribes of Israel.
It’s clear that giving in ancient was intended to support their worship of God, not be a burden on the society. When God was placed at the forefront of their lives, when Israel remembered God’s divine providence, the only natural response was to worship with their lives. That included giving tithes and offerings back to the Temple.