TITHES UNDER THE LAW OF MOSES: Brethren, let’s carefully scrutinize all the note worthy texts about tithing under the law of Moses to see whether Christians are commanded by God to pay any form of tithe to the church or anyone. Under the law, tithe was a fundamental and unavoidably national responsibility to the Jews. In this study, we would find out (through the Scripture) whose duty it was to collect tithes from the children of Israel.
Since the children of Levi had no inheritance in the land, nor had any portion among the children of Israel, God gave them all the tithes in the land of Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they performed in the Tabernacle of meeting, and God also issued an everlasting order to other children of Israel not to come close to the Tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. See (Numbers 18: 20 -28). Notice that in Numbers 18: 23, the Lord said that this shall be “a statute forever.” In Deuteronomy 4: 2 and 12: 32, we read that God has warned the children of Israel not to add nor take away from His commandments. Nevertheless, prodded by lust and greed for mundane things, the Judaic and earthly minded church leaders in our midst today, have often time, in an attempt to validate their doctored monetary tithing philosophy, told the Christians that they (the modern day church leaders) are the replicas of the Leviticus priests; that the deacons and other workers in the church are the children of the Levi; that other believers represent the children of Israel whose genealogies have no link to the tribe of Levi; and that the church symbolizes the Temple of God or the Tabernacle of meeting; while the whole Christian nations represent the land of Israel. If the Scripture contains the word of God, which I wholeheartedly believe it does, today’s Church leaders have no right whatsoever, to collect tithes from Christians, because it is evidently clear in the Scripture that no other tribe in Israel, apart from the tribe of Levi was authorized to collect tithes from the children of Israel.
See (Numbers 18: 20 – 22). If I may ask; taking cognizance of God’s warning that nobody should add or subtract from His commandments, why do these Pharisaical church leaders ( the priests) not allow the deacons and workers in the Church (the children of Levi) to collect tithes from other believers ( the children of Israel) and give them (the priests) a heave offering – ie. Tithe of tithes as commanded in Numbers 18: 28? Why do the church leaders (the priests) allow the Christians (the children of Israel) to come close and enter into the church ( the tabernacles of meeting) when they are fully aware that the consequence is death, see ( Numbers 18: 22)?
Why do these mercantile and materialistic men of the cloth (the modern day priests) who advocate the law of tithing for Christians amass and own earthshaking inheritance among the Christians ( the children of Israel) contrary to God’s commandment, see (Numbers 28: 24 and also, Deuteronomy 18: 1 – 2)? Where in the Scripture did God make a partial amendment to the tithing law; whereby people who cannot trace their genealogies from generation to generation without lapses to Aaron are now authorized to collect tithes from their brethren? Can these religious mendicants justify their actions by pin pointing the exact passage in the Scripture where God authorize and approve random adherence to His commandments?
The answer is emphatically No, because in God’s commandments, partial obedience is not condoned. Interestingly, there’s nowhere in the Scripture where today’s Church leaders are mandated or authorized to collect tithes of any kind from Christians. Only the tribe of Levi was authorized to collect tithes from the children of Israel from which they offered a tenth of the tithes as a heave offering to the priests.
… To be continued!
