Tithing may be a word that you’re already familiar with from church, conferences or serving in Christian organisations. You could also call it giving, financially serving or supporting someone or a charity. But where did tithing come from?

Tithing is predominately considered as giving a tenth of your income or profit to the church. Some still question whether we as Christians today are obligated to give to the church, including the amount. The word ‘tithe’ itself, means ‘tenth’. It’s scattered amongst the new and old testament that those who tithe, would give 10% of their first fruits to God.

Deuteronomy 26:1-2

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there”. 

The Israelites, after they had left Egypt and were being established as a new nation led by Moses and the high priest Aaron, were instructed by God to tithe all of their produce, whether grain, fruit or livestock. (Bible Society, 2024)

We see this a lot in the bible; the theme of giving something up to follow Jesus and leaving all your material possessions.

Later in Israel’s history, when the temple had been built and was the centre of the nation’s worship, tithes were brought to the temple and stored there. Nehemiah 13:44 and 13:5 mention at least one large store room in the temple where such offerings were kept. (Bible Society, 2024)

It wasn’t law back then, that you were required to give up your 10%, but that does naturally bring up some questions of ‘was this done in a humble way?’ and ‘was this amount seen more as an obligation than a generous gift?’

According to Christianity today, “The early church's views on tithing foreshadowed many of today's stewardship debates. The Eastern Church began tithing out of obligation because they believed Jesus' conversation with the rich young man demanded sacrificial generosity.”

 

The rich young man (Matthew 19:16-30)

A man came to Jesus and asked, “What good thing must I do to receive eternal life?”Jesus told him to keep the commandments, to which the young man replied that he had. Jesus then told him to sell his possessions and give to the poor. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich. Jesus then said to his disciples "It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for camel to go through the eye of the needle." The disciples were amazed at this and Peter asked what reward they could expect for giving up everything. Jesus promised them rewards in His Kingdom and concluded with a warning, "Many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first".

We probably have all had moments where we don’t want to give to something because we’ve become precious about our money, and well, we work hard to earn that money.

Jesus isn’t telling the young man off for being a rich man, that’s not a sin, but He is teaching him and His disciples about having the right attitude when it comes to money and wealth.

The young man has recognised that by keeping the commandments he is going to live a good life, but this alone is insufficient. Jesus recognises that the man's true obstacle is his attachment to wealth, which he is unwilling to give up to follow Him. While possessing material goods is not inherently wrong, they become a problem when they get in the way of truly following Jesus.

The Camel in the eye of a needle isn’t a sowing reference. It may refer to a narrow gate in Jerusalem's city walls, known as "the eye of the needle," through which a heavily loaded camel could not pass until it was unloaded. (BBC, 2024)

However, more obvious places of tithing mentioned can be found in the New Testament in Pauls letters to the church in Corinth.

 

2 Corinthians 9:6-9 (NIV)

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

They have freely given to the poor, their righteousness endured forever.”

 

Jesus hasn’t demanded that we give money, but that we consider sharing our money and possessions wholeheartedly to support those communities who need help, and to sustain God’s mission in every part of the world.

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