Wednesday, June 03, 2009

You Mean I Don't Have to Tithe?

I was recently asked to teach for a month at a Wednesday night Bible study at my church, Old Forest Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA. I basically summarized my dissertation on tithing and giving in four parts. The link below is Part 1: Definitions, History, and Tithing before the Mosaic Law.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

David,

I appreciate all your work on this topic. I have a question about tithing money and/or wages. When and where did that concept of tithing arise? Specifically the idea of a poor person having to pay tithes out of his wages.

Thank you.

Robert

Anonymous said...

Can't speak for David's thoughts on the origin of the concept of tithing, but the earliest mention I know of is Genesis 28:20-22. Jacob makes a vow: since God will "keep" his physical and spiritual needs, Jacob vows that "of all that you [God] give me I will surely give one-tenth to you."

How did this idea develop over the generations and subsequent covenants? I'm not sure, but Jacob's vow might be the origin.

David A. Croteau said...

Actually, Jacob was definitely NOT the origin. Abraham tithed to Melchizedek in Genesis 14, but the tithe existed in surrounding cultures before that. Scripture provides no origin for the practice and neither does history. Great question, but ultimately unanswerable.