Week Six Giving Series

18 But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.

19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.

Deuteronomy 14:22,23

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.

As we can see, taking the tithe to the temple was to be a time of rejoicing before God. The whole household would feast with the Levites, and a portion of the tithe was used for this feast. Part of this was obviously to care for and refresh the Levites since we have the injunction to not forsake the Levite/Priest. They could not go up and celebrate this feast without the Levite. To do so would have been as much a sin as to eat the feast at home instead of at the temple. Many congregations forget to care for or refresh their pastor. Is it any wonder that many men leave the ministry in despair?

A modern day counterpart to this might be our fellowship or homecoming banquets. The expense of these banquets is paid by church funds, which would be a portion of the tithes. A dinner for the pastor and his wife or one to honor staff and volunteers may qualify. We are giving thanks unto the Lord for His work and refreshing His workers. These are times of rejoicing of the church family before Him.

In the old days, farmers donated crops as support for a pastor. Animals were given for him to slaughter or sell. He may not have had much money or other material things, but he definitely ate well. This is what was going on with the Israelite tithe as well. However, if they lived a great distance from the temple, and their items might perish or the flocks be injured or wore out by the trip, there was a provision that allowed them to sell their items in their home area and buy new in Jerusalem. (Deuteronomy 14:24-29)

Deuteronomy 14:28

At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:

Deuteronomy 26:12

When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

Every third year, the feast of the tithe was done at their home area. While we speak of a tenth, the way it worked out the land was tithed twice. They actually gave twenty percent. Ten percent went strictly to the Levites for support of the temple. The Levites tithed on that to give to the priests. The other ten-percent was used to provide for the Levites not living at the temple, strangers, the fatherless, and the widow. A type of welfare system, but a far more efficient system than what we have today.