When you tithe, you give it to your pastor! Selected scriptures encourage people to practice and believe in this. But does the Bible support this?

Updated: Saturday, December 9, 2023

When You Tithe, You’ll Need A Levite And Priest!

"The children of Israel’s tithe - first of our dough - fruit of every kind of tree - wine and olive oil - the tenths from our land - the L’vi’im [Levite], take the tenths in all the cities where we farm. From the Complete Jewish Bible - Nehemiah 10:38"

STM Bible Snack

This is the third part of the “Understanding Tithes” series.

Part 1 covered what the children of Israel, AKA the COI, were to tithe.

And part 2 covered what they should do with the tithe.

Wake up to the truth

Did you know that if you pay your tithes, there must be a priest of Aaron’s family and at least one person (Levite) from Levi’s family present? That’s what the Law says.

Nehemiah 10:38 [read Nehemiah 10:28-39 (38)]: “We will bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every kind of tree, wine and olive oil to the cohanim (Jewish priest) in the storerooms of the house of our God, along with the tenths from our land for the L’vi’im [Levite]; since they, the L’vi’im [Levite], take the tenths in all the cities where we farm. (CJB); “And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, will be with the descendants of Levi when the descendants of Levi receive tithes [receive the crops], and the descendants of Levi will bring the tithe of the tithes into the store rooms of the Temple of our God. (ISV); KJV: And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.

NOTES: The Levites were the same as deacons today. In fact, Wycliff called them deacons. And the priest would be pastors or church leaders.; So the farmer or rancher gave 10% of his crops to the Levite (deacon) and the Levite gave 10% to the priest (pastor).
Example: The Israelite (land owner) farmer or rancher grew 100 crops and gave 10 [i.e., one-tenth of all produce (cereal, fruit, and animal)] to the Levite (deacon) but kept 90 crops for his family. Then the Levite (deacon) gave 1 to the priest (pastor) and kept 9.; So if you made $1,000, you would give $100 to the deacon, and the deacon would give $10 to the pastor. Just remember, the tithing system was for the COI, not for the church.

Why 90% for the Levites?

Numbers 18:28 and 31 [read Numbers 18:25-32 (28 and 31)]: 28 You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a sacred offering to the Lord. This is the Lord’s sacred portion, and you must present it to Aaron the priest. 31 You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for serving in the Tabernacle. (NLT); KJV: 28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD’s heave offering to Aaron the priest. 31 And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Joshua 13:33 [read Joshua 13:29-33 (33)]: Moses did not give any land to the tribe of Levi. The Lord, God of Israel, promised that he himself would be the gift for the tribe of Levi [Joshua 13:14; 18:7; Numbers 18:20; Deuteronomy 18:1-8]. (ERV); KJV: But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.; You should know that Levi was Moses and Aaron’s great-grandfather. So, they were Levites.

God’s initial chosen people

Psalms 147:19-20 [read Psalms 147:19-20]: God gave his laws and teachings to the descendants of Jacob the children of Israel (COI), i.e. the nation of Israel. 20 But he has not given his laws to any other nation. Shout praises to the Lord! (CEV); KJV: He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. 20 He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

Pay Your Tithes To A Levite and Aaronic Priest!

Yes, according to the Law, the people of Israel were obligated or required to tithe each year and third year (not each week or month). But we, the church, are not under the Law!

Ephesians 2:15 [read Ephesians 2:14-18 (15)]: Christ ended the law with its many commands and rules. His purpose was to make the two groups become one in him. By doing this, he would make peace. (ERV); KJV: Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

So why are you refusing to accept the work that Jesus did to free us from this system, i.e., the Law of Moses? Live in God’s grace or find a Levite and Aaronic priest [from Aaron’s family] to give your tithes to. Thank you for taking the time to read this Bible snack. I urge you to make full use of it. Blessings to you and your loved ones—♥ Tim. ☺