There is a great deal of pressure placed on people to give money — called a tithe — on a regular basis. I have seen many people agonize over this. If this is a Biblical, God-ordained procedure, why then does it put people in bondage and cause so much confusion?
In these last days, many traditions of the Christian institutional church are being revealed to be nothing more than just that: man-made customs. So, in regards to these tithes, are they Biblical or are they just tradition also? Did Yahweh actually command that they be collected for use by a local assembly for its daily operating expenses? Is the tithing that's taught today in these institutional churches part of Torah? The only way to understand any of this is to take a look at Scripture and discern what it says regarding this practice.
(Let me state right up front that I am not opposed to giving. I am only speaking here of the 'tithe.' The purpose here is to gain an understanding of what Yahweh's word says regarding this subject in relation to what's practiced today.)
The Hebrew word for tithe, masser, simply means, "a tenth part." The word first appears in Scripture in Genesis 14.20: "'And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your foes into your hand.' And Abram gave him a tenth of everything." This is taken from the account of Abram's meeting with two kings following his battle against Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him (Genesis 14.16). At the valley of Shaveh, Abram met with Bera, the king of Sodom and with Melchzedek, the king of Salem. During their encounter, Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe ('a tenth part') from the spoils of war he had just taken. Abram then gave the balance of the spoils of war to the king of Sodom (minus that which his men had eaten and that which belonged to the men who went with him [v.14.22-24]). Note that none of these goods were Abram's; they were all spoils of war as far as he was concerned.
That's all there was to it. Nothing else. As far as the tithe is concerned, that's all that happened. There is nothing prior to this encounter that gives us any information as to Yahweh ever having commanded Abram to give Him (or anybody else) a tithe of his possessions. The tithe which Abram gave in this instance was merely a custom among nations of the ancient Middle East. Clearly, there was no command from Yahweh.
After deceiving his father to obtain Esau's inheritance, Jacob encountered Yahweh at Bethel (Genesis 28.10-22). Yahweh had already chosen Jacob for His purpose (Genesis 25.21-23), so when He spoke to Jacob and told him that "the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you and to your offspring" (Genesis 28:13), Jacob did not need to make any deals with Him. Yahweh was only confirming the covenant He had previously made with Abraham (Genesis 15.12-18) and Isaac (Genesis 26.2-5). There were no conditions on what Yahweh told Jacob; He said He would bring Jacob back to that land and give it to his descendants. However, Jacob, being who he was, proceeded to make a deal with Yahweh. He told Him that if He would be with him and keep him on this journey (which Yahweh had already promised to do the night before [Genesis 28.13-15]), then Yahweh would be his God and he (Jacob) would give Him a tithe. Notice that the tithe was Jacob's idea, not Yahweh's. Once again we return to the custom among nations of the ancient Middle East.
After Israel was delivered from Egypt and brought to the wilderness, Yahweh commanded them to give Him a tithe of their crops. This tithe is first mentioned in Leviticus 27:30: "All tithes from the land, whether seed from the ground or fruit from the tree, are Yahweh's; they are holy to Yahweh." In addition, the Lord says that a part of the tithe may be redeemed by the giver by adding to it one-fifth of its value (Leviticus 27.31). (Try doing that in the institutional church today and see what happens.) Also note that the tithe is from the land, from the seed of the land, or from the fruit of the tree. Yahweh did not say to bring money.
Next, we see what Yahweh had in mind for the tithe: "And to the Levites I hereby give all the tithes in Israel as their share in return for the services that they perform, the services of the Tent of Meeting." (Numbers 18:21; also 18.24-28). So the purpose of the tithe was to provide for the priests for their services as Yahweh had determined that they would have no inheritance in the Land of Israel; Yahweh Himself was to be their inheritance (Numbers 18.19-20). The priests were of the tribe of Levite, as chosen by Yahweh. They ministered in the Temple, as He so designated. An additional tithe was also to be used in celebration of Biblical feasts (Deuteronomy 14.22-27) and another tithe was designated for the alien, the orphan, and the widow (Deuteronomy 14.28-29; 26.12).
So how would the tithe apply today; what would it be used for? For one thing, it can't be given to the priests who minister in the Temple as the Temple has not yet been rebuilt. Since the Temple is not standing in Jerusalem at this time, then the tithes would not be used in the celebration of Yahweh's feasts as He designated to be celebrated at the Temple in Jerusalem three times a year (Exodus 23.14-17). That leaves the alien, the orphan, and the widow. Aside from being a different tithe, this is speaking of those who actually live in the land of Israel. We can see this because it addresses the aliens, who would be sojourners in the land. It is also a communal act to be done within each town (Deuteronomy 14.28-29).
So is the tithe no longer applicable? (Remember, we're talking about the tithe here, not giving in general.)
Scripturally, we can see that, yes, that is the case. The tithe was never meant to support pastors, elders, boards of directors, traveling ministers, local assembly buildings, or other things of the sort.
The tithe doesn't apply today as there is nothing in the Tanakh to substantiate anything otherwise. The sole reason for giving the tithe to the priests who ministered in the Temple in Jerusalem was because they did not have any other means of support. They were not to own land on which to grow crops (as Yahweh had commanded) so Yahweh took care of them in this manner. Since they ministered to the Lord on behalf of all of Israel, it was only fitting that Israel should help to care for them. However, there is no full-time 'priesthood' mentioned in the Tanakh within the local congregation.
The first person to mention paying for the full-time support of certain members of local congregations is Cyprian (200-258 ce). The idea did not go over real big at the time. Congregation leaders were given salaries when Constantine came into office, 200 years after the beginning of the Christian religion. Tithing did not become a commonly accepted practice until the eighth century — 700 years after the beginning of Christianity. By the eleventh century it had become a legal requirement in order to fund the State-run church.
A popular Scripture that is used to condemn people into tithing is Malachi 3.8-12: "'Ought man to defraud God? Yet you are defrauding Me. And you ask, "How have we been defrauding You?" In tithe and contribution. You are suffering under a curse, yet you go on defrauding Me—the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, and let there be food in My House, and thus put Me to the test,' said Yahweh, Lord of Hosts. 'I will surely open the floodgates of the sky for you and pour down blessings on you; and I will banish the locusts from you, so that they will not destroy the yield of your soil; and your vines in the field shall no longer miscarry,' said Yahweh, Lord of Hosts. And all the nations shall account you happy, for you shall be the most desired of lands,' said Yahweh, Lord of Hosts." When Yahweh spoke this through Malachi, Israel had rebuilt the Temple in 516 bce. However, they were back to their old ways. They were ignoring Yahweh and His commandments. They weren't trusting Him to care for them. The problem with using this Scripture to justify tithing in the local assembly is that, once again, Yahweh is speaking of bringing the tithe to the Temple in Jerusalem, not to some local building in a far away city. You can't spiritualize these passages to mean something other than what they actually do mean. They must be taken in context.
Giving in the Bible is always encouraged. Those who have much should help those who don't have much.
The problem in giving relates to the condition of the heart. Many people give money to get something in return, and many other people ask others to give so that they themselves will get the money.
By now it should be clear that tithing, as dictated by Christianity, is not Scriptural. You are free to give as you are able, and to where you feel it is needed. But you should not be in bondage to give money for unscriptural things, such as paying a full-time staff, or even one person
Yahweh doesn't make things hard and He doesn't put people in bondage. He frees people from all of that garbage.