ABOUT CHRISTIAN TITHE
How Did God Instruct You To Pay Your Tithe? And How Are You Paying It?
Peace greetings in the name of GOD.
Please note that this is not for rivalry or contempt but for enlightenment. So please, I crave your understanding.
There are guidance from the Biblical scriptures (the Torah) but the people of the book have decided to follow after their own pursuit and greed, leaving aside the very commandments of GOD which is the right guidance.
Regarding the issue of Tithe as recoded in the bible, did GOD ask that money (cash) be paid as tithe or eatable substance which MUST be eaten in HIS presence? So many people do not know the correct answer because they have not sat down to read the bible for themselves. They only depend on what people (preachers) say to them saying “the bible says…” without them actually going back to check for themselves if the bible actually says what the preachers say it says.
GOD never asked anybody in the bible to pay money as Tithe! Strange, isn’t it? Just hold your breath while we do this together in searching the scriptures – the very words of Allah – Glorified be HE [GOD Almighty].
The following verses talks about Tithe:
FROM DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 12
Deut. 12:11-12: “Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD: And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you”
Deut. 12:18: “Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: 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”.
- Note here that Allah said you MUST eat the tithe in HIS presence and in the place where HE shall choose for you to do so, you and your household.
Deut. 12:19: “Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth”.
- Call your pastors and Priest to eat with you.
Deut. 12:20: “When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after”.
Deut. 12:21: “If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after”.
- Here, you are commanded to eat it in your house…
FROM DEUTERONOMY 14:
Deut. 14:22: “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed that the field bringeth forth year by year”.
- Note that ALLAH said YEAR BY YEAR. Not Week by Week, for those of you who pay tithe every Sundays or every Month end. Secondly, your tithe has to be eatable substance (food) not money.
Deut. 14:23: “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”.
- Note that ALLAH said that you will have to EAT the tithe (the items) before HIM (in HIS presence), and at the place which HE shall choose to place HIS name there. My question to you is, where do you know or think the LORD GOD placed HIS name for you to pay your tithe in the manner HE has instructed you?
Deut. 14:24-26: “And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow (or use) that money for (to buy) whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household”.
- Note again: Allah specifically said that if the place which HE shall choose for you to tithe your increase is too far for you to carry all the items which should be your tithe, HE said you should turn it into MONEY (i.e. sell the items to get cash), then take that money and go to the place where HE has chosen for your to pay your tithe and buy whatever eatable substance you desire e.g. Cow, Ram, Sheep, Goat, wine, Strong drink, Yam, Rice, Beans etc… name them. Just whatever the money can buy. Then you are instructed by your LORD to EAT the items there in HIS presence at the place he has chosen for you. (You will probably have to cook the items like in a feast or party). And it has to be you and your household (you and your family, maid and everybody in your house).
- This also can be your monthly salary or wage which is money, and Allah made mention of money. Convert it to eatable substance. In the days of Abraham (peace be upon him), there was the use of money. In the days of Moses (peace be upon him), there was also the use of money. Allah could have as well as them to pay money as tithe. So you don’t have any excuse.
Deut. 14:27: “And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee”.
- Also note that Allah said that you must not forsake the Levite that is within your reach, which is the priests. You must invite them to eat with you. Allah did not say you should give them money. You may do so on your own accord as charity not as a command for tithe.
Deut:14:28-29: 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: And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
- Note here that Allah said after three (3) years you shall bring your tithe again, in the same manner as I explained above, and bring them at your gate (your compound or where you live or in an open place in your vicinity like you would do when you want to throw a party, then you will have to invite the Levites (priests), the people passing by, strangers, the orphans, widows and beggars that are within your vicinity and you shall eat together with them and be satisfied.
– Take note of the blessings at the last line of the verse that follows after you tithe in this manner which the LORD GOD has prescribed for you. This is where Prophet Malachi cited from in Malachi 3:12.
FROM MALACHI 3
Malachi 3:10-12: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat (food) in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts”.
– Note that this was just like a summary of all what Allah said to Moses (peace be upon him) to command the people in Deuteronomy 14:20-29. Allah used prophet Malachi (peace be upon him) as a reminder to the people of his time of prophet-hood. The “Meat” there signifies food in the store house for keep, not money. The food must be available for the less privileged ones and the Levites.
– The blessings attached is for sure only if you follow it the way Allah has prescribed it and instructed.
LASTLY, Allah said: “Observe and hear all these words which I command thee that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee forever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God”. [Deut. 12:28].
If you are a follower of the BIBLE, from the above verses and explanations, will you be truthful to yourself that you are in line with the commandments of GOD as to the paying of your tithe? The answer is to you and your GOD alone.
In summary: You need to tithe with the substance of all your increase. YOUR MONTHLY SALARY IS MONEY. THE WAGES YOU RECEIVE ALSO IS MONEY. If you must tithe from that wage or salary, then use that money to buy eatable substance that you desire as mentioned above, and take it to the place the LORD GOD shall choose for you and eat it there in HIS presence. The question is, how would you know where the LORD will choose for you? I live that to you.
Unfortunately, you have preachers quoting only from the book of Malachi 3:10 to you. Malachi 3:10, however, got its root and basis from the Torah [Deuteronomy 12 and 14 as mentioned above]. But these talented deluders will not tell you the real thing as to how to pay your tithe rather, you are being deceived to contribute money to enrich a particular set of persons and you call it tithe (just as they preach it to you). Now you have known the truth. Utilize it.
If you will say that this was in the Old Testament, take note and do not forget that there is no place in the New Testament that instructs you on how to pay tithe. If there is any, please provide the verse. If you must pay tithe, then you have to pay it the way Allah has instructed you to pay it. And this instruction is gotten only in the Old Testament – the Torah.
Jesus (peace be upon him) said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone”. [Matthew 23:23]. He also said the same thing in Luke 11:24.
From the above verse quoted, Mint there means money. Anise and Cumin there means medicine or flavour to garnish some food. And Jesus (peace be upon him) condemned this because it was not the Law which he came to fulfil (Matthew 5:17-20). So who are you following? Is it the pastors? Or is it Paul? Or is it Jesus and the Laws given by GOD HIMSELF? Answer this to yourself. Follow what is right.
It is high time you stopped being deceived by all those who calls themselves “Men of God”. Ask them to provide where they got their idea of paying tithe from and they should prove it with detailed explanation.
Have you ever asked yourself why only the pastors get richer, and the members get poorer? Have you also asked yourself why everybody wants to be a General Oversee of a church? Or to have his or her own church? It is because of your weekly contribution which they preach to you as “paying of tithe”! They are not interested in your welfare or in your salvation but in how well you sow “seed of faith” and pay your tithe. No paying of tithe, offering and seed-faith; no church. Try it and see. The moment everybody in church stop contributing that money and seed, there will be no more churches. This is to say, we keep seeing churches springing forth from every nooks and craning just because of your weekly contribution. This is the true fact.
Tithe was a means to do charity and gain the blessings and favour of Allah. So, serve the LORD thy GOD with all your hearth and pay the poor due (Charity) as you ought to.
I do hope you find this piece of information useful.
Peace be unto you.
Source: tbk.al-fatih.com.ng – Muhammad Al-Fatih Oyonumoh
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