Difference between revisions of "Tithes"

<p> (See [[Deuteronomy]] .) [[Tenths]] of produce, property, or spoils, dedicated to sacred use. So [[Abram]] (and Levi, as in Abram's loins) to [[Melchizedek]] the king priest who blessed him (&nbsp;Genesis 14:20; &nbsp;Hebrews 7:1-10). Jacob after his [[Bethel]] vision vowed a tenth of all that God gave him, should God be with and keep him, and give him bread and raiment, and bring him again to his father's house in peace (&nbsp;Genesis 28:20-22). The usage of consecrated tithes existed among the Greeks, Romans, Carthaginians, and Arabians. See &nbsp;1 [[Maccabees]] 11:35; [[Herodotus]] i. 89; iv. 152; v. 77; vii. 132; 9:81; Diod. Sic. v. 42; xi. 33; 20:44; Cicero, Verr. ii. 3,6-7; Xenophon, Anabasis v. 3, section 9. The "tithe" (terumot ) of all produce as also of flocks and cattle belonged to Jehovah. and was paid in kind, or if redeemed one fifth of the value was added. &nbsp;Leviticus 27:30-33, "whatsoever passed under the rod": the rabbis had the tradition that the animals to be tithed were enclosed in a pen, from whence they passed one by one under the counter's rod, and every tenth was touched with a rod dipped in vermilion (&nbsp;Jeremiah 33:13; &nbsp;Ezekiel 20:37). </p> <p> The Levites received this terumot; they in turn paid a tenth of this to the high priest (&nbsp;Numbers 18:21-28; &nbsp;Numbers 18:31). In &nbsp;Deuteronomy 10:9; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 12:5-18; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:22; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:29; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 18:1-2; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 26:12-14, the general first tithe of all animal and vegetable increase for maintaining the priests and Levites is taken, for granted; what is added in this later time is the second additional tithe of the field produce alone, and for celebrating the sacred feasts each first and second year in the [[Shiloh]] or Jerusalem sanctuary, and every third year at home with a feast to the Levites, the stranger, fatherless, and widow. The six years thus marked were followed by the [[Jubilee]] year; on it the attendance was the larger because of the scant attendance on the sixth year when most stayed at home. In the Jubilee year there was no tithe, as the land enjoyed its sabbath. [[Tobit]] (&nbsp;Tobit 1:7-8) says he gave a third tithe to the poor; [[Josephus]] (Ant. 4:8, 8, section 22) also mentions a third tithe; so [[Jerome]] too on Ezekiel 45. </p> <p> [[Maimonides]] denies a third tithe (which would be an excessive burden) and represents the seceded tithe of the third and sixth years as shared between the poor and the Levites. (See Selden on Tithes, 2:13). Ewald suggests that for two years the tithe was virtually voluntary, on the third year compulsory. Thus there was a yearly tithe for the Levites, a second yearly tithe for two years for the festivals; but this second tithe on every third year was shared by the Levites with the poor. The kings, Samuel foresaw, would appropriate the three years' poor man's tithe (&nbsp;1 Samuel 8:15; &nbsp;1 Samuel 8:17). [[Hezekiah]] rectified the abuse (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 31:5; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 31:12; &nbsp;2 Chronicles 31:19); also Nehemiah after the return from [[Babylon]] (&nbsp;Nehemiah 10:38-39; &nbsp;Nehemiah 13:5; &nbsp;Nehemiah 13:12; &nbsp;Nehemiah 12:44). </p> <p> The [[Pharisees]] were punctilious in paying tithe for all even the smallest herbs (&nbsp;Matthew 23:23; &nbsp;Luke 18:12). Amos (&nbsp;Amos 4:4) upbraids [[Israel]] with zeal for the letter of the tithe law while disregarding its spirit. Malachi (&nbsp;Malachi 3:10) seconded Nehemiah's efforts. God promises to "open heaven's windows and pour out a blessing" so that there would be no "room to receive it," provided the people by bringing in all the tithes would put Him to the proof as to keeping His word. Christians, whose privileges are so much greater and to whom heaven is opened by Christ's death and ascension, should at least offer no less a proportion of all their income to the Lord's cause than did the Israelite: we should not lose but even in this world gain thereby (&nbsp;Proverbs 3:9-10). [[Azariah]] the high priest told Hezekiah: "since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord we have bad enough to eat, and have left plenty, for the Lord hath blessed His people, and that which is left is this great store" (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 31:10). </p> <p> The New Testament plan of giving is &nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:2; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 9:7-9. [[Moral]] obligation, not force, was what constrained the [[Israelite]] to give tithes. He solemnly professed he had done so every third and sixth year (of the septennial cycle), when instead of taking the second or vegetable tithe to the sanctuary he used it at home in charity and hospitality (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 26:13-14; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:28-29). Ananias' and Sapphira's declaration corresponds, but it was a lie against the [[Holy]] Spirit (Acts 5); Joseph's fifth of Egypt's increase to the sovereign who had saved the people's lives corresponds to, and was perhaps suggested by, the double tithe or fifth paid by Israel long before. </p>

<p> It seems to have been a custom from very early times for people to give a tithe (i.e. a tenth) of their goods to God as an act of worship and thanks. In this way they acknowledged God as the supreme controller of life’s events and the sole giver of life’s blessings. The custom existed as a voluntary act of devotion long before it became compulsory practice under the law of Moses. </p> <p> The Bible records two pre-Mosaic examples of tithing. Abraham, on gaining a notable victory in the land God had promised him, offered to God a tithe of the goods he had seized in battle (&nbsp;Genesis 14:17-24; &nbsp;Hebrews 7:4-10). Jacob, on fleeing for safety to a distant land, promised to give God a tithe of his possessions if God brought him back safely (&nbsp;Genesis 28:20-22). In both cases the offering of the tithe was an acknowledgment that God was the sovereign controller in human affairs and the giver of all gifts. </p> <p> '''The law of Moses''' </p> <p> Under the law of Moses, [[Israelites]] had to give to God one tenth of all crops, fruit, flocks and herds. The tenth that they offered had to be an honest sample of the whole, not an inferior portion that they had no use for themselves. When tithing animals, for example, the owner counted the animals as they passed through the gate, setting aside every tenth one for God, regardless of whether it was good or bad (&nbsp;Leviticus 27:30; &nbsp;Leviticus 27:32-33). </p> <p> If people so desired, they could offer money instead of their produce or animals. The amount they paid was the value of the goods plus a fifth. This additional fifth was a sort of fine, since they were keeping for their own use something that rightly belonged to God (&nbsp;Leviticus 27:31). </p> <p> The tithes were paid to the Levites, and so became the chief source of the Levites’ income. Since the Levites spent their time in religious service for the people, they had no time to earn a normal living. This constant income from the tithes was payment for their work and compensation for their lack of a separate tribal area in [[Canaan]] (&nbsp;Numbers 18:21-24). </p> <p> Having received tithes, the Levites then had to pay tithes. Their income was the produce of other people’s farms, but when they offered a tenth of this produce to God, he accepted it as if it were their own. The Levites’ tithes became the income of the priests (&nbsp;Numbers 18:25-32). </p> <p> People presented their tithes by taking them to the central place of worship, where, with their households and the Levites, they joined in a joyous ceremonial meal (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 12:5-7; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 12:17-19). If the offerers lived so far from the tabernacle (or later the temple) that transporting their goods was a problem, they could sell their tithes locally and take the money instead (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:22-27). </p> <p> Every third year the offerers had to distribute this tithe (or perhaps an additional tithe) in their own locality, so that the local poor could benefit from it as well as the Levites. In this case the offerers, after distributing their tithes, had to go to the central place of worship and declare before God that they had done according to the divine command (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:28-29; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 26:12-15). </p> <p> In addition to these compulsory tithes, there were sacrifices and offerings of various kinds. Some of these were required by law, but others were made voluntarily (&nbsp;2 Chronicles 31:5-6; &nbsp;Nehemiah 10:37-38; &nbsp;Nehemiah 12:44; &nbsp;Malachi 3:8-10). (For details see FEASTS; FIRSTBORN; FIRSTFRUITS; SACRIFICE; VOWS.) </p> <p> '''New Testament times''' </p> <p> In later years Jewish teachers of the law added their own laws to those given by Moses. The result was that by the time of Jesus, they had made the tithing system a heavy burden on the Jewish people. These teachers instructed [[Jews]] to keep the laws of tithing even to the smallest detail, assuring them that in doing so they would gain God’s favour. But they neither taught nor practised the more important matters of faith, love, mercy and justice (&nbsp;Matthew 23:4; &nbsp;Matthew 23:23; &nbsp;Luke 11:42; &nbsp;Luke 11:46; &nbsp;Luke 18:12). </p> <p> The New Testament does not teach tithing as a binding law for Christians. Nevertheless, it upholds the principle of proportionate giving, the amount people give depending on the amount they earn (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:2; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 8:12-14). God wants people to make their offerings willingly and joyfully, not under compulsion or grudgingly (&nbsp;2 Corinthians 8:3; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 9:7). But he adds the promise that they need not fear poverty if they give much, because God can increase his supply so that the generous giver still has more than he needs (&nbsp;2 Corinthians 9:8-10). (See also [[Giving]] .) </p>

<p> (Anglo-Saxon, teotha, a tenth) a tenth part of the produce of the land, which by ancient usage, and subsequently by law, is set aside for the support of the clergy and other religious uses. In the Christian dispensation the very circumstance of the existence of the clergy is supposed by many to imply a certain fixed provision for their maintenance. This obligation has been put forward in ecclesiastical legislation from the earliest period. The Apostolic Canons, the Apostolic Constitutions, St. [[Cyprian]] on the Unity of the Church, and the works of Ambrose, Chrysostom, Augustine, and the other fathers of both divisions of the Church, abound with allusions to it. In the early Christian Church the custom of consecrating to religious purposes a tenth of the income was voluntary, and it was not made obligatory until the [[Council]] of Tours in 567. The second Council of Macon, in 585, enjoined the payment of tithes under pain of excommunication; and Charlemagne, by his capitularies, formally established the practice within those portions of the ancient Roman empire to which his legislation extended. </p> <p> The introduction of tithes into [[England]] is ascribed to Offa, king of Mercia, at the close of the 8th century; and the usage passed into other divisions of Saxon England, and was finally made general by Ethelwolf. They were made obligatory in [[Scotland]] in the 9th century, and not long after in Ireland.. At first the choice of the Church to whom a person paid tithes was optional; but by a decretal of [[Innocent]] III, addressed to the archbishop of [[Canterbury]] in 1200, all were directed to pay to the clergy of their respective parishes. According to English law, tithes are of three kinds- predial, mixed, and personal. Predial tithes are those which arise immediately from the ground, as grain, fruit, herbs, etc. [[Mixed]] tithes are those proceeding from things nourished by the earth, as calves, lambs, pigs, milk, cheese, eggs, etc. Personal tithes are those arising from the profits of personal industry in the pursuit of a trade, profession, or occupation. The latter were generally paid in the form of a voluntary offering at Easter, or some other period of the year. The law exempted mines, quarries, wild animals, game, fish, and also tame animals kept for pleasure, and not for use or profit. </p> <p> Another and a more arbitrary distinction is into great and small — the first being tithes of grain, hay, wood, etc.; the second being the other kind of predial, as well as all personal and mixed tithes. The great tithes of a parish belonged to the rector, and the small tithes to the vicar. Tithes were originally paid in kind, as the tenth sheaf, the tenth lamb; but the inconvenience and trouble involved in this mode of payment led to the adoption of other methods. This was done either by the payment of a fixed amount each year, irrespective of actual produce, or by a money payment mutually agreed upon; by a partial substitution of payment or labor, as when a person contributed a smaller amount of produce, but free from the expense of harvesting, etc.; or by the payment of a bulk sum in redemption of the impost, either for a time or forever, as the case might be, so that the land became tithe-free. By 1 Elizabeth, c. 19, and 13 Elizabeth, c. 10, such alienations of tithe-payment were restricted to a term of twenty-one years; or three lives. </p> <p> Originally convents occupying lands in England paid tithes to the parochial clergy; but by a decretal of [[Paschal]] II they were exempted from such payments in regard to lands held by themselves in their own occupation. This exemption was confined by subsequent legislation to the four orders, Templars, Hospitallers, Cistercians, and Premonstratensians, and after the fourth Council of Lateran, A.D. 1215, only in respect of lands held by them before that year. At the [[Reformation]] many of the forfeited Church lands when sold were held free of tithes. </p> <p> These partial exemptions, and the fact that the tithes were a tax for the support of the clergy of the [[Established]] Church, made it very unpopular with those who were obliged to pay, and especially so to Dissenters. A measure of commutation became absolutely necessary, but, although recommended as far back as 1822, did not become law until 1838. Various statutes for England or [[Ireland]] have since been enacted regulating the payment of tithes (6 and 7 [[William]] IV, c. 71; 7 William IV and 1 Victoria, c. 69; 1 and 2 Victoria, c. 64; 2 and 3 Victoria, c. 32; and 5 and 6 Victoria, c. 54). Their object for England is to substitute a money rent-charge, varying on a scale regulated by the average price of grain for seven years for all the other forms of payment. In Ireland the settlement was effected by a commutation of tithe into a money rent-charge three fourths the former value. The Disestablishment Act of 1869 abolished tithes and created a common fund for the support of the [[Protestant]] Episcopal Church and clergy. In [[France]] tithes were abolished at the Revolution, and this example was followed by the other Continental countries. In the Canadian provinces of Quebec, tithes are still collected by virtue of the old French law, yet in force there. In the United States, tithes are exacted by the Mormon hierarchy. See Bingham, Christ. Antiq. bk. 5, ch. 5, § 1 sq. </p>