Tithing, a Feast Before God: Living Without Mammon (Deuteronomy 14)

Introduction

Tithing is a word that often makes people uneasy. We rarely talk about it, we sidestep it, or we turn it into a taboo. Yet the Bible talks about it a great deal, and not just to ask you for 10% of what you earn. In Deuteronomy 14:22 to 29, God gives his people a surprising instruction manual: the tithe is not first of all a burden, it is a feast. A celebration before God, with family, where you rejoice over what he has given.

This message closes the series "God or Mammon", an exploration of what the Bible says about money and our finances. After messages on the great principles of generosity, it is time to get concrete: what does a Christian life set free from Mammon's influence actually look like? Three examples drawn from the Old Testament will answer that, and three challenges will be set for the summer ahead.

Outline of the article

1. Deuteronomy 14: the tithe as a feast, not a chore

Open your Bible to Deuteronomy 14. The text tells every Israelite to set aside a tenth of their produce each year, literally 10%. Not to fill a budget hole. For two very specific reasons.

First purpose: to support the Levites. The Levites were something like the temple "staff" in ancient Israel. They led worship, maintained the sanctuary, organized praise, answered people's questions about God, and offered the sacrifices. They served the temple full time and had no time to farm a field or raise cattle. They had no income apart from the tithe others brought. The community took care of their physical needs; in return, the Levites served the community's spiritual needs.

Second purpose: to rejoice before God. Look at verse 26: "You shall spend the money on whatever you desire, oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves; and you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household." The idea of the tithe is to enjoy together a portion of what God has given, to praise him as a family, with joy in your heart. The tithe, in its original setting, is not a gloomy tax. It is a planned feast before God.

Notice that word well: planned. Every year, the Israelites had to prepare, set aside, look ahead. When you want to live free from Mammon, when you want to strip money of its influence over your heart, you don't do it on the fly. You plan for it.

2. And us, 21st century Christians: is the tithe still a standard?

Here is the taboo question. Is 10% a figure that Jesus reaffirms? Look at the Sermon on the Mount. A rabbi of that time would have been expected to give a number. Jesus did something harder: he gave a principle. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19 to 21). The standard isn't a set amount. The standard is to be generous.

What does that mean for you? Depending on your situation, 10% might not be generous. In other situations, giving below 10% is already generous. It depends on each person, not on what you imagine you're supposed to give, but on what you discern with the help of the Holy Spirit, not with your emotions or with "what I've always done."

Pastorally speaking: if you're just starting to think this through, the tithe is an excellent starting point. Setting a goal that 10% of what you receive goes to the Lord (whether toward your local church or toward other ministries) is a very good biblical benchmark to begin with.

3. The second tithe (Deut. 14:28 to 29): the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow

Did you know there isn't just one tithe in the Bible? Look at verse 28: "At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do."

Every three years, the tithe changes destination. It no longer goes up to the temple for a family feast; it goes down to the most vulnerable: the Levite (still him), but also the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. These three categories come up again and again in the Law. In an agricultural society, if you had no land you had nothing: the foreigner had no inherited field, the orphan had no father to protect him, the widow had no husband to defend her. These were the most vulnerable people in society.

Biblical generosity is not only spontaneous. It is also planned for the poor. How does this play out in the New Testament? Read Acts 2 through 6 again: you will see the early church pooling money specifically for the poor, going so far as to create an entire diaconal ministry for distributing to widows (Acts 6). Living free from Mammon is not just about trying to forget it is there. It is about concretely planning gifts toward those who have nothing.

4. Firstfruits (Deut. 26): giving first, out of gratitude

Turn a few pages ahead, to Deuteronomy 26. New instruction: every year, generally as the first harvests begin to come in, the Israelite prepares a basket with the very first fruit that has grown, the firstfruits, and brings it to the priest.

The heart of this law is the speech the person is to recite while presenting the offering. He tells the story: my father was a wandering Aramean, he went down to Egypt, we became slaves there, we cried out to God, he heard us, he brought us out of Egypt, he gave us this land. "And now, behold, I bring the firstfruits of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me."

The point is to be grateful, not just with words. Grateful by being generous. And to bring others into that gratitude (the Levite, the foreigner), so that everything is centered on God, not on you. You give first, from the first and the best, not from the leftovers.

5. Ruth 4: investing in people for the long haul

Last week, Yan taught on the parable of the talents: God, like a master, entrusts talents to his servants according to each one's ability, and he will one day ask for an account. He calls us to invest our time, our talents, and our treasure for the gospel and for the Kingdom. Investing our time and our talents, fine. But investing our treasure, beyond the tithe, what does that mean?

Go look at one of the most beautiful books in the Bible: the book of Ruth. Ruth, a young Moabite widow, would not leave her mother in law Naomi, an Israelite: "Your people shall be my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16). A man, Boaz, is moved by Ruth's devotion and her faithfulness to Naomi. He sees God at work in this woman, and he decides to invest in her, legally, financially, for the long term. He redeems her, marries her, protects her. Ruth would become the great-grandmother of King David, and would find her place in the genealogy of Jesus.

One of the great ways to counter Mammon's influence, to lay up treasures in heaven, is not only to make one time bursts of generosity. It is also to know how to invest in key people or organizations. Over the long term. Not only in the very short term.

Ask yourself: who do you see around you fighting, in the name of Jesus Christ, to see God's will come about? Which ministry, which church, which missionary? In whom do you want to start giving, say, 10 euros a month, but for your whole life? And if you earn more one day, all the better, you'll give them a little more. That is what it means to invest for the Kingdom.

Key takeaways

• The tithe is first of all a feast, not a tax. Deuteronomy 14 presents it as a family celebration before God, where you rejoice over what he has given.
• Living free from Mammon takes planning. Like any battle, it cannot be improvised on the fly. It is anticipated, budgeted, laid before God.
• The Christian standard is not 10%, it is generosity. Jesus gives a principle, not a number. Depending on your situation, 10% can be too little or already generous; that is something to discern with the Holy Spirit.
• Biblical generosity flows toward the vulnerable. The Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, the widow. The early church in Acts 2 to 6 puts this same priority into practice.
• Give first, from the first and the best. This is the logic of the firstfruits, a concrete way of saying thank you to God with what he has entrusted to us.
• Invest in people over the long haul. Like Boaz with Ruth: recognize who is faithful and fruitful for God, and back them for the long run.

Personal application

Here are three challenges for your summer.

1. Plan your giving for the new season ahead. Do you give regularly to your local church, the place where you go to worship God? Do you take part financially in what happens there? If not, it's time for that to begin this fall. Take time this summer to talk with God: how much, to whom, and for what?
2. Give thanks to God through generosity, not only through words. Take five minutes to look back on what God has given you this year, health, exams passed, housing secured, unexpected provision. How can you, as in the firstfruits ritual, express your gratitude by involving others, so that everything is centered on God?
3. Commit to a long term plan of generosity. In which person, which ministry, which missionary, which organization do you want to invest the way Boaz did? Not just a one time gift. A long term commitment. Use the summer (a freer mind, a lighter schedule) to build this plan before God.

Four questions for your personal prayer:

• Lord, of what you allow me to have, what belongs to you?
• Do I see my income as "mine," or as entrusted to me by you?
• Who around me is fighting for your Kingdom and deserves my faithful support?
• Is the tithe, for me, a feast or a burden? And why?

Verses quoted

• Deuteronomy 14:22 to 29: The annual tithe and the triennial tithe
• Deuteronomy 26:1 to 11: The firstfruits ritual
• Ruth 1:16: "Your people shall be my people, and your God my God"
• Ruth 4: Boaz redeems Ruth
• Matthew 6:19 to 24: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven"
• Matthew 25:14 to 30: The parable of the talents
• Acts 2 through 6: The church in fellowship, sharing possessions, the ministry of the deacons

FAQ

Is tithing mandatory for a Christian today?

The New Testament does not carry the tithe forward as a fixed percentage. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, gives a principle rather than a number: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." The true standard is generosity. For many believers, setting a goal of 10% remains an excellent benchmark to start with. Depending on your situation, it can be more, it can be less.

Where should I give: to my local church or to other ministries?

In Deuteronomy 14, the tithe funds both the operation of the temple (the Levites) and a family celebration before God. Every three years, it is redirected entirely to the poor. The principle is twofold: support the place where you are fed spiritually, and support those who have nothing. Many Christians give regularly to their local church first, then add targeted gifts to missionaries or relief organizations.

Why does the Bible insist so much on the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner?

In Old Testament society, if you had no inherited land, you had nothing. The foreigner had no land inheritance, the orphan had no father to defend him, the widow had no husband to protect her. These were the most vulnerable people in society. God writes their care into the Law itself, and the early church of Acts 2 to 6 carries that same priority forward, even creating a specific ministry for it. Christian generosity flows first toward those who have nothing.