Leviticus 27:32; And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord

Many people think they cannot afford to tithe. The truth is we cannot afford not to tithe! Some fall into the lies to tithe only as and when they are able to. Others tithe hoping God will return them a hundred folds of blessings in exchange for their obedience. This is a wrong understanding of tithing. In this session, we will look at the reasons for tithing and the blessings that come with obedience. God is looking at the motives of our tithing and He is watching our hearts. We will look at the reasons why we tithe so you can tithe with greater understanding on the purposes of God.

Why do I Tithe?

There are five biblical reasons why we tithe.

1. It is a Recognition of God’s Sovereignty

Leviticus 27:30, 32; instructs the people to tithe under the Mosaic Law. It explains why the people tithe. It says, “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord…The entire tithe of the herd and flock – every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod – will be holy to the Lord.”

Clearly, it says that everything from the land belongs to God. It is God’s in the first place. The land and all in it were given to Adam with the instruction to look after the land and all things in it in Genesis. Hence, when we tithe, we are not giving it to God but we are bringing the tithe to God. Let me give you an analogy. You borrow your friend’s Toyota car for a day to run some errands. The next day, you return to your friend’s house to give back the car. You do not say to your friend, “Here, I give you a Toyota car.” Your friend will most probably strike off his list of friends. It does not make sense to borrow something from your friend and to return it back as though it is yours to give away. It is not yours in the first place to give. The same logic applies to our wealth and money. It is not ours in the first place as stated in Leviticus to give to God. Instead, we bring to Him what is rightfully His in the first place.

Secondly, it is a commandment. Deuteronomy 14:22 instructs the people to “be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your field produces each year”. This is a practice that the Jews do during each harvest. They believed that the harvests come from the Lord. When they set aside a tenth of their first fruits (not the leftover), God will bless the remaining fruits in their hands and a continued harvest in the next season. They know and understand that their harvests come from the Lord and it belongs to the Lord.