Tithe

[Rachel]

Anyone have thoughts about paying tithe?

[jimmie]

I too have been wondering about the tithe. When I was in the state church (baptist church licensed by the state) which claimed to replace the priesthood and thus due the tithe, I gave 10% of my income faithfully. But now not being attached to a local assembly, I have decided to use my tithe for attending feast celebrations and helping others who are not as financially blessed as I am to attend feasts. So in a manner I eat the tithe and what I can’t eat I give to others to eat. This approach is based upon the following scriptures.

Deut. 12:17 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:
18 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.
19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
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.
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.22 Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
25 Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
26 Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose.
27 And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.


Deut. 14:22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
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.
24 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:
25 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:
26 And thou shalt bestow that money for 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,


Deut:26:12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

[Rachel]

Since we are not part of a local assembly either, we began tithing to our town's food pantry. In keeping with feeding those who are without.

[David Ben Yosef]

Sept 6, 2010 15:51:56 GMT -8 Rachel said:

Since we are not part of a local assembly either, we began tithing to our town's food pantry. In keeping with feeding those who are without.

Great idea!

Contrary to what we hear preached in Christian "Churches" nowhere does the Bible say we are to tithe at our local assembly ONLY. Personally, I would much rather see the hungry fed, than making the Church building larger, when it probably doesn't need it anyway. I can't even stomach to hear Scripture purposely twisted by many Pastors, merely for the advancement of a piece of real estate. Does the Pastor get his own parking space, or do we feed hungry children? That's a no-brainer if you ask me.
Good for you Rachel!

I would also like to add that we Americans need to look after our own more. Why send money overseas when we have starving children right here in our own Nation? I don't think many believers realize how many starving kids are right here in America, and are in dire need of help. That's a real sore spot with me, so I'll stop now before I say something I'll regret later...LOL


Shalom

*EDIT*
A great deal of my quarterly tithe goes to The Temple Institute, to fund the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash. I consider it an enormous blessing to take part in the rebuilding of the Holy Temple. This is an exciting time we are living in!

[chrisg]

I too was wondering about this. I collect my tithe (monetary), but what am I supposed to do with it? I have no 'storehouse' to bring it to, so I thought maybe I should do as Rachel suggested and use it to buy goods to donate to my local food bank. After all, we are supposed to look after the widow and the fatherless and the poor.

[alon]

Sept 4, 2016 10:28:21 GMT -8 chrisg said:

I too was wondering about this. I collect my tithe (monetary), but what am I supposed to do with it? I have no 'storehouse' to bring it to, so I thought maybe I should do as Rachel suggested and use it to buy goods to donate to my local food bank. After all, we are supposed to look after the widow and the fatherless and the poor.

Yes, but as David Ben Yosef said, we are to take care of our own first. To me, that means Messianic Judaism first. The problem comes in that MJ is not really organized enough to have a lot of charities, and if you have no synagogue to support, where to send your tithe?

Feeding the poor is good, but I have a problem with giving to a food bank. They are invariably either secular or sponsored by a Christian church. I think a tithe should glorify Elohim and help spread His message. Before I found a synagogue, I gave to Messianic Jewish outreach programs as well as some Jewish and Israeli relief programs. I might also suggest that if you are blessed by this forum and need a place to send tithes, set aside a little for them.

I am now fortunate to have a synagogue, and they have a program to help our sister synagogues in places like India and Pakistan where our people face unimaginable persecution. Every dime I give through them goes directly to whoever I specify. So I still give over the tithe amount to support those people. And still give donations (not tithe money) to a Jewish relief organization. My wife's family helped us when we were first starting out, and this sort of is how I pay them back.

I guess the main thing I'd recommend is find a way to give so that it glorifies Elohim. If it supports MJ it would be best. Maybe set some aside for buying videos that help get our message out. I always buy two if I know it is a good video, because loaning those out is worse than loaning a book. You'll probably never see it again unless it is damaged. No worries though, just buy a replacement next month!

If you know good people people who are struggling you can help them directly. Just let them know you are MJ and have no place to tithe, so you are doing as the Bible says and assisting others. but there is nothing that says you should help the indigent or those who take advantage. That is a pitfall we face because of modern Christianity's teachings. Even churches are backing away from this now. The AoG where my wife goes has a program where you can donate through them directly to someone specific. In that way they can monitor if someone is hitting up a lot of members for help with the same thing. Some people used to make a pretty good living like that, since it is a large church. I've helped people through them when I was still Hebrew Roots and no place to go.

Just my thoughts.

Dan C

[Questor]

Sept 4, 2016 10:28:21 GMT -8 chrisg said:

I too was wondering about this. I collect my tithe (monetary), but what am I supposed to do with it? I have no 'storehouse' to bring it to, so I thought maybe I should do as Rachel suggested and use it to buy goods to donate to my local food bank. After all, we are supposed to look after the widow and the fatherless and the poor.

I keep thinking of the words of Yeshua,

Matthew 10:42 (CJB)
42 Indeed, if someone gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my talmid — yes! — I tell you, he will certainly not lose his reward!”

I don't want to be venal, but I like to mix my giving in a practical manner, because our G-d is a practical one...giving reward where His ideas are followed.

It's hard to find a true talmid these days, but I focus all my money through Messianic Jewish missions of some kind...whether it is for food, or teaching, or getting a Believer out of an unsafe place because they are being persecuted.

I like several of the little Messianic Synagogues in Israel, because they are reaching the Secular Jews who have no knowledge of anything in the Scriptures, Tanach or Brit Chadashah, and are a bit more open. There is also one man who is reaching the Orthodox through Rabbi Kaduri's prophecy about the Messiah being Yeshua.  

Practical help is mixed with the Word in these ministries, and none of the people are being paid to do the work...it is their ministry...part or full time, and is small, so you can keep an eye on it, and change the focus now and again.

And then there are helping people in disasters, regardless of creed or observance...but that is mostly done by local ministries as well, because they are already there...the big charities pay their workers, and it waste's the money. And then there are one's actual, physical neighbors, if only in sheer pity for their problems...but carefully...like when a house burns down, or someone is ill.

[chrisg]

Sept 4, 2016 13:39:09 GMT -8 alon said:

Feeding the poor is good, but I have a problem with giving to a food bank. They are invariably either secular or sponsored by a Christian church. I think a tithe should glorify Elohim and help spread His message. Before I found a synagogue, I gave to Messianic Jewish outreach programs as well as some Jewish and Israeli relief programs. I might also suggest that if you are blessed by this forum and need a place to send tithes, set aside a little for them.

[/p]

Our local food bank is run by a charity called the Trussell Trust. Yes it is Christian, but I personally don't have a problem with that as it is helping local people who really need it. They have a system where people can only access the bank if they have a letter of need from a doctor or social worker, so it is clearer whether or not the person is in genuine need or just 'scrounging'.

I guess the main thing I'd recommend is find a way to give so that it glorifies Elohim.

That to me is the most important thing. At the moment, it is just sitting in a money-box waiting for me to use it for some proper purpose.

If you know good people people who are struggling you can help them directly. Just let them know you are MJ and have no place to tithe, so you are doing as the Bible says and assisting others. but there is nothing that says you should help the indigent or those who take advantage. That is a pitfall we face because of modern Christianity's teachings. Even churches are backing away from this now. The AoG where my wife goes has a program where you can donate through them directly to someone specific. In that way they can monitor if someone is hitting up a lot of members for help with the same thing. Some people used to make a pretty good living like that, since it is a large church. I've helped people through them when I was still Hebrew Roots and no place to go.

There are homeless people in our near neighbourhood and I have bought them food instead of giving them money, because I did not want to fund a drugs or alcohol lifestyle. Sometimes they are grateful; other times they tell me outright they would have preferred the money, which shows I was right to give them the food! 

BTW (and a bit off topic) what is the difference between MJ and Hebrew Roots?

[/quote]

[alon]

chrisg said: BTW (and a bit off topic) what is the difference between MJ and Hebrew Roots?

Really quickly (so we don't hijack the thread): Messianic Judaism is a Observant faith system which tries to recreate that of the first century believers. It is the Jewish sect of the Nots'rim (Nazarene's), to which Rav Sha'ul and all the apostles belonged.

Hebrew Roots is a broad term encompassing a huge variety of beliefs. In its simplest terms it is an attempt to reacquaint the Christian denominations with the Hebraic roots of their own faith. There is a lot of misinformation in Hebrew Roots, but some good stuff as well (the good is in MJ however, so no worries for us). Their biggest problem is the Christian church has no "Hebrew roots." The Catholic Church was born of paganism, having merely hijacked the Jewish writings and made the "New" ones Greek. And modern Protestantism is twice pagan because they came out of Catholicism, but never entirely. In fact, all their customs and most of their theology is still just what those pagan church fathers said. Most HR folk won't become MJ because of the obedience thing. That scares off a lot of people.

Dan C