DO NOT FALL FOR THE TITHE TRAP
Sefer Mishle (Proverbs) Chapter 3:9, " Honor YaHVaH from your wealth and from the first of all your produce;
The first time "the paying of tithe" is mentioned in scripture is in Sefer Maaseh Bereshith (Genesis) Chapter. 14, there was a war. And Abram was victorious in this war:
Sefer Maaseh Bereshith (Genesis) Chapter 14:17-20, Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh that is, the plain of the Kings. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of El Elyon. He blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of El Elyon, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be El Elyon, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. He gave to him a tenth of all the spoils of the battle.
After Abram gave a tithe, the King of Salem offered Abram goods, but Abram refused! (Sefer Maaseh Bereshith (Genesis) Chapter 14:21-23, The king of Sodom said to Abram, Give the persons to me and take the goods for yourself. Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to YaHVaH El Elyon, possessor of heaven and earth, that I shall not take from a thread or even to a sandal thong or from all that is yours, for fear you would say, I have made Abram rich.)
Abram paid tithes to Melchizdek, King of Salem, but he wanted nothing to do with the spoils. Abram did not care about becoming rich and wealthy from the offerings of other people.
You can search the Scriptures in over and over yet you will not find anywhere a servant of YaHVaH's taking money. A true servant of YaHVaH is never for sale. He is "...not greedy of filthy lucre,..."(Sefer Aleph Barnava (1 Timothy) Chapter 3:3) and "...not given to filthy lucre."(Sefer Titos (Titus) Chapter 1:7).
EliYah (Elisha), a servant of YaHVaH, refused to take money for the work he did. Naaman, the Syrian prince, had come to the prophet Elisha to be healed of the disease which harassed him. (Sefer Bet Melachim (2 Kings) Chapter 5:14-16, So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of the Elohim; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean. And he returned to the man of the Elohim, he and all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, Behold now, I know that there is no Elohim in all the earth, but in Yisrael; so please take a present from your servant now. But he said, As YaHVaH lives, before whom I stand, I shall take nothing. And he urged him to take it, but he refused.)
Naaman's gratitude and joy over his recovery, was taken advantage of by Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, who thought it was a mistake not to profit by this opportunity. After all, Naaman was a foreign prince from a wealthy state, so he could easily have given them enough to live comfortable on. So Gehazi asked Naaman for money (verse 22), and Naaman was happy to oblige (verse 23). When Elisha discovered what Gehazi did, he condemned him. Elisha considered it an evil act; to ask money in exchange for the services that YaHVaH freely gave. (verse 26). And as punishment, Gehazi received the disease that Naaman previously had; leprosy! (Sefer Bet Melachim (2 Kings) Chapter 5:27, Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever. So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.)
This should serve as a warning to those who demand payment in exchange for the services of His Majesty YaHVaH. To YaHVaH this is nothing but robbery!!!
The servants of YaHVaH are not to demand money from those that listen to the Good New's of YaHVaH's Kingdom and the saving work He did through His Son YaHVaHShooa. The Truth has always been free and always shall be free.
It is Evil for those that preach or teach to ask for Money
Anyone who preaches or teachs, and also asks for money is not a true servant of YaHVaH.
Sefer MattithYah (Matthew) Chapter 10:8, 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.
Sefer Mishle (Proverbs) Chapter 23:23, Acquire truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
Sefer YashaYahu (Isaiah) Chapter 55:1, Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Sefer Chazon l'Yahchanan (Revelation) Chapter 22:17, " And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let the one who hears say, Come. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
What was Tithe and what was it used for?
All Christian Churches today demand that their listeners give "tithe" to the Church. And those who preach and teach take wages from that tithe, as payment for their services. However, this is not what tithe was supposed to be use for. As we already read how YaHVaH considered it thieft if a priest were to teach for money. So what exactly was tithe used for? First of all, a tithe is literally defined as "a tenth part." It is giving and sacrificing a tenth of a possession.
Torat Cohanim / Vayqira (Leviticus) Chapter 27:30-32 Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is to YaHVaH; it is holy to YaHVaH. If a man really redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it one-fifth of it. For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, a tenth shall be holy to YaHVaH.
Mishneh Torah / Devarim (Deuteronomy) Chapter 12:17, You are not able to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your wine or your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or your flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the heave offerings of your hand.
Sefer Bet Dibre Hayyamim (Chronicles) Chapter 31:5-6, And as the thing became known, the sons of Yisrael multipled the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey and of all the produce of the field; and the tithe of all they brought in abundantly. And the sons of Yisrael and Yahdah who lived in the cities of Yahdah also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of sacred gifts which were consecrated to YaHVaH their El, and they piled heaps of heaps.
Please understand, none of the Churches ask for a tenth of your seeds, or fruits, or herds, or flocks, or corn, or wine, or oil, or honey, or oxen or sheep, or any thing, they are only interested in your money. yet nowhere in the scripture does it show anyone giving money as tithe!
Only animals and the fuits were used for tithes. Search the scriptures, nowhere will you find any form of money given as tithe! YaHVaH condemns preachers who ask for money in the form of tithe.Even when His Majesty YaHVaHShooa talked about tithe, it was never in reference to money .
Why were there tithes?
The tithes were granted to the Levites for use in the sanctuary, and the maintenance of themselves and their families, as they had no other inheritance . This is important to understand! The Levites did not have any inheritance at all in Israel, whereas everyone else did have rights to inheritance. All other people in Israel were taken care of through inheritance and other means, whereas the Levites did not have the right to any inheritance of any kind. Their only means of sustenance was the tithe, because of their specific duty, and walk before YaHVaH. Chamesh haPekudim / Bemidbar (Numbers) Chapter 18:23-24, But the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of appointment, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be an eternal statute throughout your generations, and in midst of the sons of Yisrael they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the sons of Yisrael (Israel), which they offer as a heave offering to YaHVaH, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, They shall have no inheritance in midst of the sons of Yisrael (Israel).
The Levites did not preach the Word of YAHVaH, they maintained the temple of YaHVaH. The temple of YaHVaH was destroyed, so there are no more sacrifices and offerings going on. Thus, since there is no more temple, and YaHVaH does not dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24), there is no more need to give tithes, since its purpose is done away with.
The priests and ministers of today have just as much right of inheritance as everyone else. If the Levites had just as much right as the rest of the people of their nation, there would have never been any need for them to take tithes. This is a very important point. Under the New Covenant, all mankind have the right to inheritance (Sefer Maaseh haShlichim (Acts) Chapter 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to Elohim and to the word of His mercy, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.) , (Sefer Chazon l'Yahchanan (Revelation) Chapter 21:7). He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I shall be Elohim to him and he shall be My son.) Since all who overcomes the world inherits all things , there is no need for any man to pay tithes anymore.
Now since no one is denied inheritance IF THEY OVERCOME THE WORLD, there is no need for any man to have to pay tithes anymore. Why is this? Because the Temple in Yisrael (Israel) was was destroyed by the Romans. This does not mean there is no longer a Temple Sefer Aleph Qorintim (1 Corinthians) Chapter 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of Elohim and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you? Sefer Aleph Qorintim (1 Corinthians) Chapter 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from the Elohim, and that you are not your own? Sefer Bet Qorintim (2 Corinthians) Chapter 6:16 Or what agreement has the temple of Elohim with idols? For we are the temple of the living the Elohim; just as Elohim said, I shall dwell in them and walk among them; and I shall be Elohim to them, and they shall be my people.
Ha Satan has put it in the hearts of corrupt ministers and priests to demand that you pay tithe. Sadly these corrupt ministers and priests pay no tax on the tithe they collect. So those that do pay tithe are simply giving church's free money. When you consider 10% of each members income going to these corrupt ministers and priests, it adds up quickly.
DO NOT FALL FOR THE TITHE TRAP THAT HAS BEEN SET BY ALL THE CHURCHS. Sefer Bet Qorintim (2 Corinthians) Chapter 2:17, For we are not like many, peddling the word of the Elohim, but as from sincerity, but as from Elohim, we speak in the Mashiyach in the sight of Elohim.