The practice of giving a portion of one's income to support God's work is rooted in the Old Testament, where it is commanded as a way to honor God and provide for the Levites and the poor. In Malachi 3:8-9 and Malachi 3:10, God calls His people to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, promising to bless them abundantly in return. This principle is also seen in the example of Abraham, who gave a tenth of his spoils to Melchizedek in Genesis 14:20, and is echoed in Proverbs 3:9, which encourages giving to God from the firstfruits of one's increase. The New Testament reinforces this idea, with 2 Corinthians 9:7 teaching that giving should be done cheerfully and willingly, as a reflection of one's love for God.
Relevance Score
24%
Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me.
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.
Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
A priest of Aaron’s line is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of these tithes to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.
“Go to Bethel and transgress; rebel even more at Gilgal! Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear, so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God. And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”