R.I.P. Tithes
There are several types of tithes formerly found under the Old Testament that are currently passed away. I label these as R.I.P. or (Rest-In-Peace tithes) because they are passed away and no longer valid for the believer under the current dispensation. These obsolete tithes are the second and third tithe.
The Second Tithe
The second tithe could be labeled as a “Festive Tithe” because at that time in the history of the Jews all males were required to physically appear before the Lord in Jerusalem for all designated Jewish festivals.
Exodus 34:23-24 (7KB)
23 "Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
24 For I am going to expel nations ahead of you and expand your territory, and no one will even covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times a year.
Under this dispensation the presence of God was only manifested within the temple in Jerusalem and only within the holy of holies of the Temple. Those who wanted to worship God had to physically travel to Jerusalem to do so and this could entail a long journey because some Jewish men lived in far away countries.
God understood that the required journey to Jerusalem was far away for many Jewish men and the great distance caused the trip to be expensive. It was for this reason that God permitted a second tithe (I label as a Festive Tithe) to be used to cover the travel expenses and food for Jewish men traveling to Jerusalem for the required Jewish festivals.
Deuteronomy 14:22-26 (7KB)
22 “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year.
23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the LORD your God.
24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away),
25 you are to convert it into money, take the money with you, go to the place which the Lord your God will choose,
26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
The second (Festive Tithe) was permitted to be consumed by the Jewish males who had to travel to Jerusalem because they needed food on their journey and also needed food when they were present in Jerusalem attending the required festivals. If these Jewish men lived in a far away country and it was too difficult to carry their tithes of grain and produce all the way to Jerusalem then they could convert this produce or grain or livestock into money and then carry that money to Jerusalem and purchase whatever was needed during the festival.
This second tithe therefore was specifically for a dispensation when all Jewish males were required to physically travel to Jerusalem to appear before the Lord at the designated times.
Risk of Land Confiscation During Absence
Exodus 34:24 (7KB)
24 For I am going to expel nations ahead of you and expand your territory, and no one will even covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times a year.
It should be noted that during this time in Jewish history God drove out the heathen nations from the land of Israel so that those Jews living within the borders of Israel would not be at risk of having their lands seized by pagan people when they were away attending the Jewish festivals in Jerusalem. Otherwise the Jewish men might return home to find that someone confiscated their farmland and moved into their homes during their absence.
Example of Land Confiscation
2 Kings 8:1-6 (7KB)
1 Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “Take your family and move to some other place, for the LORD has called for a famine on Israel that will last for seven years.”
2 So the woman did as the man of God instructed. She took her family and settled in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
3 After the famine ended she returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went to see the king about getting back her house and land.
4 As she came in, the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king had just said, "Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done."
5 And Gehazi was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother walked in (with her son) to make her appeal to the king about her house and land. “Look, my lord the king!” Gehazi exclaimed. “Here is the woman now, and this is her son—the very one Elisha brought back to life!”
6 The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, "Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now."
This biblical example shows what can happen when a Jewish person is not able to come home for an extended period of time and squatters take over their home and their land during their absence.
The Jewish woman (whose son was raised to life) was sent out of the country during a seven-year famine in the land. When this woman returned to Israel, she discovered that someone had confiscated her home and her farmland and strangers were living in her house and using her farmland for themselves (even though they were not the rightful owners of that property). This woman then appealed to the king for her house and her land and the king appointed an official over her case. She had her house and land restored to her and the squatters on her land apparently were forced to restore all of the income from the land production back to the rightful owner of the property (for the total of seven years that she was gone from her land).
This is one example of the disadvantage that Jewish men suffered during this time and era when they were required to physically appear in Jerusalem during the required festivals. It was possible that pagan people could attempt to confiscate their land and homes when they were away attending the festivals! Those who lived in faraway countries would be gone for longer periods of time because of the great traveling distance they had to endure to reach Jerusalem and for the long journey back home again. This trip to Jerusalem (and the return back home) could be a costly and time-consuming journey that was so long in duration that their homes and property could be seized by squatters during their absence!
It was for this reason that God permitted them to use a second (Festive tithe) for their travel expenses or even sell the livestock or produce of that second (Festive tithe) and use it for travel expenses and for buying food while they were in Jerusalem.
Times have Changed
John 4:20-21 (7KB)
20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman that the time was coming when the worship of God would no longer be limited by physical location. No longer would Jewish men have to endure the long journeys and great expense to travel to Jerusalem to worship God during the appointed festivals. No longer would they risk having their homes and lands confiscated during their absence by squatters who refused to vacate them. All of this physical travel to a specific location to worship God was about to come to a complete and permanent end!
New Way to God
Mark 15:37-38 (7KB)
37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.
38 And the curtain [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
When Jesus breathed his last upon the cross he paid for the sins of all humanity and at the moment of his death the curtain of the Holy of Holies in the temple was torn from top to bottom by a supernatural force! Thus, this signified that the way to God has been made for all humanity so that they all could come to God by faith in Jesus Christ.
No longer did anyone have to travel to the physical location of Jerusalem anymore to worship God at the temple in Jerusalem. Now the way of salvation was made for all humanity to come to God by a free gift of eternal life purchased for them by the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. This means that people from all nations on earth can worship God in spirit and truth from any location on earth. They did not to travel to a specific physical location in order to worship God!
This has great advantages because since the time that Jesus opened the way to God there has been hundreds of millions of people in every nation who have believed in the Lord and salvation by grace.
If all of these people were forced to go to Jerusalem physically to worship God then that city would be flooded with people!
Example of Millions of People in One Location
Above is an image of a Reinhard Bonnke Crusade in Nigeria. There were millions of people who professed faith in Jesus Christ in these evangelistic crusades. The image above is just one crusade that was held in Nigeria and the masses of people seemed to be a sea of humanity as far as the eye could see!
There are many practical reasons why there are problems with having so many people in one location including sanitation. If this many people relieved themselves in one place it would cause a sewage problem as big as a lake!
This also has application to times past when all Jewish males were required to physically appear before God in Jerusalem. There would be huge problems with providing sanitation and clean water and food and lodging for so many people located all in one place.
No Longer Required to Worship God in One Location
If the rule still existed that every male worshiper was to appear before God in the physical location of Jerusalem then this would create an impossible situation! There are hundreds of millions of people who worship the God of Israel in every nation on earth! If all of these people showed up to Jerusalem to worship God it would be impossible. They would fill up the entire city millions of times over! If it would be possible to stack humans up like cord-wood then possibly the stack of people in Jerusalem would reach the moon! There is no way possible to have that many people come to one physical location on earth to worship the Lord!
This is why God no longer requires that men must go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. The day that Jesus died on the cross, he opened the way for all humanity to come directly to God regardless of being in any location on earth! They do not have to go to Jerusalem to worship God anymore because that dispensation has come to a close.
Second Tithe (Festive Tithe) Now Passed Away
The second tithe (the festive tithe) has now become obsolete and is put away and is gone because it is no longer necessary for Jewish men to appear before God in one physical location in Jerusalem any longer. All humans both Jewish and Gentile can now worship God in whatever location they happen to be from any spot on planet earth!
This is why the second tithe (the festive tithe) is now passed away because it is no longer needed to pay for the travel expenses and food of the Jewish men who came to worship God in Jerusalem during the designated times.
The way to God has now been opened for all humanity regardless of nation or physical location to worship the Lord directly by coming to God by faith in Jesus Christ.
The Third Tithe
The third tithe could be called a (Social Work Tithe) because it was used to do social work like caring for the poor such as widows and orphans who had no male provider.
Deuteronomy 14:27-29 (7KB)
27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns,
29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Again, God mentions the Levites before the poor people such as the aliens who have no land in Israel for income and the fatherless (orphans) who have no father to provide for them and the widows who had no husband as a provider.
The Levites was not permitted to own land for agriculture and had no inheritance of land in the way that the laymen had been given. The Levites depended on the tithes and offerings that the people gave to God and then God gave these to the Levites for the ministry. In this manner the Levites could spend full time in teaching the word of God without being distracted by working sidelines or farming or ranching to feed their families. The Levites did have pasture lands but this was not for agriculture but only to keep the animals given as tithes alive until they could be butchered and eaten. They did not have freezers in those days so all livestock had to be kept alive on the pasturelands until they were ready to be eaten. Therefore, the pasture lands allotted to the Levites were only to keep donations of livestock until they could be eaten but this was not for agricultural income or business.
The reason that the Levites are mentioned before those who were poor like aliens, orphans and widows was because the Levites were teachers of God’s word. The teaching of God’s word can change the lives of people and bring them out of poverty. So the best way to cure poor people of poverty is to have Levites teach them about the principles of faith and giving. When the poor people give to God then God can bless them back and cause them to prosper. Only God can bring millions of poor people out of poverty so that is why the bible teaching of the Levites is so important. The Levites can bring an entire nation of hundreds of millions of poor people out of poverty by teaching them about giving and faith.
The best use of money is to support the Levites so they can teach full time and then their teaching can bring the poor out of poverty and cause everyone to prosper.
It is for this reason that the Levites are mentioned first before the poor because the Levites are in fact the solution to poor people and can cause them all to prosper by the teaching of God’s word.
Instead of engaging in social works the lasting solution to poverty is to support Levites to teach God’s word to the poor people so they will know how to give to God and use their faith to rise up out of poverty!
Oftentimes governments will use taxes toward helping the poor but typically this is only a temporary thing and does not cure the problem. The only cure is to provide for the Levites to teach biblical principle full time so they can bring poor people out of poverty for good.
Deuteronomy 15:4-5 (7KB)
4 However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,
5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands, I am giving you today.
There is the ability of the Levites doing bible teaching to lift poor people out of poverty and thus eradicate poverty from the land so that it is possible that there are no more poor people found in a nation. Poverty is a spiritual thing so biblical teaching about giving and faith is needed to help poor people break the curse of poverty and rise up to have their needs met by God alone.
If the poor people are taught to fully obey God’s commands (including God’s command to give) then they can be blessed and prospered and come out of poverty.
This is what happened in South Korea after the Korean war which left the people in destitute poverty. During the early 1960’s Korea was one of the poorest nations on earth. But at this time Pastor David Cho began to teach the word of God to the people about how to give to God and use their faith for God’s blessing. His church grew to be about a million members and he had a big impact on bringing his nation out of poverty by the teaching of biblical principles. Today the nation enjoys a high standard of living and great prosperity as a result of honoring God by giving and using faith for increase and God’s blessing. God brought millions of people out of poverty when these poor people were taught about giving and faith.
Therefore, the support of the Levites is of first priority because they hold the lasting solution to bring poor people out of poverty and cause them to be blessed.
The third tithe was done every three-years for the needy but it is also obvious that poor people need to eat more than once every three-years. So, this speaks of the fact that in a cycle of three-years the poor should be prospered by God and be lifted out of poverty. When everyone is giving then the overflow of blessing washes poverty away and there is more than enough for orphans and widows and every needy person. They all can rise up out of poverty and when they are all giving from their increase received from God then it is possible that prosperity can wash away all poverty in the land.
If the poor people are teachable and they receive the teaching of Levites and follow biblical instruction in giving and honoring God (and they repent and forsake idols) then they can prosper. Within a cycle of three years they should be brought out of poverty and have their needs met. This most certainly is true of having masses of people become believers and having them obey God and give to the Lord.
But if a country is full of idol worshiping people however they will suffer a great deal poverty because idol worship brings a curse of poverty on any nation where idol worship is rampant.
South Korea was a different story however because since the time of the Korean war there were millions of people who all became believers in the God of Israel. These people were taught to give to God in faith and expect their financial blessing from the Lord. When there are millions of people giving generously this creates an overflow of abundance that can wash poverty from an entire nation. This is the result of having millions of believers all giving generously and honoring God with their financial increase.
The third tithe therefore becomes obsolete when the Levites are doing biblical teaching on giving and faith and people receive and obey this teaching and leave idol worship and turn to the God of Israel who can bless and prosper them until all of their needs are met. The teaching of God's word by Levites has the effect of canceling poverty until there is no more need for the third tithe and thus it becomes obsolete.
There is still however the existence of the first tithe which is commanded by God and has not passed away.