In Part 1, we established that tithing existed since the time of Abraham. As you may recall, God knew Abraham would teach his children to “keep the way of the LORD” (Ge 18:19), and “Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (Ge 26:5). He gave a tithe to Melchizedek, who was none other than the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Later, the priesthood changed to the tribe of Levi, and we established that the Levites collected first tithes in Part 3. However, now that the priesthood was changed back to Melchizedek, i.e. Jesus Christ, we need to see where Christ is working, that is the spiritual temple, before donating our money to an organization.
So, what about these other tithes? Where do they go?
As you may recall from Part 2, the purpose of a 2nd tithe was to be consumed in the place God put His name on His feast days. So, where does 2nd tithe go? It goes to where God put His name, and YOU are the one who takes it there. That’s right, it goes to YOU.
This is why I plain get bent out of sorts whenever liars come along and claim 30% of your income goes to the Church. Nowhere near that amount goes to the Church unless YOU designate it yourself.
What is the purpose of God giving it to you? So you can rejoice at His feasts. It is that simple. Your rejoicing at His Holy Days gives Him honor because you are rejoicing “before the LORD thy God” (Dt 14:26). They are His feasts (Lev 23:2, 4).
Whenever families get together, they have an appointed time and place. Parents delight in the blessings that have come to their children. Do we really think God the Father is not like that?
It’s not all about you, though. You are not to come empty-handed. God does expect you to share your blessings with the Levites and any others who need assistance as well as present an offering to God (Dt 16:11-12, 16-17). People will designate varying amounts according to what they can afford and how they have been blessed throughout the year to take the single and elderly out to dinner, buy a gift for someone down on their luck, take a teenage child of a single parent out go-carting and make offerings to God. It is a time to truly be as generous as you can afford because it is a time to display the attributes of our Father in Heaven.
After all, if God has been generous to us, then why would we not want to be generous as well? He has given us our very lives, and He has promised us an inheritance so great that words cannot describe it.