The Tithing System Founded upon Moral Obligations, and Is a Part of the Gospel Plan of Salvation

Notes

1. No intimation is here given that the tithing system originated at this time. The record shows that Abraham and Jacob recognized its binding obligation upon them, and followed the instructions previously given by God to return the tithe of all that the Lord gave to them. It is worthy of remark that new institutions, originating from Abraham's time onward through the Bible history, have their origin plainly brought to view, the command given requiring their observance, and the circumstances and rites connected with them. For example, circumcision, the Passover, the ceremonial sabbaths and feasts; and, in the New Testament, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the ordinance of humility. But the origin of the tithing system reaches back to the beginning, when it became necessary because of the fall of man, and the promise of hope was offered to a lost world.

2. "The tithing system did not originate with the Hebrews. From the earliest times the Lord claimed the tithe as His, and this claim was recognized and honored. Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec, the priest to the Most High God. Jacob, when at Bethel, as exile and wanderer, promised the Lord, 'Of all that Thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.' As the Israelites were about to be established as a nation, the law of tithing was reaffirmed as one of the divinely ordained statutes, upon obedience to which their prosperity depended."—Mrs. E. G. White, in Review and Herald, Sept. 10, 1889.

3. In Heb. 5:6, Christ is said to be a "priest forever after the order of Melchisedec." That order of priesthood existed from the fall of man till the introduction of the Levitical order of priesthood; and then contemporaneously with the latter, and since the Levitical order ceased (at the cross), the Saviour has been a priest according to the Melchisedec order, ministering in behalf of mankind, and offering His own blood before the Father, to make reconciliation for all who accept Him as their substitute, regardless of the age of their sojourn in the earth.

The tithing system was contemporaneous with the Melchisedec priesthood, prior to the Levitical priesthood (see Gen. 14:16-20; 28:11-22); it continued during the Levitical order of priesthood (Lev. 27:28-33; Num. 18:21), and will ever remain binding as long as the present order of Melchisedec priesthood exists (Heb. 5:6; 7:1-9; 1 Cor. 9:11-14). Therefore, as the Melchisedec priesthood is contemporaneous with the gospel, and the tithing system is contemporaneous with the Melchisedec priesthood, the tithing system is contemporaneous with the gospel, founded upon moral principles, and is co-existent with and inseparable from the gospel.

Another consideration, showing how ancient and general the custom of tithing was, is the fact that it was well known among the heathen. Cruden says: "The most barbarous nations, and the heathen Greeks and Romans, out of a principle of religion common to all men, have often dedicated their tithes to their gods. Some have made it a standing obligation; others have done it on particular occasions, and by the impulse of a transient devotion. Lærtius says that when Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, wrote to Solon to persuade him to return to Athens, he told him 'that every one there pays the tithe of his goods for the offering of sacrifice to the gods.'—Laert., Lib. I. Pliny says that the Arabian merchants who traded in spices durst not sell any till they had paid the tithe to their god, Sabes. And Plutarch, in more places than one, mentions a custom of the Romans of offering to Hercules the tithe of what they took from their enemies."

It is evident that the heathen nations retained this much of the form of the gospel and the true worship of God, although their worship had been turned from the true God to false gods. Their devotion should be a standing rebuke to professed Christians who refuse to honor Christ in the payment of the tithe. We talk of the precious gift of Christ, the costly purchase He made for man, of our faith, of our hope of heaven, and yet, to the shame and confusion of many, the heathen will rise up in the judgment to condemn them.