Deuteronomy 14:22-29 - Tithing in Israel

<p>     In this pericope, Moses addressed both the annual tithe as well as the triennial tithe that Israelites were required to give. The annual amount consisted of a tenth of their crops and herds and was to be eaten once a year in the presence of the Lord, and the triennial tithe was to be shared within the community of each city in order to bless the economically vulnerable; namely the Levites, aliens, orphans and widows.</p> <p>     Moses said, “You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year” (Deut 14:22). This was an annual tithe that occurred at the time of harvest. In the Old Testament, Israel operated as a free-market economy, as families owned land which they cultivated and worked. However, they relied on rain in regular intervals, which the Lord provided as a blessing for the nation’s faithfulness to Him.</p> <p>     Moses wrote, “You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always” (Deut 14:23). Every year, the whole family would travel to the sanctuary with their tithe and eat it—or a portion of it—in the presence of the Lord. This consisted of the produce of the ground as well as the firstborn of their herds and flocks. This annual practice was didactic, in that it taught the people to fear the Lord their God, for He was the One who had liberated them from slavery (Deut 5:6), gave them the land of Canaan (Deut 4:1; 9:6), which included cities, houses, wells and vineyards (Deut 6:10-11), enabled them to produce wealth (Deut 8:18), and blessed their labor (Deut 7:13; 11:13-15). In this way, the tithe was a Thank You to God for all His goodness.  Warren Wiersbe states, “The people of Israel were to be generous with tithes and offerings because the Lord had been generous with them. Each time they brought their tithes and gifts to the sanctuary and e