A CLOSER LOOK AT TITHING
EXPOSING THE ERRORS
By: Victor T. Stephens
"People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up."
~ George R.R. Martin
Jacob's Tithing Vow
The second Pre-Mosaic reference to tithing occurs in Genesis, chapter 28. On his journey to Haran, Jacob stayed in the city of Luz. While there, he had a dream where God renewed the Abrahamic Covenant with him. God also promised to be with him in his layover and bring him back to his father Isaac’s house. During the dream, God confirmed that Jacob was to bring forth the covenant blessings. Jacob awakens in awe and promptly erects an altar and gives a sacrifice of oil to God. Upon making the sacrifice, he vows to give God a tenth.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."
(Gen. 28:20-22)
The above passage is another favorite scripture reference that church leaders use to support pre-law tithing. They claim that Jacob, like his grandfather Abram, was following an everlasting tithing law. Special attention is placed on Jacob’s statement "and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth" to support tithing on all forms of income, especially money.
In their effort to promote pre-law tithing, leaders in the church overlook a vital point in Genesis 28:20-22 that introduces more irrefutable evidence against it. Furthermore, an analysis of this passage reveals why there was an exclusion of money in the Mosaic tithing laws (Lev. 27:30-32). How so? Let us first take a closer look at the word "vow" in the above passage. ("Then Jacob made a vow.... " See also Gen.31:13). What is a vow? The definition of a vow is:
"A solemn promise or pledge that binds a person to perform a specific act or to behave in a certain manner. All vows were made to God as a promise in expectation of His favor or in thanksgiving for His blessings. Vowing was voluntary. But after a vow was made, it had to be performed (Deut. 23:21-23; Eccl. 5:4-6)." (Illustrated Dictionary of The Bible, Herbert Lockyer, Sr. [Editor], p.1088)
Let's note some key supporting biblical text:
1) "When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you." (Deut. 23:21-22)
2) "If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth."
(Num. 30:2)
3) "When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed -- Better not to vow than to vow and not pay."
(Ecc. 5:4-5)
Making a vow is a very significant act. However, as we can see from the above definition and verses, it is not a response to a command; but a voluntary promise of free will. In the same manner as Abram, the tithing vow made by Jacob was a voluntary gratuity based on the customs during that period. If tithing existed as an eternal law before the Mosaic Law, it would seem unreasonable for Jacob to make a vow if the tithe already belonged to God. He would have been duty-bound to pay ten percent to God without any choice in the matter. By definition, it was after Jacob made the promise that his vow became binding.
Let us look at this further. The definition of sin is a transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deut. 9:7; Joshua 1:18). Now, according to Deuteronomy 23:22, if Jacob chose to refrain from making a vow to give God a tenth, he would not be guilty of sin. Therefore, tithing was not an eternal law before the Mosaic Law since sin constitutes breaking God’s law. This fact provides blistering evidence against pre-law tithing advocates.
At this point, someone may say,
"If tithing was not commanded before the Mosaic Law, then how did tithing become law?"
What a brilliant question. The answer lies in the fact that there is a direct connection between Jacob's tithing vow and the Mosaic Law of tithing.
God promised Jacob that He would care for him and give him and his descendants the land of Canaan. As a show of appreciation, Jacob vowed a tenth to God. Because a vow becomes an obligation after a promise, Jacob’s vow to give a tithe to God became a requirement. "A requirement of what?" one might ask. Was it monetary income? No, it was not! Jacob vowed to give a tenth from the land of Canaan since that is what God promised him and his descendants. Consider the following passages:
1)
And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." (Gen. 28:13-15)
2)
Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." So He called his name Israel. Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land." Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.
(Gen. 35:9-15)
3) "See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers -- to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- to give to them and their descendants after them." (Deut. 1:8)
4)
"And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, 'I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.'"
(Deut. 26:3)
Jacob never inherited the Promised Land on account that he died before the conquest of Canaan. That being the case, it should be clear that he never paid the tithe. However, because Jacob’s vow was a binding agreement with God, the Lord held Jacob the nation (Israel, Gen. 35:10) responsible to fulfill the tithing vow. Thus, we have the enactment of the law of tithing.
Since Jacob vowed to give a tenth of the land, the law of tithing was applicable exclusively in the land of Israel. There are no scriptures in the Bible that indicate Israel ever tithed outside their borders.
Next: Jacob's Tithing Vow and the Mosaic Law of Tithing
