Genesis 14:17-20 Amos 4:2-6

Genesis 28:20-22 2 Chronicles 31:1-12

Leviticus 27:30-34 Nehemiah 10:37-38; 12:44; 13:5, 12

Numbers 18:19-28 Malachi 3:7-10

Deuteronomy 12:1-19 Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42

Deuteronomy 14:22-29 Luke 18:9-14

Deuteronomy 26:12-13 Hebrews 7:1-19

1 Samuel 8:14-17

The basic tithe was not to be used for building houses of worship. Since pagan dust defiled, the original tithe consisted solely of the increase of land produce from God’s sanctified land of Israel and from the increase of animals herded on the land of Israel. Although the tithe could be exchanged for its monetary value, the tithe itself never consisted of money! A second (and third) tithe was also given to provide food for festival occasions, and to provide welfare food for widows, fatherless, orphans and needy strangers in Israel.

It is easy to demonstrate that the contents of every recorded tithe found in the Mosaic Law is only from landowners and herdsmen of the land of Israel. This was a totally unexpected, yet very clear, truth about tithing that Bible study with an exhaustive concordance revealed. Also, strange as it may seem, Scriptural tithing was only intended for a society sustained almost wholly by agricultural crops and animal herds. Biblical society included the following occupations: bakers, candle makers,carpenters, clothing makers, hired farm workers, hired herdsmen, hired household servants, jewelry craftsmen, masons, metal craftsmen, musicians, painters, perfume makers, physicians, sculptors, soldiers, tanners, teachers and tent makers. Yet NONE of these professions or products from these professions are included in any list of tithes or tithing! Why not? These sources provided much of the money for head taxes, temple taxes, tribute to foreign conquerors and, of course, free-will offerings. It is inconceivable to think that God simply

200 in the first generation; 160; 80; 80; and 80 after two generations; 32; 16; 16; and 16 after three generations. Thus, continually sub-dividing the land would keep the land-tithe the same, but would seriously reduce the amount of persons paying land-tithes.

One argument to support non-food tithing is that money was not universally available and barter from food must have been used for most transactions. This argument is not biblical. Genesis alone contains "money" in 32 texts and the word occurs 44 times before the tithe is first mentioned in Leviticus 27. The word shekel also appears often from Genesis to Deuteronomy. In fact many centuries before Israel entered Canaan and began tithing food from God’s Holy Land money was an essential everyday item. For example money in the form of silver shekels paid for slaves (Gen 17:12+); land (Gen 23:9+); freedom(Ex 23:11); court fines (Ex 21 all; 22 all); sanctuary dues (Ex 30:12+); vows(Lev 27:3-7); poll taxes (Num 3:47+), alcoholic drinks (Deu 14:26) and marriage dowries (Deu 22:29).According to Genesis 47:15-17 food was only used for barter after money had been spent. Banking and usury laws exist in God’s Word in Leviticus even before tithing. Therefore the argument that money was not prevalent enough for every day use is false. Yet the tithe contents never include money from non-food products and trades.

preceded the Law, then they are "eternal principles" which were not invalidated when the Mosaic Law was replaced by the New Covenant at Calvary. To many, Melchizedek kept the worship of the true God alive over the centuries from the time of Noah until Abraham arrived in Canaan.

In order to properly understand why tithing was mentioned in this chapter, God presented the incident in an extended detailed narrative because he did not want it to be taken out of its historical context. We must remember that the climax of a narrative is at the end of the story, and not in the middle. Before reading the narrative, it is wise to consider its principle of interpretation. "Narrative in its broadest sense is an account of specific space-time events and participants whose stories are recorded with beginnings middles and ends.… Readers too often project some moral or spiritual truth over a biblical character or event, paying more attention to the moral lesson they see in the narrative than to the story itself. The underlying objection to interpreting the Bible in a moralistic, exemplary fashion for every narrative passage is that it destroys the unity of the message of the Bible."14 In approximately 2000 B. C. four city-state kings from around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers invaded east of the Jordan River towards the southern end of the Dead Sea. Their leader was Chedorlaomer of Elam (v. 1). After traveling between 700-900 miles westward around the fertile crescent (of Mesopotamia),they defeated five small city-kings who ruled within a few miles of each other at the southern end of the Dead Sea (vv. 2-3).After paying tribute for twelve years, these fi ve rebelled (v. 4). The four kings of the east returned. Proceeding south from Damascus, they defeated numerous city kings east, south, and southwest of the Dead Sea until they arrived at En-gedi. This placed them about twenty miles south of Salem. Instead of advancing towards Hebron, Madre, and Salem, they turned back south and fought the fi ve kings (vv. 5-7). Chedorlaomer was again victorious. He took Abraham’s nephew, Lot, all his goods, all the goods and food of Sodom and Gomorrah and started back home (probably retracing the route east) (vv. 8-12). At that time Abraham (Abram) lived near Hebron which is located approximately midway between Salem and Sodom (vv. 13, 24). When Abraham heard that Lot had been taken captive, he took 318 trained servants and confederated Aconites and pursued the enemy (vv. 13-14, 24). Using a night attack, he defeated the enemy forces, rescued Lot, and retrieved all of the captives and goods which had been taken from the area of Sodom and Gomorrah (vv. 15-16). On his return journey, Abraham stopped just outside Salem (which is probably Jerusalem). There he was greeted by the new king of Sodom who was followed by Melchizedek, the king of Salem, priest of El Elton. Melchizedek brought bread

and wine to feed Abraham and his men. Then Melchizedek blessed Abraham (vv.

17-20). Abraham next honored Melchizedek by giving him a tenth of all the spoils of

war that had been stolen from Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 21; Heb. 7:4). The king

of Sodom insisted that Abraham keep the rest of the spoils for himself and only

return the persons who had been taken from his area of rule (v. 21). Abraham told

the king of Sodom that he had promised the LORD (Yahweh, Jehovah), whom he

recognized as the El Elton (Most High God), that he would not take any of the

spoil (vv. 22-23). Abraham said he did not want the king of Sodom to boast about making him rich (vv. 23-24).Melchizedek does not provide a legitimate pre-law foundation which can be used as an example of tithing for the New Covenant Christian. Although my conclusion is also heldby many Christian denominations, it is noteworthy that this is also the original position of the Scoffed Reference Bible, leading schools such as Dallas Theological Seminary, Moody Bible Institute, Wheaton College, and highly respected authors

such as Craig Bloomberg, Lewis Sperry Chafer, Walter Ewell, Theodore EPP, John

MacArthur, Charles Rorie, Charles Swindon, Merrill Under and John Walvoord.

These conservative evangelical scholars contend that the historical Melchizedek

was never used to validate tithing in the Mosaic Law under the Old Covenant

and cannot be used to validate tithing in the New Testament after Calvary. There is no eternal principle found in Genesis 14 which can be brought forward beyond Calvary to the church today .Ample evidence of this position exists in the writings of the previously mentioned authors which are used as textbook authorities in many colleges and seminaries today. In order to understand the relevance of tithing from this narrative, it is first necessary to stop using verses 18-20 out of their historical context as proof texts and exegete the entire chapter with sound principles of interpretation. It is odd that, while many conservatives ministers who support tithing accept dispensational eschatology, but they reject dispensational giving principles. Abraham’s Tithe Was from the Spoils of War, But Not from Personal Property 14:16 And h e brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. 14:20 And he gave him tithes of all. Heb. 7:4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. Abraham’s tithe was clearly from the spoils of war, booty, which had been taken from Sodom and Gomorrah. It was not from the (later) holy land of Israel, nor

was it the defined food and herds from that (later) holy promised land; that is,

it did not match the description of tithes as limited under the Mosaic Law (see

chapter one). Neither did his tithe support a true Levitical priesthood which had

forsaken land ownership in order to serve Yahweh. Abraham, as head of his household, was a priest himself, and, as such, built

altars and worshiped God directly (Gen. 12:7, 8; 13:4, 18; 15:9-18). He did not

require a priest like Melchizedek to intercede for him to God. Like Arab clan

leaders of our time, as his family’s priest he would make direct contributions of

charity to the poor as he served God throughout his nomadic travels. Proper

exegesis should begin the discussion of verse 20 at least at verse 16, instead of verse18, and should continue it beyond verse 20, to at least verse 21. When Abraham reached the outskirts of Salem he possessed the spoils of war. This included all of the goods which the defeated enemy had taken from the region of Sodom, plus all of the hostages, including Lot. Abraham very clearly gave from this bounty his "tithe" to Melchizedek. As a victorious king with Abraham as his "general," Melchizedek had first choice of the top of the heap of spoils, the first ten percent of the spoil. However, there is no hint in Scripture that Abraham ever

tithed any of his personal property to Melchizedek, either at this time, or later. tithing did not originate in the Bible (and nobody claims that it did). It was a well-known pagan practice from Phoenicia, Egypt, Canaan, Mesopotamia and lands around the Fertile Crescent. It was a mandatory customary tax to a pagan god or ruler. The Roman Empire continued

this tradition by requiring its defeated subject nations, like Israel, to return the

spoil of the first tithe of the land to them! From a comparison of discussions of

verse 21, Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek was in obedience to this old Arab war

custom and was not a command from Yahweh. Evidently, the Arab war custom

specified that ten percent of the spoils of war be given to the local priest-king,

while the ninety percent belonged to the victor. Abraham was OBLIGATED to pay a special one-time tithe-tax of the spoils of war. While those spoils usually belonged to an enemy, in this case, they belonged to Melchizedek’s ally, ambassador-friend, and possible subject, the king of Sodom(and those he represented). Most of us have been told all of our lives that Abraham gave a free-will tithe to Melchizedek—but no evidence for this exists in God’s Word. Many commentaries and theologians give contradictory reasons "why" Abraham tithed. Did he tithe

because he freely wanted to give an offering to thank God and honor Melchizedek?

Or did he tithe because he was obligated to tithe in observance of an old Arab

war custom? It is clearly contradictory to interpret the ten percent in verse 20 as

"free-will" and interpret the ninety percent in verse 21 as an "Arab war custom." A

resolution of this contradiction is crucial for a correct understanding of Abraham’s

Genesis 14:20! The priests still received 1/10th of that which the Levites received.

Therefore, when we compare spoil-tithes to spoil-tithes, we discover why neither

Moses nor the Law referred back to Abraham as an example of Law tithing—they

were different! Also, while it is noteworthy that the priests received a "tithe," or one tenth as much as the Levites received (1/1000th is 10% of 1/100th), the Arab custom of a ten percent spoil-tax-tithe from Genesis 14 is greatly reduced to only one percent in the Mosaic Law. See also First Samuel 30:20-35 for an example of David’s distribution of spoils of war. Genesis 14 is a discussion of how Abraham reacted to the Arab custom of paying

a tenth of the spoils of war to the local priest-king. While living under pagan

rulers, he obeyed pagan custom. Genesis 14 is not a discussion of tithing under

the Mosaic Law. If one were to properly compare "apples to apples," then a comparable

discussion should lead to the one percent in Numbers 31 and other Old

Testament texts which refer to spoils of war. Only an incorrect "apples to oranges"

approach changes the subject from spoils-of-war tithes to Levitical tithes.

Abraham did not choose to tithe to Melchizedek because he was priest of the

true Most High God. Instead, Abraham was obligated by long-standing Arab

war custom to return a tithe of the spoils of war. Since there is no correlationbetween this tithing and that found in the Mosaic Law, the Mosaic Law never

quotes Genesis 14 or even alludes to it in support of tithing. This is strange,

indeed, since most modern tithe-advocates ignore the law as a foundation, go

fi rst to Melchizedek, and then turn back to Leviticus 27 and Malachi 3 to fi nd

money instead of food. They also preach tithing and Melchizedek from Genesis

14 instead of the more dangerous Melchizedek text of Hebrews 7.

The king of Sodom followed the old tradition when he asked for return of the

persons taken from him. Evidently, Canaanite custom permitted Abraham to keep

the goods and only return the persons. Therefore, as soon as Abraham offered a

tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek, the king of Sodom insisted that Abraham keep

the balance of the goods, the ninety percent, for himself (vv. 20-21). Verse 21

simply must be included in any discussion of verse 20. 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to theLORD, the Most High God.…

This declaration by Abraham begins the dramatic climax of the narrative and

the real key point of the entire narrative in Genesis 14. Abraham declared allegiance

to "Yahweh," his LORD, whom he knew was the real "Most High God" (v.

22). He refused to keep the customary ninety percent of the spoils (vv. 23-24).

Chapter 14 follows God’s promises by faith to Abraham in chapters 12 and 13

and it precedes God’s promises by faith in chapters 15 through 17. When Abraham

did not deserve blessings, he received wealth (by grace) from Pharaoh (chapter

12) and Abimelech (chapters 20, 21). However, when he actually did something

to earn wealth in chapter 14, he gave it all back. In chapter 14 Abraham had an

opportunity to become suddenly very wealthy through his own works by keeping

the riches of Sodom and the fi ve kings of the southern Dead Sea. Yet Abraham,

refusing to acquire wealth in such manner, returned ALL of it, not just ten percent!

This event demonstrates that Abraham’s justification, sanctification, and

wealth ALL depended on faith, and not matters of customs and law.

Abraham represented God’s covenant of grace, not the Old Covenant of law. The Arab custom concerning the spoils of war demanded a tribute of a tithe and allowed Abraham to keep the ninety percent and become instantly much more wealthy. However, while living under the constraints of Arab law, Abraham refused to be blessed through the provisions of that law. He deliberately rejected the Arab law-blessing opportunity because he knew that God was fully capable of blessing him through the operation of grace and faith in his life. Keeping the

ninety percent would have meant keeping the worldly goods belonging to the

king of Sodom. God had better blessings in store for Abraham which are eternal.

Again, Genesis 14 is a narrative with the climax at the end of the story, and

not in the middle. The climax involves neither Melchizedek, nor tithing. Instead,

it involves Abraham’s assurance that God would keep his promises made by grace

through faith, and not by military conquest, or Arab law-keeping. Summary: Abraham’s Tithe is Not an Example for Christians to Follow

Some believe that this passage demonstrates that tithing is commanded to the

New Testament church because it existed before the law, just as marriage was

before the law. But this comparison is not valid. Marriage preceded the law, was

included in it, and was also repeated after the law. However, tithing, Sabbathobservance and unclean foods also preceded the law, were included in it, but were

not repeated after Calvary as commandments to the Christian church.

Abraham’s spoils-of-war tithe was:

and worship God as LORD. Melchizedek probably worshiped Baal as Most High

God and possessor of heaven and earth. As a Canaanite priest-king, Melchizedek

worshiped idols of Baal, offered child sacrifices, and promoted incest and sex with

animals as part of pagan worship ritual. In paying this mandatory tribute, it is

unfortunate that Abraham’s pagan tithe-tax would have been used to promote

such sin. (See Leviticus 18 and Deuteronomy 18:9-14.)

One recent theologian has pointed out that verses 22-25 constitute a vow. If

Abram made this vow prior to rescuing Lot, then the tenth which he gave to

Melchizedek could also be explained as a free-will vow. See David Croteau, Ph.D.

records the only other pre-Mosaic Law mention of tithing. Also, this is defi nitely

not a spoils-of-war-tithe as in Genesis 14. However, although there may have

existed a tradition to help the poor, Jacob, like Abraham, was not responding to

a command from Jehovah to tithe to a particular ministry of holy service. The

formal law was yet centuries future.

True to his character, Jacob made a rash vow to God. He promised to give God

a tenth of all his possessions. However, Jacob’s promised tithe was conditional—

God must fi rst bless him and then bring him back to Isaac’s house in peace. Jacob

set the conditions, not God. Jacob made a vow to tithe; God did not ask for it.Although God greatly blessed Jacob in Haran, there is no further mention of

tithing in Jacob’s life (or in the book of Genesis).

In all fairness to the subject, we must ask ourselves, "To whom did Jacob give

these tithes?" It is not enough just to say that he "gave them to God." God does

not reach down from heaven and receive them to himself! Like Abraham, Jacob

was surrounded by pagan Canaanite priest-kings. If he gave a tithe to them, he

would actually be promoting idolatry, child sacrifi ces, sex with animals, and

worship-prostitution! There was no God-called Levitical priesthood to receive

them. Neither was there a temple in Jerusalem as promised and commanded later

in Deuteronomy. As head of his own household, Jacob, like all patriarchs from

Adam until the Law, was a priest himself and did not require a hierarchy of priesthood.

Unless we are willing to accept the extreme liberal contention that Abraham

and Jacob are merely mythological traditions written after Bethel had a temple in

northern Israel, then my question is valid.

Again, as the head of household before the law, Jacob served as his own priest.

He built altars to Yahweh and sacrifi ced on them (Gen. 35:1, 10). He asked for

"food to eat and clothes to wear." He promised to give God "a tenth" "of all that

you give me." Was Jacob promising to give God a tenth of food and clothes?

How would he do that? We do not know. Perhaps Abraham, Isaac and Jacob built

and dedicated shrines to Jehovah (Yahweh). They could then bring food to those

shrines for the poor and needy. We know that Jacob did build an altar at Bethel.

However, if any commandment to tithe had been involved, there would have

been no room for bargaining.Both Abraham’s tithe and Jacob’s tithe are completely out of context with

tithing in the Mosaic Law. While Abram’s gift could have been a free-will vow

(14:21-24), it is clear that Jacob’s gift was a free-will vow. However, it must be

pointed out that, under the law, Israel would later consider even the dust of the

Gentile land as defiling and requiring ceremonial cleansing. Whatever Jacob did

tithe, it originated in pagan Haran or (at that time) pagan Canaan and did not

meet the exact definition of tithes given under the Law. Perhaps this is why his

tithe is not used as an example by Moses. Of course, there is no prohibition against

the source of the tithe from a holy land in the book of Genesis.

Again, to whom did Jacob (and Abraham) tithe when they were wandering

nomads? Except for the unfounded claims that Melchizedek was a faithful true

priest-king serving Yahweh, no similar claim is made for any of the other priest kings

in which territories Jacob and Abraham lived. Like the temple of the moon

god in Haran, except for their own shrines, all of the other shrines and priest kings

were clearly pagan.When Genesis 14 is removed as a candidate to support biblical tithing, then theonly other biblical alternative is the Mosaic Law