Deuteronomy 12:17, commentary and pictures

Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of corn, wine, and oil, nor the firstlings of herd and flock, nor vows, nor freewill offerings, nor the heave offering of the hand. This is the second tithe, distinct from the yearly first tithe paid to the Levites for the ministry. It is distinguished from food eaten at home by being set apart for worship and connected with the appointed feast offerings, from which the people provided what was needed for the great feasts.

For two years it had to be taken to the place where the Lord put His name and the sanctuary stood, and there eaten before the Lord rather than consumed or presented in the people's own towns. That divinely chosen central place of worship was the sanctuary at Jerusalem, where Israel was to bring offerings rather than consume them at home. Bringing the tithes, firstborn animals, vows, and offerings there acknowledged His personal presence in that particular place where God met His people.

There it was to be eaten by the giver with son, daughter, manservant, maidservant, and the Levite within the gates, and shared with Levites and many people of all the tribes at the annual gathering, making a season of rejoicing for all. The food brought both supplied the needs of the occasion and provided for the necessities of others, with a liberal portion for hospitality and charity. It was set apart for worship and the annual feasts, supporting religious feasts and instruction and helping maintain the feasts and support the work beyond the ministry.

The second tithe remained at the landowner's disposal for sanctuary feasts and for religious, hospitable, and charitable purposes, but every third year it was to be used at home for charity and hospitality. The third-year provision replaced the festival use rather than being an additional tithe. The verse belongs to the special tithe laws and instructions for offerings and tithes given to Israel under the Levitical law, distinguished from the perpetual law of God and from the tithing system that existed before Moses. As such this prescribed form is not legally binding today and is identified as abolished by Christ.

Its underlying principle of systematic giving to God's work remains binding, though not in this prescribed form. The chapter's broad permissions to eat what a person desires do not include foods specifically forbidden by God, but are limited by the distinction between clean animals permitted for food and unclean animals prohibited for food. Though the offering system has passed away, since yearly gatherings with their expenses and the duty to support the poor still remain, it is pleasing to God for His children to lay aside regularly a second tenth for benevolent purposes such as camp-meeting or other general meeting expenses, Sabbath-school donations, other contributions, help for the poor, and other expenses of carrying forward the work.