Deuteronomy 26:12
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
When the tithing of all the increase was finished in the third year, which is called the year of tithing, the tithe was to be given to the Levite and to the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that they might eat within the gates and be filled and satisfied. Every third year the tithe was thus directed to the Levite and to those in need rather than being taken elsewhere. That third-year provision was the second tithe, kept at home instead of being carried away, and dedicated to the poor and to other benevolent purposes.
Like gleaning left in a harvested field, it made the tithe a source of practical support for people in need, so that none would go without food. Kept at home, it was used to feed the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow until they were satisfied, providing a fund for charity and hospitality. Remembering and providing for these groups in this way was a standing and continuing requirement and an example of practical obedience to God's directions.
The directions to which this provision belongs express God's law and make His claims clear, and those claims remain binding because His gifts continue. They include sustaining His messengers as they carry the light of His word. The giving was part of worship and of rejoicing in the good things God had given, expressing gratitude for His goodness and requiring the sharing of blessings received.
It placed giving to the Lord first and taught Israel to put God first while caring for people in need. It taught that fields and flocks and herds belong to God, who gives the harvest, that people hold all they possess as stewards of His goods, and that they may serve as channels of His blessings. Such giving kept ownership by God before the people and trained them to overcome selfishness and to develop a generous and noble character. At the close of the year the people were required to make a solemn declaration affirming whether they had obeyed this command.