Numbers 18:24, commentary and pictures

The tithes of Israel, lifted up as an offering to the Lord, are given to the Levites as their inheritance because they are to have no land inheritance among Israel. The tithe already belonged to God before it was assigned, so it was not the payer's property to give as a gift but a sacred debt owed to Him, like rent, and giving it to the Levites did not make it common. It was given to the Levites as their support in return for their continual service in the sanctuary, teaching and ministering before Him, that they might devote themselves wholly to spiritual work. By the same appointment those who give their lives to advancing Christ's kingdom are to be supported by the gospel, making tithe-paying God's plan for sustaining His ministers, including the sick, the aged, and the widows and orphans of those who die in the work. The obligation still rests on God's people to return at least a tenth of income to His central storehouse for the ministry alone, not to be diverted to the poor or other uses, a duty reaching back to Abraham and Jacob and not ended with Israel.

Words and Historical Setting

The tithes of the children of Israel, offered as a heave offering to the Lord, are given to the Levites to inherit. They are therefore to have no territorial inheritance among Israel, no share of land among the tribes. That tithe was a tenth of all increase, required of the people to be given for the support of those appointed to sanctuary service. It was the Lord's provision for their maintenance in place of landed inheritance.

God chose the tribe of Levi from the twelve families that left Egypt to serve continually in the sanctuary and to minister before Him day by day. He fixed their living by the law of tithes and offerings instead of leaving their support to chance or to uncertain liberality. Precept was added to precept to charge Israel with faithfulness so His servants would not be neglected. This belongs to God's order for the sanctuary and the Levites' service, in which the Levites receive Israel's tithes instead of an inheritance among the tribes, showing that God directs the work and assigns its responsibilities.

The Lord Himself is the Levites' part and inheritance. The tribe was set apart wholly for His service in place of Israel's firstborn, so their support came from offerings made to God. That gift, with the offerings, was God's arrangement for the support of the Aaronic priesthood for their service in the tabernacle of the congregation.

Tithe Reserved for God

The tithe already belonged to the Lord before it was assigned, and in giving the tithes of Israel to the Levites to inherit He was disposing of what was His own because they had no land inheritance among Israel. That assignment did not make the tithe wholly the Levites' own, but left it still belonging to God. This is shown by the requirement that the Levites give a tenth of what they received back to the Lord as a heave offering, keeping clear to whom it belonged. Their receiving it was for their support in sanctuary ministry, and their tithing in turn supported the priests' service.

The tithe is a heave offering belonging to the service of the altar, and this reveals its sacred character as holy to the Lord. It was so sacred that it was to be handled only by the priests. Others were warned that to touch it meant death.

It is counted as an offering lifted up to God even though the Levites receive it for their needs, since Israel's tithes were offered to the Lord and assigned to the Levites as their support in place of a tribal inheritance. It is God's reserved portion, devoted to its appointed purpose and not to be diverted for personal use. It is not the payer's property, and it is not given as a gift but paid as a sacred obligation owed to God, like rent or a bill.

Levites' Inheritance for Service

The tithe of Israel was given to the Levites as their inheritance because they served in the tabernacle of the congregation and had no territorial inheritance among the other tribes. It was assigned to them in return for that service to the tribes, in place of an inheritance among their brethren in Israel. That service was spiritual service, teaching the people the way of salvation. The verse therefore establishes the tithe as God's provision for those devoted to religious service, and by the same principle those who give their lives to advancing Christ's kingdom are to be supported by the gospel.

The tithe was set apart for the Lord and then given to the Levites as their inheritance and support because they were appointed to carry out God's special work. Because they received the tithe they were to have no other inheritance among the Israelites. The tithe is therefore set apart for sustaining the ministry.

With the offerings, this gift was God's arrangement for the support of the Aaronic priesthood, provision for service in the tabernacle of the congregation, the Lord Himself being their part and inheritance. The statement that preachers of the gospel should live of the gospel looks back to this already existing plan, so paying tithe is God's appointed plan for the support of His ministry on earth. The regular tithe belonged to the Levites and was for the house of the Lord and the support of those who ministered there, distinct from another tithe used for the feasting of God's people at the place where they met together. The Levites were in turn to give a tithe of what they received, and the tithe of the Levites belonged to the priests.

This provision met the temporal needs of the priesthood because they had no share of the land, so that they could devote themselves to spiritual matters and God's work.

First Tithe and Others

The first sort of tithe is the tithe of the children of Israel given to the Levites to inherit for their maintenance because among Israel they shall have no inheritance, distinct from the second tithe for the Lord's feasts and sacrifices eaten where He puts His name and from the third-year tithe for the poor eaten at home. That first or regular tithe belonged to the Levites and priests as their inheritance and was for the house of the Lord and the support of those who ministered there, the tithe of the Levites in turn belonging to the priests. It is distinct from another or second tithe used for the feasting of God's people at the place where they met together, which the owners themselves ate before the Lord. The second tithe was taken after the first and was eaten by the owners before the Lord in the first and second years and given to the poor in the third year, eaten again in the fourth and fifth years and given to the poor in the sixth year.

The first tithe and the second tithe stand as two systems, equally perfect, side by side, the first being God's plan for supporting the ministry. The obligations of a second tithe are not the same as those of this first tithe. The second tithe is not as clearly taught as the one tithe, with some finding no Scripture for it, so one who holds it as duty should pay it honestly according to best light while remaining faithful in the one tithe. The one tithe is a tenth owed to God and must be paid faithfully with nothing excusing it, as on $10 a week the tithe is $1.00, distinct from a second tithe of 90 cents. Dividing money by seven because a seventh of time belongs to God is false reckoning, since on $14 a week it would make the first tithe more than a tenth and leave no second tithe at all.

Enduring Duty to Tithe

The verse requires Israel to give a tithe, a tenth, of all increase as the inheritance of the Levites who have no inheritance among the other Israelites. That tenth covers flocks, herds, grain, fruit and vegetables, to be collected in kind but exchangeable into money when more convenient to carry a long distance. God established by law after the Exodus this exact proportion of one-tenth of increase for religious purposes.

Its incorporation into Israel's sanctuary service did not make it new or peculiarly Jewish, but continued the uniform system devised in the beginning. The same requirement applied in the times of Abraham and Jacob, for the one-tenth Abraham gave to Melchisedec and Jacob vowed to the Lord long before the Jewish national establishment was not new. The tithe of Israel's increase was dedicated to the Lord and given to the Levites as their inheritance, and because they received the tithe they were to have no inheritance of land among Israel.

The command for the sons of Levi to take tithes of the people belongs to the ceremonial law, not the Ten Commandments, which do not regulate the taking of tithes. It shows that the law for taking tithes in Hebrews 7:5 means the ceremonial law. The Israelitish tithing system was necessary in God's plan of the Levitical priesthood and was the result of Infinite Wisdom, though it did not insure perfect equality in every particular. The great moral duty embraced in it is plainly taught in the New Testament, which also requires equality, with multiplied importance to be felt by every well-instructed believer in the third message and closing message, and the system does not embrace the whole duty in free-will offerings, for which the closing message presents a far greater call.

That tithing obligation still rests on God's people, supporting the continuing duty to return at least one tenth of one's income to God. No less is required now when time is short and means are needed to give the last merciful message to the world. The one tithe is a tenth owed to God and must be paid faithfully with nothing excusing it, as on $10 a week the tithe is $1.00, distinct from a second tithe. Tithe is owed on what a person actually receives as his own income, and the duty rests on the receiver: rent paid for the place from which income is derived is not the payer's income but the landlord's, so the payer tithes only the amount left after rent is subtracted and the landlord owes tithe on the rent received. Dividing money by seven because a seventh of time belongs to God is false reckoning, since on $14 a week it would make the first tithe more than a tenth and leave no second tithe at all.

Support of Gospel Ministry

The verse establishes the tithe as God's provision for those devoted to religious service, given to the Levites as their inheritance because they served in the tabernacle and were to have no land inheritance among Israel, the Lord Himself being their part, and by the same principle those who give their lives to advancing Christ's kingdom are to be supported by the gospel. With the offerings this was God's arrangement for the support of the Aaronic priesthood for service in the tabernacle of the congregation, and the ordaining that preachers of the gospel should live of the gospel looks back to this already existing plan, making tithe-paying God's appointed plan for supporting His ministry on earth. The tithe is therefore set apart for sustaining the ministry.

God Himself instituted the support of His ministers by tithe, giving Israel's tithes to the Levites to inherit in place of land, and the verse was used anciently for the support of the Lord's work and those doing it. This supports the principle of regularly providing for the Lord's work and establishes that receiving wages or sustenance from believers is the legitimate Scriptural means of pastoral support for ministers of the gospel.

The tithe is the inheritance of God's ministers, His ambassadors, and the proper fund to care for the Lord's ministry, to be so recognized by all conferences and mission fields. It belongs to the true minister who throws his life into the work, and a man does not cease to be a priest when he gets old nor cease to be a minister of the gospel when he gets old, so age or sickness does not end his right to this inheritance. An earnest, zealous, wide-awake, studious, strenuous worker who is worthy to receive the tithe while well is worthy to receive it when sick or aged and worn out in service, but a careless minister who does not take hold and devote himself is not worthy to receive it.

The inheritance therefore includes an allowance from the tithe to properly support sick, aged, and worn-out laborers disabled by sickness or age, and also the dependent widows and orphan children of ministers removed by death. As the priest's wife and children ate the same things he did from the tithe, so ministers' families are to live of that which ministers live of, with the conference to whose service his life was devoted caring for them just as though he were living and working and helping them as far as consistent to earn a living. This shared provision for disabled laborers and for families of deceased workers is the people's provision for those devoted to ministry applied to gospel ministers. Using the tithe this way pleases God's people and strengthens the call to pay a full tithe and to send tithes into new fields.

The first tithe is God's plan for supporting the ministry at home as well as ministers chosen to go to foreign fields, standing as one of two systems, equally perfect, side by side with the second tithe. From time to time the surplus is sent by vote of the conference as a donation to other needy fields, an arrangement that brings equality and lays no unequal burden on rich or poor. In the higher conference schools the Bible instructor should be paid from the first tithe, while the other teachers may be paid from the second tithe to keep students advancing in denominational schools rather than returning to public schools.

Handling the Sacred Fund

The verse establishes a central treasury into which the people paid their tithes and from which those who served in the sanctuary were paid. The tithes given to the Levites as their inheritance in place of an inheritance among Israel were part of what was brought into the Lord's storehouse and provided for those doing sacred work. The same order requires all tithes now to be brought into the storehouse for the support of ministers.

The tithe was to be used only for the benefit of the Levite for the service rendered to the tribes in the tabernacle. It was to be handled only by men selected from the priests and Levites who were counted faithful, brought to Jerusalem where the Lord placed His name, and delivered to appointed treasurers to be distributed to their brethren according to need. The individual was left no discretion over its use, the person to be benefited, or the place where it was to be paid, and disobedience to this order called for the penalty of death. The other nine tenths may be used for temporal needs, to help the poor, or to present as an offering, but the tithe itself must not be diverted to the poor, to philanthropy, or to church donations.