1. The first 10% of our income is called a tithe; giving after the first 10% is called
an offering.
Deuteronomy 14:22-23 (NLT)
“You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest
each year. 23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the
LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his
presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the
firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear
the LORD your God.
According to Lev. 27:30–33 and Num. 18:21, 24, the people were to give the tenth
(tithe) to supply all the needs of the Levites. Malachi 3:8 says they were robbing God
when they did not give the tithe. Deuteronomy 12:6, 7 called for a second tithe that was
to support the nation’s devotion to the temple by being used for the national festivals at
the temple in Jerusalem. This was called the festival tithe. Deuteronomy 14:28, 29
called for a third tithe every 3 years for the poor. The sum of this tax plan totaled about
23 percent annually. (MacArthur)
2. Tithing teaches us to trust God alone to be the provider of our income.
Deuteronomy 8:7-18 (NLT)
For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and
pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. 8
It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of
olive oil and honey. 9 It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It
is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.
10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the LORD your God for the
good land he has given you.
11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget
the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I
am giving you today. 12 For when you have become full and prosperous and
have built fine homes to live in, 13 and when your flocks and herds have become
very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be
careful! 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God,
who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 15 Do not forget that he led
you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and
scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! 16 He
fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did
this to humble you and test you for your own good. 17 He did all this so you

would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength
and energy.’ 18 Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you
power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your
ancestors with an oath.
3. The Bible has honorable and dishonorable examples of tithing.
2 Chronicles 31:5-10 (NLT)
When the people of Israel heard these requirements, they responded generously
by bringing the first share of their grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all the
produce of their fields. They brought a large quantity—a tithe of all they
produced. 6 The people who had moved to Judah from Israel, and the people of
Judah themselves, brought in the tithes of their cattle, sheep, and goats and a
tithe of the things that had been dedicated to the LORD their God, and they piled
them up in great heaps. 7 They began piling them up in late spring, and the
heaps continued to grow until early autumn. 8 When Hezekiah and his officials
came and saw these huge piles, they thanked the LORD and his people Israel!
9 “Where did all this come from?” Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites.
10 And Azariah the high priest, from the family of Zadok, replied, “Since the
people began bringing their gifts to the LORD’s Temple, we have had enough to
eat and plenty to spare. The LORD has blessed his people, and all this is left
over.”
(Around 430BC, the Temple in Jerusalem had been rebuilt for almost a century, but the
people had become complacent in their worship of God.)
Malachi 1:8-13 (NLT)
When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to
offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your
governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of
offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the LORD of Heaven’s
Armies.
10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless
sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of
Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings. 11 But my name is
honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world
they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is
great among the nations,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
12 “But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food,
you are saying it’s all right to defile the Lord’s table. 13 You say, ‘It’s too hard to
serve the LORD,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the LORD
of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick

are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as
these?” asks the LORD.
Malachi 3:8-9 (NLT)
“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do
you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes
and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been
cheating me.
4. God wants us to test Him and to tithe first.
Malachi 3:10-11 (NLT)
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple.
If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of
heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to
take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard
them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they
are ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Proverbs 3:9-10 (NLT)
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you
produce. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with
good wine.
5. Jesus taught His followers to tithe with a trusting and loving heart.
Luke 11:42 (NLT)
“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest
income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You
should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
Mark 12:41-44 (NLT)
Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds
dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor
widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him
and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others
who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but
she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”