Abraham’s non-edible Tithe

Genesis 14:18-20 reads, “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.’ Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”

Hebrews 7:1-4 reads, “This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means ‘king of righteousness’; then also, ‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of peace.’ Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!”

As we learned in Malachi 3 and Deuteronomy 14, the tithe that God had established was, among other things, a requirement of the Law of Moses, completely edible, from the increase of the Promised Land, and required land ownership. It was also for the atoning of sins and was conducive of peace. Abraham’s tithe, on the other hand, had none of these qualities. Therefore, Abraham’s tithe cannot be used as an example for demanding a cash-tithe.

As a matter of fact, Abraham was a wealthy man even before his encounter with Melchizedek. Genesis 13:2 reads, “Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.” So then why didn’t Melchizedek tell him, “dear Abraham, the tithe from the spoils of war is good, but what about tithing from your wealth?” The reason is because Abraham’s tithe was of his own accord. It was not demanded as is being done in today’s churches. Abraham had not robbed God by not tithing from his wealth.

Abraham’s example tells us that we need not tithe our wealth or our increase. However, if we go to war, which I do not recommend because we are called to peace, and win, then we can tithe the spoils of war like Abraham did. But again, we’re not about to send members out to war just to get spoils to tithe, for Colossians 3:15a says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” 1st Corinthians 7:15b also says, “God has called us to live in peace.”

Some people might argue that Abraham was a man of faith and we are his children by faith, for Romans 4:16 says, “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”

Therefore, shouldn’t we tithe by faith? The answer is no, because Abraham didn’t use faith to tithe. He had already won the war. Therefore, it wasn’t a matter of faith. Rather, it was a matter of free will and gratitude. Hebrews 11:1 reads, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Tithing was never done by faith because the Israelites got the increase first, and then tithed afterwards.

If you are holding cash in your hand, then it is not a matter of faith because you can see it. You don’t need to hand it over to the church to have faith. What you really need to do is use the money to take care of your family. In fact, if you don’t use your money to take care of your family first, you are more than lacking in faith, for 1st Timothy 5:8 reads, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”