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Biblical History of Tithing Tithes offered
Tithing Was Instituted Before the Law
In Genesis 14:17-20. “And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the highest God. And he blessed him, and said, blessed be Abram of the highest God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the highest God, which hath delivered thy enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” The events described in this passage took place seven hundred years before God gave the Law of Moses. Upon returning from a battle in which he defeated Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, Abram was met by Melchizedek, the priest of God. Verse 20 tells us that Abram gave a tenth or a tithe of all the spoils of war to the priest of God. Abram didn’t have to do it, but he made a quality decision to do so. Verses 21-24 go on to say, “And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to you. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the highest God, the possessor of heaven and earth. That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latches and that I will not take any thing that is thy, lest thou should say, I have made Abram rich: Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me.” In this first Biblical example of tithing we see a man who freely chose to give God a tenth of all because he recognized God as his only source of materials supply! What kind or results did this attitude produce in Abram’s life? Genesis 17 tells us that God changed this man’s name to Abraham and entered into a covenant with him, promising Abraham that he would become the father of many nations. That covenant became what we call the Old covenant. As we study the rest of Abraham’s life we find that he was exceedingly blessed by God, materially as well as spiritually. God promised Abraham the land of Canaan and made him extremely wealthy. Also, through His covenant with Abraham, God established the lineage or family out of which Jesus would be born. Related Article
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