question about tithing

dumbdumb! SG

i heard from a church that says, one of the law of moses, in the old testament times. according to that law. if u miss one of your tithing period, you have to compensate the tithe, and plus 20%. for example. if u october never tithe, you have to tithe october, november, plus 20% of october.

is that true? can christians please share and comment? thanks. asking christians to comment, not non-christians. tnx.

NeonTetra SG

If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it.
-Leviticus 27:31

I guess that's the verse you were talking about.

Then we must first of all understand the word 'redeem' what does this word mean?

Read the Context of Leviticus 27, understand the general picture and you can know what does this mean.

Smile

Chin Eng SG

Yeah, I kinda of agree with Neon.... if that's the verse you're referring to, the context is something else....

Also, as a rule of thumb, I would not use the OT as a guideline for my daily Christian living.

dumbdumb! SG

read it. still don't get it Neutral

nukewatch SG

say you tithed 100kg of grain valued at $100. If you want to redeem it, use $120 to do so.

Not sure if I'm correct. Someone else wish to comment?

Chin Eng SG

Something like that lah.... Laughing

The explanation given in the NIV Study Bible for the section from Lev 27:30-31 are as follows:
tithe A tenth (see Nu 18:21-29; Dt 12:6-18; 14:22-29; 26:12). From these passages it appears that Israel actually had three tithes:
1. the general tithe, paid to the Levites (Nu 18:21), who in turn had to give a tenth of that to the priests (Nu 18:26);
2. the tithe associated with the sacred meal involving offerer and Levite (Dt 14:22-27);
3. the tithe paid every three years to the poor (Dt 14: 28-29)

Tithe made by a Hebrew does not necessarily involve money, it can be part of a crop or a herd. So probably, if for some reason a particular calf was needed back by the offerer, this offerer need to make a payment amount to 120% of the value of the original "tithe".

BTW.... which church did you hear this "teaching" from.... sounds like something from a health and wealth church.... Very Happy

NeonTetra SG

i think when God says His word is a double edged sword tt divides bone and marrow, test the intentions of the heart He really mean it.

The thing is when we read the Bible, as Holy as the scripture is and it is. We tend to misread it, pervert it and even try to go about testing the reliability of the word and after doing all these realise tt we r but sinner.

frankly speaking, i used to read in the OT tt a man (forgot who) visited a prostitute and tt time my thinking is hmm...a man in the Bible can go and enjoy himself...maybe i can do likewise? it is at tt moment i realise we r sinners.

the bible is to be read in context and also understand who God is and why He require certain things. God is not making interest here by adding 20% but rather he want us to know that when we offer things to God...dun take it back. He demands our total loyalty. Smile